Patent Description:
Activated carbon is known as a filter in numerous industries for being very effective at adsorbing certain substances. Activated carbon fabric has been used to filter out the smells from flatulence, as disclosed in <CIT>. For example, underwear containing activated carbon fabric is available under the trade mark "Shreddies". The odour filtering material comprises a carbon fibre layer, laminated on each side with cotton mesh, whereby the odour filtering material has three layers. This odour filtering material is added as an insert between two panels of elastane and cotton mix material that form the inner and outer surfaces of the underwear, so that the garment has up to five layers, and at least <NUM> layers. The insert has a thickness of about <NUM> and the total thickness of the odour filtering part of the underwear including the insert and the two panels on each side thereof is about <NUM>. The rest of the underwear uses regular underwear materials (e.g. cotton). The underwear is sewn around the crotch area, where the elastane-cotton material joins to it. The inserted fabric layer for filtering out flatulence odours extends from the elastic waistband at the back to the front so that any gases produced by the wearer should have to pass through the activated carbon fabric before reaching the outside world. The activated carbon fabric is intended to adsorb the chemicals associated with the smell of flatulence and the underwear thereby aims to allow people to pass gas more discretely, saving embarrassment.

<CIT> discloses a garment according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

The invention provides a garment for filtering body odour of a person, the garment comprising an odour filtering material forming the inside of the garment, the odour filtering material consisting of:.

This stretch test is in accordance with BS4952:<NUM> RESIDUAL EXTENSION.

By using in the garment an odour filtering material with a thickness which is equal to or less than <NUM> it is possible for the garment to be very effective in filtering odours whilst still being comfortable and unobtrusive. The high extensibility is important for the comfort and usability of the garment. Having the three layers bonded together to form an activated carbon composite material improves the ease of handling and assembly of the garment (e.g. for stitching).

Preferably, the garment has a thickness of <NUM> and is configured to stretch by <NUM>% or more in at least one direction when tested as described above.

The garment may be made in numerous forms, including underwear, shorts, socks, a sports top, etc. The garment may be one of: a top, shorts, underwear, a sock, a sports bra, and a one-piece suit configured to cover from thigh to neck to upper arm of a wearer. It is envisaged that the garment will be particularly useful for use as sportswear.

The odour filtering material may be used in a greater range of garments than are possible with materials used in existing underwear due to its ability to be made in a reduced thickness and with greater flexibility. For example, the present material is suitable for garments that need to accommodate a wider range of movement than conventional underwear, e.g. sports tops.

The mass per unit area of the odour filtering material may be equal to or less than <NUM>/m<NUM> and preferably equal to or less than <NUM> gsm. A relatively low mass per unit area contributes to a high comfort level and low obtrusiveness.

Preferably, the odour filtering material is configured to stretch by <NUM>% or less when tested as stated. Thus it may stretch by between <NUM>% and <NUM>% when tested, more preferably by between <NUM>% and <NUM>%, and still more preferably, by between <NUM>% and <NUM>%.

Because the odour filtering material forms the inside of the garment, there is no extra layer attached inwardly of the odour filtering material. This is in contrast with the known Shreddies™ underwear, in which the odour filtering material is enclosed in a protective pouch made from separate layers of cloth material, whereby the inner and outer layers and the odour filtering material must be aligned before stitching into a garment, and also with the result that any stretchiness of the odour filtering material may be negated by the presence of the inner and outer layers.

The odour filtering material may form both the inside and the outside of the garment. Thus the odour filtering material may form the only material between a user and the outside, making it suitable as a replacement for conventional underwear or sportswear, for example. The total thickness of the garment, from inside to outside, may thus be that of the odour filtering material, whereby a relatively thin and extensible garment is provided.

The first and second fabric layers may be made of various different fabrics conventionally used for clothing. The first fabric layer may be a polyamide fabric layer, and/or the second fabric layer may be a polyamide fabric layer. Use of a polyamide as one or both of the fabric layers of the odour filtering material may result in a relatively thin and flexible and stretchable material, thereby improving garment comfort.

The garment may comprise at least one elasticated portion for sealing the odour filtering material to the person's body. If the odour filtering material extends over substantially the entire garment then an elasticated portion may be provided at an edge of the garment, such as at a hole for a neck, an arm and/or a leg. If the odour filtering material is connected to another material forming part of the garment, such as a shoulder portion extending over a person's shoulder in the case of a top, then an elasticated portion may be provided between the odour filtering material and such other material.

The garment may comprise a flexible fabric material connected to an edge of the odour filtering material, the flexible fabric material being configured to provide additional flexibility in a region of the garment. The region may be a shoulder region. The region may be an outer thigh region.

In some embodiments, the odour filtering material may make up more than <NUM>% of the total surface area of the garment. The odour filtering material may make up more than <NUM>% of the total surface area of the garment. The odour filtering material may make up more than <NUM>% of the total surface area of the garment. The "total surface area of the garment" is intended to mean the area forming the outside of the garment.

By providing embodiments in which the odour filtering material is breathable, the garments can be suitable for wearing under clothing with minimal or no discomfort.

The test in relation to the stretchability of the odour filtering material may be defined more specifically as follows. The <NUM> width by <NUM> length sample of odour filtering material is loaded up to a <NUM> load applied along the length of the sample in the length direction at a rate of <NUM>/min. Once the <NUM> load is reached, the load is cycled down to zero at the same rate of <NUM>/min and then back up to the <NUM> load at the same rate of <NUM>/min. Then the elongation of the sample of the odour filtering material is measured and converted into a percentage based on the original sample length of <NUM>.

The invention also provides a method of filtering body odour by using a garment as disclosed herein. Such a method can be viewed as a non-therapeutic method, for example when used to filter body odour caused by sports or other strenuous activity.

Some people suffer from excessive body odour. In some cases, excessive body odour results from genetic disorders that cause patients to produce excessive and/or excessively pungent body odour. For example, Trimethylaminuria ("TMAU") can also result in body malodour. TMAU comes in two forms: Type <NUM> which is genetic, and inherited - caused by FM03 enzyme deficiency - and Type <NUM> which is mainly non-genetic, and can be caused by organ or gut dysfunction. TMAU is also known as "fish-odour syndrome" wherein the body odour of some sufferers has a distinct odour of rotting fish, though other sufferers complain of fecal or other unpleasant and/or offensive odours emanating from their bodies.

Sufferers of TMAU often suffer severe psychological distress due to their odour, in particular receiving unpleasant comments in public spaces and being socially rejected. Some sufferers also have to adapt to a lifestyle involving showering several times per day, or find that they must live very isolated lives as a result of the disorder, which can have damaging effects on their mental and physical health, work life, home life, and ability to travel.

The present garment does not prevent the production of body odour, but prevents the body odour from being noticed by either the patient or other people in the vicinity. In particular, the term "body odour" is used herein to denote the perception, by the wearer or by others, of odorous chemicals produced by the wearer's body. Thus, a reduction in body odour means a reduction in the perception of the odorous chemicals.

The reduction of perception of body odour arises from the odorous chemicals being filtered by the activated carbon material, such that the concentration of said chemicals on the far side of the filter from the user's body is reduced. Preferably, the concentration of odours chemicals is reduced to levels imperceptible to humans.

There are other causes of odours that the garments according to the present invention may help to mask. For example the following may all cause unpleasant smells that a person may wish to mask with a garment according to the present invention: bromhidrosis, infections of the skin (including tinea cruris/'jock itch' and tinea pedis/'athletes foot'), liver dysfunction or disease (such as fatty liver or cirrhosis) and gut dysbiosis (Type <NUM> TMAU usually occurs as a result of gut dysbiosis or liver disorders), post-surgical colon colostomies, and other organ deficiencies, such as kidney failure. Other liver enzyme deficiencies (other than FM03, causal of TMAU) may also result in body malodour conditions. Drug interactions may also cause body malodour (for example, sodium phenylbutryrate - used in urea cycle disorders - may be metabolised to butyrate in the body, and cause the odour of 'vomit' to emanate from a person).

An aspect which does not form part of the present invention provides activated carbon for external use adjacent to the skin of a human to adsorb odour caused by a condition of elevated trimethylamine. The condition of elevated trimethylamine is trimethylaminuria (TMAU).

TMAU can be a socially debilitating condition due to the strong negative reactions of others to the patient's body odour. As tabulated in <FIG>, in a survey of <NUM> patients who tested positive for TMAU (column A) via urinalysis at Sheffield Children's Hospital:.

The above results are shown in tabular form below:.

Thus, there is a clear need to treat TMAU and/or treat the symptoms of the disease. In this condition, the psychological effects of the pungent odours are the major issue affecting the lives of the patients; other than the odour, patients with TMAU are typically healthy.

Embodiments of clothing made according to the invention were tested by <NUM> patients suffering from genetic TMAU who do not experience significant head or breath odour (i.e. odour was primarily coming from the patient's body). Each patient wore a top and a pair of shorts made according to the present invention, underneath their regular clothing.

The patients were asked to rate the perceived efficacy of the clothing at supressing body odour. The patients rated the efficacy as <NUM> out of <NUM>, where <NUM> is poor and <NUM> is extremely efficacious.

The patients were asked to rate their confidence levels in social and public situations when wearing the clothing herein described and to compare this to their confidence levels when not wearing the clothing.

When wearing the clothing, the three patients rated their confidence as <NUM>±<NUM> out of <NUM>, where <NUM> is very low confidence and <NUM> is extremely high confidence.

When not wearing the clothing and instead wearing normal clothing, the three patients rated their confidence as <NUM>±<NUM> out of <NUM> on the same scale. This is shown in tabular format below.

The effectiveness of activated carbon for external use as a treatment for a condition of elevated trimethylamine is thus shown.

Certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:.

The garment <NUM> has at least one panel of odour filtering material <NUM> made of three layers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The odour filtering material <NUM> contains a layer of activated carbon <NUM> which filters out the chemicals associated with body odours by adsorbing the odours. The garment <NUM> may include one or more other panels of fabric <NUM> that do not have an activated carbon layer, connected to the odour filtering material <NUM> by suitable seems <NUM>. These other panels of fabric <NUM> may be used to reduce the weight of the garment, or to influence how warm the garment is to wear, or to increase the flexibility of the garment in certain areas. The panels of fabric <NUM> are generally more flexible than the at least one panel of odour filtering material <NUM>.

To most effectively reduce body odour, the garment <NUM> should seal around one or more regions of the wearer's skin, so that all odours generated in that region can only reach the outside by passing through the activated carbon layer <NUM>. However, imperfect sealing may be acceptable to a degree, so that most odours pass through the activated carbon layer <NUM>. In this case, the wearer and those around the wearer may perceive some body odour, but nonetheless reduced compared to not wearing the garment or wearing other garments that do not contain activated carbon.

The sealing is effected by elasticated material 14a-f, such as elastane or other standard elastic clothing material. The sealing is performed by elastic 14a-f on all edges of the garment. In the top shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the elasticated edges are at the neckline 14a, the cuffs 14b around the arms (which could be around the wrists in a long sleeved top), and around the torso 14c, all for the prevention of the escape of odour. The seams <NUM> where the odour filtering material <NUM> is joined to the non-filtering material layers <NUM> may provide some additional sealing effect against the wearer's skin.

The garment may have a zip <NUM> at an appropriate location to assist in putting on the garment. For example the top shown in <FIG> has a zip <NUM> along the front.

In the embodiment of <FIG> and <FIG>, most of the top is made with the odour filtering material <NUM>. There is flexible fabric material <NUM>, at least, on the top part of the arm/shoulder region. This can improve the flexibility and comfort of the garment. The top of the shoulder is normally not a region producing much odour. The flexible fabric material <NUM> may comprise a mesh or the like. The incorporation of a flexible fabric material such as a mesh on the shoulder makes it much easier for the wearer to move more easily, whilst the odour filtering material <NUM> can serve the purpose of filtering odours, resulting in a synergy between the materials.

In other embodiments, instead of providing odour filtering material on the back of a top such as that shown in <FIG>, a mesh material may be used, aimed at allowing ventilation and cooling rather than filtering odours. For sportswear, the important region for a top to filter odours is the underarm region.

<FIG> shows shorts according to an embodiment of the invention. In shorts or underwear, the elasticated edges will be around the hips/waist 14d, and around each leg 14e. In a sock embodiment, shown in <FIG>, the elasticated edge 14fis around the ankle/leg and the remainder of the sock comprises the odour filtering material <NUM>.

In another embodiment, the garment is in the form of a one-piece shape, for example having a configuration of a known "wetsuit" type. The one-piece garment may include a portion for at least partly covering the legs (optionally down to the ankles or to the mid-thigh) and a portion for covering the torso up to the neck and extending over the shoulders (optionally either to the wrists or to the mid upper-arm). A zip may be provided at the front or back to allow the user to put it on. It is envisaged that this embodiment would be preferred for use by patients suffering from clinical body odour, such as patients having a condition of elevated trymethylamine, such as TMAU, as the such body odour is not necessarily limited to the under arm/groin as is more generally the case with normal body odours.

<FIG> show cross-sections of a known fabric panel <NUM> used in odour filtering underwear produced by Shreddies™, for filtering flatulence odours. <FIG> shows a fabric insert <NUM> positioned between two lycra cotton layers <NUM>, <NUM> in a loose condition of normal use, with a gap between the fabric insert <NUM> and each of the outer layers <NUM>, <NUM>. The gaps occur because the fabric insert <NUM> is connected to the outer layers <NUM>, <NUM> at its edges and otherwise the fabric insert and the outer layers are not connected to each other. <FIG> shows the fabric panel <NUM> with the fabric insert <NUM> and the outer layers <NUM>, <NUM> brought into contact with each other, with no gaps, so as to show the overall minimum thickness of the fabric panel.

The known fabric panel <NUM> is formed of five layers. The central layer <NUM> is activated carbon. Mesh cotton fabric layers <NUM>, <NUM> are laminated to each side of the activated carbon <NUM>, to form the fabric insert <NUM> having a thickness <NUM>. This insert <NUM> is sewn at its edges to the two lycra cotton layers <NUM>, <NUM> so as to be positioned therebetween. The lycra layers <NUM>, <NUM> protect the insert <NUM> which has a low extensibility before tearing.

The thickness <NUM> of the insert <NUM> known from the prior art is about <NUM>. The insert <NUM> is received in a pouch provided by the two outer lycra cotton layers <NUM>, <NUM>, and the thickness <NUM> of the insert plus the pouch in which it sits is approximately <NUM> when measured under ISO <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of a panel of odour filtering material of a garment being an embodiment of the invention. The odour filtering material is made from three layers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> having a total thickness <NUM> in a range of <NUM> to <NUM>. The inner layer is activated carbon <NUM>. A polyamide layer <NUM>, <NUM> is laminated to each side of the activated carbon <NUM>.

The odour filtering material <NUM> is appreciably thinner than the prior art fabric insert <NUM>. Further, in the embodiments described herein, the odour filtering material <NUM> forms the entire thickness of the garment, being in contact with a user on its inside surface and forming the outside of the garment on its outside surface and the inside of the garment on its inside surface adjacent the wearer's skin. Thus the total thickness in the range of <NUM> to <NUM> is considerably less than the total thickness of the known insert plus pouch of <NUM>, shown as dimension <NUM> in <FIG>. Thus a garment incorporating an odour filtering material as shown in <FIG> is very effective at filtering odours whilst also being comfortable.

In the embodiments, the odour filtering material forms the inside of the garment. Thus the garment has no further material inwardly of the odour filtering material. In at least some embodiments, the odour filtering material forms the outside of the garment as well as forming the inside of the garment. These garments have no further material inwardly or outwardly of the odour filtering material.

In one example, the odour filtering material may have a thickness of <NUM>±<NUM> when tested under the ISO <NUM> standard for textiles.

Standard BS <NUM>:<NUM> for testing elastic fabrics was used to test various odour filtering materials. The test used was one to determine extension at a specified force. Under this test, a <NUM> wide sample of odour filtering material is loaded up to a desired force at a rate of <NUM>/min. Once the desired force is reached, the load is cycled down to zero (at the same rate) and back up to the desired force (at the same rate). Then the elongation of the sample of the odour filtering material is measured and converted into a percentage based on the original sample length, which is <NUM>. The fabrics results herein were tested with a weight of <NUM> (i.e. <NUM> N).

Using this test, it was found that an example odour filtering material has an extension of <NUM> % under a <NUM> load in a first direction and an extension of <NUM> % under a <NUM> load in a second direction, perpendicular to the first direction. Thus, in at least one direction, it stretches by more than <NUM>%. The high extensibility is particularly useful for a garment as it allows the garment to conform to the movements of the user, including during running or other exercise.

For a <NUM> wide sample of the odour filtering material with a thickness of <NUM>, the cross sectional area is <NUM><NUM>. This data, combined with the extension and loading can be converted into a quasi-Young's modulus for the odour filtering material. This is a quasi-Young's modulus only and not a true Young's modulus because this test does not measure the Young's modulus of the fibres themselves, but measures a combination of the fibres and the fabric structure (such as the weave used and the amount of crimp). The quasi-Young's Modulus may be considered to be <NUM>/mm<NUM> for the odour filtering material in the first direction.

The standard BS <NUM>:<NUM> also provides testing methods for residual extension. In fabrics, this is somewhat similar to plastic deformation (i.e. non-recoverable stretching) in e.g. metals; however this test differs as the deformation may not be permanent but may recover in time (longer than the time taken for testing). The test for residual extension begins by performing the test for determining extension at a specified force, as above. After that test has been performed, the specified load is maintained for <NUM> seconds and then the force is lowered to zero over <NUM> seconds. The sample is removed from the clamps and laid flat for <NUM> minute. After <NUM> minute has elapsed, the length of the sample is measured and compared to the original (pre-loading) sample length.

Under the same standard and testing procedure, the example odour filtering material shows a <NUM> % residual extension after <NUM> minute of load in the first direction and <NUM> % residual extension in the second direction. This data is shown in tabular form below. It is desirable in clothing for this value to be fairly low. Large values for residual extension would make the clothing feel "baggy" and loose as it would not return quickly (or possibly, not at all) to its original size after being stretched by movement of the wearer.

Below are presented further suitable activated carbon composite fabrics that may be used to make garments for filtering body odour of a person. The fabrics are referred to by a technical numbering system in which:
F5/F3/P8/ST -refers to various inner activated carbon knitted cloths. 'F5', 'F3' and 'ST' refer to activated carbon material made from viscose precursor material of <NUM>/m2, <NUM>/m2 and <NUM>/m2 respectively; whereas 'P8' refers to a synthetic inner activated carbon material, made from the precursor material PAN (Polyacrylonitrile, a synthetic polymer material) of <NUM> gsm.

+ P3/T5/T5D - refers to outer cloths which are bonded to the inner carbon layer to form the overall composite material. Specifically, `+ P3'is a polyamide knit material; + 'T5' is a polyester and polyamide mix knit material; + 'T5D' is a polyester knit material. All the described outer cloths are within the range of <NUM>-<NUM> gsm.

The material used in the Shreddies™ underwear is stored in a protective lyrca pouch such that the total thickness of the underwear is <NUM>, which is particularly thick for clothing, particularly underwear. This is because the insert material is enclosed in the inner and outer layers forming the pouch, which inevitably adds to the minimum thickness of underwear made using this material. Whilst the pouch provides protection for the insert it affects the stretchability of the underwear in the region of the pouch. Thus the stretchability of the insert is not reflective of the stretchability of the combined insert and inner and outer layers of the pouch.

The Zorflex FM <NUM> D1J1 material has a thickness of <NUM> and the Shreddies™ pyjamas material has a thickness of <NUM> when tested under the ISO <NUM> standard for textiles. Whilst these materials are sufficiently thin to be useful in garments, it will be seen from the above test results that they lack the stretchability achieved in the example odour filtering material of the present invention.

Claim 1:
A garment (<NUM>) for filtering body odour of a person, the garment comprising an odour filtering material (<NUM>) forming the inside of the garment, the odour filtering material consisting of:
an activated carbon layer (<NUM>);
a first fabric layer (<NUM>) bonded to one side of the activated carbon layer; and characterised in that
a second fabric layer (<NUM>) is bonded to an opposite side of the activated carbon layer; wherein the thickness (<NUM>) of the odour filtering material is equal to or less than <NUM>; and
wherein the odour filtering material is configured to stretch by <NUM>% or more in at least one direction when tested as follows:
a <NUM> width by <NUM> length sample of odour filtering material is weighted with a <NUM> load that is applied along the length of the sample to stretch the sample.