Untitled record

Holder: Idem (7l)

Agent: Cabinet Bert de Keravenant & Herrburger, 115, boulevard Haussmann, Paris (8).

Device for dressing more easily.

Invention of:

(33) (32) (3d) Priority in terms of correspondence: Patent application filed in the Federal Republic of Germany on April 7, 1971, η. P 21 17 080.9 in the name of the plaintiff.

Sale of booklets at ('IMPRIMERIE NATIONALE. 27, rue de la Convention - PARIS (15^e)

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The invention relates to a device making it possible to dress more easily , that is to say more easily to put on clothing, and in particular outer clothing, such as coats, jackets, etc.

Devices are already known which make it easier to put on clothes, which are intended, in particular, for the physically handicapped and the elderly. These are, without exception, devices for putting on pants, stockings or similar clothing. These devices are provided with a clamping means located at the end of an operating rod and intended to grip the garment which is to be put on with the aid of the apparatus.

The operating rod is pulled upwards after having introduced into the garment the part of the body or the parts of the body which are to be coated by this garment.

By cons, the present invention aims to meet the need of many people to find help to put on clothes that they must also remove frequently outside their home.

The invention relates, for this purpose, to a device of the above type, characterized by a means which is received by a vertical frame and which is intended to grip the garments at at least two application points, distant one from the other and being approximately in the area of ​​the parts of the collar or parts of the shoulders of the garment. Of course, the arrangement of the means indicated is understood to be provided at a height position corresponding to the average height of the shoulders of adult people.

When the device according to the invention is used, the garments to be put on are received by the means intended to grip them at two points in their neck area or their shoulder area, and this in a in such a way that there is a certain separation of the front parts of the garment, being in the unbuttoned state and that the user of the device can introduce the arms backwards, into the sleeves of the garment which is then released by the holding means.

The means for gripping clothing can advantageously consist of two clamps which can be operated simultaneously and in the same direction, between their po72 11977

2.2136191 respective opening and closing positions. This means can, moreover, be moved laterally and be received by a bracing means which is itself capable of being adjusted in height. In a device thus constituted, there is a simple possibility of adaptation to different sizes of the users.

the means for adjusting the height of the clamps can be constituted in the device according to the invention by a slide supported so that it can be moved in a vertical guide and by a height adjustment device cooperating with this slide and comprising, for example , a chain which passes over suitable pulleys, the slide is fixed on this chain. Of course, it is also possible to use instead of a chain, other means, such as, for example, a threaded rod cooperating with a threaded bore of the slide.

It can also be provided, associated with the device, as a control means for adjusting the height of the clamps, an electric motor of low power and, in this case, the handling of a device provided with a motor control can be carried out in such a way that the clamps are first of all brought into a lowered position, that a garment is then received by the clamps and that, finally, after the person using the device has introduced his arms into the armholes of the garment, the device formed by the clips provided with the garment, is raised and this garment is threaded to some extent on the arms of the person to be dressed.

the motor control can be cut off according to the lifting force which arises and which, naturally, must increase upon completion of the dressing operation. The holding force of the grippers should also be provided in such a way that in order to avoid damage to the garments, the latter should be able to separate from the grippers by sliding out of them when the motor control n * is not cut immediately upon completion of the dressing operation.

According to another judicious embodiment of the invention, the device can also be characterized by means ensuring simultaneous operation and in

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3.2136191 the same direction of the two clamps, regardless of their height adjustment and the adjustment of their lateral position. Advantageously, as means for operating the grippers, Bowden transmissions connected in a known manner can be used. The arrangement adopted may be such that by means of the pedal, and by means of the Bowden transmissions, the clamps can be brought into their open position, while their return to the closed position will be ensured by force. a spring, a suitable closing spring then being associated directly with the clamps.

The invention will be better understood with reference to the description below and to the accompanying drawings showing an embodiment of the invention, drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a front elevation view of the entire device,

FIG. 2 represents a section made through the device along line II-II of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 represents a cross section, taken along line III-III of FIG. 1,

- Figure 4 shows a side elevation view of a clamp corresponding to a section taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 1.

The device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of a vertical frame 10 which essentially consists of a panel 12 which rests upright on a base plate 11 and which is provided with a reinforcing strut 13, as well as an upper cover panel, serving, for example, as a hat board. Regarding its dimensions in height and width, the vertical frame 10 is adapted to the size of a normal person.

The device which is designated as a whole by the reference 15 and which is intended to grip the garments at at least two application points, distant from each other, consists essentially of a slide 16, of a bracing means 17 assembled with the slide and extending horizontally on either side of the latter, as well as clamps 18 which are carried by the bracing means and which are arranged on one side and the other of the slide.

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The slide 16 can be moved vertically inside a guide formed in the panel 12 by a vertical slot 19 "and this in such a way that a height adjustment of the device can be obtained making this device suitable for use by people with different sizes. As shown in Figure 3, the edges "facing each other, of the slot 19 formed in the panel 12, are provided with guide parts 20, 21 which are engaged in corresponding grooves of the slide, this which ensures excellent vertical guidance of the slide. As shown in particular in the figure there is provided as a means ensuring the vertical displacement of the slide, a chain 26 which passes over two idler pulleys 24, 25 · This chain is disposed on the rear side of the panel 12 placed vertically and the strand of the chain 26, which is adjacent to this panel, is rigidly connected to the slide 16 in the manner which is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3. The deflection pulleys 24 and 25 of the chain are arranged respectively above and below the aforementioned guide slot, and this in such a way that the chain strand connected to the slide extends over the entire extent from the aforementioned guide slot 19, parallel to the panel 12 and at a certain distance from the latter. To allow the operation of the pulleys for the height adjustment of the device 15, a hand wheel, not shown, can be associated with one of the chain pulleys ·

Instead of the chain transmission which has just been described, it is, of course, also possible to use, as means for the height adjustment of the device 15, other elements suitable for this purpose.

The bracing means 17, which extends on either side of the slide in the form of a bar of rectangular cross section, receives the clamps 18 which can be moved laterally, but which can be fixed in any positions , Figure 4 shows the features of the arrangement of the clamps 18 on the bracing means 17. The clamp 18 shown comprises a fixed part 27 and a movable part 29, which is supported by the fixed part via the hinge pin 28, The fixed part 27 of the clamp has a guide 30 allowing the clamp either received on the bracing means 17, The two parts of the clamp,

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5.2136191 have, on the side distant from the point of articulation 28, branches 31, 32, kept distant from one another, between which is mounted a helical spring 33, which applies, in its closed position, the movable part of the pliers. A branch 31 is connected to a Bowden transmission, the cable 35 of which extends through the branch 35 then through the compression spring 33, roughly along the axis of the latter, to be fixed to the movable part of the clamp. The Bowden transmissions 34 of the two clamps are brought in a manner which is not of interest for the description of the invention, behind the vertical panel 12 of the device, and their cables, are connected to an operating pedal 36. pedal is articulated with the base plate, so that it can rotate and it extends through a corresponding slot in the vertical panel 12. In the area of ​​the pedal which has just been mentioned, the envelopes of the Bowden transmissions are fixed in a known manner against an angle which is itself fixed, as shown, on the rear face of the vertical panel 12,

To use the device, one begins by opening the clamps 18 by lowering the pedal 36. The movable parts 29 of the clamps thus move away from the parts of fixed clamps 27, overcoming the antagonistic action of the closing springs 33. It is then necessary to introduce the garment that must be able to be put more easily by means of the device, in the clips, by introducing it by its neck portion or by a portion located in the shoulder area. This done, we abandon the pedal and the clips return to their closed position, the garment having been seized. The insertion of the garment must be carried out naturally in such a way that the front parts of this garment are in a certain position of separation, so that the user of the device, with his back turned towards the hanging garment as indicated above, can introduce his arms into the armholes of said garment. As soon as this operation has been carried out, the user who is standing, his back turned towards the panel 12, again actuates the pedal, so that the garment is thus released due to the opening of the clamps.

Since the clamps are kept, according to the invention, in the closed position by means of the force of a spring, possible damage to the clothing72 11977

6.2136191 ment, are practically completely excluded, even if it happens that the device is handled incorrectly, for example if the user violently pulls the garment out of the zone according to which it has been grasped by the grippers, without having previously operated the pedal and thus brought the movable gripper parts to their open position.

The height adjustment of the device, designated as a whole by the reference 15, and intended for gripping clothing, is obtained by means of an appropriate operation of a hand wheel, not shown, with the aid of which one rotates. one of the idler pulleys. It is naturally necessary to provide, for fixing the slide in its adjusted position, suitable means which have not been shown here. These means can be means employing friction or detents which, for example, can be associated with one of the pulleys with return chain or with the axis of rotation of this pulley.

In order to obtain their lateral adjustment, the clamps 18 can be moved laterally, in a simple manner, on a bracing means 17 which is in the form of a bar of rectangular cross section. There may also be provided, associated with the clamps, stop means in the form of friction means acting elastically. These are devices that the specialist knows well so there is no need to represent them or provide explanations about them.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown, from which we can provide other modes and other embodiments, without departing from the scope of the 'invention.

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