Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference any and all U.S. patents and U.S. patent applications cited or referred to in this application.
1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of this invention relate generally to apparatuses that can be used for clothing a baby, specifically for providing clothing that is adjustable to accommodate for changes in temperature during a single period of sleep. For the purposes of this application, the inventor uses the terms baby, infant and newborn interchangeably. In addition, the inventor uses the terms device and apparatus interchangeably.
2. Description of Related Art
A goal of clothing for babies is to allow the baby to be comfortable at all times but in particular during periods of sleep. It is popular for babies to wear one-piece clothing for convenience and to allow convenience for the caretaker to change the baby's diaper when necessary. Depending on the temperature, it is often desirable to use a blanket to keep the baby warm in colder environments or unzip the one-piece clothing or remove pieces of clothing to keep the baby cool in warmer environments. However, many pediatric experts recommend babies sleeping in a blanket-free environment to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Thus, the use of a loose blanket to keep a baby warm is modernly frowned upon and alternative methods of keeping a baby warm is recommended.
In warmer environments, although unzipping a one-piece clothing or removing pieces of clothing may allow the baby to be cooler, it does not solve the situation in which a change in temperature may cause the need to re-clothe the baby which may be inconvenient for the caretaker during a period of sleep for the baby. Adding or removing a piece of clothing to a baby during sleep also runs the risk of waking up the baby thereby interrupting the baby's sleep.
A variety of clothing apparatuses have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,392 to Schmid et. al. provides a wearable blanket and a swaddling accessory. The wearable blanket is in the form a Cover which can be used in conjunction of a swaddle accessory.
However, the prior art clothing lacks simple adjustment features and fails to provide a clothing apparatus which incorporates the benefits of clothing in the form of a wearable garment and a removable cover like blanket to accommodate changes in temperature.
A clothing apparatus to worn by a baby comprising of a garment sized and configured for being worn by a baby that has sleeves. The garment is in the form of a wearable cover which is closed at the bottom but has an opening at top for the baby's head and neck. The clothing apparatus also comprising a cover sized and configured for selectively enclosing at least a portion of the garment whereby the cover is in the form a blanket that can be pulled or slithered up to the baby's torso area to provide additional warmth.
The cover in the form of a blanket can be coupled to the garment of the clothing apparatus by a zipper which allows the user to attach and detach the cover when desired to accommodate for different temperatures. In one embodiment, the garment and cover are coupled by a zipper at the bottom portion of the garment thereby preventing the cover in the form a blanket to raise above the torso of the baby thus preventing the risk that the cover blanket interferes with the baby's breathing and prevents the risk of rebreathing (i.e. the inhalation of carbon dioxide). The cover can be removed from the garment without having to interfere with the baby inside of the garment thereby preventing waking up the baby unnecessarily.
In one embodiment, the garment contains sleeves that are adjustable and cuffs that are adjustable to accommodate for change of temperature and to ensure maximum comfortability for the baby.
In another embodiment, the baby clothing apparatus comprises of a sleeveless configuration.
Both the garment and cover of the clothing apparatus contain zippers on the outside that allow the user a convenient way to access the baby when inside the clothing apparatus in order to check and/or change the baby's diaper.
Aspects of the present invention teach certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the exemplary advantages described below.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a clothing apparatus to be worn by a baby is provided which comprises of a garment with adjustable sleeves and cuffs and a removable cover that can be in the form of a blanket.
A primary objective inherent in the present invention is to provide clothing apparatus to be worn by a baby that is a wearable blanket that is adjustable to accommodate for changes in temperature.
Another objective inherent in the present invention is to provide a clothing apparatus to be worn by a baby that allows for easy and convenient access to the baby at all times for diaper changes.
Other features and advantages of aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of aspects of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate aspects of the present invention. In such drawings:
Features, elements, and aspects of the invention that are referenced by the same numerals in different figures represent the same, equivalent, or similar features, elements, or aspects, in accordance with one or more embodiments.
The invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which are presented as illustrated examples of the invention defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the invention as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed herein even when not initially claimed in such combinations.
The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an elements can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims therefore include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.
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In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the clothing apparatus 20 for a baby may comprise of a neck aperture 31, garment side edges 32, arm apertures 33, a pair of opposing arm sleeves 34, and a garment 30 containing a closed bottom edge 36. The garment 30 also containing a garment access means 60 that in one preferred embodiment comprises of a zipper 62. The garment access means 60 allows the user easy access to the baby to perform such things as diaper changes. In one preferred embodiment, the garment 30 of the clothing apparatus 20 for a baby comprises of cuff portions 90 that is coupled to the ends of both sleeves 34 and that can be pulled over a baby's hand when desired. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the cover 40 of the clothing apparatus 20 for a baby may be in the form of a blanket. One can appreciate that the blanket may come in a variety of materials, sizes, designs and colors providing the user the ability to swap and/alternate between different types of blanket based upon the needs of the user. For example, in winter months, the user may opt to use a thicker blanket to keep the baby warm whereas in summer months, the user may opt to use a lighter material blanket at night. In one preferred embodiment the cover 40 in the form of a blanket contains a cover front 64, a cover back 65, a cover access means 66, including a cover access zipper 68 which works in unison with the garment access means 60 to allow the user the ability to access the baby to perform such things as diaper changes.
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While aspects of the invention have been described with reference to at least one exemplary embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that the inventor(s) believe that the claimed subject matter is the invention.
Thus, specific embodiments and applications of a baby clothing apparatus have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not being restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalent within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined within the scope of the defined elements. The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention. In addition, where the specification and claims refer to at least one of something selected from a group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N etc.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140165257 A1 | Jun 2014 | US |