The current invention relates to a bib system in which the bib and garment attaches along the shoulder region to reduce neck injury in children due to pulling and tugging when attempting to rip the bib off. The purpose of this system is to create a drool barrier for children going through the teething phase. When the child's bib becomes soaked in saliva, it becomes cold after the saliva hits the air and sits for a while. Once the bib brushes against the child's chin and face, it makes the child uncomfortable which causes the child to want to pull the bib off. Also, teething in general causes children to tug on their bib and pull it off because teething causes irritability. Although this bib is created as a drool barrier to prevent teething infants and toddlers from pulling it off, this bib can be used for feedings as well. This system comes in all sizes and it also works for adolescents and adults that are disabled and need feeding assistance.
The prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 7,665,151 showed that inventor Finell created a design in which the bib would be attached to the upper pockets of the shirt along the front shoulder region. The fasteners used in this patent are male and female snaps. This design would only work on shirts that have shoulder folds that create a pocket for bib to attach.
The prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 7,409,729 showed that the inventors Baham et al created a shirt bib design that attaches to sleepers via snap fasteners to prevent SIDS in infants. The sleepers attached at four points (back of neck, shoulders, chest) and the inventors mainly focused on male and female snap fasteners for the invention, but stated any fastener could be used in place of the snaps and that it did not matter where snap attachments were arranged. BibMates design reduces a choking hazard by using only hook and loop fasteners because snaps may get loose and fall off or either bitten off by an older child once teeth come in. BibMates are also designed to have hook side of the fastener specifically on garments and loop side specifically on bib to reduce injury. Placing hook side on bibs can cause such injury by leaving scratches on the child or even breaking the skin of the child if he or she is successful in removing the bib from the garment.
The prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,247 showed that the inventors Frieswick et al created a system in which the bib attached to a special made garment via two shoulder slits on each shoulder. The bib would then be looped through the slits and folded down to snap into place. Children tend to be very active so when switching out bibs the process should be quick. BibMates design has hook and loop attachments for a simple press and go. Furthermore, the slits in this invention can possibly stretch and tear over time. The heavy duty hook and loop attachments for BibMates are sewn by sewing machine for long lasting wear, however, if the attachments need to be replaced, new strips can simply be sewn onto garments and bibs.
The prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,269 showed that the inventors Smith et al created a system in which the bib attached to the garment at five points around the front of the shirt collar only. This design uses hook and loop fasteners. BibMates also uses hook and loop fasteners in three areas, both shoulders and lower chest area for a simple press and go. The chest attachment is essential to the BibMates design so that the bib stays in place at all times.
This bib system was created for teething babies and toddlers that have a habit of pulling off their bibs when it becomes wet or when the child gets irritable. This bib has shoulder flaps that stop along shoulder region. This bib was created to reduce the likelihood of neck injuries such as choking, scarring, raw or chapped skin, and bleeding. If the child does succeed in pulling the bib off, the bib would come straight off without restraint unlike the common bibs with neck fasteners in the back.
This bib also creates a drool barrier so that garments remain dry during usage. Once bibs are soaked, they can easily be changed out to another bib while keeping on the same garment. This system prevents multiple clothing changes throughout the day. This system is meant to be fashionable where bibs match the shirt. For example, a solid black shirt would come in a pack with two or more bibs that have black and white patterns in stripes, polka dots, and chevrons. If the shirt is patterned with red, white, and blue the matching bibs in pack would be solid consisting of one red, one white, and one blue. Although BibMates will come with multiple bibs in a pack, single bibs will be made available as well.
Further description of the embodiments of the BibMates garment system for the present invention will be described below. The parts are labeled with numbers that will be used throughout description to describe each part's function to create the system.