BODYSUIT WITH REAR BOTTOM FLAP

Abstract

Bodysuit with a rear bottom flap configured as an extension of the front side of the bodysuit and folded upward through the crotch region of the child's body and attached to the back side of the bodysuit. The rear bottom flap is fastened to the backside of the bodysuit through two fastener connecting structures such as buttonholes, snap sockets, or a hook and loop fasteners located at the bottom end of the rear bottom flap with the corresponding buttons, snap studs, or a hook and loop fastener connecting structures located on the back side of the bodysuit. When the infant or toddler is dressed in the bodysuit, the two connected fastener connecting structures are positioned over the outer thigh region of the child making it easy to access and unfasten them quickly to change the diapers, or the bodysuit, and re-fasten them after the changes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to bodysuits. More particularly, the invention relates to bodysuits having a back flap closure for use by infants and toddlers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Infants and children between the ages of 12 to 36 months generally referred to as toddlers require garments that facilitate easy access to diaper changing by the caregiver, whether they be a parent or guardian. One of the garments popularly known as a Onesie® comprised of a one piece bodysuit used in particular to clothe an infant, has a front side and a back side covering the torso of the infant and shaped at the bottom ends of the two sides to accommodate the hips of the infant, and with the front and the back sides of the garment connected together at their crotch ends by means of buttons, snaps, a hook and loop, or other fastening arrangement. This garment design allows a parent or caregiver to unfasten the front and back ends of the garment at the crotch to change the infant's diapers without having to remove the entire garment over the head of the infant through the neck end of the garment.

A drawback of the popular Onesie® bodysuit design is that the infant or toddler wearing the garment would generally have to be laid on his/her back to unhook the buttons, snaps, hook and loop, or other fastener holding the two ends of the garment together at the crotch, to check for diaper change. This task is especially cumbersome if the infants have started crawling on their stomachs and or started walking as in the case of toddlers who are constantly on the move making it difficult to get them to stay still in order to unbutton/unhook the crotch part of the bodysuit, to change the diaper. The child's constant leg and body movement creates two challenges for the adult trying to change the diaper. First, adult hands are large and the connection point for the front and back sides at the crotch is a very narrow strip, access to which is limited when there is interference from the limbs of the child as the child is rapidly moving. The second challenge is that the current closure mechanisms at the crotch of the Onesies® and other such bodysuits in the prior art, are a series of small snaps or buttons that must be locked in quickly after a diaper is changed before the child moves from the optimal position, requiring a high level of finger dexterity and speed.

Some prior art bodysuits for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,243,871 and 7,882,570 have addressed the issue of the drawback to the crotch connection between the front and back sides of an infant's and or toddler's bodysuit, by configuring a lengthier back panel for the back side of the body suit which is brought up to the front side of the bodysuit almost to the midriff/stomach area of the child, and connecting that panel with fasteners attached to the front side of the bodysuit. However, when an infant is crawling on its stomach, such a design would make it difficult to unfasten the bodysuit from the front side to change the diapers. The other disadvantage of the front closure design is that when an infant is crawling on their stomach, the closure mechanisms such as buttons or snaps will rub against the ground and become detached, or rub against the child's skin causing pain, irritation and infection. The child can also easily detach the front panel leaving the diaper exposed. Further, since the natural tendency of the infant or toddler is to turn on to their belly when laid down for a diaper change, the front closure design would pose an extra challenge for the adult to access and unfasten that front closure to change the diaper when the child turns over on his/her belly.

The present invention of a bodysuit with a rear bottom flap closure addresses the deficiencies in the prior art for an infant's, or toddler's bodysuit by providing a garment with a rear bottom flap originating from the front side of the bodysuit that can be fastened to the back side of the garment making it possible for the caregiver to easily check the state of the child's diaper from the back side of the garment to determine if it needs to be changed while the infant is crawling on its stomach, or the toddler is running around, and rapidly changing the diaper and refastening the garment from the back side while the infant or toddler is still in motion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an improvement over the prior art bodysuit type garments for infants and toddlers. The one piece bodysuit of the present invention is configured with an opening in the back of the garment as opposed to one in the crotch area or front of the garment as in prior art bodysuits and comes with just two fasteners compared to multiple fasteners in the prior art suits which require a high level of finger dexterity and speed to un-fasten and re-fasten the multiple fasteners when changing the diapers of an infant or toddler, in constant motion. The rear bottom flap feature of the bodysuit of the present invention with just two fasteners located on the back side of the suit close to the outer thigh region makes the task of un-fastening and opening the rear bottom flap and re-fastening it when changing a child's diapers, quick, easy, and a less stressful and pleasant experience, besides reducing the time and effort it takes to dress the child.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bodysuit that can be easily and quickly un-fastened to facilitate changing an infant's or toddlers clothing and diapers while the infant is crawling on its stomach or the toddler is in rapid motion.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a bodysuit with a rear bottom flap that cannot be opened by an infant or toddler on their own, exposing their bodies and the diapers worn by them.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bodysuit with a rear bottom flap that is broad enough to be secured easily and quickly to the back side of the bodysuit near the waistline of the child with the minimum number of fasteners.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the bodysuit of the present invention will become obvious to one skilled in the relevant art when viewed in conjunction with the brief description of the drawings depicting the rear bottom flap bodysuit, accompanied by the detailed description of the invention and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bodysuit of the present invention showing the front side of the bodysuit with the elongated tail section which forms the rear bottom flap.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the back side of the bodysuit showing the rear bottom flap attached in place near the waistline of the backside of the bodysuit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the rear bottom flap detached from the fasteners located on the back side of the bodysuit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective partial side view of the rear bottom flap attached to the back side of the bodysuit with the leg opening also in view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a one piece bodysuit with a rear bottom flap capable of connecting securely to the back side of the bodysuit with minimal closures. The structure and configuration of the rear bottom flap of bodysuit of the present invention with just two fasteners instead of a plurality of fasteners as in the prior art bodysuits, makes the task of dressing and changing diapers on an infant, or toddler, easy and effortless.

Referring now to the Figures, more particularly to FIG. 1 the figure is a perspective view of the front side 2 of the one piece bodysuit 10 of the invention illustrating the structure and configuration of the rear bottom flap 1. The rear bottom flap 1 is an extension of the front side 2 of the bodysuit 10 and is in the form of an elongated tail end section of the front side 2 of the bodysuit 10. The rear bottom flap 1 of the bodysuit 10 is constricted at the top end with the appropriate curvatures 4a and 4b to accommodate the two hip appendages of the child when the rear bottom flap 1 is folded upwards through the crotch region of the child's body to the back side of the bodysuit 10 to be fastened in place to the backside of the bodysuit 10. The rear bottom flap is configured with two fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b located at the bottom end of the rear bottom flap 1 spaced apart and equidistance from each other. The rear bottom flap 1 is also configured with an elastic strip structure 6 of varying length at the medial aspect at the bottom end of the rear bottom flap 1 along the bias between the two fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b. The elastic strip 6 provides the necessary flexibility and resilience to the rear bottom flap 1. The fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b would be one of either button holes to accommodate buttons, snap sockets to connect with snap studs, or a member of the hook and loop type of fastener attached to the back side of the bodysuit 10. In some embodiments of the bodysuit of the invention there will be three fastener connecting structures connecting the rear bottom flap to the backside of the bodysuit. The bodysuit 10 is connected at the top end through two shoulder flaps 8a and 8b and has a pair of sleeves 7a and 7b on either side of the top end of the bodysuit 10, a front side neck opening 9a and a backside neck opening 9b.

Referring now to FIG. 2 the figure is a perspective view of the back side 3 of the bodysuit 10 with the rear bottom flap 1 brought up through the crotch region of the suit and attached in place near the waistline of the backside 3 through the fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b which are either button holes, snap sockets, or a member of a hook and loop fastener which will connect with their corresponding buttons, snap studs, or the second member of the hook and loop fastener attached near the waistline of the backside 3.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the rear bottom flap 1 detached from the fastener connecting structures 5c and 5d located on the back side 3 of the bodysuit 10. To fasten the rear bottom flap 1 to the back side 3 of the bodysuit 10 the fastener connection structure 5b located on the rear bottom flap 1 will be connected to the fastener connecting structure 5d located on the back side 3 of the bodysuit 10 and the fastener connecting structure 5a located on the rear bottom flap 1 will be connected to the fastener connecting structure 5c located on the back side 3 to form the closure for the bodysuit 10 at the backside of the bodysuit 10. The fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b would be one of either button holes to accommodate buttons, snap sockets, or a hook and loop type fastener to connect with the corresponding buttons, snap studs, or hook and loop fastener 5c and 5d attached to the back side of the bodysuit 10. In some embodiments of the bodysuit of the present invention, the fastener connecting structures, 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are placed over tabs to provide additional re-enforcement to the connecting structures.

FIG. 4 is a perspective partial side view of the rear bottom flap 1 attached to the back side 3 of the bodysuit 10 through one of the fastener connecting structures 5a with a partial view of the elastic structure 6 and the leg opening 11 of the bodysuit 10. The figure shows only partial views of the back side 3 and front side 2 of the bodysuit 10.

When the infant or toddler is dressed in the bodysuit 10 of the present invention, with the pair of completed fasteners formed from the connection of the fastener connecting structures 5a and 5b on the rear bottom flap 1 and the fastener connecting structures 5c and 5d on the backside of the bodysuit 10, one on the left and the other on the right connecting the rear bottom flap 1 to the back side of the bodysuit 10, the two completed fasteners are positioned over the outer thigh region of the child and the fastener structures will be seen on the sides of the bodysuit near the hips and towards the front side of the bodysuit. The use of two fasteners instead of multiple fasteners commonly used in prior art bodysuits makes it easy to access the two fasteners quickly and unfasten them to change the diapers, or the bodysuit garment of the child who is in rapid motion, and fasten them back up after the change.

The foregoing description of the present invention through its figures and preferred embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. It should be understood and obvious to one skilled in the art that alternatives, modifications, and variations of the embodiments of the present invention as described, may be construed as being within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bodysuit comprising: a front side and a back side;said front side and said back side attached at a top end of said bodysuit through a pair of shoulder flaps;a pair of sleeves located one on each side at said top end of said bodysuit;said front side and said back side having neck openings;said front side having an elongated tail end section forming a rear bottom flap;said rear bottom flap constricted at a top end with sufficient curvature to accommodate hip appendages of a child's body when said rear bottom flap is folded upward through the crotch region of said child's body to said back side of said bodysuit and fastened to said backside through connecting structures;said rear bottom flap having a bottom end with fastener connecting structures spaced apart at equidistance from each other;said back side having fastener connecting structures at said back side spaced apart at equidistance from each other to connect with said fastener connecting structures on said bottom end of said rear bottom flap to hold said rear bottom flap to said back side of said bodysuit; andsaid bottom end of said rear bottom flap having an elastic strip structure of varying length at a medial aspect of said bottom end of said rear bottom flap between said fastener connecting structures.

2. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein there are two fastener connecting structures on the rear bottom flap and two fastener connecting structures on the backside of the bodysuit spaced apart and equidistance from each other, with the two fastener connecting structures on the rear bottom flap connecting with the corresponding two fastener connecting structures on the backside of the bodysuit to form the closure for the bodysuit.

3. The bodysuit of claim 2 wherein when the infant or toddler is dressed in the bodysuit and the two fastener connecting structures on the rear bottom flap and the two fastener connecting structures on the backside of the bodysuit are connected to form the closure for the bodysuit, the completed, connected fastener structures are positioned over the outer thigh region of the child on either side of the bodysuit making it easy to access them and quickly unfasten them to change the diapers, or the bodysuit and re-fasten them after the changes, thereby significantly reducing the time required to change the diaper, or dress an infant or toddler.

4. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein said fastener connecting structures on the bottom end of the rear bottom flap are button holes to accommodate buttons located on the back side of said bodysuit.

5. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein said fastener connecting structures on the bottom end of the rear bottom flap are snap sockets to connect with snap studs located on the back side of the bodysuit.

6. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein said fastener connecting structures on the bottom end of the rear bottom flap are one member of a hook and loop fastener to connect with the second member of the hook and loop fastener located on the back side of the bodysuit.

7. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein the fastening structures on the back side of the bodysuit are buttons to insert through the button holes located at the bottom end of the rear bottom flap.

8. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein the fastening structures on the back side of the bodysuit are snap studs to connect with the snap sockets at the bottom end of the rear bottom flap.

9. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein the fastening structures on the back side of the bodysuit are a second member of a hook and loop type of fastener.

10. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein the elastic strip structure of varying length at a medial aspect of the bottom end of the rear bottom flap between the fastener connecting structures provides the necessary flexibility and resilience to the rear bottom flap.

11. The bodysuit of claim 1 wherein the fastener connecting structures on the rear bottom flap and on the back side of the bodysuit are placed over tabs to provide additional re-enforcement to the fastener connecting structures.