GARMENT WITH CONFIGURABLE SHOULDER SECTIONS AND ATTACHMENT MECHANISMS

FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates generally to garments, and, more particularly to garments with configurable shoulder sections and attachment mechanisms. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration.

BACKGROUND

Garments such as pull-over shirts may sometimes be difficult to place onto a human body. The garments may first need to be pulled over one's head, and then the person may need to manipulate his/her arms into and through the sleeves. If the sleeves are somewhat tight or otherwise positioned close to the body of the garment, this may be uncomfortable and sometimes even harmful.

In one particular example, garments designed specifically for infants, while very important to keep the baby warm and safe, are often times difficult to place onto the baby's body without having to bend or otherwise manipulate the baby's head, shoulders and arms to fit within the collar and the sleeves of the garment. Knowing that a baby's body may be extremely fragile and delicate, this may cause discomfort to the baby and sometimes even damage to their body.

For example, placing a shirt or a onesie onto a baby may require the shirt or onesie to first be pulled over the baby's head. The neck of a baby may be very delicate and fragile such that this action must be done with great care to avoid hurting the baby. Then, when the garment is generally around the baby's neck, the baby's arms must be bent, twisted and manipulated to pull them through the sleeves of the garment. This action may be very unpleasant for the baby and may even cause damage to the baby's arms, joints and internal ligaments. It can also be seen that this same potentially harmful scenario may also be true for any type of person, not just an infant.

In other examples, to secure the garments to the body of a baby, a parent has to use force on the baby's fragile and delicate body, such as pressing snap buttons together to close a garment.

Accordingly, needs exist for a garment that may be placed onto a person's body in such a way that avoids the need to bend, twist or otherwise manipulate the person's body, and for attachment mechanisms that provide an easy way to secure the garment without putting force on the person's body.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a garment with configurable shoulder sections. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow the garment to be placed on a person's body without having to manipulate the person's arms through the sleeves. The garment also includes configurable attachment mechanisms positioned on the shoulder sections, including a finger-pocket snap attachment mechanism.

In some embodiments, a garment may comprise a front side including at least one lower flap positioned below at least one shoulder portion of the garment; a back side including at least one upper flap extending from the back side; at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one upper flap to the at least one lower flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket loop positioned on the at least one upper flap and sized to receive a tip of a person's finger.

In some embodiments, a onesie may comprise a front side including at least one lower flap positioned below at least one shoulder portion of the onesie; a back side including at least one upper flap extending from the back side; at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one upper flap to the at least one lower flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket loop positioned on the at least one upper flap and sized to receive a tip of a person's finger. A lower front flap of the onesie includes at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the lower front flap to a lower back flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket loop positioned on the lower front flap and sized to receive a tip of a person's finger.

In some embodiments, a garment may comprise a front side including at least one first flap; a back side including at least one second flap; at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one first flap to the at least one second flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one of a finger-pocket snap, a hook and loop, a magnet, a button and a zipper.

The configuration of the garments and attachment mechanisms described herein in detail are only example embodiments and should not be considered limiting. Other configurations, methods, features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional configurations, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the subject matter described herein and be protected by the accompanying claims. In no way should the features of the example embodiments be construed as limiting the appended claims, absent express recitation of those features in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The details of the subject matter set forth herein, both as to its structure and operation, may be apparent by study of the accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the subject matter. Moreover, all illustrations are intended to convey concepts, where relative sizes, shapes and other detailed attributes may be illustrated schematically rather than literally or precisely.

FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary garment with upper and lower flaps, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary garment with finger-pocket snap material, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates an exemplary finger-pocket snap material, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1D illustrates an exemplary front side of a garment with finger-pocket snap material, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates an exemplary back side of the garment of FIG. 1D, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary garment in a closed configuration, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary garment in an opened configuration, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary dressing operation stage, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary dressing operation stage, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present subject matter is described in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a garment with configurable shoulder sections. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow the garment to be placed on a person's body without having to manipulate the person's arms through the sleeves. The garment also includes configurable attachment mechanisms positioned on the shoulder sections. The attachment mechanism includes at least one of a finger-pocket snap, a hook and loop, a magnet, a button and a zipper.

In some embodiments, the garment may prevent a user, e.g., a parent, having to manipulate a child's head, arms, legs, fingers into and out of the garment. The garment may go around the child, e.g., an infant, while he/she is lying flat starting from the feet and slid upward around the child to be secured at the shoulders with an attachment mechanism, e.g., a finger-pocket snap. This may allow for dressing and undressing efficiency, less physical and emotional disruption to the infant, less frustration for the infant and the parent, and foster a quicker and easier way to partake in skin-to-skin time when feeding the infant. In some embodiments, additional attachment mechanism may also be located at the crotch area or the garment.

In some embodiments, the finger-pocket snap attachment mechanism described herein may prevent the tedious nature of securing snaps on an infant garment for people of all ages, sizes and abilities. It may prevent putting force onto the body of the child to secure the snaps. It may also enable parents or caregivers with limited digital dexterity and large hands and/or fingers to more easily secure the garment on the child. In some embodiments, the finger-pocket snap attachment mechanism may include a finger-pocket loop (or finger-flap) that may foster an easier way to connect snaps on an infant garment at the shoulder and crotch seams. For example, instead of having to bend the seam over and away from the child to secure the snap (e.g., to avoid placing force on the child's body when connecting the snaps), a parent may simply slide his or her finger into/under the finger-pocket loop (or fold-over flap) under/behind the snap button. When the parent is “snapping” the button, the force is transferred through to the finger under/behind the finger-pocket loop, not on the body of the child.

Referring now to the drawings, garment 10, according to some exemplary embodiments, is described with reference to FIGS. 1A-5.

As shown in FIG. 1A, garment 10 may include an upper portion 100, a lower portion 102, a body 104, an upper opening 106, a lower opening 108, a top left shoulder portion 110, a top right shoulder portion 112, a front side 114 and a back side 116. Garment 10 may also include an inside area 117 that may be formed as the region between the front side 114 and the back side 116. In addition, garment 10 may also include a collar 118 that may be formed as an upper portion of top opening 106. The upper left shoulder portion 110 and the upper right shoulder portion 112 may also each include at least one upper flap 120 and at least one lower flap 122. That is, the upper left shoulder portion 110 may include at least one upper flap 120 and at least one lower flap 122, and the upper right shoulder portion may also include at least one upper flap 120 and at least one lower flap 122. It should be noted that in this specification, a single upper flap 120 and a single lower flap 122 on each of the left and right sides of the garment 10 may be used as a main example. However, it should be noted that any number of upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may be used on either the left or right shoulder portions 110, 112 of the garment 10.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 120 may generally be mirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower flaps 122 may generally be mirror images of each other. In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 120 may not generally be mirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower flaps 122 may not generally be mirror images of each other, and that the flaps 120, 122 may be formed of any type of different shapes and sizes.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may generally be an upper extension of the back 116 of the garment 10. The flap 120 may be formed of the same material as the back 116 section of the garment 10 such that the upper flap 120 may simply extend up from the back 116 on the left and right upper sides. In some embodiments, the upper flaps 120 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the back section 116 on the upper left and right portions of the garment 10. In this way, it can be seen that the upper flaps 120 and the back portion of the collar 118 may generally form the top of the back 116 of the garment 10. Other configurations of the upper flaps 120 with respect to the back 116 of the garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the lower flap 122 may generally be an upper extension of the front 114 of the garment 10. The flap 122 may be formed of the same material as the front 114 section of the garment 10 such that the lower flap 122 may simply extend up from the front 114 on the left and right upper sides. In some embodiments, the lower flaps 122 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the front section 114 on the upper left and right portions of the garment 10. In this way, it can be seen that the lower flaps 122 and the front portion of the collar 118 may generally form the top of the front 114 of the garment 10. Other configurations of the lower flaps 122 with respect to the front 114 of the garment may also be used.

The top opening 106 of the garment 10 may be generally formed as the in-between space between the upper flaps 120 and the back portion of the collar 118, and the lower flaps 122 and the front portion of the collar 118. That is, the left and right upper flaps 120 combined with the back portion of the collar 118 may generally define and form the back side of the opening 116, and the left and right lower flaps 122 combined with the front portion of the collar 118 may generally define and form the front side of the opening 116.

The upper shoulder portions of the garment 10 may also be referred to as the yoke of the garment 10 and that in this scenario, the yoke may include the upper flaps 120 and the lower flaps 122, individually or in combination.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may generally have two main positions, an upper position T and a lower position L. As shown in FIG. 1A, the right upper flap 120 may generally be in an upper position T and the left upper flat 120 may generally be in a lower position L. In this way, the top left shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulder portion 112 may be generally configured in at least an open configuration (e.g., when the upper flaps 120 are in the upper position T) and in a closed configuration (e.g. when the upper flaps 120 are in the lower position L).

With the upper flap 120 generally in an upper position T, the upper flap 120 may fold forward in the direction of arrow A to transition from an upper position T to a lower position L. In addition, when generally in a lower position L, the upper flap 120 may fold upward in the direction of arrow B to transition from a lower position L to an upper position T.

In some embodiments, when the upper flap 120 is placed in a generally lower position L, a portion of the upper flap 120 may come into physical contact with a portion of the lower flap 122. This is shown in FIG. 1A where the left upper flap 120 is in the lower position L and is generally lying over a portion of the lower flap 122. In this configuration, a portion of the inner surface 124 of the upper flap 120 may generally overlay a portion of the outer surface 126 of the lower flap 122.

With the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 in physical contact as described above, the upper flap 120 and the bottom flap 122 may generally be attached or joined to one another in the area of their physical contact using one or more attachment mechanisms.

In this way, the combined upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 may generally form the upper shoulder portions 110, 112. The left upper flap 120 combined and joined with the left lower flap 122 may generally form the upper left shoulder portion 110, and the right upper flap 120 combined and joined with the right lower flap 122 may generally form upper right shoulder portion 112.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 combinations (left and right) may include attachment mechanisms 127, which may include, for example finger-pocket snap material, hook and loop material, snaps, buttons, ties, zippers, magnets or other types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used to attach and join the upper flap 120 with the lower flap 122 for each combination. In this way, the upper flap 120 may be attached and joined to the lower flap 122 when it is folded downward into its lower position L.

In some embodiments, the right upper flap 120 and right lower flap 122 may each include one or more attachment mechanisms 127 that may include at least one hook and loop section. For example, the upper flap 122 may include a hook and loop section 128 and the lower flap 122 may include hook and loop section 130. When the hook and loop section 128 is hook material, the hook and loop section 130 is loop material so that the two sections 128, 130 may mate and generally attach to one another. When the hook and loop section 128 is loop material, the hook and loop section 130 is hook material so that the two sections 128, 130 may mate and generally attach and be joined to one another. When the upper flap 120 is in the lower position L overlaying the lower flap 122, at least a portion of the hook and loop material section 128 may overlay at least a portion of the hook and loop material section 130 so that the overlapping portions of sections 128 and 130 may attach and adhere to one another.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may fold forward along an axis that may be generally represented by line C in FIG. 1A. In some embodiments, the top edge of the lower flap 122 may generally follow line C as well so that the upper flap 120 may generally fold forward and down across the top edge of the flap 122. The top edge of the lower flap 122 may be generally linear so that as the upper flap 120 folds across it, the fold in the upper flap 120 may also be generally linear such that the upper flap 120 may fold uniformly downward over the lower flap 122.

The hook and loop section 128 and the hook and loop section 130 may generally be positioned in locations that may be mirrored with each other about line C. In this way, when the upper flap 120 folds forward along line C, its hook and loop section 128 may rotate downward into a position that may generally coincide with the position of the hook and loop section 130 that may be configured with the lower flap 122. This is depicted as dashed lines in the upper left shoulder section of 110 of the garment 10 in FIG. 1A. In this configuration, the majority of the top section 128 may overlap with the majority of the lower section 130, and that the respective sections 128, 130 may then be pressed together in order for the hook and loop material of each section to mate and adhere to one another. In this way, the upper flap 120 may be securely attached to the lower flap 122 when in its lower position L. It should be noted that the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may each include more than one hook and loop section 128, 130, and that the sections 128, 130 may be configured in different positions, locations and configurations.

It should be noted and appreciated that, although FIG. 1A illustrates an example of attachment mechanism 127 as hook and loop material, other types and numbers of attachment mechanisms 127 may also be used to attach the upper flap 120 to the lower flap 122 in a similar manner as described above. For example, the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may be attached to one another using one or more snaps, with at least one side of the snap (e.g., the male side and/or female side) configured with the inner surface of the upper flap 120, and at least one of the other side of the snap (e.g., the female and/or male side) configured with the outer surface of the lower flap 122. As with the example above regarding using hook and loop material sections 128, 130 as the attachment mechanism, each side of the snap on the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 respectively may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another when the upper flap 120 is folded forward into lower position L and the snap sections are pressed together.

In some embodiments, as depicted in FIGS. 1B and 1C, attachment mechanism 127 may include finger-pocket snap material. In some embodiments, the finger-pocket snap material may include a finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 (e.g., a male side) positioned on the outer surface 154 of the finger pocket loop 150, and a snap button second side 153 (e.g., a female side). In some embodiments, at least one finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 may be positioned on the outside surface 126 of the lower flap 122, and at least one corresponding snap button second side 153 may be positioned on the inner surface 124 of the upper flap 120 to attach the lower flap 122 to the upper flap 120. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, the loop 150 may be sewn onto the outside surface 126 of the lower flap 122 in such a way to form an opening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger 160. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1B, the top edge proximity of the lower flap 122 (left and/or right) may include two or more finger-pocket loops 150 positioned side-by-side, each may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger. In this way, the left and right lower flap 122 may each include at least one snap button first side 152 positioned on the outer surface 154 of each finger pocket loop 150. In this configuration, a portion of the inner surface 124 of the upper flap 120 (left and right) may be configured with at least one snap button second side 153 positioned on the inner surface 124. Snap button first side 152 and snap button second side 153 may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another, for example when the upper flap 120 is brought, e.g., folded downward, towards the lower flap 122 (as shown in FIG. 1B) and the snap buttons are pressed together. In some embodiments, the snap button first side may be a male side, and the snap button second side may be a female side.

FIG. 1C illustrates an exemplary operation where a user (e.g., a parent) may insert a fingertip into a finger-pocket loop 150 so that when the snap button is pressed together, the pressure is on the fingertip, not on the body of the infant. It should be appreciated that the examples described above should not limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner and that other configurations, and combinations of configuration are also within the scope of the present disclosure.

Advantages of the finger-pocket snap material may include, for example, preventing the tedious nature of securing snaps on an infant garment for people of all ages, sizes, and abilities. It may prevent putting force onto the body of the child to secure the snaps. It may also enable caregivers with limited digital dexterity and large hands/fingers to more easily secure the garment on the child.

In some embodiments, the attachment mechanism 127 may include one or more magnets used to attach the upper flap 120 to the lower flap 122 in a similar manner as described above. For example, the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may be attached to one another using one or more magnets, with at least one magnet configured with the inner surface of the upper flap 120 (e.g., sewn into a fold of the material), and at least one magnet configured with the outer surface of the lower flap 122 (e.g., sewn into a fold of the material). As with the example above regarding using hook and loop material sections 128, 130, or finger-pocket snap material as the attachment mechanisms 127, each magnet on the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 respectively may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another when the upper flap 120 is folded forward into lower position L and the flap sections are pressed or gently put together at the magnets. The magnetic poles of each magnet may be arranged such that the magnets may attract one another when in physical contact with one another as described. In this way, the magnets may adhere to or otherwise hold one another thus attaching the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 together as desired.

Note that the descriptions above and the examples provided are meant for demonstration purposes to benefit this description, and do not limit the present disclosure in any way. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that other configurations of the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may also be used and configured with other numbers and types of attachment members 127. For example, other attachment mechanisms 127 may include one or more latches, hooks, zippers, buttons, and other types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127. In addition, the attachment mechanisms 127 may be configured in different positions and/or in other combinations of positions as compared to the positions described in the examples above or below. It is understood that the scope of the garment 10 is not limited in any way by the type, types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used.

It should also be noted that the upper flap 120 may be folded downward along other fold lines that may be different than fold line C in FIG. 1A. For example, the upper flap 120 may be folded downward along a fold line that may be generally parallel to the x-axis as depicted in FIG. 1A, and as depicted in the exemplary garment of FIG. 1C. In general, it should be appreciated that the upper flap 120 may be folded downward along any position or fold line that may be in any direction with respect to the x-axis and y-axis of the figure. Similarly, in the embodiments where the lower flap 122 may be folded upward, it should be appreciated that the lower flap 122 may be folded upward along any position or fold line that may be in any direction with respect to the x-axis and y-axis of the figure.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 120 may be formed as upper extensions of the front 114 of the garment 10 instead of the back 116, and that the left and right lower flaps 122 may be formed as upper extensions of the back 116 of the garment instead of the front 114. In this example, the upper flaps 120, being formed in the front 114 of the garment 10 may fold backwards and downwards instead of forward and downwards as described in the examples above. The lower flaps 122 may reside on the back 116 of the garments and may receive the upper flaps 120 as they are folded backwards and downwards. In the example of the finger-loop snap material, when the lower flaps 122 reside on the back 116, the finger-pocket loop 150 may also reside on the back 116. In addition, all or at least some of the characteristics of upper and lower flaps 120, 122 described with respect to the other examples in this specification also apply to this example.

In yet another example, the lower flaps 122 may extend upward such that the flaps 122 may be joined and attached to upper flaps 120 towards the top of left and right upper shoulder portions 110, 112 without the need for upper flaps 120 to be folded downward. In this example, upper flaps 120 and lower flaps 122 may generally extend to substantially the same height and attach to one another at the top area.

It should be noted that none of the examples described above or in any other sections of this specification limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner and that other configurations, and combinations of configurations, of the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 with respect to the front 114 and back 116 are also within the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1A, with the left upper flap 120 configured and the left lower flap 122 as described, the left side opening 132 may be formed. The left side opening 132 may be generally formed by the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 combination and may extend from outside the garment on the left side of the upper left shoulder portion 110 to the inside 117 of the garment 10. In this way, the left side opening 132 may form the opening of the left sleeve 134. It may be preferable that left side opening 132 be large enough to easily and comfortably accommodate the arm of the child or infant that may be placed into the garment 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 1D and 1E, exemplary embodiments of garment 20 as a onesie are illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1D, garment 20 may include an upper portion 200, a lower portion 202, a body 204, an upper opening 206, a lower opening 208, a top left shoulder portion 210, a top right shoulder portion 212, a front side 214 and a back side 216. In addition, garment 20 may also include a collar 218 that may be formed as an upper portion of top opening 206. The upper left shoulder portion 210 and the upper right shoulder portion 212 may also each include at least one upper flap 220 and at least one lower flap 222. That is, the upper left shoulder portion 210 may include at least one upper flap 220 and at least one lower flap 222, and the upper right shoulder portion 212 may also include at least one upper flap 220 and at least one lower flap 222. It should be noted that in this specification, a single upper flap 220 and a single lower flap 222 on each of the left and right sides of the garment 20 may be used as a main example. However, it should be noted that any number of upper and lower flaps 220, 222 may be used on either the left or right shoulder portions 210, 212 of the garment 20.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 220 may generally be mirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower flaps 222 may generally be mirror images of each other. In some embodiments, the flaps 220, 222 may be formed of any type of different shapes and sizes.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 220 may generally be an upper extension of the back 216 of the garment 20 on the left and right upper sides. In this way, it can be seen that the upper flaps 220 and the back portion of the collar 218 may generally form the top of the back 216 of the garment 20. Other configurations of the upper flaps 220 with respect to the back 216 of the garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the lower flap 222 may generally be an upper extension of the front 214 of the garment 20 on the left and right upper sides. In this way, it can be seen that the lower flaps 222 and the front portion of the collar 218 may generally form the top of the front 214 of the garment 20. Other configurations of the lower flaps 222 with respect to the front 214 of the garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the garment 20 may include lower center front flap 240 and lower center rear flap 242.

In some embodiments, garment 20 may include attachment mechanism 227 using finger-pocket snap material as described above, having a finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 (e.g., a male side) and a snap button second side 153 (e.g., a female side). In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 1E, at least one finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 may be positioned on the outside surface 226 of the upper flap 220, and (as depicted in FIG. 1D) at least one corresponding snap button second side 153 may be positioned on the inner surface 224 of the lower flap 222 to attach the lower flap 222 to the upper flap 220. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1E, the loop 150 may be sewn onto the outside surface 226 of the upper flap 220 in such a way to form an opening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger (see also example in FIG. 1C). In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1E, the top edge proximity of the upper flap 220 (left and/or right) may include two or more finger-pocket loops 150 positioned side-by-side, each may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger. In this way, the left and right upper flap 220 may each include at least one snap button first side 152 positioned on the outer surface 154 of each finger pocket loop 150. In this configuration, a portion of the inner surface 224 of the lower flap 222 (left and right) may be configured with at least one snap button second side 153 positioned on the inner surface 224. Snap button first side 152 and snap button second side 153 may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another, for example when the lower flap 222 is folded upwards, towards upper flap 220 and the snap buttons are pressed together. In some embodiments, the snap button first side may be a male side, and the snap button second side may be a female side.

In some embodiments, garment 20 may include, as depicted in FIG. 1D, at least one finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 may be positioned on the outside surface 244 of the lower center front flap 240, and at least one corresponding snap button second side 153 may be positioned on the inner surface 246 of the lower center rear flap 242 to attach the lower center rear flap 242 to the lower center front flap 240. In some embodiments, the loop 150 may be sewn onto the outside surface 244 of the lower center front flap 240 in such a way to form an opening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger (see also example in FIG. 1C).

It should be appreciated that various configurations described for garment 10 herein may also apply to garment 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the garment 10 with both the left and right upper flaps 120 configured with their respective lower flaps 122 is shown. As shown, the left combination of the left upper flap 120 and the left lower flap 122 may form the left opening 132 and the left sleeve 134, and the right combination of the right upper flap 120 and the right lower flap 122 may form the right opening 136 and right sleeve 138. While the left and right sleeves 134, 138 may be short such that they may not extend out far past the left and right sides of the garment 10, the sleeves 134, 138 may be longer and may extend any length (e.g., from somewhat past to well past) past the left and right sides of the garment respectively. In this way, the sleeves 134, 138 may be formed into what may referred to as “short sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e., sleeves that may extend a few inches past the left and right sides of the garment 10), “three quarter sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e., sleeves that may extend to just past the elbow region of a person's arm who may be wearing the garment 10, “long sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e. sleeves that may generally extend to the wrist region of the person's arm who may be wearing the garment), as well as other types of sleeves 134, 138.

It should be noted that the sleeves 134, 138 may be of any length, shape, size or style, and may utilize the left and right upper flap 120 / lower flap 122 combinations accordingly. Versions of longer sleeved garment 10 may include the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 in the top left shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulder portion 112 of the garment 10. That is, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may not necessarily extend the full length of the longer sleeves 134, 138 but may instead be generally located in the shoulder regions 110, 112 where the arms of the person wearing the garment 10 may be most difficult to manipulate into the sleeves 134, 138.

In this case, the portion of the sleeves 134, 138 in the areas that may extend out beyond the upper shoulder regions 110, 112 may generally include what may be viewed as typical sleeves (with an opening into the top of sleeve 134, 138 just beyond the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 and a lower opening that may coincide with the wrist region of the person's arm who may be wearing the garment 10). In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may perform as described in this specification in the areas that may be most difficult to manipulate the person's arm/shoulders into the garment 10, and in the areas beyond this area, the person's arm may be more easily inserted into the outer areas of the sleeve through the top opening and out the lower opening. Note however that upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may indeed extend a portion or the entire length of the sleeves 134, 138 (of any length) as necessary.

Operation Example

Turning to FIGS. 3-5, the use and general operation of the garment 10 will now be described by means of example. In this particular example, the garment 10 may include a onesie garment generally used for babies or infants. However, it will be appreciated that this example is only meant for demonstration purposes and does not limit the scope of the garment 10 in any way. It will also be appreciated that the garment 10 may include other types of garments such as shirts, jumpers, one-piece suits, shirts attached to leggings, and other types of garments. It is also noted that the garment 10 may be used with any type of person including infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, adults, middle aged persons, senior citizens as well as any other type of person. Although garment 10 as shown as an example, garment 20 may be operable in equivalent manner with its own configurations as described herein.

As shown in FIG. 3, garment 10 may have a front 114, a back 116, an upper opening 106, a lower opening 108, an inside 117, upper flaps 120 and lower flaps 122. Note that the lower flaps 122 may be folded downwards in this drawing but this may not be required. It should be appreciated that the upper opening 106 and the lower opening 108 may pass into the inside 117 such that the inner cavity 117 of the garment 10 may pass continuously from the upper opening 106 to the lower opening 108. In this way, the garment 10 may be placed on the body of a person (e.g., an infant 400 or any other type of person) and the portion of the infant's body that is meant to be covered by the garment 10 (e.g., the torso of the infant 400) may generally be inserted (or positioned) within the inside 117 of the garment 10. This is depicted in FIG. 4. The infant's left and right arms may be positioned generally above the lower flaps 122 and generally below the upper flaps 120. In this way, the left and right arms may be generally positioned in the area of the left side opening 132 and the right side opening 136 respectively.

In some operations, the garment 10 may be placed on the infant 400 (or other person) by placing the feet of the infant 400 through the top opening 106 of the garment 10 and then pulling the garment 10 up and around the infant's torso area as desired (for this particular type of garment). This may avoid having to place the garment 10 over the infant's head area which may be preferable in order to avoid handling the infant's fragile neck, shoulders and head. However, given that the top and bottom openings 106, 108 may be large enough to easily accommodate the infant's head and shoulders, in some operations, it may be safe to place the lower opening 108 over the infant's head and pull the garment 10 downward over the torso of the infant 400 as desired. Once the infant 400 is placed within garment 10 as depicted in FIG. 4, the lower flaps 122 may be folded upward in the direction of arrow D, and the upper flaps 120 may be folded forward and downward in the direction of arrow A. In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may overlay the infant's left and right shoulder and upper arm region as depicted in FIG. 5. The upper flaps 120 and the lower flaps 122 may be secured together utilizing attachment mechanisms (e.g., finger-pocket loop 150 with snaps 152, 153, hook and loop material sections or other attachment mechanisms) such that the left and right upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 combinations may form the left and right sleeves 134, 138 respectively. Note also that the left and right upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 combinations may form the left and right openings 132, 136 respectively that may form the inner openings of the sleeves 134, 138. It may be preferable that the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 be configured in such a way that left and right openings 132, 136 and left and right sleeves 134, 138 be of a size and shape that may easily and comfortably receive and cover the infant's left and right shoulder and upper arm regions.

It is important to note that at no time during the placement of the garment 10 onto the infant's body was there a need to bend, twist, handle or otherwise manipulate the infant's left and right arms into the left and right sleeves 134, 138 since the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 were configured around the infant's left and right arms to form the sleeves 134, 138 without any movement required of the infant's arms. In this way, the delicate and fragile arms of the infant are safe from uncomfortable and potentially damaging manipulations into the sleeves 134, 138.

To remove the garment 10 from the person's body, the reverse procedure may be followed. The upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may be disconnected from one another in order to open up the top of the garment 10. The garment may then be easily removed, again, without having to bend, twist or otherwise manipulate the person's arms, shoulders or neck.

Note that in this example of a onesie that may be used with a baby or infant, the garment 10 may also include a lower center front flap 140 and a lower center rear flap 146 that may be configured to generally close the lower opening 108 of the garment 10 around the infant's leg and groin areas. The lower center front flap 140 and the lower center rear flap 142 may each include attachment mechanisms 144146 similar to the attachment mechanisms used in relation to upper and lower flaps 120, 122 (e.g., finger-pocket loop 150 and snaps 152, 153) to be secured to one another.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the lower center front flap 140 may be folded downward and the lower center rear flap 142 may be folded forward to be joined together in the area between the infant's left and right legs. In this way, the lower portion of the garment 10 may be generally closed such that the garment is secured to the infant's body. To open the bottom portion of the garment 10 in order to remove it from the infant's body, the lower center front flap 142 may be disconnected from the lower center rear flap 142 and the bottom opening 108 may be opened wide for the removal of the infant.

It should be appreciated that the exemplary operations described for garment 10 herein may also apply to garment 20, with the lower flap 222 folded upward and overlaid the upper flap 220.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The publications discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the present disclosure is not entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of prior disclosure. Further, the dates of publication provided may be different from the actual publication dates which may need to be independently confirmed.

It should be noted that all features, elements, components, functions, and steps described with respect to any embodiment provided herein are intended to be freely combinable and substitutable with those from any other embodiment. If a certain feature, element, component, function, or step is described with respect to only one embodiment, then it should be understood that that feature, element, component, function, or step can be used with every other embodiment described herein unless explicitly stated otherwise. This paragraph therefore serves as antecedent basis and written support for the introduction of claims, at any time, that combine features, elements, components, functions, and steps from different embodiments, or that substitute features, elements, components, functions, and steps from one embodiment with those of another, even if the following description does not explicitly state, in a particular instance, that such combinations or substitutions are possible. It is explicitly acknowledged that express recitation of every possible combination and substitution is overly burdensome, especially given that the permissibility of each and every such combination and substitution will be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In many instances, entities are described herein as being coupled to other entities. It should be understood that the terms “coupled” and “connected” (or any of their forms) are used interchangeably herein and, in both cases, are generic to the direct coupling of two entities (without any non-negligible (e.g., parasitic) intervening entities) and the indirect coupling of two entities (with one or more non-negligible intervening entities). Where entities are shown as being directly coupled together or described as coupled together without description of any intervening entity, it should be understood that those entities can be indirectly coupled together as well unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

While the embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific examples thereof have been shown in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that these embodiments are not to be limited to the particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, these embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit of the disclosure. Furthermore, any features, functions, steps, or elements of the embodiments may be recited in or added to the claims, as well as negative limitations that define the inventive scope of the claims by features, functions, steps, or elements that are not within that scope.

	Number	Date	Country
Parent	17159131	Jan 2021	US
Child	17665318		US
Parent	16745264	Jan 2020	US
Child	17159131		US

GARMENT WITH CONFIGURABLE SHOULDER SECTIONS AND ATTACHMENT MECHANISMS

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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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