FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to garments, and more particularly, to leg garments with interchangeable padding for infants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Infants spend a considerable amount of time crawling, during which their knees and toes can either become soiled or can develop abrasions or rug burns. If the infant is wearing a garment, it is often quickly worn through at the knees, which shortens the life of such garment or requires mending. What is needed is a garment or device to protect the infant's knees and toes under a variety of different circumstances.
SUMMARY
Generally speaking, there is provided a leg garment for an infant that provides cushion and wear resistance at least at the knee area and partially at the toe area.
A leg garment includes a stocking and a cushion assembly, the stocking having a leg portion and a foot portion connected thereto, the leg portion having a top and a knee area near the top. The cushion assembly defines a pocket connected to the leg portion and has a cavity and a first pad removably held in the cavity. Additional pads may be readily, slideably interchanged with the first pad to vary the size, shape, cushion, age and/or thematic design of the pad and cushion characteristics contained within the pocket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of leg garments 10 being worn by an infant in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of one of the leg garments 10 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the leg garment 10 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the leg garment 10 of FIG. 2, and with portions cut away for clarity.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the leg garment 10 of FIG. 4 in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a side view of a leg garment 40 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, and with a portion cut away and shown in cross-section for clarity
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated herein and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications in the described processes, systems or devices, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as described herein, are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, there is shown a leg garment 10 for an infant 11 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Leg garment 10 includes a foot section 12, a leg section 13, and a cushion assembly 14 that generally includes a pocket 15 and a pad 16. Foot section 12 and leg section 13 are constructed to form a unitary sock or legging that is sized and shaped to receive the foot and leg of an infant therein. Foot section 12 and leg section 13 may be individually constructed and sewn together at the ankle area (indicated at 17), or may be made as a unitary piece, as shown. Pocket 15 as used herein refers to the structure creating a partially enclosed cavity 18 with a top opening 19. Pocket 15 is created with a piece of material 20 that is attached by appropriate means, such as sewing, at the knee area 21, which is located near the top 22 of leg portion 13. Piece of material (or material piece) is intended to include any natural or man made piece that is generally flat and suitable to be sized, shaped and attached to leg portion 13 at the knee area. Such material piece 20 is contemplated to comprise any suitable material, such as and without limitation, fabric, plastic, rubber, paper, netting or mesh. Material piece 20 and the adjacent, connected portion of leg section 12 thus create the pocket 15 and its cavity 18. The sewn (or other appropriate) connection between piece 20 and leg section 13 is made in a U-shape (at 23) to create a top opening 19, through which can be inserted pad 16. A flap 24 is connected by appropriate means such as sewing (at 25) to leg section 13. Flap 24 is sized, configured and positioned to removably cover the opening 19 to pocket 15. Pad 16 can be inserted through opening 19 and into the cavity 17 merely by lifting flap 24 to expose the opening 19 thereto. Flap 24 is sized to slightly overlap the top edge 25 of material piece 20, and the sewn connection 25 extends across (at 26) and slightly downwardly therefrom on opposite sides thereof (at 27) to close off opening 19 without the need for additional closure means, such as a zipper, snaps or Velcro©. Alternative embodiments contemplate using such alternative closure means, as desired, such as a zipper, snaps or Velcro© to prevent the pad 16 from working its way out of pocket 15 or from being easily removed by the infant. Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein the upper edge (at 19) is provided with an elastic strip (not shown) to bias the upper edge (at 19) closed, thus biasing pad 16 to stay within pocket 15 and avoiding the need for the flap 24. Such elastic strip (not shown) may be attached at the upper edge (at 19) by any appropriate means, such as and without limitation, sewing or adhesive.
Pad 16 is contemplated to be made of any appropriate material that exhibits a resilient, cushioning characteristic to provide padding at the knee area 21 of the leg garment 10. For example, pad 16 may be made of a foam having a density that provides the desired cushioning characteristic for the particular infant. Thus, a small infant weighing only 20 pounds may warrant a less dense pad 16 than a larger or heavier (e.g. 50 pounds) infant who would require a more dense pad 16. The size of pad 16 is dictated primarily by the size and shape of cavity 17, but is contemplated to be primarily rectangular with somewhat rounded edges.
Pad 16 may also be made with varying thicknesses and densities. Thus, pad 16 may be thicker and/or more dense at its central area 28 (FIG. 2), which is expected to be the primary focus of force concentration of the infant's knees as he/she crawls along the floor. Consequently, a less dense region away from the center 28 may also be more flexible and enable pad 16 to more easily bend thereat, which may provide the infant more comfort. Pad 16 may also be provided with raised cushioning ridges 29 or other such structures to absorb initial impacts before the remaining full body of the pad 16 is engaged. The size and positionment of pocket 15 at the top 22 of leg section 13, and the size of pad 16 are selected to maximize the chance that pad 16, when garment 10 is worn by infant 11, will be positioned squarely over and properly protect the infant's knee.
Pad 16 can be easily inserted and removed from cavity 17, which permits leg garment 10 to be washed without subjecting pad 16 to the often harsh and damaging effects of a washing machine. The useful life and quality of the pad 16 is thus increased. Being able to remove pad 16 also enables variation in the pad characteristics in response to infant comfort and/or growth. Thus, as the infant grows heavier and taller, the pad 16 may be easily exchanged for a more dense one and/or a thicker one and/or a more flexible one and/or a new, fresh smelling one. It is also contemplated that some infants may be crawling predominately on carpet, thus requiring a thinner and/or less dense pad 16, while other infants may be crawling entirely or predominately on hardwood, tile or a similar hard surface, and a thicker and/or more dense pad 16 may be required. A single leg garment 10 is thus also contemplated to be sold with multiple pads 16. Such multiple pads 16 may be identical, thus allowing the user to use, wash and discard each pad 16 as necessary in favor of a new, fresh pad 16. Alternatively, such multiple pads 16 may be of varying sizes and shapes to enable the user (the parent or guardian of the infant) to interchange the pads 16 to suit the size, weight and crawling habits and expected crawling surfaces of the infant.
Referring to FIG. 5, alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein the material piece 20 is made of a mesh 30 or partially translucent material that enables the pad 16 to be seen exteriorly. Correspondingly, pad 16 is made with at least one side thereof bearing one or more colors, designs, images, pictures and/or indicia (collectively referred to herein as one or more designs 31) that may be pleasing to the infant (and to the parent). This also enables the user to interchange the pad 16 with varying original thematic images or reference thematic images. Reference thematic images are intended to mean images that correspond to previously and/or contemporaneously published books, television shows or movies. For example, an image of Spiderman® appearing on pad 16 would be a reference thematic image corresponding to the Spiderman® comic and movie publications. An original cartoon bear and frontier boy, for example, not related to any previously published characters, would be original thematic images. With such colorful and/or thematic pad 16 inserted in the see-through or at least partially see-through material segment 20, the infant 11 and parent or guardian can see pad 16 therethrough, which visual access and colorful, thematic and/or other design may encourage more frequent use of the leg garment 10 by the parent, guardian, and/or infant 11. In FIG. 5, material piece 20 defines a window 62, and mesh net 30 is connected to material piece 20 such that net 30 fills window 62. With pad 16 inserted in the pocket cavity between leg portion 13 and material piece 20 (with its mesh net 30), the design 63 on pad 16 is visible through mesh net 30. Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein mesh net 30 is replace by a clear material such as a clear plastic. Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein the window 62 is made small enough that no other covering (such as a mesh net 30, clear plastic material or other material) are needed, yet the pad 16, with or without a design, are exposed therethrough.
Leg garment 10 is also provided with a wear resistant surface 33 at knee area 21 and wear resistant surface 34 on foot section 12. Surface 33 may be integrally formed with the material at knee area 21 and/or foot section 12 or it may be a coating applied thereto by means known by persons skilled in the art. Such surface or coating 33 is contemplated to be a durable, resilient and/or non-skid material having a rough and/or rubber-like feel to provide infant 11 with increased traction at both the knee area 21 and foot area 32. At the foot section 12, such surface or coating 34 covers the bottom 35 of the foot section 12 and wraps around the toe section 36 thereof to ensure that, as the infant 11 crawls, the primary contact points of foot section 12 are provided with the wear resistant material. Such wear resistant material wraps at least around the front of the toe section 36, and preferably around at least a portion of the top 37 of toe section 36 to provide maximum wear resistance and traction.
The durable, resilient and non-skid material or coating 33 at knee area 21 provides infant 11 with improved traction and durability thereat. The shape, size and positionment of such surface or coating 33—that is, the extent of area that the coating covers—may vary with the size of leg garment 10, which will depend on the size of the infant 11 for whom the leg garment 10 is made. It is preferable that the extent of coverage of coating 33 extends to a greater area than is normally expected for contact with the floor to account for movement of garment 10 on the infant's leg, that is, twisting and pulling. Thus, as the infant 11 crawls around the floor, if leg garment 10 twists 5, 10 or 15 degrees either way, a portion of coating 33 should still remain in contact with the floor.
Garment 10 is further provided with an element to bias garment 10 to stay in the up position. For example, leg garment 10 is provided with an elastic band 38 or similar structure proximal its top 22 and in a position to hold top 22 of garment 10 above the knee. Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein the elastic band 38 is replaced with any suitable device for keeping garment 10 in place, such as and without limitation, a tieable cord (not shown) or an adhesive such as tape (not shown).
Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a leg garment 40 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Leg garment 40 is identical to leg garment 10 of FIGS. 1-3 except that the cushion assembly the 41 of leg garment 40 has a pocket 42 that comprises a one-piece pocket member 43 with an upper opening 44. Pocket member 43 comprises two pieces of material 46 and 47 connected at their opposing side edges (one shown at 49) and bottom edge 50, together thus defining the upper opening 44. Near its top 22, leg section 13 defines a lateral slit 53 with upper and lower edges 54 and 55, respectively. The upper edge of the inner piece of material 47 of pocket member 43 is connected by appropriate means such as sewing to the upper edge 54 of slit 53, and the upper edge of the outer piece of material 46 of pocket member 43 is connected by appropriate means such as sewing to the lower edge 55 of slit 53, with pocket member 43 thus connected with leg section 13 of leg garment 40 and in alignment with slit 53. Pad 16 is then inserted through slit 53 and into pocket member 43, thereby encasing the entire pad 16 on the inside of leg garment 40. In addition to its connection at upper and lower edges 54 and 55, pocket member 43 may be connected to leg portion 13 at one or more other locations (such as at 60) by any appropriate means, such as and without limitation, with Velcro® to maintain the positionment of pocket member 43 relative to the knee area 21.
Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherin a design is provide directly on the wear resistant surface 33.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
Patent Application
20070022519
