AU2003100594A4 - Baby wrapping device - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: BABY WRAPPING DEVICE Applicant: GIANNA DENICOLA-GARVEY The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: BABY WRAPPING ARTICLE Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article for wrapping a baby.

Background of the Invention Babies are often wrapped in blankets or similar soft material. This may be done to provide warmth to the baby, to restrain the arms and/or legs of the baby during sleeping, and/or to provide an aesthetically pleasing outer covering for the baby. Generally, the wrapping of babies in blankets involves placing the baby on the blanket and manipulation of the corners of the blanket to form an arrangement that wraps the torso and the arms and legs of the baby.

In situations where the baby is to be wrapped for predominantly aesthetic purposes, the baby's carer may not wish to restrain the baby's arms and/or legs. However, because babies are prone to movement of their arms and legs, the wrap is unlikely to stay in place.

The present invention relates to an article for wrapping a baby that allows the article to remain in place despite the baby being able to move its arms and/or legs. In this way a baby may be wrapped in an aesthetically pleasing material and the article still remain in place despite some movement of the baby's arms and legs.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a baby wrapping article, the article including a sheet of fabric material, a pocket for receiving at least a shoulder of a baby, and a means for releasably holding together the pocket and a region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket, wherein the upper torso of the baby may -3be wrapped in the article when the pocket and the region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together.

The sheet of fabric material may be composed of any suitable soft material.

Examples of suitable material include stretch knit, satin acetate, velour, velveteen, stretch velour, polar fleece, towelling, muslin, silk and quilted materials.

The pocket may be formed in a suitable manner known in the art. For example, the pocket may be formed by gathering together a side of the sheet of fabric material by stitching. Alternatively, a pocket may be formed by stitching together two or more tapered regions cut out from the sheet of fabric material, or by the use of darts in the sheet of fabric material.

The pocket may be formed of any suitable soft material. Preferably, the pocket is formed of the same material as the sheet of fabric material.

The pocket may be connected to the sheet of fabric material in a suitable manner. For example, a pocket of suitable material may be connected to the sheet of fabric material by stitching a pocket to a side of the sheet of fabric material, or by connecting a pocket to the sheet of fabric material by one or more straps of material stitched to the pocket and to the sheet of fabric material.

Alternatively, the pocket may be integral with the sheet of fabric material, as occurs when the pocket is formed by gathering together a side of the sheet of fabric material by stitching. Preferably, the pocket is integral with the sheet of fabric material.

The region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket is any region located at a suitable distance from the pocket such that when the pocket and the opposed region are releasably held together, the sheet of fabric material wraps around the upper torso of the baby.

The means for releasably holding together the pocket and the region of fabric material opposed to the pocket is any suitable means known in the art that is capable of releasably holding the pocket and a region of fabric material together. Examples of suitable means for releasably holding together the pocket and a region of fabric material opposed to the pocket include one or more loops (or rings) of material connected to the pocket, the pocket and the opposed region of fabric material being releasably held together by passing a sufficient amount of fabric material through the one or more loops so that the one or more loops and the region of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together by the resistance between the one or more loops and the fabric material in the one or more loops; (ii) a hook and loop type fastener (such as Velcro TM); (iii) adjustable release buckle clasps; (iv) a button and button hole; or a press stud.

Preferably, the means for releasably holding together the pocket and the region of sheet material opposed to the pocket allows for the variable adjustment of the amount of fabric material wrapped around the upper torso of the baby.

In a preferred form, the means for releasably holding together the pocket and a region of fabric material opposed to the pocket is one or more loops (or rings) of material connected to the pocket, the releasably holding together being achieved by passing a sufficient amount of fabric material through the one or more loops so that the one or more loops and the region of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together by the resistance between the one or more loops and the fabric material in the one or more loops.

The one or more loops may be formed of any suitable material. Preferably, the one or more loops are formed of rigid material, such as a metal or a rigid plastic.

The one or more loops may be of any suitable closed or partially closed configuration. For example, the one or more loops may be circular, ellipsoid, square shaped, rectangular, or other regular, irregular or ornamental shape that allows fabric material to be passed through the one or more loops. Preferably, the one or more loops are one or more D rings.

Preferably, the one or more loops are a single loop or two loops.

Brief Description of the Drawings The following description refers to preferred embodiments of the baby wrapping article of the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings where the article is illustrated in the preferred embodiments.

In the drawings, where the same reference numerals identify the same or like components: Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a baby wrapping article in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a baby being placed in the article prior to wrapping.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a baby wrapped in the article.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the article according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the article being laid flat without a baby placed thereon.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a means for releasably holding together the pocket and a region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

-6- Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments The article 10 shown in Figure 1 is the article having a baby 12 placed thereon prior to wrapping. The article 10 includes a sheet of fabric material 14, a top edge 16, a side edge 18, a pocket 20 for receiving at least a shoulder of a baby and two D rings 22 that are used to releasably hold together the pocket and a region 26 opposed to the pocket.

To begin the process of wrapping the baby 12 in the article 10, the baby is first laid on the sheet of fabric material 14, the baby being positioned so that the shoulder of the baby is located directly adjacent to the pocket 20. The pocket (or D rings 22) is then grasped and the shoulder of the baby received into the pocket 20 by pulling the pocket over and around the baby's shoulder, as shown in Figure 1.

To continue the wrapping of the baby 12 in the article 10, a distal part 24 of the sheet of fabric material is grasped, and the fabric material brought around the front of the baby and passed through the inside aperture of each of the D rings 22. In this way the baby is loosely wrapped in the fabric material.

To complete the wrapping of the baby 12 in the article 10 as shown in Figure 2, fabric material is then drawn through the D rings 22. Fabric material is drawn through the D rings 22 until the baby is comfortably wrapped in the sheet of fabric material and a sufficient amount of fabric material has also passed through the D rings, so that the pocket 20 and the region 26 of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together by the resistance between the D rings 22 and the fabric material located in the D rings.

The region 26 of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket is a region located at a suitable distance from the pocket such that when the pocket and the region are releasably held together, the sheet of fabric material wraps around the upper torso of a baby. For most babies, this region will be located at a distance of approximately 20 cm to 45 cm from the pocket.

Figure 3 shows the article 10 laid flat without a baby placed thereon. The article may be produced from a square or rectangular piece of fabric material. In this case, the piece of fabric material from which the article is formed will have a width generally in the range from 45 cm to 90 cm and a height generally in the range from 70 cm to 90 cm. However, it will be appreciated that a smaller article suitable for wrapping a very small baby may be formed from a sheet of fabric material having smaller dimensions.

The article 10 may be formed from a sheet of suitable soft material such as stretch knit, satin acetate, velour, velveteen, stretch velour, polar fleece, towelling, muslin, silk and quilted materials. The article may also be formed by stitching together two sheets of suitable fabric material one atop the other.

A pocket 20 for receiving at least the shoulder of a baby that is integral with the sheet of fabric material may be formed by gathering together one side of a piece of rectangular fabric material and stitching the fabric material to hold the fabric together along stitched line 28. The formation of a pocket 20 by gathering together a side of the sheet having a height in the range from 45 cm to 70 cm will generally be of size suitable to receive the shoulder of most babies.

Alternatively, the pocket may be formed by stitching together two or more tapered regions cut out from the sheet of fabric material that, when brought together, form a pocket. The pocket may also be formed by the use of darts in the in the fabric material.

The method for releasably holding together the pocket and opposed region 24 makes use of two D rings 22 of rigid material. As shown in Figure 3, the two D rings are connected to the pocket 20 by a connecting piece of material stitched to the pocket 20, the two D rings being connected to the piece of connecting material by passing the rings through a hole 32 formed in the connecting piece of material by stitching.

As will be appreciated, the two D rings 22 may also be attached to the pocket directly, for example by stitching.

The size of the D rings may be adjusted to suit the material being used, so as to allow the fabric material to be passed through the D rings and also to provide a desired level of resistance to drawing the material back out through the D rings, when sufficient material has been drawn through the D rings. An area of the internal aperture for each of the D rings of 3.5 cm 2 is a suitable size for a material such as satin acetate. For a very fine fabric material such as silk, the D rings will be of a smaller size. For a more bulky material such as velour, the D rings will be of a larger size.

As will be appreciated, other configurations of one or more loops, rings or other shapes (closed or partially closed) may also be used to releasably hold together the pocket 20 and the region 26 of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket, so long as the fabric material is able to be passed through the one or more loops. For example, one or more D rings, one or more circular rings, or a one or more loops or rings of irregular or ornamental shape may also be used.

Figure 4 shows an alternative method for releasably holding the pocket and opposed region together, by way of a single rigid ring 36, the ring being connected to the pocket by way of a central bar 38 that passes through a space 34 in the material connected to the pocket 20. The pocket and opposed region are releasably held together by passing sufficient fabric material through either half of the ring separated by the bar, so that the pocket and opposed region are held together by the resistance between the fabric material in the half of the ring and the ring itself.

The means for releasably holding together the pocket and the region of the sheet of the fabric material opposed to the pocket also allows for variable adjustment of the amount of fabric material wrapped around the torso of the baby. For example, if it is desired that that baby be wrapped more tightly, more fabric material may be drawn through the D rings or single ring. Alternatively, if -9it is desired that the baby be wrapped less tightly, fabric material may be withdrawn back through the D rings or single ring by pulling.

It is to be understood that various modifications and/or additions may be made to the baby wrapping article without departing from the ambit of the present invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

Claims (4)

1. A baby wrapping article, the article including a sheet of fabric material, a pocket for receiving at least a shoulder of a baby, and a means for releasably holding together the pocket and a region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket, wherein the upper torso of a baby may be wrapped in the article when the pocket and the region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together.

2. A baby wrapping article according to claim 1, wherein the pocket is integral with the sheet of fabric material.

3. A baby wrapping article according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the means for releasably holding together the pocket and the region of the sheet material opposed to the pocket allows for variable adjustment of the amount of fabric material wrapped around the upper torso of the baby.

4. A baby wrapping article according to claim 3, wherein the means for releasably holding together the pocket and the region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket includes a loop of material connected to the pocket and the releasably holding together is achieved by passing a sufficient amount of fabric material through the loop so that the loop and the region of the sheet of fabric material opposed to the pocket are releasably held together by the resistance between the loop and the fabric material in the loop. A baby wrapping article substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the embodiments as shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED: 23 July 2003 PHILLIPS ORMON E I PATRICK Attorneys for GIANNA DENICOL RVEY