GB2140669A - Improvements in and relating to bibs - Google Patents

Abstract

A disposable bib for a baby shaped from a sheet of material comprising an absorbent paper layer and an impermeable polyethylene layer. To fasten the bib round the baby's neck, the head 4 is passed down through the upper slot 5 and up through tho lower slot 6, and is arranged to catch in the hole 8 and in the hole 7 at the upper end of that slot. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and Relating to Bibs The invention relates to bibs, and especially to a bib for a baby that can be worn by the baby while it is feeding and then discarded, and to a fastening for a collar that is suitable for use in some forms of such bib.

It is well known for a baby to wear a bib when it is being fed in order to protect its other clothing.

Such bibs are usually made of a cloth material, and after use are washed, dried and re-used.

Storing and handling such bibs can present problems, especially when the bibs are soiled and awaiting cleaning.

The invention provides a bib comprising a bib portion and a collar arranged in use to fit round the neck of the wearer, the bib being formed from a sheet of material having an absorbent layer and a layer impermeable to water.

The laminar structure means that the bib can be made thinner and lighter than a conventional bib consisting entirely of absorbent (and hence permeable) cloth, without unacceptable penetration of liquids to the reverse side of the bib.

Advantageously, the bib is made from a laminate of a paper material and plastics sheet, and by a suitable choice of both materials can be made no thicker or heavier than a sheet of stiff paper while still giving satisfactory results in use.

After use, the bib can simply be discarded, the cost of a new bib being more than compensated for, in many cases, by the saving in the labour that would have been necessary to clean a conventional bib.

The invention also provides a collar comprising an arc of an annulus of sheet material having a transversely extending head on one end and a transverse slot near the other end and so arranged that the head can be passed through the slot and its head caused to seat against the edges of the slot, forming a ciosed generally frustoconical collar with the two end portions lying substantially flat together.

When, as is preferred, such a collar is used as the collar of a bib according to the invention an entirely satisfactory fastening can be achieved while at the same time the fastening structure can simply be stamped from a sheet of material when the bib is made, giving outstandingly quick and simple manufacture.

Two forms of bib for a baby constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a front view of the first form of bib laid out flat; and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the second form.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to Fig. 1, the first form of bib comprises a bib portion 1 which is approximately 1 5 cm high in the centre and from 1 6 to 19 cm wide. The top edge of the bib portion 1 is concave upwards, to fit snugly round the baby's neck.

At the left shoulder there is a rounded shoulder portion 2. From the right shoulder a neck strap 3 extends in an arc, almost meeting the left shoulder portion 2. When the bib is laid out flat the neck strap 3 and the top of the bib portior 1 define between them a generally elliptical opening having a height of about 10 cm and a width rather greater than that. At the end of the neckstrap 3 is a head 4 about 4.75 cm by 2 cm, set across the end of the neckstrap, which is about 2.75 cm wide near the head. The head 4 projects inwards by about 1.5 cm from the inner edge of the neckstrap 3 and outwards by about half as much.

In the left shoulder portion 2 are two parallel slots 5 and 6, just under 1 cm apart, sloping downwards towards their outer ends. The lower slot 6 is about 3 cm long, the upper slot 5 a little longer.

Each end of each of the slots 5 and 6 is formed as a hole 7, so that the slots can be opened without stressing the surrounding material unduly. There is a further hole 8 on the upper edge of the lower slot 6, about 0.5 cm from its lower end.

The bib is made from a single sheet of material consisting of paper coated with a plastics material on one side. The paper base preferably has a weight of 100 g/m2 and preferably consists of approximately 99% bleached softwood pulp and 1% alum and melamine formaldehyde. The last ingredient gives the paper high wet strength, preferably at least 200N/m. The paper is preferably at least 380 ,um thick, with an absorbtion capacity of at least 420%. A suitable paper is sold by Wiggins Teape Industrial Papers Ltd. under the trade-name of Absorbent Coating Base. The plastics coating is preferably white pigmented gloss polyethylene in a weight of 20 g/m2.

For use, the bib is placed on a baby (not shown) in the usual position, with the absorbent side outwards and the plastics coating towards the baby's body and the neckstrap 3 is passed round the baby's neck. The head 4 is then passed from the outer side down through the upper slot 5 and back up through the lower slot 6. The exact dimensions and positions of the head 4 and the slots 5 and 6 are so chosen that the head passes through the slots 2 without the material tearing, and the two ends of the head seat in the hole 7 at the upper end of the lower slot 6 and in the hole 8 with the neck strap 3 and the upper edge portion of the bib portion 1 forming a generally frustoconical collar that sits stably round the neck of the baby.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the second form of bib is the same as the first form except that the slots 5 and 6 are formed with curved portions 7a and 8a instead of the holes 7 and 8, and the head 4 is a slightly different shape. As will be seen from Fig.

2, the curved portions 7a form generally semicircular terminations to the slots 5 and 6, defining with the slots flaps of material that can be defiected to open the slots to allow the head 4 to pass through without tearing the bib. The curved portion 8a is in the same position and serves the same function as the hole 8 of the first form of bib, but as will be seen from Fig. 2 the outer end of the head 4 is given a slightly hooked shape to fit more securely into the more open recess formed by the curved portion 8a as compared with the slot 8.

After the baby has been fed, the bib is removed, either by undoing the fastening described above or by tearing the material of the bib, and discarded.

Although the bib is described as fastening at the left shoulder, it could instead be arranged to fasten at the right shoulder, merely by arranging that the shape of the bib is a mirror image of that shown, as seen from the same side of the laminated material.

The exact dimensions specified above are for one form of bib that has been found satisfactory in practice, but they could of course be varied to some extent, provided that the appropriate relationships among them are maintained.

Claims (14)

1. A bib comprising a bib portion and a collar arranged in use to fit round the neck of the wearer, the bib being formed from a sheet of material having an absorbent layer and a layer impermeable to water.

2. A bib as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said absorbent layer is a layer of paper.

3. A bib as claimed in claim 2, wherein there is about 100 grams per square metre of the said paper.

4. A bib as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the said impermeable layer is a layer of plastics material.

5. A bib as claimed in claim 4, wherein the layer of plastics material comprises polyethylene.

6. A bib as claimed in claim 5, wherein the polyethylene layer has a weight of about 20 grams per square metre.

7. A bib as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the collar is formed by an upper edge portion of the bib portion and portions extending from the ends of the said upper edge portion, the said extending portions being arranged to be fastened together after the collar has been placed round the neck of the wearer.

8. A bib as claimed in claim 7, wherein one of the said extending portions is longer than the other, the arrangement being such that in normal use the fastening is at the front of one shoulder of the wearer.

9. A collar comprising an arc of an annulus of sheet material having a transversely extending head on one end and a transverse slot near the other end and so arranged that the head can be passed through the slot and its head caused to seat against the edges of the slot, forming a closed generally frustoconical collar with the two end portions lying substantially flat together.

10. A collar as claimed in claim 9, wherein there is a recess so positioned in one side edge of the slot that the head of the collar, near to and on either side of its meeting with the adjacent portion of the collar, engages that recess and one end of the slot.

1 A collar as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, wherein there is a second slot so positioned alongside the first said slbt that the head can be passed through the second slot and back through the first slot when fastening the collar.

12. A bib as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the said collar is a collar as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11.

13. A bib as claimed in claim 12 when dependent upon claim 8 where the head is on the longer extending portion.

14. A bib as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or claim 12, or claim 13, which is suitable for wearing by a baby being fed.

1 5. A bib substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.