NZ241917A - Bib having at least two biodegradable layers, one liquid-resistant and another liquid-absorbent; with optional pouch - Google Patents

Description

Pal. 5 Ats Form No. 5 NEW ZEALAND 241 9 17' * T £ /J ;*S£p (a) Insert title of invention. 0^~ oAtfrcfS (b) State (in full) name, address and nationality of applicant or applicants as ^^^n application form (c) Here begin full description of invention. The continuation of the specification should be upon paper of the same size as this form, on one side only with the lines well spaced and with a margin of 2.5cm on the left hand side of the paper. The completion of the description should be followed by the words "What I (or we) claim is" after which should be written the claim or claims numbered consecutively (see note below). The specification and the dup-licate thereof must be signed at the end.

PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (To be furnished in Duplicate) (a) Improvements and Modifications to Bibs (b) I Lammina Geesina Hutchison, a New Zealand citizen of -11 Waitete Road>—Waihi , New Zealand Where priority as provided by subsection (2) or (3) of section It of the Patents Act I9S3 is desired in respect of one or more provisional specifications, quote number or numbers and date or dates ^ 241917 5ffpT»w>ber n.,,10 March 1992 HEREBY declare the invention, for which I/we pray that a patent may be granted to me/us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to improvements and modifications to bibs.

NOTE. The claims must relate to a single invention, must be clear and succinct, and must be fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification. They should form in brief a clear statement of that which constitutes the invention. Applicants should be careful that their claims include neither more nor less than they desire to protect by their patent. Any unnecessary multiplicity of claims or prolixity of language should be avoided.

Claims should not be made for the efficiency or advantages of the invention.

Ik 19 Although the principles behind the present invention could apply to geriatric bibs, for ease of reference, the bibs shall be referred to as babies bibs.

A conventiona] baby bib worn at the front of the chest directly under the chin to prevent food from spilling directly onto clothing, is generally comprised of a square of absorbent material such as cotton towelling attached to which are two long thin ties which are generally tied in a bow around the babies neck. While the conventional bib as described above has been in use for decades, there are still problems associated with it One problem is that the absorbent material often allows moist food to soak through to the baby's clothes. Another problem is that conventional bibs do not tend to cover the shoulders of the baby which can be a prime target for depositing food. A further problem is that the bib ties are often chewed by the baby and can actually strangle or choke the baby. Conventional bibs also do not tend to catch all of the food which has dropped on it and the food tends to roll off at the base of the bib. Further, the shape and construction of the bib does not lead to ready manufacture.

It would obviously be desirable to avoid the problems associated with conventional bibs as described above. It would also be desirable if there could be provided a disposable bib. A disposable bib would be especially useful for parents who do not have ready access to washing facilities, for instance when travelling or camping. Some disposable bibs are known, but these too have their problems. Thin plastic disposable bibs can cause suffocation as well as being a hazard to the environment when disposed of. In another form of disposable bib comprising a wipe aiding agent, the moist surface underside may wet the clothing of the subject wearing it Whilst a further form of disposable bib comprising both paper and plastic surfaces are found to be insufficiently bonded together, causing the absorbent tissue to peel off the plastic when handled robustly by a toddler. Other forms of disposable bibs are not currently made from bio-degradable materials. «^ e>% 2 24191? It is an object of the present invention to address the above problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will now become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a bib comprised of at least two layers wherein one layer of the bib is water resistant and another layer of the bib is absorbent, both of which are bio-degradable. Having two layers of material, one being absorbent and the other being water resistant overcomes a number of the problems associated with disposable bibs. If the water resistant layer is placed closest to the baby's clothing, then it can prevent the clothing from becoming wet It also adds strength to the absorbent layer which is positioned on top of the resistant layer. By having the absorbent layer on top, food tends to stay on the bib and not run off as was the case with plastic bibs. Further, the baby is less likely to suffocate with an absorbent layer on top of the bib.

In one embodiment, there may provided a third layer, the top layer of the bib which may be made from a non-absorbent, water pervious material which imparts strength to the bib and reduces the chances of the bib tearing. Moisture may run through the top layer to be absorbed by the softer middle absorbent layer. A further preferred embodiment there may be a water resistant layer between two absorbent layers, thus enabling the bib to be reversable.

The bib layers may be made from a variety of materials. For instance, the water resistant material may be made from water strength paper or bio-degradable plastics.. The water absorbent material may be made from an organic product, for instance cotton wadding and/or paper. If a water pervious top layer is used to impart strength to the bib and protect the absorbent layer, then this may be strengthened paper or other material. In one embodiment of the present 3 invention, the layers may be bonded together, using a non-toxic adhesive.

In a second embodiment the layers may be bonded with heat.

In a preferred embodiment, the overall shape of the bib is square or rectangular. This provides ease of manufacture as the bib can be cut out of material using a straight line of cut and there is little subsequent wastage of material.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bib includes a pouch at the base of the bib. This is very helpful as food does tend to run off the bottom of bibs.

In one embodiment, the bib may have means for attaching itself around a babies neck which is formed from the rectangular shape of the bib. For instance, there may be an aperture within the bib for the baby's neck. A slit may run from the aperture to the outside of the bib. At the edge of the slit may be adhesive tape or some other attachment means which can act to secure the materials on opposing sides of the slit to each other and to tighten or loosen the aperture as appropriate around the baby's neck. Not only does this system allow for efficient micuiufacture, but it also removes the need for ties which can choke or strangle a baby. Further, the rectangular shape which uses attachment means as described above provides ready cover for baby's shoulders as well as for the front of the baby.

Aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1; is a front view of a bib in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2: is an exaggerated cross-sectional view of the attachment means of the bib illustrated in Figure 1.

With respect to Figure 1, there is provided a bib generally indicated by arrow 1. 4 241 The bib 1 is essentially comprised of three layers of material which can be seen more clearly in the exaggerated cross-sectional view in Figure 2. There is provided a non-absorbent upper or absorbent layer 2 and an absorbent pad or water resistent layer 3 which is sandwiched between the upper layer 2 and a water resistant layer or absorbent layer 4.

The overall shape of the bib 1 is rectangular. The pouch 5 at the base of the bib 1 is formed by merely folding over the material of the bib 1 so that the water resistant layer 4 is exposed on the top layer of the bib 1. The sides 6 and 7 of the pouch 5 are adhered with a non-toxic adhesive.

The neck aperture 8 is substantially circular. A slit 9 extends from the aperture 8 to the outside of the bib 1.

At either side of the slit 9 is positioned attachment means in the form of adhesive tapes 10 and 11. The tapes 10 and 11 are attached at the top as illustrated.

Figure 2 illustrates in more detail the configuration of the adhesive tape 10 (and likewise the adhesive tape 11). The adhesive tape 10 is adhesive on one side and non-adhesive on the other side. The tape 10 is folded around the slit 9 with the adhesive side of the tape 10 sticking to the strip 12. One end 13 of the adhesive tape 10 is folded back over itself to form a non-adhesive strip which can be grasped by the operator of the bib 1. This portion of the adhesive tape 10 is shown folded out to illustrate the strip 13 more clearly.

To use the present invention, the bib 1 is placed over the babies clothes with the babies neck in the aperture 8. This positioning ensures that portions of the bib 1 covers the babies shoulders. Next the strip 13 is grasped and the adhesive tape pulled away from the strip 12 on the underside of the bib 1. The exposed adhesive on the tape 10 is then pulled across the slit 9 and placed onto either the adhesive tape 11 or the strip 12 depending upon the size of aperture 8 which is desired. 241 9 Aspects of the present invention have been discussed by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, as defined in the following claims. jl^jgtSEk. r 20 FEB 1996 \ A 4

Claims (9)

241917 WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A bib comprising at least two adjacent layers, each made from bio-degradable material, wherein one layer of the bib is liquid-resistant and another layer of the bib is liquid-absorbent

2. A bib according to claim 1 wherein the bib includes a pouch at the base of the bib.

3. A bib according to claim 1 comprising an outer layer made of liquid-resistant material, a core or inner layer made of liquid-absorbent material, and a further outer layer or layers adjacent to the core or inner layer, said outer layer or layers being made of liquid-absorbent material.

4. A bib according to claim 3 wherein the bib includes a pouch at the base of the bib.

5. A bib according to claim 1 or 2 wherein there is provided a third layer adjacent to the liquid-absorbent layer, which third layer is made from a non-absorbent liquid-pervious material which imparts strength to the bib and also allows liquid to pass through it to be absorbed by the middle absorbent layer.

6. A bib according to claim 1 or 2 wherein there is provided a third layer adjacent to the liquid-resistant layer, which third layer is made from a liquid-absorbent material, enabling the bib to be reversible.

7. A bib according to claim 6 wherein the liquid-absorbent layers are made from the same bio-degradable material.

8. A bib according to claim 6 wherein the liquid-absorbent layers are made from different biodegradable materials.

9. A bib as claimed in made from paper. any preceding claim in which at least one of the layers i^ ... v fc. - 7 - *20 FEB 1996 241917 ii. ® 12. 13. A bib as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of the layers is made from cotton A bib as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of the layers is made from bio-degradable plastics. A bib as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the layers of the bib are bonded using a non-toxic adhesive. A bib as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the layers of the bib are bonded using heat. A bib substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. - 8 -