US3407407A

US3407407A - Bib construction

Info

Publication number: US3407407A
Application number: US581233A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hollander Dolores Smith; Bander Miriam Sinclair
Original assignee: Blum and Co Inc
Current assignee: Blum and Co Inc
Priority date: 1966-09-22
Filing date: 1966-09-22
Publication date: 1968-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1985-10-29

Description

Oct. 29, 1 968 S, L ND R ET AL 3,407,407

BIB CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 22, 1966 0010!?55 SMITH HOZZ/I/YDER9L IIII In 0. s. HOLLANDER E 3,407,407

Oct. 29, 1968 BIB CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 22, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 301mm 547/7 Ham/m5? 9 /7/R//)/7 .s/Ncm/R .B/IMER United States Patent 3,407,407 BIB CONSTRUCTION Dolores Smith Hollander, Interlaken, and Miriam Smclair Bander, Asbury Park, N.J., assignors to Blum and Company, Inc., Deal, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 581,233 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An infants bib having a body with tie means for tying the body around the neck and body of the infant. A pocket is disposed across the bottom of the body, on the outside thereof, to catch droppings. Means is provided for stiffening the pocket to keep it in extended operative position, the stiffening means including a hem along the top of the pocket and a strip inside said hem. Means is also provided for stiffening the body of the pocket, which latter means includes a frame embedded in the body of the pocket, the frame having opposed, radial and angular plastic strips.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in bibs, land more particularly to an improved bib construction having means for preventing not only the soiling of a persons clothes during eating, but of saving a large quantity of food which is normally spilled by an individual during the course of eating.

As is well known, infants when learning to feed themselves, owing to their lack of skill in handling eating implements, usually spill a large amount of food when inserting the implement into the mouth. This food runs down the front outer surface of the bib, and where large quantities of food are so spilled, incomplete protection is afforded by the bib in that the spilled food runs past the bib to soil the infants clothes thereunder, and the floor or furniture upon which the child is seated. Additionally the food itself is made unsanitary so that it cannot be reclaimed for subsequent feeding.

Similarly, an elderly person or physically restricted person may encounter the forementioned problems of that of the infant when eating.

When dining, a bib is normally provided upon having particular foods to protect the clothes of the person.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved form of bib construction, in which the above mentioned disadvantageous results have been substantially eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irnproved bib construction in which means in the form of a curved pocket has been incorporated into the forward portion of the same, which structure is adapted to catch and retain food spilled by the person, the same being capable of being reclaimed in an edible condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bib construction in which the above mentioned means may be so shaped and disposed as to enable it to catch drippings accumulating over a relatively wide area on the forward surface of the bib.

A feature of the invention lies in the fact that the novel pocket structure is so situated as to fall under the action of gravity to an opened position when the device is donned by the wearer, it being unnecessary to adjust the structure, except when emptying the same.

Other advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its pleasing appearance and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

Broadly, the invention comprises a bib construction having an elongated body portion with a neck portion and means for tying the body around the waist and neck of 3,4014% Patented Oct. 29, 1968 the person. A horizontally disposed forwardly projecting pocket is formed from the material of the body portion, the pocket having a stiff upper edge.

For further comprehension of the invention and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bib construction Fmbodying the invention illustrated in position on an inant.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the bib construction per se.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the bib construction taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 55 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5a is a view similar to FIG. 5 of a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a bib construction embodying another modified form of the invention, parts being shown broken away.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the stiffening frame shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now in detail to the various views of the drawings, the invention as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, consists of a bib construction which is designated generally by the reference character 10 and embodies in its construction the usual upwardly extending substantially rectangular shaped body portion 12 provided at its upper end with a neck receiving recess 14 and with an adjacent pair of

arm openings

16 and 18. A pair of neck encircling tapes or ribbons 20 is secured to the opposite ends of the neck receiving recess 14, which tapes or ribbons are adapted to be tied into a bowed knot 22 at the back of the neck of the infant. In addition, a pair of waist encircling tapes or ribbons 24 are secured to each opposite side edge of the lower portion of the body portion 12 as indicated at 26, these tapes or ribbons being adapted to be tied into a knotted bow at the back of the Waist of the infant.

The body portion 12 is preferably formed from a durable, moisture-proof, washable material such as a suitable synthetic resin in planar form. The free edges of the body portion and neck recess are preferably covered with an edge binding 22 which may be either stitched into position or integrated by heat-sealing means.

The essence of novelty in the present invention resides in the provision of a horizontally disposed forwardly projecting food retaining pocket structure 28 which is preferably formed from the same material as the main body portion 12 of the bib construction. The pocket structure is formed by binding the bottom free edge of the body portion by means of a looped tape 32 secured to the bottom edge of the body portion by a row of stitching 34. The tape is stiffened by means of a plastic stiffening strip 36 extending therethrough. The material of the body portion is slitted from each corner thereof upwardly for approximately six inches and then slightly inwardly for a couple of inches to permit the material of the body portion to be turned upon itself at the ends of the slits, thereby forming a flange 30, the ends of the flange being secured to the opposite side edges of the body portion 12 by rows of stitching 38. This gives the pocket structure a pocket-shaped configuration, and as 3. may be seen from FIG. 1, the pocket structure extends the full width of the body portion, and it has been found that a height of approximately six inches is satisfactory, although a greater or lesser height may be employed to conform to the size of the particular bib construction.

The bib construction is donned in a normal manner, the arms of the infant being inserted through the

openings

16 and 18 after which the tapes or ribbons 20 are tied behind the neck. The pocket structure 28 will normal- 1y fall to an open position as shown in FIG. 1, owing to the tendency of the material forming the hemmed edge 32 to sag under the action of gravity. With the pocket structure in open position, when the infant'spills food while attempting to insert the same into its mouth, the same will strike the front of the body portion 12 and fall under the action of gravity into the pocket structure.

In FIG. 5, a modified form of means for stiffening the edge of the flange is shown. Herein the plastic flange 30' is shown turned upon itself forming a hem 40, the hem being retained in shape by a row of stitching 42. The hem may however be retained in shape by heat and pressure as indicated at 44 in FIG. 5A. Inside the hem 40, there is a pair of superposed plastic strips 36', 36', the strips being encased in

fabric loops

46, 46 formed by folding a strip of fabric upon itself and stitching the fabric strip at its ends by rows of stitching 48 and intermediate its ends by a row of stitching 50.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, a bib construction 10a is shown with modified form of means for retaining the pocket structure 28a in open position. In this bib construction 10a, instead of a pair of stiffening strips in the hem 32a, such as the strip 36 of FIG. 1 or the strips 36' of FIGS. 5 and 6, a stiffening frame unit 52 is embedded in the flange 30a. In bib construction 10a, the flange 30a is formed by turning the material of the body portion 12a upon itself and fastening its free end edge to the inner surface of the body portion 12a by heat and pressure as indicated at 53. The flange 30a is thus formed with outer and

inner walls

54 and 56, respectively, leaving a space 58 therebetween. The stiffening frame unit 52 is encased in the space 58. This stiffening unit includes an elongated rectangular shaped slightly curved strip 60 of suitable semi-rigid plastic material. Shorter strips are formed integrally with one long edge on the strip 60 midway its ends, said strips radiating from the edge of strip 60. A pair of these

strips

62, 62 radiate at an acute angle to the strip 60 and have curled

ends

64, 64. The

strips

62, 62 are opposed to each other. Another of said integral strips, strip 66 extends at right angles to the strip 60 and is provided with a curled end 68. When the unit is in position as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the elongated strip 60 is positioned inside the top edge 70 of the flange 30a, the

strips

62, 62 radiate toward the corners of the pocket structure 28a, the curled ends of the strips being seated in said corners. The other strip 66 curls around the center of the pocket structure giving the bottom of the pocket structure a curved shape as best seen in FIG. 7.

In all other respects, the bib construction 10a is similar to bib construction 10 and similar reference characters are used to indicate similar parts.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifica tions may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

We claim:

1. A bib construction comprising a vertically elongated rectangular body portion of flexible plastic material adapted to be positioned on the chest of a person said body portion having a recess for the neck of a person at the top end thereof and having side openings for the arms of a person, a forwardly projecting pocket structure formed at the lower end of the body portion on the outer surface thereof, said pocket structure extending from side to side of the body portion, said pocket structure including an upstanding flange having its end edges fastened to the sides of the body, means for stiffening the top end edge of the flange for retaining the pocket structure in open position, means for tying the body portion around the neck of the person, and means for tying the body portion around the neck of the person, and means for tying the body portion around the waist of the person, the means for stiifening the top end edge of the flange for retaining the pocket structure in open position includes a stiffening frame unit having an elongated rectangular flexible plastic strip with curled ends, a pair of opposed strips integral with said elongated strip radiating at an angle acute to the plane of the body of the longated plastic strip, and another integral strip radiating at right angles to the plane of the body of the elongated plastic strip, said flange having spaced front and rear walls with the stiffening frame unit in the space between the walls, said elongated strip extending along the top edge of the flange, the opposed integral strips extending into the corners of the pocket midway its ends, said latter strip extending to the bottom of the pocket in curved formation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 55 6,930 3/ 1896 Janowitz 2260.l

563,644 7/ 1896 Birney 2--49 615,293 12/1898 Maier 2-49 677,010 6/1901 Ziller 249 879,124 2/ 1908 Thompson 249 1,591,721 7/ 1926 Melvin 249 1,5 92,283 7/ 1926 McKenzie 249 2,672,614 3 1954 Zimmerman et al 2-49 2,767,403 10/ 1956 Givens 249 2,949,611 8/ 1960 Wilkaitis 249 3,010,111 11/1961 Ralph 249 FOREIGN PATENTS 707,661 4/1954 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. R. GUEST, Assistant Examiner.