US2530719A - Baby garment - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1950 M. L. NEAL BABY GARMENT Original Filed July 15, 1946 FIG. 2

FIG. I

FIG. 4

FIG.

MARY LUCILE NEAL;

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BABY GARMENT Mary. LucileNeal, Baton Rouge, La;

Original application July 15, 1946,. Serial No. 683,644; Dividedand this application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,569

3"Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in baby garments and is mor particularly concernedwith animproved baby diaper of the type disclosed in myapplioation SerialNo. 683,644, filed. July 15, 1946, of which the present applicationis aidivision;

The improved diaper type garment according tomy aforesaid application is designed for wear by babies of varying sizes and stages of growth, i. e; from the infant stage, usually considered as up to six months, through the normal diaperwearing stage, usually up to two years of age. A diaper of "this type may also be worn as an outer garment, particularly by babies in the latter stages of their diaper Wearing period, and to this end-, provision'is made for av suspender form of support'therefor whereby the resultingdiaper- Suspender-"combination" has the generalappeare ance of and maybe worn substantially. as a sunsuit.

When so worn, it is desirable to provide the diaper with absorbent properties in addition to those inherent therein, and itis: the principal aim of the present invention to provide a diaper having enhanced absorbent properties which make it suitable for wear as an outer garment, i. e., as asunsuit, bybabies inthe latter stages of their diaper-wearing period, although it is of course to beunderstood that a diaper having the increased. absorbent properties as herein provided .is also of'advantage for wear by 'babies in the .infantstage. More particularly, it is the'aim of the invention to provide a diaper incorporating a novel construction of pocket for receiving and maintaining in proper wearing position a pad of absorbent material, preferably of the readily disposable type. To facilitate pad insertion and removal, and as an aid in conforming the pocket and its absorbent pad to the body, the pocket is secured to the diaper only at its top and bottom or waist-line edges, and it opens along one side edge only. Preferably, the pocket opening is closed by a swingable fly'or flap which can be optionally folded to the body or diaper sides of the absorbent pad contained in the pocket, thus to provide the added material of the closure flap either adjacent the body or outwardly of the pad, as desired.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of a pocket-type diaper according to the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pocket-type diaper according to the invention as viewed from the body side thereof, the view. showing the improved pocket construction and further illustratingrthe closure flap in itspocket-closing position in which it extends to th'e'bodyside ofthepocket and its contained absorbent pad.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the pocket closing flap swung to a position in which it is disposed outwardly-of the absorbent pad, i. e. intermediate thediaper proper 'and the pocket; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections taken. along'lines 33 and :4-4 of Figs. 1 and2, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, the diaperdesignated I0 is generally'rectangularz' in shape and may be made from folded sheer cottonmaterial, which is bound along all outer edges with a bind .ing I I. Preferably, the diaper is formed outwardly concave along its side edges 12, l3.to provide a relatively narrow-width crotch portion, and its upper edge I4 is curved slightly in upward direc tion so as to provide comfortable fit-in the abdomen portion of the baby wearing the same.

The aforesaid diaper is shown to be provided in itscornor portions with two diagonal rows of hook-receiving pockets a, b, c and d, which open inwardly or away from the corners, so as to receive hook-shaped fastener elements (not shown), as'is more fullydisclosed in myaforesaid application Ser. No. 683,644. In use, the diaper is applied inthe conventional manner, the pocketed corners being lapped over the sides of the baby, and the lapped corners being thereupon secured by the aforesaid hook fasteners. However, in a diaper according to the present invention, other forms of diaper securing means may be utilized.

According to the present invention, the diaper I0 is provided with an inner face pocket, generally designated [5, for receiving a pad I6 of absorbent material, preferably of the disposable type. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the pocket I5 extends the full length of the diaper, and it is preferably fashioned from a single piece of fabric material which is folded intermediate its side edges along two lengthwise lines of fold, thus to provide three plies I8, I 9 and 26 (Figs. 3 and 4) of which the ply It! forms the pocket front wall and the ply IS the pocket rear wall, the ply 20 constituting a closure fly or flap which may extend over the open mouth of the pocket, as defined by th free side edge of the ply l9 and the line of fold between plie l8 and 20.

It is a feature of the present invention that the pocket is secured to the diaper only along its upper and lower ends, as by securing the end edges of the plies l8 and 19 to the top and hottom (waist-line) edges of the diaper by means of the edge binding l3 thereof. This arrangement results in a swing-pocket construction and moreover leaves the flap 20 free so that it may be folded either to a pocket-closing position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 or to a position intermediate the pocket and diaper, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. In its pocket-closing position, the flap extends over the open mouth of the pocket and thus serves as a closure therefor; whereas, when folded to lie intermediate pocket and diaper, it provides extra material outwardly of the pad.

In use, the disposable pad I6 is inserted into the pocket through its open mouth, and the flap 2!! is disposed either in its pocket-closing position (Figs. 1 and 3) or intermediate the pocket and the inner face of the diaper (Figs. 2 and 4). In either case, the flap provides additional absorptive properties and further supplies an added thickness of material in the crotch portion of the garment. Due to the swing mounting of the pocket, 1. e. its end edge connection only to the diaper, both the pocket and the pad is enabled to conform itself to the body of the baby to which the diaper is applied.

A pocket-type diaper as aforesaid is of particular advantage for use in the diaper-suspender combination disclosed in my application aforesaid in that it provides the added absorptive properties desirable when the diaper is Worn as an outer garment, and without the protection of rubber pants. However, it is to be understood that the pocket-type diaper of the present invention may also be employed for infants up to six months of age to take advantage of the increased absorptive properties imparted thereto by the absorbent pad [6.

Due to the open-mouth pocket construction aforesaid, the absorbent pad may be readily inserted into the diaper pocket and removed therefrom for disposal in the usual manner. To increase the liquid rentention properties of the diaper as a whole, the pad 55 may have its relatively outer face lined with latex or other moistureproof material, thus giving added protection when the diaper is worn as an outer garment.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended 1 that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A diaper-type garment comprising a substantially rectangular diaper whose top and bottom edges define the garment waist-line, and means forming a longitudinally extending pocket having an open mouth coextensive with one side edge and being closed along the other side edge thereof, said pocket extending between the top and bottom edges of the diaper and being secured at its ends to the diaper only along said edges.

2. A diaper-type garment comprising a substantially rectangular fabric body having a pocket on its inner-face for enclosing a pad of absorbent material, said pocket comprising a piece of fabric material folded intermediate its side edges to form overlying plies, said plies being secured along their ends only to the top and bottom edges of the diaper, thereby to provide a pocket closed along its ends and one side edge and having an open mouth coextensive with its other side edge.

3. A diaper-type garment comprising a substantially rectangular fabric body having an inner-face pocket for enclosing a pad of absorbent material, said pocket comprising a piece of fabric material folded intermediate its side edges to form three overlying plies of which two adjacent plies only are secured along their end edges to the top and bottom edges of the diaper thereby to provide a pocket having an open mouth coextensive with one side edge thereof, and the third ply is swingable about its line of fold either to a position relatively inwardly of the pocket in which it serves as a pocket closure flap or to a position intermediate the pocket and diaper in which it provides an additional thickness of material outwardly of the pad.

MARY LUCILE NEAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,989,283 Limacher Jan. 29, 1935 2,054,310 Warinner Sept. 15, 1936 2,292,030 Kraft Aug. 4, 1942 2,451,300 Neal Oct. 12, 1948

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