Abstract:
A maternity napkin comprising a larger than conventional fabric area with a shape-holding flexible band along one edge, the fabric extending from the band with a plurality of pleats, folds, gathers, ruffles and/or darts. The napkin may be provided along with a drawstring pouch to allow it to be easily carried in one&#39;s purse, pocket, briefcase, luggage, etc. when dirty without spreading the dirt to other objects in the purse, etc.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based on, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/286,191, filed Dec. 14, 2009, the entire contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to napkins designed to accommodate the needs of pregnant women. 
         [0004]    2. Background 
         [0005]    When eating at a table at home or restaurants, pregnant women have to cope with several problems to which they are unaccustomed. These include the fact that, particularly during the later stages of pregnancy, they must sit further away from the table that they would normally be accustomed in order to provide clearance for their enlarged midsections. This makes it difficult to lean over one&#39;s plate, as is often done when eating foods that tend to drip and splash, such as soups and pasta dishes, requiring the spoon, fork or other eating utensil containing the dripping food to be brought over the woman&#39;s midsection between the plate and mouth. Furthermore, their enlarged midsections provide a much larger surface area on which they may drop food. 
         [0006]    Most conventional napkins, whether paper or clothe are too small to adequately cover the midsection of a late-stage pregnant woman and, even if they are large enough, have a tendency to slide off of the rounded midsection. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The invention relates to a maternity napkin comprising a larger than conventional fabric area with a shape-holding flexible band along one edge, the fabric extending from the band with a plurality of pleats, folds, gathers, ruffles and/or darts. 
         [0008]    The napkin may be provided along with a drawstring pouch to allow it to be easily carried in one&#39;s purse, pocket, briefcase, luggage, etc. when dirty without spreading the dirt to other objects in the purse, etc. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the maternity napkin of  FIG. 1  being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is perspective view of a second embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman in a seated position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is perspective view of a third embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention being worn by an exemplary pregnant woman. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an exemplary maternity napkin in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The napkin  100  comprises an expanse of a fabric  102 , such as cloth fabric. The cloth may be formed of any number of materials, such as cotton, 100% spun polyester, linen, a poly/cotton blend, silk, and recycled plastic (such as Evolution material available from Kimberly-Clark). In at least one preferred embodiment, the fabric is inherently soil and/or wrinkle resistant or is treated with a soil resistant finish and/or wrinkle resistant finish. 
         [0017]    The expanse of fabric  102  in this embodiment forms a quadrilateral, but this is merely exemplary. The fabric expanse has a top edge  110 , bottom edge  111 , left side edge  112 , and right side edge  113 . 
         [0018]    The top edge  110  of the expanse of fabric is attached to a band  104 . The band  104  comprises a material that can be bent by hand and that will hold the shape to which it is bent after the bending force is released (as in the nature of a French curve). The band  104  can be imparted with this bendable, yet shape holding property in any number of ways. For instance it may be formed of a lead or alloy steel filled rubber encased within a cloth band. Alternately, one or more flexible wires may be embedded, such as by sewing, inside of a folded strip of fabric near an edge of the fabric. The wire(s) may, for instance, be 38 square 1008 low carbon steel wire. However, any other metal, or shape retaining natural or polymeric material would be acceptable. Alternately, the band  104  may comprise a thin strip of bendable metal, either bare or encased within fabric. 
         [0019]    The fabric  102  may be sewn or adhered, such as by glue or epoxy, to the band  104 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the fabric is sewn or otherwise attached to the band with a series of darts or folds so that the fabric extends from the band with a plurality of pleats, gathers, or folds to provide fullness to the napkin and allow the napkin to have three dimensional contours and better ability to conform to and drape smoothly over a round surface, such as a pregnant woman&#39;s belly. 
         [0020]    In use, the band  104  may be bent to any shape around the woman&#39;s belly to hold the napkin in place. For instance, it may be placed directly under the bra line or along the diaphragm (bottom of the rib cage area) and flexed to match the contour of the woman&#39;s belly. This will not only help the fabric drape over the woman&#39;s full belly, but can also help hold the napkin from sliding out of place. 
         [0021]    While the napkin may be used disposably, it is envisioned that it will be washed and reused after each use. Therefore, the napkin may be provided with a pouch in which it may be stuffed after use in order to protect the napkin from coming into contact with other things in a purse, pocket, briefcase, etc after it has become soiled. Preferably, the pouch is sealable into a closed condition, such as by one or more of drawstrings, zippers, plastic zip locks, string ties, flaps, hook and loop closure mechanism, such as VELCRO™, or snap closures so that the napkin cannot inadvertently fall out of the pouch. The pouch may be formed of a liquid impermeable material or coating so as to prevent food stuffs and other dirt on the napkin from seeping through the pouch. 
         [0022]    The napkin may be offered in several different sizes to accommodate different sized pregnant women. For instance, the napkin may be offered in small medium and large sizes. The band for the small size napkin may be 18-20 inches in length, the band for the medium size napkin may be 20-22 inches in length, and the band for the large size napkin may be 22-24 inches in length. The fabric may be rectangular (prior to being sewn or otherwise attached to the band) with a height between the top edge and the bottom edge of 18-20 inches for the small napkin, 20-22 inches for the medium napkin, and 22-24 inches for the large napkin. 
         [0023]    Comparatively, cloth napkins are normally square and of a standard size 14, 16, or 20 inches per side. 
         [0024]    However, the fabric need not be rectangular and can be of other shapes, including, but not limited to, tulip triangular, trapezoidal, triangular, and hexagonal. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates the napkin  100  of  FIG. 1  draped over the belly of a pregnant woman  201 . The woman  201  is shown in a standing position in order to better illustrate the napkin  100  and, because the bendable band  104  can be contoured and hold its shape, it can essentially be worn in a standing position without the need for apron strings (although apron strings could be provided). However, it should be understood that the napkin is primarily intended to be worn as a lap napkin in the seated position for use in restaurants or at home while eating, either at a table or without a table. As can be seen, the band  104  can be bent to the contour of the woman&#39;s belly. Furthermore, the large size of the fabric and the pleats, gathers, darts, and/or folds allow the fabric to easily conform to and drape over the roundness or fullness of the belly. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  illustrated another embodiment  300  of the inventive napkin. In this embodiment, the bottom edge of the fabric has a hem or cuff  301 . A cuff may catch crumbs and the like that might otherwise have rolled off of the napkin  300 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  illustrates another embodiment  400  in which the fabric is sewn to the band so as to have a plurality of pleats  401  as well as a large fold  402  near the lateral center. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  illustrates yet another embodiment  500  of the inventive napkin in which the bottom edge  515  of the napkin is radiused so as to provide greater length in the middle  511  than nearer to the two lateral sides  512 ,  513 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment  600  similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 5  with a radiused bottom edge  601 , but having a smaller radius (i.e., more curved) than the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , but having larger pleats  602 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 7  illustrates one more embodiment  700  of the inventive napkin with a different pleat design that causes the bottom of the fabric to have about the same width from the left to the right side as the top of the fabric when hanging loosely, but which can spread out to a substantially greater width (left to right) at the bottom when draped over a round surface, such as a pregnant woman&#39;s belly. 
         [0031]    The form fitting/accommodating maternity napkin of the present invention will provide enough protection from spills and untidiness that often occur while eating, especially during the last trimester (oversize belly). Of note is the fact that the relative space between a pregnant woman&#39;s mouth and the table is further than the space once had prior to pregnancy. The present invention is ecologically friendly as compared to paper napkins. 
         [0032]    Having thus described a few particular embodiments of the invention, various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications and improvements as are made obvious by this disclosure are intended to be part of this description though not expressly stated herein, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and not limiting. The invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalents thereto.