HOODED INFANT UNDERGARMENT

The apparatuses and methods according to the various embodiments of the present invention provide a thermal regulating infant safety undergarment. The garment is preferably lightweight but insulating and is essentially a one piece garment. A hood, which may be detachable, is sized to allow for conformance to the infant's head and to provide a snug fit to enhance the insulating aspect of the undergarment. The hood is attached with tape, velcro, or other fasteners which would minimize the choking hazard for infants. The hood may be interchangeably used with other one piece garments which are configured to detachably receive the hood, the hood being adjustable to accommodate different head/neck sizes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns infant undergarments. More particularly, the invention is directed to an undergarment for infants which can temporarily preserve the body heat of an infant while also protecting from UV rays.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Thermal undergarments have long been used by adults and children to enhance the thermal i.e., heat preserving, properties of their various outer garments. These undergarments typically are layered and/or insulated to avoid the use of heavy, uncomfortable, and physically restraining materials such as thick wool. When thermal undergarments are made for infants and babies they are typically made from lighter and more efficient heat retention materials. For years, the traditional infant garment has been a short shirt ending at the waistline. Typically, some type of undergarment, such as a diaper, has also been used for additional protection against soiling. The short shirt is open in the front with two side panels crossing over one another for closing and fastening the shirt shut. Early shirts were shut in the back with ties. These ties were later replaced with snap fasteners. The short shirt allows a cloth diaper to be used, thereby decreasing the possibility of soiling the upper garment and reducing the frequency of laundering. Although rubber or plastic pants can also be used with short shirts, their use has typically been discouraged because they can contribute to improper air circulation and increased susceptibility to the development of rashes.

Another type of traditional undergarment for infants is the undershirt. Undershirts for newborns have front tabs that can be fastened to a cloth diaper with safety pins. This forms a full-length, warm, cloth garment that can be secured in place so as to not ride up on the infant. As disposable diapers were slowly introduced into nurseries in the late 1970s, however, the front tabs have been omitted since potentially hazardous safety pins were no longer necessary.

Currently, undergarments for infants have the same waist-length undershirt with cross-over front panels that snap shut. Such undergarments typically require the use of a separate, disposable diaper. A drawback of these types of garments is that crossing the front panels over and snapping them shut can be confusing and cumbersome. Since the garment is separate from the diaper, another drawback of the infant garment commonly in use today is that the shirt may tend to ride up under the infant's armpits. This unnecessarily exposes portions of the surface of an infant's body and can contribute to a loss of body heat.

One piece undergarments, sometimes known as onesies, provide better thermal regulation when used as undergarments than the typical two piece undergarment. The problem with these undergarments is that they don't provide any protection from heat loss from the head and neck area. While hooded outer garments for infants are well known, hooded undergarments are not.

Therefore, there is a need in the industry for undergarments, especially garments for infants, that more effectively preserve body heat while providing improved protection from harmful UV rays.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatuses and methods according to the various embodiments of the present invention provide a thermal regulating infant safety undergarment. The garment is preferably lightweight but insulating and is essentially a one piece garment. A hood, which may be detachable, which can be elasticized to allow for conformance to the infant's head and to provide a snug fit to enhance the insulating aspect of the undergarment. The hood is attached with snaps, tape, velcro, or other fasteners which would minimize the choking hazard for infants. The hood may be interchangeably used with other one piece garments which are configured to detachably receive the hood. An attachment collar allows for attachment of items of clothing such as a bib, or other small items such as a teething ring. The attachment collar also allows for adjusting the hood to accommodate different head and neck sizes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has a hood.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has a removable hood.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has an adjustable removable hood

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has an attachment collar for attaching small items.

Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now toFIGS. 1-3, the infant undergarment, generally designated by the numeral10, is shown. The undergarment10includes a torso portion20having a lower half characterized by a pair of leg openings22which are sized to accommodate an infant's legs, and an upper portion having openings for the infants arms. Thus, the undergarment10is a one piece or “onesie” type of garment which is essentially a diaper and undershirt combination as is known in the art. As the undergarment10is intended as both a thermal garment and a traditional undergarment, the material for the torso portion20is preferably relatively thin, lightweight, and breathable. Cotton may be used as the material for the undergarment10. The garment10may have a UV absorption/reflection aspect to it as will be explained in more detail later. The leg openings22are formed by the closure of rear flap24, which is essentially a crotch piece, the flap24having at least a pair of male snap type buttons or snaps26for fastening, with the female part of the snap buttons28positioned at corresponding positions on the lower end of the torso portion20.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the undergarment10serves as both a thermal regulator of sorts as well as a generally protective barrier. For example, when changing the infant in bright sunlight, snaps26,28can be loosened allowing access to the diaper (which would actually be under the undergarment10in this scenario) with the undergarment serving to preserve body temperature while also providing UV protection on areas of the skin which would otherwise be uncovered. In order to enhance the UV barrier aspect of the undergarment10, the undergarment material can optionally be made from a material with a high SPF rating, but also be soft and supple enough to avoid irritating the skin of the infant.

A key aspect of the invention is the hood attachment30. The attachment30is sized to fit an average infant's head and may optionally be elasticized at least about the perimeter32so that the face opening34does not allow ambient air to enter the hood30and therefore compromise both the thermal and UV protection aspects of the invention. The bottom portion38of the hood30has a series of regularly spaced attachment members in the form of male snap buttons40which are positioned to correspond to respective female buttons42positioned atop the attachment collar43of the undergarment10. Thus, the hood30is held in place taughtly about the infant's face by the snaps40,42, the snaps serving provide an anchor point so that the hood30can be pulled up and over the infant's head.

The hood30may also be attached by tape or hook and loop type fasteners with a key aspect of the invention being the absence of a drawstring or other tightening/fastening means which might present a choking hazard to the infant. Since the range of sizes for infant heads is relatively limited, the detachability allows the hood30to be used with undergarments10of different sizes. Indeed, the hood30could be used with any undergarment onesie by using tape, velcro, or other fastening means in lieu of snaps40,42. Thus, a user may continue to use an old hood30after the infant has grown and requires a larger torso portion20. To further facilitate this, extra snaps are provided to allow for adjusting the fit of the hood30as will be explained in more detail later.

In accordance with another key aspect of the invention, items other than hood30may be attached to the undergarment. To facilitate this, an accessory or attachment collar43has at least a couple of snaps42on opposing sides positioned forward of the shoulder area of the garment10so that accessories45can be positioned on or to the side of the front or forward facing47portion of the undergarment10. Thus, an accessory such as a bib49may be suspended from collar43, the bib being obviously removable. Other useful accessories such as a teething ring45may also be suspended from collar43to be available for the infant or adult caretaker. In another aspect of the invention, the accessories to be attached to the collar43, including the hood30may be packaged for sale as a UV/thermal “onesie” undergarment assembly, with the understanding that as the infant grows out of the undergarment10, the attachable items can be transferred to the new larger undergarment via attachment collar43. The extra snaps42also provide a means for adjusting the hood30. Specifically, the hood30may be tightened or loosened by selecting the appropriate snaps42. For example, loosening the hood30is accomplished by using snaps42which are closer to the back of the infant, whereas tightening the hood30can be done by using snaps which are closer to the infants face.

In use, the undergarment10is positioned onto the infant, the undergarment10held in place about the infant by fastening snaps24,26. The hood30is then pulled over the infants head so that the perimeter32fits snugly about the infant's face, with the snaps42selected to provide the correct fit. Alternatively, the hood30may be provided with optional tape or Velcro® tabs so as to be attachable to any onesie formed of a material suitable for use as an undergarment. Items45can be attached to the undergarment10at any position along the collar43where there is a snap42. It can be appreciated that if hood30is removed, additional accessories45may be positioned such as e.g., a towel upon which the infant may be positioned when changing diapers.