Children's toy and garment

A combination children's garment and children's toy includes both a padded portion providing protection from the impact ordinarily encountered during a boxing match, and a decoy face on the front of the garment intended to attract the punches thrown by the opponent. Both of these features provide safety during use of the toy. The toy includes a set of boxing gloves attached by sleeves, potentially permanently, to the garment. The sleeves are adjustable in length to fit the user. The face on the front of the garment provides additional entertainment during use of the garment, thus encouraging full enjoyment of both safety features of the invention. This is accomplished by providing the padding in the front of the garment, at the very location where the face is provided on the garment. The face is provided in the torso area, thus reducing the tendency to strike the opponent in the head, but rather encouraging blows directed to the heavily padded decoy face provided on the torso. Sound producing device may also be provided in the padded portion for producing sound when the padded portion is struck by the opponent.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a combination children's garment and 
children's toy. In particular, the invention relates to the provision of a 
protective garment including both a padded portion providing protection 
from the impact ordinarily encountered during a boxing match, and a decoy 
face provided on the front of the garment intended to attract the punches 
thrown by the opponent. Both of these features provide safety during use 
of the toy. The garment has a set of boxing gloves attached, potentially 
permanently, to the garment. Of course, the face provided on the front of 
the garment provides additional entertainment during use of the garment, 
thus encouraging full enjoyment of both safety features of the invention. 
This is accomplished by providing the padding in the front of the garment, 
at the very location where the face is provided on the garment. The face 
is provided in the torso area, thus reducing the tendency to strike the 
opponent in the head, but rather encouraging blows directed to the heavily 
padded decoy face provided on the torso. Furthermore, the garment can be 
readily enjoyed by a single child who is not involved in a boxing match. 
The boxer's face and boxer trunks that appear on the front of the garment 
will provide enormous assistance in the creation of the image of being a 
boxer, thus enabling a child to fantasize about being a professional 
boxer. Still further, the parents of the child can enjoy the child's 
entertaining behavior while the child is dressed in the garment and 
enjoying an imaginary boxing match. 
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Boxing is a sport that is particularly attractive to young children during 
the early years when they must learn to vent their aggressive behavior in 
socially acceptable ways. For parents, there is generally a concern for 
the safely of their children whenever they participate in activities 
involving any manner of fighting. The present invention addresses the 
parents' concern by providing protective clothing and by directing the 
child's aggression towards a heavily padded decoy face rather than towards 
an opponent's head. This is done by providing a well padded front portion 
of the garment and providing a "target" on this padded portion of the 
garment. The target is the face of, for instance, a professional boxer. In 
the interest of creating the most interesting face for young children, the 
face could be very fanciful. Thus, the face that is provided could be that 
of a ferocious fighter, with all the cartoon-like scars and other features 
that would most readily stimulate the imagination of the young fighter. 
A problem sometimes encountered in boxing among young children is loss of 
the gloves, resulting in bare hands boxing. This is generally limited to 
very young children who may not fully understand the risks attendant to 
bare hands fighting. In older children, where the danger of boxing is 
better understood, both fighters will generally stop promptly if a glove 
is lost. This is not necessarily the case with younger children. This risk 
is amplified by the very small hands of such young children, thus making 
it difficult to design gloves that can be secured without risk of being 
lost during a fight. Among the approaches employed previously for 
designing gloves for young fighters is reducing the weight (and thus the 
thickness) of the gloves. While this is helpful in keeping the gloves on 
the fighters' hands, it has the disadvantage of reducing the padding 
provided for protection. Another approach attempted for keeping the gloves 
on the hands of boxers involves the extensive use of laces This approach 
is complicated by the need for un-gloved hands for securing the gloves to 
each hand. Thus, there must be free hands for the full gloving of the 
fighters. While this may be feasible in professional boxing, it is 
definitely not feasible for young boxers. As a result, young boxers 
frequently skip the laces and end up with the very problem that was 
intended to be avoided by the complex lacing arrangement. Thus, this 
approach has not been a viable solution for very young children. 
According to the present invention, the young boxer wears a boxing uniform 
that is decorated with the face of a professional boxer, real or 
imaginary. The face is provided on the front of the torso of the uniform, 
providing a target for the opponent. The uniform is particularly well 
suited to decoy the punches away from the child's head and towards the 
torso. Consistent with the safety features of the invention, the torso 
section of the uniform is padded to provide protection from blows thrown 
by the opponent. The appearance of the boxer's face on the front of the 
uniform is complemented by the provision of the image of boxer's trunks 
immediately below the boxer's face. This creates a fanciful image of a 
cartoon-like boxer and is particularly well suited to stimulate the 
child's imagination and thus to enhance the enjoyment of the wearing of 
the uniform. 
The garment may be worn as a piece of clothing or it may be a pillow-like 
front portion that is secured to the front of the child by, for instance, 
elastic straps that are provided to loop behind the child's neck and legs. 
The image on the front of the garment may include three dimensional 
features to further enhance the enjoyment of the garment. For instance, 
the nose of the illustrated boxer may extent forward to provide a good 
target for the child. In addition to providing a good target, this feature 
will increase the child's ability to imagine that he is the boxer himself 
as he wears the garment with the boxer's image on the front. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a child's toy that 
permits a child to engage in fanciful boxing without being subjected to 
the dangers typically encountered in boxing. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a padded and decorated 
boxing toy having a simulated face of a boxer on the front of the toy to 
promote imaginary competition in the sport of boxing while protecting the 
child wearing the padded toy from being exposed to the typical dangers of 
boxing. 
It is still another object of the invention to provide a padded garment to 
be worn on the front of a child's torso during a boxing contest to enhance 
the child's feeling of enjoyment while at the same time protecting the 
child. 
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a garment for 
simulated boxing having adjustable sleeves, each of the adjustable 
sleeves, having boxing gloves attached to the ends so the length of the 
sleeves may be conformed to the length of the arms of the child wearing 
the garment. 
It is also an object of the invention to provide a garment to be worn by a 
child in a manner such that the opponent in a boxing match will direct the 
punches towards the padded torso rather than the child's head. This is 
done by providing a fanciful boxer's face on a portion of the padded torso 
portion of the garment and by providing the image of boxer's trunks along 
the lower portion of the garment. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a garment having 
combinations of the features described in these objects.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a child wearing a preferred 
embodiment of the invention. The padded front portion 1 of the garment is 
provided with an image of a boxer's face 2 and a boxer's trunks 3. The 
boxer's nose 4 is three dimensional and extends out from the surface of 
the padded front portion of the garment, as more fully shown in FIG. 4. 
Ears 5 are provided on the sides of the boxer's head 2 and a fringe 6 
along the top of the garment simulates the boxer's hair. A simulated 
waistband 7 contains a fanciful "manufacturer's name" and the trunks 
resemble real boxers' trunks. However, in this arrangement, the garment is 
not a complete garment, but is rather designed to be worn over the child's 
regular clothing. Thus, the padded front portion is secured to the child 
by a set of straps 8A, 8B that circle behind the child, preferably elastic 
straps behind the child's neck 8A and legs 8B, as more fully shown in FIG. 
3. The child's arms are inserted into the garments arms 9, which arms are 
provided with simulated boxing gloves 10. The child's hands are inserted 
into the gloves 10, which are heavily padded, as is suitable for simulated 
boxing. The combination of a padded torso portion 1 of the garment and the 
padded gloves 10 provides a reasonable degree of safety for a young boxer. 
The images of the boxer's face 2 and trunks 3, on the front of the garment 
tend to attract the blows thrown so that punches are directed towards the 
torso rather than towards the child's face. 
To further encourage the striking of the torso rather than the child's 
face, a supplemental attraction is provided in the preferred embodiment of 
the invention. A child is usually entertained by an audio stimuli and the 
present invention relies on this additional feature by providing a sound 
maker 41 (shown in FIG. 4) in the nose 4 of the boxer. Thus, when the nose 
4 on the front of the torso portion i of the garment is firmly struck, a 
funny sound is produced. In a slight modification of this feature, the 
sound may be made somewhat more realistic with respect to what a 
prizefighter may utter when struck in the nose. Thus the sound may be 
either funny or crass or otherwise entertaining for the child. 
Referring next to FIG. 2, the details of the front padded portion of the 
children's toy can be demonstrated. The front portion of the garment that 
makes up this children's toy is preferably quilted to accentuate the 
features on the face 2 of the boxer. Thus, stitching is provided around 
the periphery of one or more of the facial features of the boxer, 
illustrated here as stiching 21 around the boxer's eye. This, combined 
with the thick padded torso portion of the toy, provides a three 
dimensional effect. To further accentuate the features of the boxer's 
face, the nose 4 is provided in accentuated relief, as more fully shown in 
FIG. 4. Also, ears 5 are provided on each side of the boxer's head to 
further enhance the visual stimulation of the child playing with this toy. 
Further visual stimulation is provided by including a tuft of hair 6A on 
the boxer's head. In this embodiment, the hair comprises a cluster of 
threads of yarn. This is to be distinguished from the gathered cloth 
fringe 6 that is illustrated with respect to the hair of the fighter shown 
in FIG. 1. The boxer's trunks are actually a continuation of the single 
padded torso member that makes up the face of the boxer. However, to give 
this portion of the toy a separate appearance, a waistband portion 7 is 
formed by either forming a gathered fabric portion of the layer of fabric 
making up the front of the padded portion, or by attaching a gathered 
waistband to the front surface of the padded member. For still greater 
visual stimulation, the front of the garment is brightly colored with 
bright hair 6A, a bulbous red nose 4, various cuts and bruises 22 and a 
heavy bearded complexion 23. 
The trunks 3 of the boxer are simply a continuation of the fabric layer 
that makes up the boxer's face. While it would be feasible to provide a 
separate fabric portion for the trunks, for instance if there is a desire 
to provide a shiny fabric to simulate silk, or perhaps to actually provide 
silk trunks, this fabric transition could conveniently be implemented 
along the waistband 7 that has been described above. In the embodiment 
shown, the lower portion of the padded front portion of the garment 
includes leg extensions 32A, 32B to further enhance the appearance of the 
boxer while simultaneously allowing the child to have increased 
flexibility for his legs. Even so, the padded portion of the garment 
provides protection for the child's lower body portions which are behind 
the simulated trunks. Thus, the toy provides both a visually stimulating 
appearance and a protective feature. Even further, the toy provides 
sufficient rigidity to cause the front of the garment to retain its 
original shape and appearance even as the wearer moves his body through 
the motions of a prizefighter. 
Referring next to FIG. 3, the rear surface 1R of the toy can be seen. In 
this figure, the elastic straps 8A, 8B of the preferred embodiment are 
shown. These straps will loop around the child's neck 8A and legs 8B to 
hold the padded front portion of the toy against the child's torso. The 
child's arms are inserted into the arms 9 of the toy and the hands go 
inside of the gloves 10 where there may be additional padding, generally 
filling the striking portion 10S of the glove. Also shown is an elastic 
strap 33 that may be provided in each arm to aid in keeping the child's 
hands securely located in the glove portion of the toy. By securing the 
elastic strap to the inside of the glove, and securing the other end to 
the torso portion of the toy, the gloves will be pulled towards the 
wearer. This will cause the hands to be pressed into the gloves. The 
elastic straps are adjustable to accommodate children's arms as they grow. 
In the preferred arrangement, the arms of the toy are attached to the 
torso portion of the toy by elastic straps that provide the force 
necessary to keep the child's hands pressed into the gloves. In this 
arrangement, the first arm portion (designated by length "A") of the toy 
can be designed to extend from the child's hand up to the child's elbow. 
This will provide maximum freedom of movement for the child yet will 
provide a good, reliable method for keeping the gloves on the hands of the 
child, even through the vigorous activities of boxing. Also illustrated is 
a second arm portion (designated by length "B") extending from the 
wearer's elbow towards the wearer's shoulder. In an alternate 
implementation of the garment, the second length is elastic and the first 
length is of a sturdy fabric, with less stretch than the elastic portion. 
A feature of this arrangement is the length adjustment 34B provided in 
length A of the sleeve. The fabric may be gathered along dashed line 34B 
and a conventional clasp may be employed to clamp the gathered fabric and 
thus to effectively shorten the length of the first portion of the sleeve. 
A similar fabric shortening technique may be employed along line 34A, and 
the securing member 35 will provide the locking force needed to retain the 
shortened length of the sleeve. 
While the length adjustment mechanism described above will work reasonably 
well, it may be preferable in some situations to employ alternatives such 
as drawstrings sewn into the length of either or both of the first and 
second sleeve portions. Also, the fastener 35 may be a hooks and loops 
fastener sold under the trademark VELCRO or any other self adhering 
arrangement. 
Referring next to FIG. 4, the three dimensional features of the front 
portion of the toy can be seen. The thickness T of the front padded 
portion is determined by the thickness of the padding 42 provided plus the 
thickness of the front 43A and rear 43B layers of fabric. It is 
anticipated that the thickness of the front will be determined in part by 
the overall size of the torso section. For larger children, a thicker pad 
may be desired in consideration of the expected greater punching power of 
a larger child. For younger children, the thickness may be on the order of 
an inch. This thickness will provide a reasonable compromise between the 
need for structural integrity and the desire for a weight that is suitable 
for the child wearing the toy. The fabric is suitably selected from cotton 
cotton blends and artificial fabrics such as rayon, polyester and blends 
with natural fibers. As mentioned earlier, silk would be feasible for the 
boxer's shorts. In the currently envisioned embodiment, a poly-cotton 
blend will provide a good mix of strength and durability. 
The stitching 44 that defines the features on the boxer's face can be seen 
to create depressions in the surface of the padded portion of the toy. The 
nose 4 is a separate element that is secured to the front of the padded 
portion and is shown to contain a noise making element 41, here, a whistle 
connected to an air bladder. Thus, when the nose is compressed, the 
whistle will blow. It is also possible to employ an electrically operated 
sound maker that is actuated by compression of a switch or button. This 
alternative may be selected if it is desired to have the boxer utter some 
comment when his nose is firmly punched. While the sound maker is 
described and shown as being located in the boxer's nose, it may just as 
easily be located in the chin 45 or any other portion of the toy. 
Similarly, more than one sound making device could be employed. 
While the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the 
invention illustrates the various features of the invention, it is to be 
understood that this description is for purposes of illustration and not 
for purposes of limitation of the protection afforded by this patent. The 
invention is intended to be protected to the full extent available as more 
extensively defined in the following claims.