Abstract:
A sack for a baby is provided. The sack may be worn by a baby while sleeping to ensure that the baby is kept warm during cold nights. The sack also provides additional protection to the baby from overheating via a heat vent which allows hot air from within the sack to pass therethrough as the inside temperature of the sack rises to an unacceptable level. The heat vent may be covered with a mesh which allows hot air to pass therethrough but prevents a baby&#39;s legs and feet from passing therethrough.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 10/701,050, filed Nov. 4, 2003, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention relates generally to baby clothing, and more particularly to baby clothing for maintaining a baby&#39;s normal body temperature within the baby clothing while the baby is sleeping.  
         [0004]     Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is an unexplained sudden death of a healthy baby. SIDS occurs in babies typically between the ages of one (1) month to one (1) year. It occurs more prevalently in babies between the ages of one (1) month and four (4) months. Further, most deaths occur during the fall, winter and early spring. Despite scientific research into the cause of SIDS, scientists are still unsure of its exact cause. However, certain precautions may help reduce the possibility of SIDS. For example, scientists believe that a baby&#39;s sleep position may provide protection against SIDS. In particular, scientists believe that placing the baby on their back during sleep reduces the possibilities of SIDS. Moreover, scientists believe that overheating the baby may also increase the possibilities of SIDS.  
         [0005]     Overheating the baby may in part be caused by concerned parents. In particular, in cold environments, parents dress their babies in warm clothing to ensure that their baby does not catch a cold. For example, parents may dress babies in warm clothing during sleep time to ensure that as the temperature drops throughout the night, the baby will not become cold thereby becoming susceptible to catching a cold. However, by dressing the baby in warm clothing during sleep, the baby may become too warm thereby increasing the possibility of SIDS. As such, parents may underdress their baby prior to placing their baby to sleep. However, as discussed above, the baby may become too cold increasing the possibility of catching a cold. In this regard, the options for parents are either to increase the baby&#39;s risk of catching a cold or to increase the baby&#39;s risk of SIDS. Both choices appear to be undesirable with the later having an unacceptable risk (i.e., SIDS).  
         [0006]     Accordingly, there is a need in the art for baby clothing which may maintain a baby&#39;s normal body temperature even though ambient temperatures fluctuates such that the baby is not at risk to catch a cold nor at risk of SIDS.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a sack which may comprise a cloth body. The cloth body may have three openings, namely, a left arm aperture, right arm aperture and a neck aperture. These apertures may be sized and configured to receive the left arm, right arm and neck of a baby, respectively. Further, the cloth body may have a pouch configuration. Accordingly, the baby when wearing the sack may have their torso and legs contained within the sack with their arms and head outside of the sack. The sack of the present invention may also have a heat vent or venting aperture formed at a lower portion of the cloth body. The vent may be operative to pass hot air from an inside to an outside of the cloth body when the temperature within the cloth body is raised to an unacceptable level for the baby. The vent may be sized and configured such that a sufficient amount of heat is expended from within the sack such that the baby wearing the sack does not overheat.  
         [0008]     However, if the vent is too large then the baby&#39;s feet may protrude through the vent to expose the baby&#39;s feet to the environment which may be too cold for the baby. As such, the vent may further be covered with a mesh having a plurality of apertures. The plurality of apertures may prevent the baby&#39;s feet from protruding through the vent yet allow hot air from within the sack to be expelled therefrom to cool down the inside temperature thereof. Accordingly, parents and caretakers may rest assured that the baby wearing the sack is warmed by the sack and hot air within the sack is expelled through the vent to maintain the sack&#39;s inside temperature at an acceptable level. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     An illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sack worn by a baby wherein the sack incorporates a vent;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the sack of  FIG. 1  with a temperature measuring member positioned within the sack and a zipper in an unzipped position;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the temperature measuring member in communication with a temperature displaying member;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the sack of  FIG. 1  with the baby removed from the sack and the zipper in a zipped position; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the vent of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Referring now to the drawings which are for the purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not for the purpose of limiting the same,  FIG. 1  illustrates a sack  10  of the present invention with a baby  12  fitted therein. The sack  10  shown in  FIG. 1  may comprise a clothing body  14  with a left arm aperture  16  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ), a right arm aperture  18  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) and a neck aperture  20  (see  FIGS. 2 and 4 ). The left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  are shown without a sleeve (not shown) and may be sized and configured to receive the shoulder joints of the baby  12 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  may be lined with a soft plush material  22   a,    22   b  (see  FIG. 2 ) such as cotton such that the left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  do not irritate or cause discomfort to the baby  12  wearing the sack  10 . Furthermore, the left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  may have an elastic band (not shown) sewn in its seams such that the left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  may snugly fit onto the baby&#39;s shoulder joint, as shown in  FIG. 1 . It is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  may further have sleeves (not shown) attached thereto to cover arms  26  of the baby  12 .  
         [0016]     The neck aperture  20  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  may be interposed between the left and right arm apertures  16 ,  18  wherein the neck aperture  20 , left arm aperture  16  and right arm aperture  18  are sized and configured to receive a neck  24  (see  FIG. 1 ) and arms  26   a,    26   b  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the baby  12 . The neck aperture  20  may be lined with a soft plush material  22   c  (see  FIG. 2 ) such as cotton similar to the arm apertures  16 ,  18  such that the neck aperture  20  does not irritate the baby  12  wearing the sack  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , a zipper  28  may extend from the neck aperture  20  toward a lower portion  30  of the sack  10  on its frontal side  32 . The zipper  28  enables the baby&#39;s caretaker to slip the sack  10  on and off of the baby  12 . The zipper  28  may be placed in a zipped position (see  FIG. 4 ) or unzipped position (see  FIG. 2 ). A strap  34  (see  FIGS. 1 and 4 ) may be engaged to the opposing sides  36   a,    36   b  of the clothing body  14  adjacent an upper terminal end  38  of the zipper  28 . The strap  34  may be engaged to opposing sides  36   a,    36   b  of the clothing body  14  via a system of hooks and loops, button snaps, button/button hole system or other types of engagement mechanism. It is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the zipper  28  may be substituted with other types of closure members such as hooks and loops. Additionally, the neck aperture  20  may also have an elastic band (not shown) sewn in its seams such that the neck aperture  20  may snugly fit around the baby&#39;s neck  24 .  
         [0017]     The clothing body  14  may also be fabricated from a soft material to provide comfort to the baby  12  wearing the sack  10 . More particularly, the clothing body  14  may be fabricated from material with a low heat transfer rate (i.e., an insulator) such as cotton to keep the baby  12  warm. The cloth body  14  may also be fabricated from a material that does not allow air to pass or impedes air passage therethrough (i.e., low permeability). Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the sack  10  may encapsulate the baby&#39;s torso and legs within a single cavity. In this regard, the baby  12  may still be allowed to freely twist and turn within the sack  10  such that the baby  12  may have a full range of motion within the sack  10 . Since the legs and torso are contained within a single cavity, the warmth of the legs and torso synergistically heat the cavity faster and more efficiently.  
         [0018]     The sack  10  may be effective and efficient in retaining heat generated from the baby  12  fitted therein to keep the baby  12  warm in cold environments. However, the retained heat within the sack  10  may cause the baby  12  to be too warm. As such, a vent  40  (see  FIGS. 1, 2 ,  4  and  5 ) may assist in releasing excess heat  42  retained within the sack  10  to maintain the proper temperature within the sack  10  for the baby  12 . The vent  40  may be formed at the lower portion  30  (see  FIGS. 2 and 4 ) of the clothing body  14  to allow the excess heat  42  retained within the sack  10  to escape therethrough, as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0019]     The vent  40  may be a single large aperture formed at the lower portion  30  of the clothing body  14 . The vent  40  may define a periphery  44  (see  FIG. 5 ) which may have attached thereabout an optional resilient semi-rigid member (not shown) such as a wire member or rubber resilient member to maintain an open position (see  FIGS. 1, 2 ,  4  and  5 ) of the vent  40  even when the baby  12  is fitted therein. This assists in ensuring that the vent  40  is open to allow hot air to pass therethrough and to allow cold air to be drawn within the sack, as appropriate. It is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the vent  40  may have an optional zipper (not shown) attached to the vent  40  to allow the vent  40  to be selectively closed and opened.  
         [0020]     The vent  40  may be large enough to cool down the inside temperature of the sack  10 . However, a vent  40  large enough to accomplish this function may also be large enough for the baby&#39;s feet (not shown) to pass therethrough which is not a desired result based on a view that the baby&#39;s feet may become exposed to cold air. To eliminate the possibility of the baby&#39;s feet passing through the vent  40 , the vent  40  may be covered with a mesh  46  (see  FIG. 5 ). For example, the mesh  46  may be sewn about the vent periphery  44  (see  FIG. 5 ). The vent  40  may be covered with the mesh  46  (see  FIG. 5 ) to allow the transfer of hot and cold air therethrough. As used herein, the mesh  46  may be any material which is more permeable compared to the cloth body material. In particular, the mesh  46  may be a cotton cloth fabric with a plurality of apertures  48 .  
         [0021]     Alternatively, it is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the vent  40  may comprise a plurality of apertures (not shown) formed within the clothing body  14  itself and more particularly, a plurality of apertures formed at the lower portion  30  of the sack  10 . In other words, instead of a single large aperture forming the vent  40  with the mesh  46  covering the vent  40 , the lower portion  30  of the clothing body  14  may be punched with a plurality of smaller apertures (not shown). These apertures may each be sufficiently small to prevent a baby&#39;s foot from passing therethrough but as an aggregate, may be sufficient to cool the inside temperature of the clothing body  14  to an acceptable level for the baby  12 .  
         [0022]     The clothing body  14  may further comprise a temperature measuring member  50  (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) and a temperature displaying member  52  (see  FIGS. 1 and 3 ), the particulars of which are discussed in detail in Application Ser. No. 10/701,050 identified in the CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS section of this application. In this regard, the temperature measuring member  50  and the temperature displaying member  52  are optional aspects of the present invention and are not required to practice the various aspects of the present invention discussed herein.  
         [0023]     Generally, the temperature measuring member  50  is positioned within the clothing body  14  (see  FIG. 2 ) and the temperature displaying member  52  is positioned outside of the clothing body  14  (see  FIG. 1 ). The temperature measuring member  50  measures the temperature within the clothing body  14  and communicates the measured temperature to the temperature displaying member  52  which displays the measured temperature. In this regard, the temperature measuring member  50 , temperature displaying member  52 , vent  40  and vent zipper (not shown) may work in conjunction with each other. For example, the baby  12  may wear the sack  10 , and as the temperature within the clothing body  14  increases to keep the baby  12  warm, the temperature measuring member  50  communicates the measured temperature to the temperature displaying member  52  which displays the measured temperature. If the measured temperature displayed via the temperature displaying member  52  is too high for the baby  12 , then the baby&#39;s mother or caretaker may open the vent zipper (not shown) to allow hot air from within the clothing body  14  to pass therethrough to reduce the temperature within the clothing body  14 .  
         [0024]     The sack  10  may allow mothers and caretakers to keep the baby  12  warm in cold environments and simultaneously, maintain the temperature level within the sack&#39;s clothing body  14  at an acceptable level for the baby  12 . For example, as the weather becomes cold, a mother may become concerned that their baby  12  may catch a cold or other illness. In this event, the mother may fit the baby  12  within the sack  10  to keep the baby  12  warm from the cold weather. However, as the mother and baby  12  goes into a department store or other heated/sheltered environment, the baby&#39;s body heat may raise the inside temperature of the clothing body  14  to an unacceptable level for the baby  12 . Accordingly, hot air may pass through the vent  40  to reduce the temperature within the sack  10  to an acceptable level for the baby  12 .  
         [0025]     Additionally, parents and caretakers may rest assured that the baby  12  will not overheat while wearing the sack  10  during sleeping periods. In particular, the baby  12  wearing the sack  10  may be warmed throughout the night via the sack  10 . However, when inside temperature of the sack  10  is raised to an unacceptable level, heat from within the sack  10  is transferred through the vent  40  into the environment. As such, the inside temperature of the sack  10  may be maintained at an acceptable temperature level. In other words, the sack  10  warms the baby  12  to prevent the baby  12  from catching a cold and the sack  10  releases heat via the vent  40  to prevent SIDS even though the ambient temperature fluctuates.  
         [0026]     This description of the various embodiments of the present invention is presented to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and other inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed. The appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.