Patent Publication Number: US-6209133-B1

Title: Integrated bib/teether apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to a bib for an infant and, more particularly, to a bib with a teething material integral thereto. 
     2. Background Art 
     Infant bibs have been known in the art for many years. In particular, many of these bibs have had various articles, such as toys, playthings or pacifiers, directly attached by a tether, loop or stitching. Attaching these articles directly to the bib provides an infant with easy access to these articles, while preventing the articles from becoming easily lost. 
     Yet other bibs have included teething material attached directly thereto. For instance, Kamrath, U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,510 discloses a bib with a teething material attached to the bottom of the bib on both the front and back sides. The teething material may be molded, sewn, or snapped onto the bottom of the bib. 
     While Kamrath provided an advantage by integrating teething material directly into the bib, teething material is typically heavier than the remainder of a cloth bib. As a result, a large piece of rubber attached to and covering a substantial portion of the bottom of a bib is heavy and provides additional strain when the bib is placed around an infant&#39;s neck. Moreover, such a design provides teething material in essentially only one location, at the bottom of the bib, thus leaving the remaining sides of the bib susceptible to biting, sucking or chewing by the infant and potential fraying and/or eroding of the bib. Bib fraying or eroding, in turn, may lead to ingestion of portions of the bib by the infant. 
     Accordingly, there remains a need for a bib having teething material integrated thereto which more evenly distributes the weight of the teething material over the entirety of the bib. Moreover, there also remains a need for a bib with teething material distributed over a larger portion of the outer periphery of the bib to permit infant access to the teething material at virtually any accessible point on the outside of the bib. Finally, it is desirable to provide a teether bib that may be folded up to form a pocket for catching crumbs and other food, while also facilitating the teething process. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a teething bib having a front side, a back side, an upper half, a lower half, a bottom, an outer periphery having an outer peripheral edge and teething material operably associated with at least a portion of the outer periphery of the bib. The bib includes an opening for an infant&#39;s head. 
     The teething material preferably emanates from the outer peripheral edge of the bib. In one embodiment, the teething material extends around the substantial entirety of the outer periphery of the bib. In another embodiment, the teething material extends around the substantial entirety of the bottom half of the bib and at least a portion of the upper half of the bib. In yet another embodiment, the teething material is located on both the front and back of the bib and includes gaps to reduce the weight of the bib. 
     The bib preferably further includes a fastening member for folding the bottom of the bib into a pocket. The pocket may function as a crumb catcher, or a hiding place for food and toys for infant amusement. Furthermore, folding the bib may also conveniently place the teething material closer to the infant&#39;s mouth, and remove the bib from any chance of interfering with the diaper changing process. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the teething bib according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the teething bib shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the teething bib shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the teething bib shown in FIG. 1 with a portion of the bib folded and secured in a folded orientation; 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a teething bib according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a teething bib according to yet another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a teething bib according to still another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the teething bib shown in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the teething bib shown in FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of a teething bib according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail several specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated. 
     Bib  20  is shown in FIGS. 1-4 as comprising front  22 , back  24 , upper half  26 , bottom half  28 , bottom  29 , outer periphery  30 , outer peripheral ledge  32 , and teething material  34 . Bib  20  is preferably constructed from a lightweight fabric that is preferably washable. Further, bib  20  is preferably bound at outer periphery  30  by stitching, fabric tape, or a combination thereof to reinforce both outer periphery  30  and outer peripheral edge  32  against erosion or fraying. Furthermore, bib  20  may be coated with a liquid and/or food resistant liner on one or both of the front and back sides. Alternatively, the bib may be constructed from a liquid and/or food resistant fabric. Certainly, one with ordinary skill in the art would recognize that bib  20  may be comprised of other conventional materials. 
     Upper half  26  of bib  20  further includes opening  50  for receiving an infant&#39;s head. Opening  50  is preferably surrounded by an elastic material to facilitate placement of bib  20 , and particularly opening  50 , over an infant&#39;s head and around an infant&#39;s neck. However, while opening is shown in the drawings, it is likewise contemplated that the bib includes any access port or opening which may be either pulled over an infant&#39;s head or positioned around an infant&#39;s neck and fastened in that position. 
     Teething material  34  is shown in FIGS. 1-4 as associated with outer periphery  30  of bib  20 . Preferably, teething material  34  comprises a non-toxic rubber that does not erode during the teething process. Moreover, teething material  34  is preferably a lightweight rubber to minimize the strain of the bib upon an infant&#39;s neck. While suitable materials include polypropylene, EVA and latex rubber, other materials as would be known by those of ordinary skill in the art with the present disclosure before them are likewise contemplated. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  4 , teething material emanates from outer peripheral edge  32  of bib  20 . Preferably, teething material  34  is sewn into outer periphery  30  to ensure that an infant is precluded from tearing the teething material from the bib. However, it is likewise contemplated that teething material may be molded into the outer periphery of the bib, or snapped on to ensure an integrated fit onto the bib. Preferably, teething material  34  does not extend past outer peripheral edge  32  of bib  20  and onto front  22  of the bib. This distribution minimizes teething material requirements, while also distributing the weight of the teething material more evenly over the bib. Thus, an infant reaps the benefits of a lighter weight bib, while still having access to a teething surface at virtually any convenient peripheral point. 
     Front  22  of bib  20  further includes fastening member  40 . Fastening member  40  preferably comprises a Velcro™-type hook and loop fastening mechanism, preferably including hook regions  42  and loop regions  44 . Fastening member  40  permits bottom  29  of the bib to be folded up and over itself and secured in a folded orientation, shown in FIG.  4 . In the folded orientation, the two adjacent portions of the folded bib form pocket  46 , which acts as a crumb catcher during feeding of an infant. The Velcro™ hook and loop fastening mechanism allows quick and easy formation of pocket  46 , while also allowing the pocket to be quickly and easily broken down for wiping, washing or general cleaning of the bib. Moreover, while hook and loop fasteners are shown in FIGS. 1-4, other fastening mechanisms such as a snap, rivet or latch, or other fastening mechanisms as would be contemplated by one of ordinary skill with the present disclosure before them, are likewise contemplated. 
     Teething material  34  facilitates formation of pocket  46 . In particular, the teething material provides separation of the adjacent portion of the bib, thus preventing sticking of one adjacent portion to another and helping to create a pocket opening. Additionally, the extra weight of the heavier teething material maintains the opening in the pocket, thus enhancing the crumb and food catching ability of the bib. 
     Aside from functioning as a crumb catching pocket, fastening mechanism  40  imparts other advantages to bib  20 . For instance, pocket  46  may also form a useful plaything for an infant. Specifically, the pocket functions as a hiding place for food or toys for maintaining an infant&#39;s attention or fascination during a meal. 
     Additionally, folding the bottom of the bib and securing the same in a folded orientation places the teething material on the outer periphery of the bottom of the bib closer to the opening  50  and closer to an infant&#39;s head and mouth. Thus, the teething material is more accessible for teething. Furthermore, folding the bib reduces its length. This reduction in length can be advantageous when changing an infant&#39;s diaper, as the reduced length may remove a portion of the bib from interfering with the diaper changing process. 
     In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, bib  60  likewise includes teething material  34 ′ emanating from outer peripheral edge  32 ′ of outer periphery  30 ′. Teething material  34 ′ extends around the entirety of the outer peripheral edge of bib  60  to ensure that an infant has unlimited access to teething material on any portion of the bib, no matter which direction the infant may turn its head. Such a configuration still permits the infant to teethe even if the bib is rotated or displaced around the infant&#39;s neck. Additionally, the teething material configuration of FIG. 5 precludes an infant from teething on a portion of the outer periphery of the bib which is not covered by teething material, thus preventing fraying or eroding of the bib upon continuous teething, biting or sucking by the infant. 
     In still another embodiment, bib  70  is shown in FIG. 6 as including teething material  34 ″ which extends from outer peripheral edge  32 ″ of outer periphery  30 ″ of bib  70  in much the same way as had been described with respect to the teething material in FIGS. 1-4 and FIG.  5 . However, instead of extending around the entirety of the bib, as in FIG. 5, teething material  34 ″ extends around the substantial portion of the outer periphery of bottom half  28 ″ of the bib and at least a portion of the outer periphery of upper half  26 ″ of the bib. Such a configuration minimizes the amount of teething material required and thus the weight of the bib, while still maintaining teething material in a location which is practically accessible by an infant when the bib hangs down in front of an infant. 
     In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7-9, bib  80  comprises outer periphery  81 , outer peripheral edge  82  and teething material  84 . As can be seen in FIGS. 7-8, teething material  84  is associated with outer periphery  81  at the bottom of bib  80 , and is located on both front  86  and back  88  of bib  80 . Teething material  84  preferably includes gaps  89  which define a plurality of segments of teething material. Gaps  89  minimize the weight of the teething material in bib  80  as it rests around an infant&#39;s neck. At the same time, gaps  89  are preferably small in size so as to preclude direct contact between an infant&#39;s teeth and/or gums with outer peripheral edge  82  of the portions of bib  80  exposed by gaps  89 . Furthermore, though not shown in FIG. 7, bib  80  may further include a fastening member as described with respect to FIGS. 1-4 above. The teething material of FIGS. 7-9, preferably, may be formed into toy shapes for the infant&#39;s enjoyment. 
     In yet another embodiment, bib  90  is shown in FIG. 10 as having teething material  94  associated with the bottom portion of the bib on the outer periphery. Much like bib  80  of FIGS. 7-9, bib  90  includes gaps  99  between separate segments of teething material  94 . As can be seen from FIG. 10, teething material  94  conforms to the shape of bib  90 . Thus, teething material  94  still is accessible on a large portion of the bottom half of bib  90  for easy access. 
     The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the present disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.