Patent Publication Number: US-6219847-B1

Title: Cocoon garment

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to garments. 
     2. Prior Art 
     People like to wear warm, comfortable garments at home in cold weather. Instead of bulky clothes, some people prefer to wrap themselves in a blanket when reading, watching television, or lounging around. Although blankets are comfortable, they are cumbersome to handle, and they tend to uncover parts of the body or fall off when the wearer shifts or stands up. Wearers must constantly struggle with them. 
     One-piece lounging garments are known in the prior art for covering most of the body without falling off. They typically include front closures with fasteners, such as zippers, buttons, or snaps. Some have separate side pockets for warming the hands, and some have holes at the feet end for the feet to stick out. However, the front closures require the wearer to stand up to put them on or take them off. This is at least inconvenient for able and healthy people, and quite difficult for elderly, wheelchair bound, or bedridden people. They cannot be worn backward because the collars are cut higher at the back than at the front, which makes the collars uncomfortable to wear in a reversed position. Even if they are worn backward with the front closure on the back, the fasteners on the closure would be difficult to reach and operate, especially for the elderly or disabled. Hair can snag on the fasteners, and sitting or lying on the fasteners is uncomfortable. The garments without leg holes must be removed from the legs for walking, and the wearer must hold the lower end of the garment to avoid tripping. 
     OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the objectives of the present cocoon garment are: 
     to provide warmth to the whole body while reading, watching television, or lounging around; 
     to not uncover the body or fall off when the wearer shifts or walks; 
     to be easy to put on or take off while sitting or lying down; 
     to be comfortable to sit on or lie on; 
     to warm the hands; 
     to enable the wearer to walk while still wearing it; 
     to enable the wearer to walk without having to hold the lower end of it; 
     to be storable within its own pouch or foot pocket when not being worn; and 
     to be usable as a decorative pillow for a bed or couch when rolled up. 
     Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present cocoon garment is comprised of a tubular body continuously extending between a shoulder end and a feet end for fully covering the torso and legs. A neck opening is provided at the center of the shoulder end, and is cut lower at the front than at the back for comfort. A pair of sleeves are attached to opposite sides of the shoulder end for covering the arms. A center pocket is provided at the front of the tubular body, and includes openings on opposite sides for receiving the hands. A longitudinal slit is provided on the back of the tubular body for entry and exit, even when sitting or lying down. The slit is completely free of fasteners for comfort when sitting or lying on it. Since a person would be mostly sitting or lying down when wearing the garment, the slit does not need to be closed with fasteners anyway. The feet end is removed from the legs for walking. The loose feet end can be raised to avoid tripping by tying it to a higher portion of the garment with cords. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the present cocoon garment. 
     FIG. 2 is a back view thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is a side perspective view thereof being put on. 
     FIG. 4 is a side perspective view thereof in use. 
     FIG. 5 is a side perspective view thereof in use. 
     FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view thereof in use. 
     FIG. 7 is a side perspective view thereof being rolled up. 
     FIG. 8 is a side perspective view thereof completely rolled up. 
     FIG. 9 is a front view of an alternative embodiment thereof. 
     FIG. 10 is a rear view of the alternative embodiment. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 10. Tubular Body 
                 11. Shoulder End 
               
               
                   
                 12. Feet End 
                 13. Sides 
               
               
                   
                 14. Neck Opening 
                 15. Collar 
               
               
                   
                 16. Sleeves 
                 17. Cuffs 
               
               
                   
                 18. Center Pocket 
                 19. Side Openings 
               
               
                   
                 20. Slit 
                 21. Foot Pocket 
               
               
                   
                 22. Cords 
                 23. Loop 
               
               
                   
                 24. Slit 
                 25. Neck Opening 
               
               
                   
                 26. Collar 
                 27. Neck Opening Closure 
               
               
                   
                 28. Neck Band 
                 29. Fastener 
               
               
                   
                 30. Fastener 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS.  1 - 2 : 
     A preferred embodiment of the present cocoon garment is shown in a front view in FIG. 1 and a back view in FIG.  2 . It is comprised of a tubular body  10  continuously extending between a shoulder end  11  and a feet end  12  for fully covering the torso and legs. Tubular body  10  is closed along opposite sides  13 . A neck opening  14  is provided at the center of shoulder end  11 , and is cut lower at the front than at the back for comfort. Neck opening  14  is preferably permanently fixed in a loop, but it can include a closure at the back with a fastener, such as a button, snap, hooks-and-loops, etc. An optional collar  15  is attached to neck opening  14 . A pair of sleeves  16  are attached to opposite sides of shoulder end  11  for covering the arms. Sleeves  16  are preferably long sleeves with narrowed cuffs  17 . A center pocket  18  is provided at the front of tubular body  10 , and includes side openings  19  for receiving the hands. 
     A longitudinal slit  20  is provided on the back of tubular body  10  for entry and exit. The top end of slit  20  is preferably about 3 inches below shoulder end  11 , and the bottom end of slit  20  is preferably about 14 inches from above feet end  12 . A foot pocket  21  is thus provided at feet end  12 . The left side of slit  20  is shown partially opened. Because slit  20  is on the back, it is completely free of fasteners for comfort when sitting or lying on it. Feet end  12  is removed from the legs for walking. It can be raised by tying cords  22  at an upper portion of the garment to a loop  23  at feet end  12 . Alternatively, cords  22  and loop  23  can be replaced with other types of fasteners, such as buttons, snaps, hooks-and-loops, etc. 
     FIG.  3 : 
     In FIG. 2, the garment is put on by entering slit  20 , putting the head through the neck opening and the arms through the sleeves, and putting the legs through slit  20  into foot pocket  21 . Because slit  20  is on the back, the garment can be put on or taken off while sitting or lying down. This is very convenient, particularly for the elderly, disabled, bedridden, or anyone who has trouble getting up. There are no fasteners on the back, where they would otherwise be difficult to reach and use. Since the wearer would be mostly sitting or lying down on slit  20 , no cold air can enter through it, so it does not need to be closed with fasteners anyway. 
     FIGS.  4 - 6 : 
     The garment provides comfort and warmth while reading or lounging, as shown in FIGS. 4-5. Unlike a blanket, it will not uncover any part of the body or fall off when the wearer shifts or walks around. The hands are free for writing, handiwork, reading, etc. In FIG. 5, the hands are inserted into pocket  18  through side openings  19  to keep them warm. Unlike conventional separate side pockets, which are relatively small, center pocket  18  is big enough for holding various items, such as small books, cordless phones, television remote controls, etc. In FIG. 6, the wearer can walk while still wearing the garment by removing the legs from feet end  12 . The loose feet end  12  can be held by hand to avoid tripping, or it can be attached to an upper part of tubular body  10  by tying cords  22  to loop  23  (FIG.  1 ). 
     FIGS.  7 - 8 : 
     In FIG. 7, the garment is folded for storage from the shoulder end toward feet end  12 , and stuffed into foot pocket  21 . The folded garment can also be used a decorative pillow for a bed or couch, as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     FIGS.  9 - 10 : 
     An alternative embodiment of the garment is shown in FIG.  9 . It include a slit  24  which extends to the top edge of a neck opening  25  and a collar  26  to allow it to be put on or taken off without having it pulled over the wearer&#39;s head. This is particularly advantageous for the sick or elderly. A neck opening closure  27  is provided at neck opening  25  to close slit  24 . Neck opening closure  27  is preferably comprised of a strap  28  extending from one side of slit  24 , and a fastener  29  at the end of strap  28 . Neck band  28  is long enough to wrap around to the front of collar  26  and secured to another fastener  30  at the front of collar  26 . Having the fasteners connect at the front of the garment makes them much easier to operate. 
     SUMMARY AND SCOPE 
     Accordingly, the present cocoon garment provides warmth and comfort to the whole body while reading, watching television, or lounging around. It does not uncover the body or fall off when the wearer moves about or walks around. It is easy to put on or take off while sitting or lying down. It is comfortable to sit on or lie on. It warms the hands. It enables the wearer to walk while still wearing it. It enables the wearer to walk without having to hold the feet end of it. It is storable within its own pocket when not being worn. It is also usable as a decorative pillow for a bed or couch when rolled up into the pocket. It is great for keeping warm while studying, staying in a hospital, working on crafts, lounging on a cruise, watching a ball game, relaxing in a spa, flying in an airplane, sitting in a wheelchair, reading, snuggling, napping, sleeping. It is also great as a promotional giveaway. 
     Although the above description is specific, it should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the invention, but only as an example of the preferred embodiment. Many variations are possible within the teachings of the invention. For example, the garment can be made in a variety of fabric type materials. It can be made is a variety of sizes. The relative positions and shapes of the elements can vary. It may be provided with surface indicia, such as crests, logos, emblems, etc. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not by the examples given.