Patent Publication Number: US-2010107300-A1

Title: Adaptable coat

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates to an adaptable coat with three different modes of use: the first allows it to be worn by a pregnant woman, the second allows the wearer to carry an infant secured to the chest, and the third allows it to be worn as a standard coat by a non-pregnant person. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Pregnancy, and child-rearing following the birth of an infant, can place extraordinary demands on parents and other caregivers. Some of these demands can be mitigated by the use of specialized equipment and clothing, but because of the transitory nature of these states such specialized items tend to be used for only a short period of time. Pregnancy produces rapid and dramatic changes in the shape of a woman&#39;s body, often requiring specialized maternity clothing to be worn for a period of several weeks but rendering it ill-fitting once the woman is no longer pregnant. Similarly, specialized equipment and apparel exists designed to help carry an infant, but such items are often only usable for a period of months before the infant outgrows them. Additionally, the user of such an infant carrier often has to choose between purchasing one that exposes the infant to the elements but allows the user to wear a standard coat, and one that protects the infant inside the coat but renders the coat unwearable while not carrying an infant. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a coat with an insert worn with the narrow end of the insert on top, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the coat and insert of  FIG. 1  where the coat front seam is open and the insert is shown with its narrow end at the top. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of the insert of  FIG. 1  with the wide end at the top, showing the drawstring. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the coat and insert of  FIG. 1  showing the insert with its wide end at the top and with its edges partially fastened to the coat seam edges, leaving the top portion of the insert above the drawstring detached from the coat. 
         FIG. 5  is a view of the coat with insert of  FIG. 1  being worn, with the insert worn with its narrow end on top. 
         FIG. 6  is a view of the coat with insert of  FIG. 1  being worn, with the insert worn with its wide end on top and its upper portion detached from the coat, allowing a carried infant freedom of movement. 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the coat of  FIG. 1  being worn without the insert. 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A coat with an insert forms one aspect of the invention. The coat comprises an upper body garment with a substantially vertical front seam, and fastening means for closing the front seam. The insert has a left and a right edge with fastening means adapted to fasten to the coat seam edges. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the insert has a wide and a narrow end. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the coat can be worn with the insert fastened to the coat seam edges with the insert&#39;s narrow end at the top. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the coat can be worn with the insert fastened to the coat seam edges with the insert&#39;s wide end at the top. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the coat can be worn without the insert. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the fastening means comprise zippers. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the coat and insert are adapted to enable the wearer to carry a bundle against the torso when the wide end of the insert is worn at the top. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the bundle so carried is an infant. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the fastening means can be partially detached, allowing the upper portion of the insert to fold away from the body when carrying an infant. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the insert further comprises a means for making itself wider or narrower. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, this means comprises a drawstring. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the invention comprises only an insert as described above. 
     Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the appended claims and upon review of the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention consists of an adaptable coat designed to be worn by a pregnant woman or a non-pregnant person, with or without an infant carried on the chest. 
     In one embodiment, the invention comprises a coat  2 , or other upper-body outerwear garment, and a fabric insert  4 . The coat  2  has an open vertical seam in front that can be closed by fastening the left  14  and right  16  edges of the seam to each other using a fastening means  18 , such as a zipper. The insert  4  comprises a strip of fabric with a narrow end  8  and a wide end  6 , having fastening means  18  on its left  10  and right  12  edges allowing it to fasten to the edges  14 , 16  of the coat seam with either the wide end  6  or the narrow end  8  at the top. 
     When the insert  4  is fastened to the coat seam with the wide end  6  at the top, the total circumference of the coat  2  around the wearer&#39;s torso is widened in the upper torso region, around the chest and upper back. This allows the wearer to carry a bundle, such as an infant  26 , riding against the chest and supported inside the coat  2 . 
     When the insert  4  is fastened to the coat seam with the wide end  6  at the bottom, the total circumference of the coat  2  around the wearer&#39;s torso is widened in the lower torso region, around the abdomen and lower back. This allows the coat  2  to be worn by someone with a distended abdomen, such as a pregnant woman. 
     This embodiment of the invention includes a horizontal drawstring  20  sewn into the insert  4  approximately one-third of the length of the insert  4  from the wide end  6 . The drawstring  20  runs from the left edge  10  and the right edge  12  of the insert  4  through a housing  21  sewn into the insert  4 , and emerges through a pair of eyelets  22  sewn into the insert  4 , allowing the wearer to adjust it. This drawstring  20  is located on the outside surface of the insert  4  when it is worn with the wide end  6  at the top. Thus, when worn with the wide end  6  up, the width of the insert  4  can be easily adjusted to provide the required amount of snugness and support for a carried infant  26 . The drawstring  20  may also be attached securely to the edges of the insert  10 , 12 , providing additional support for an infant  26  being carried inside the coat. The drawstring  20  may be concealed, but still accessible, if the top portion of the insert  4  is detached from the seam edges  14 , 16  by partially unzipping the zipper; this also lowers the level at which the top of the insert  4  covers the chest, allowing a carried infant  26  free movement of its head, chest and arms. The drawstring  20  may additionally be used to adjust the snugness of the coat  2  over the abdomen when the insert  4  is worn in with the narrow end  8  on top; in this case, the drawstring  20  may be adjusted before closing the coat  2  or by reaching up underneath the insert  4  when the coat  2  is closed. 
     The coat  2  may also be worn without the insert. The seam edges  14 , 16  may be fastened to each other using the fastening means, thereby closing the front seam of the coat. 
     In another embodiment, the invention comprises only the insert  4  as described above. The insert  4  may be used in conjunction with any coat or other garment that has a vertical front seam with compatible fastening means  18 . 
     Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a front view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention as a coat  2  with an insert  4  worn with the narrow end  8  of the insert  4  on top. The right insert edge  12  is fastened to the right coat seam edge  16  by the fastening means  18 , shown here as a zipper, and the left insert edge  10  is fastened to the left coat seam edge  14  by the fastening means  18 . This configuration allows the invention to be worn so as to accommodate abdominal distension, such as that accompanying pregnancy, as illustrated by  FIG. 5 . (Note that the stitching of the drawstring housing  21  is also visible in  FIG. 5 , even though the drawstring  20  is only accessible on the reverse surface of the insert  4 .) 
     Referring again to the drawings,  FIG. 2  shows the insert  4  separate from the coat  2 . The zippers that constitute the fastening means  18  in this embodiment have one shuttle  19  per mated pair of zipper teeth rows  17 . In this embodiment, the coat has one shuttle  19  attached to the zipper teeth row  17  on the left coat seam edge  14 , and one shuttle  19  connected to the zipper teeth row  17  on the right insert edge  12 . When the insert  4  is flipped over with its wide end  6  on top and its drawstring  20  facing out, the reverse side of the insert  4  is exposed, as in  FIG. 3 . Here, again, the right insert edge  12  has a shuttle  19  attached to its zipper teeth row  17 , while the left insert edge  10  does not. Thus,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  illustrate that, in this embodiment of the invention, the fastening means  18  on each insert edge  10 , 12  comprises two zipper teeth rows  17 —one on each surface of the insert—with a shuttle  19  attached to each of the two zipper teeth rows  17  on the right insert edge  12 . 
       FIG. 2  also shows the passage of the drawstring  20  as it passes from the left insert edge  10 , through the drawstring housing  21 , out one eyelet  22 , back in through the second eyelet  22 , and through the drawstring housing  21  to the right insert edge  12 . This configuration allows the wearer to adjust the width of the insert  4  by tightening or loosening the portion of the drawstring  20  accessible outside the housing  21 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a left side view of one embodiment of the invention, with the insert  4  worn with its wide end  6  on top and the upper portion  24  of the insert  4  disconnected from the coat  2 . The shuttle  19  mating the zipper teeth rows of the left insert edge  10  and the left coat seam edge  14  is drawn down to approximately the level of the drawstring housing  21 , permitting the upper portion  24  of the insert  4  to hang loosely or fold over. This configuration is shown in  FIG. 6  on a wearer carrying an infant  26 . The upper portion  24  of the insert  4  is folded down, covering the drawstring  20  and allowing the infant  26  freedom of movement for its head and arms. 
     It will be appreciated that, while the invention has been described as a coat, the insert  4  and its use as described herein can be coupled with any of a number of different garment types covering the upper body and having a substantially vertical front opening, such as a jacket, sweater, vest, poncho, shirt, harness, or dress. For purposes of this application, the term coat includes all of these garment types covering the upper body and having a substantially vertical opening. It will also be understood that the term “fabric” is used herein to indicate any substantially two-dimensional material suitable for incorporation into the surface of a garment, including rigid materials and plastic as well as woven fabrics. 
     While the primary fields of use referred to herein are outerwear for pregnant women and for people carrying infants, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these uses. Other uses fall within the ambit of the invention and the claims, such as: adaptable protective or sanitary garments for pregnant women or people of different body shapes; adaptable garments for people carrying bundles other than infants; inserts allowing existing garments to be adapted to changing body shapes; and so on. 
     It will further be appreciated that the fastening means  18  used to fasten the insert  4  to the coat seam edges  14 , 16 , or used to fasten the coat seam edges  14 , 16  to each other, are not limited to zippers, but encompass such fastening means  18  as buttons, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, buckles, clips, straps, ties, and so on. In an example embodiment, the narrow end  8  of the insert is in the range of approximately ⅕ the width of the wide end  6  of the insert. It should be understood that the narrow end may vary as desired in the range of 10% to 90% of the width of the wide end  6 . 
     The various embodiments presented above are merely examples and are in no way meant to limit the scope of this disclosure. Variations of the innovations described herein will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, such variations being within the intended scope of the present application. In particular, features from one or more of the above-described embodiments may be selected to create alternative embodiments comprised of a sub-combination of features which may not be explicitly described above. In addition, features from one or more of the above-described embodiments may be selected and combined to create alternative embodiments comprised of a combination of features which may not be explicitly described above. Features suitable for such combinations and sub-combinations would be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art upon review of the present application as a whole. The subject matter described herein and in the recited claims intends to cover and embrace all suitable changes in technology.