Abstract:
A garment for children is provided having a body portion formed from a single piece of material in a simple geometric design. A generally curved body portion uses as few as four slits to form a front portion, back portion and opposing arm portions. A front slit can be provided to split the front portion. A neck opening is centrally located and permits the garment to fold around and be secured to the child while the child lays on the same. Optional mitten and hood members can be integrally or removably formed with the garment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/456,862 entitled A CHILD&#39;S CAPE COAT filed Mar. 24, 2003, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to clothing for children and, more particularly, to a coat for a child that is quickly and easily assembled around the child rather than sliding the child&#39;s head or arms through narrow apertures in the coat. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Children and infants can be difficult to clothe at times. Narrow openings, such as those frequently found within sleeves and neck holes of garments become difficult targets while the child flails its arms and wiggles about. Moreover, the child has to be rolled from side to side or partially, if not totally, elevated from the table or floor in order to properly clothe the child in the garment. More times than not, the child is difficult to maneuver leading to further difficulty and frustration. 
   Various prior art garments have been designed in an effort to simplify the process of clothing a child or infant. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,213 Mason discloses a garment for an infant that incorporates a pair of upper and lower garments into a single article of clothing that can be placed on the infant simultaneously. However, the general design of Mason&#39;s garment pattern is fairly complex in its geometry, when manufacturing considerations, such as sizing, are considered. This leads to increases in manufacturing costs and decreases the garment&#39;s ease of use by the consumer. Moreover, Mason&#39;s design fails to provide for adequate limb coverage, thus decreasing its available uses. 
   In U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,127, Kaupin, et al., discloses an infant garment that also incorporates upper and lower garments to increase the speed and ease of clothing the child. The Kaupin, et al design improves upon the Mason design to the extent that the Kaupin, et al. design provides better limb coverage for the child. However, the Kaupin, et al. design is more complex than the Mason design and is more difficult to assemble, thus departing the goals of simplicity and ease of use. Such is the case for a similar design of children&#39;s garment, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,076, by Douez. 
   Few children&#39;s clothing designs can be found within the prior art that are both simple in geometry and easy to use when clothing a child. One example of a prior art children&#39;s jacket is U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,007, by Ito. The Ito garment is fabricated using a body blank and two separate gusset blanks. The gusset blanks are specifically kite-shaped and are coupled to the geometric design of the body blank to form the jacket. Due to its geometric design that requires the use of separate component panels, Ito fails to achieve a garment that is easy to use while remaining simple in design. 
   Accordingly, what is needed is a child&#39;s garment that is simple in design and increases the ease with which a child can be clothed. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The child&#39;s garment of the present invention is provided with a generally circular body blank, having a neck opening, a front portion, a rear portion and opposite sleeve portions. Two pairs of side slits extend radially, inward from the peripheral edge of the body blank, toward the neck opening. Each slit defines a lateral edge of both a sleeve and either the front or rear portion of the body blank. A single elongated slit is formed in the front portion of the body blank to form separate right and left halves of the front portion. Securement means are provided adjacent each of the slits to selectively secure the lateral edge portions to one another for selective formation of the sleeves and body of the garment. 
   Optional mittens are provided in the form of two pocket-shaped members, which are each formed to have a single hand compartment, without separate compartments for thumbs or fingers, using a single piece of material. The mittens may be secured to the underside of each opposing sleeve blank and receive the child&#39;s hands when the garment is in use. Similarly, a hood may be provided in a simple geometric shape that permits removable engagement with the neck opening in the body of the garment. 
   In use, the garment is quickly and easily assembled around the child using a brief series of folding maneuvers. The sleeves and body of the garment are assembled while the child lies on the inner surface of the rear panel. Accordingly, the simple design allows the garment to be placed on the child without struggling to find the sleeves and mittens with the child&#39;s arms and hands or forcing the child&#39;s head through a narrow neck opening. 
   It is therefore one of the principle objects of the present invention to provide a child&#39;s garment that is easy assembled around the child with minimal manipulation of the child or its appendages. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a child&#39;s garment that is comprised of a single, seamless panel of material. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a child&#39;s garment that is versatile and simple to use. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a child&#39;s garment that can be used to clothe a child quickly and easily, even while the child is moving its arms and legs about. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cape coat, having a simple geometric design that is simple and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a child&#39;s garment that has integral mitten and hood portions, which can be selectively used or removed from the garment. 
   These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of one embodiment of the garment of the present invention as the same could be assembled and combined with optional mitten and hood portions; 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the garment of  FIG. 1  in a generally disassembled form; and 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of one embodiment of a pattern from which components of the garment depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2  could be derived. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The garment  10  of the present invention is generally depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . While the garment  10  will be described and depicted herein as a child&#39;s garment, it will be clear to those of skill in the art that the garment could be made for individuals of any age, ranging from infancy to adulthood. Moreover, while the garment  10  is described as a cape coat, it should also be understood that the term “cape coat” is used by way of example and not by limitation as various articles of clothing and outerwear may be interchangeable with one another while being known by one or more different names. 
   The garment  10  is generally provided with a body blank  12  formed from nearly any flexible material that is preferred, depending on the intended use. The body blank  12  is formed to have a front panel  14 , a rear panel  16 , a first sleeve blank  18  and a second opposing sleeve blank  20 . A neck opening  22  is centrally formed within the body blank  12 . A peripheral edge portion  24  generally defines the shape of the body blank  12 . It is preferred that the peripheral edge portion  24  have a generally curved shape. While it is contemplated that circular, elliptical, ovular, and other such curved shapes would suffice in the design of the garment  10 , it is also contemplated that shapes having a plurality of flattened sides, such as hexagons, octagons, and the like will fit within the realm of useable “curved” shapes. 
   A series of four side slits  26  are formed into the body blank  12  and extend inwardly from the peripheral edge portion  24  toward the neck opening  22 . The side slits  26  are preferably disposed with respect to one another so that each slit defines at least one lateral edge  28  of either the first sleeve blank  18  or second sleeve blank  20  and a lateral edge  30  of the front panel  14  or a lateral edge portion  32  of the rear panel  16 . A front slit  34  is preferably formed in the front panel  14  to extend outwardly from the neck opening  22 . It is preferred that the front slit  34  extend through the peripheral edge portion  24  in order to separate the front panel  14  into opposing right and left portions. However, it is contemplated that the front slit  34  may extend only partially toward the peripheral edge portion  24 , when an open-front garment  10  is not desirable. 
   The side slits  26  and the front slit  34  are preferably provided with securement means  36  so that the opposing lateral edges  28  of the first and second sleeve blanks  18  and  20  can be selectively coupled to one another to form a first sleeve  38  and second sleeve  40  of the garment  10 . Similarly, securement means  36  will be provided adjacent the lateral edge portions of the front panel  14  and rear panel  16  so that they may be selectively coupled to one another to form the body  42  of the garment  10 . It is contemplated that nearly any known securement systems in the art could be used for the securement means  36 , such as buttons, snaps, zippers, hook and eye combinations or hook and loop material such as Velcro. 
   Where desirable, optional mitten means  44  may be coupled first and second sleeve blanks  18  and  20  to receive the child&#39;s hands when the garment  10  is being worn. As depicted in  FIG. 2 , first and second mittens  46  and  48  can be coupled to the under side  50  of the body blank  12 , proximate the first and second sleeve blanks  18  and  20 . It is contemplated that the first and second mittens  46  and  48  could be permanently secured to the garment  10  using stitching, adhesives, and the like. However, the first and second mittens  46  and  48  can optionally be provided in a removable fashion using a securement means similar to those identified previously as securement means  36 . 
   An optional hood  52  could be provided for selectively covering the child&#39;s head when the garment  10  is used. The hood  52  is preferably coupled with the inner edge portion  54  of the neck opening  22 . Depending on the intended use of the garment  10 , the hood  52  could be permanently secured to the inner edge portion  54  or removably secured using a securement means similar to those identified previously as securement means  36 . 
   In use, the garment  10  is easily applied around a child without excessive manipulation of the child or its appendages with respect to the changing surface or the garment  10 . Preferably, the garment  10  is first arranged flat on top of a changing surface with each of the securement means  36  being unsecured. The child is then placed on the undersurface  50  of the garment  10  with its head adjacent the neck opening  22 . The front panel  14  is folded onto the front of the child, causing the child&#39;s head to be gently and easily pass through the neck opening  22 . The securement means  36  at the lateral edges  30  and  32  of the front panel  14  and rear panel  16  are then coupled to one another, thus forming the body  42  of the garment  10  around the child. The first and second sleeves  46  and  48  are formed in a similar manner by coupling the securement means  36  at the lateral edges  28  and  28 ′ of the first and second sleeve blanks  18  and  20  around the child&#39;s arms. In this manner, the garment  10  is quickly and easily secured around the child with minimal effort or frustration. 
     FIG. 3  depicts a pattern from which components of the garment  10  could be derived, using a single panel of fabric  56 . The generally circular body blank  12  is depicted as previously described. First and second mitten blanks  58  and  60  are provided as single elongated pieces of material, which can be easily folded upon themselves and secured to form the first and second mittens  46  and  48 . A rear panel  62  and top panel  64  are depicted as one possible embodiment of the design for the hood  52 , depicted in  FIG. 2 . 
   In the drawings and in the specification, there have been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention and although specific items are employed, these are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Changes in the form and proportion of parts, as well as a substitution of equivalents, are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as further defined in the following claims. 
   Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.