Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a protective front covering for a baby garment. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a protective front covering of a baby&#39;s garment that is integrated into the garment, does not dangle in front of it and is made of a lightweight and flexible material for a young child to wear. 
         [0003]    2. The Related Art 
         [0004]    US Patent Publication No. 2007/0250978 discloses a child&#39;s garment suitable for infants and toddlers that includes an exterior fabric shell for drooling protection. The bib or exterior fabric shell can be of the same material as the garment but contains extra layers of fabric to absorb drool without it soaking through to the child&#39;s skin (see Paragraph 0011). This reference disclosed making a bib out of cloth material. 
         [0005]    U.S. Design Pat. No. D288022 disclosed a bib with long sleeves which effectively shows an integrated bib and garment. This reference differs from your invention in that the bib is part of the initial garment and not added onto top of the garment chest area. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,092 discloses an infant&#39;s garment with a bib formed of a layer of synthetic plastic sheet material bonded onto the garment by a layer of thermoplastic filler material. The bib is formed of more than one layer and has a layer of synthetic plastic sheet material and a foam padding. This thick and inflexible bib material can be uncomfortable for a young child to wear. 
         [0007]    US Patent Publication No. 2005/0235394 disclosed a child&#39;s garment with a removable front protective panel. This reference teaches or suggests the removable bib feature of your invention. 
         [0008]    It would be desirable to provide a protective covering for a piece garment such as “ONESIES” that is integrated into the fabric garment so as not to dangle but that is made of a lightweight and flexible material that is comfortable for a young child to wear. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    The present disclosure provides for a garment with an integrated protective covering or protective front surface for a front surface of the garment where the protective covering is flexible and lightweight to be comfortable for a baby or a young child to wear. The garment is preferably made of fabric material. The protective front surface is preferably made of a urethane material and sewn into the front surface of the garment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of an improved garment including a protective front surface according to the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a second embodiment of an improved garment including a pocket located on a protective front surface according to the present disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a third embodiment of an improved garment including a pocket wider than the pocket of the embodiment  FIG.2  located on a protective front surface according to the present disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  a front view of a fourth embodiment of an improved garment including a strip of material located on a bottom portion of a protective front surface according to the present disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a fifth embodiment of an improved-garment including a protective covering and a pocket and a strip of material each located on the protective front surface according to the present disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is sectional view along lines  6 - 6  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is sectional view along lines  7 - 7  of the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is sectional view along lines  7 - 7  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is sectional view along lines  8 - 8  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a front view of a sixth embodiment of an improved garment including a protective front surface that has a decorative design thereon according to the present disclosure 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]    Referring to the drawings of  FIGS. 1-10 ,  FIG. 1  illustrates a first embodiment of the present disclosure in which a one piece garment  1  such as a “ONESIES” includes a protective front surface  5  thereon. This protective surface or protective covering  5  can be made of a Urethane material such as but not limited to “Fabuthane”, a polyether polyurethane film/sheet material manufactured by Fabrite Laminating Corporation, Woodridge, N.J. 07075-1004. This material is mildew proof, water proof, highly abrasion resistant, washable and dry cleanable on most fabrics, and soil wipes off with-a damp cloth. The protective surface  5  is preferably made sufficiently thin to be flexible and lightweight for a baby, toddler or young child to wear comfortably. The present disclosure provides for preferably cutting this material for the protective covering or surface to cover a front portion of the front surface of the garment  1  and the preferably sewing the protective surface  5  into the front surface area of the garment  1 . The thickness of the protective surface is preferably approximately 1 mm thick. The thin protective front surface  5  provides flexibility and comfort for a young child wearing the integrated protective front surface material  5  and garment  1 . The front protective surface  5  should preferably cover 30 to 40 per cent of the front surface of the garment  1  which is typically made of fabric material. The protective front surface  5  is attached to the garment  1  preferably by sewing into the garment as seen by the stitching  10  in  FIG. 1 . By fixedly attaching the front protective surface to the garment dangling of the protective surface material from the garment is prevented as is the typical case with a bib. 
         [0021]    The protective surface  5  is thus integrally connected with the garment  1 . The protective surface  5  is located on and thus protects the front surface area of the garment  1  where spit ups, spills and food staining conditions are mostly likely to occur on the garment  1  worn by a young child. 
         [0022]    In the embodiment of  FIG.2 and 7 , a pocket  15  is added to the protective front surface  5  and preferably at the bottom  12  of the protective front surface  5 . The pocket  15  serves to catch and collect food droppings when the young wearer is fed. The pocket  15  is preferably sewn into the protective surface  5 . The pocket  15  can preferably have a lid which closes the top of the pocket and is securely closed by a snap or other fastening means. 
         [0023]    Alternatively, the pocket  15  a can be wider as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 7  and have a width spanning the width of the front protective surface  5 . 
         [0024]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 and 8  a strip of material  20  is located at the bottom portion of the protective surface  5  This strip of material  20  preferably spans across the entire width of the bottom of the protective surface  10  and is preferably made of a cloth material such as but not limited to terry cloth material. This strip of material can be used to collect spills and absorb them as the spill travels downward on the protective surface  5 .The strip of material  20  is preferably sewn in to the protective surface  5 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 5 and 9  illustrates an embodiment that combines the features of  FIGS. 3 and 5  by providing both a pocket  15  a and a strip of material  20  near the bottom of the protective surface  10 . Again the strip of material can be but is not limited to terry cloth material. With this embodiment the rest of the garment not covered by the protective surface  5  is protected from spills (by the strip of material  20 ) and from food droppings (by the pocket  15   a ). 
         [0026]      FIG. 10  illustrates an embodiment of the present disclosure in which the protective surface  10  can include a design  22 . It is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any one design and this design can be placed on any of the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         [0027]    While presently preferred embodiments-have been described for purposes of the disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement of method steps and apparatus parts can be made by those skilled in the art. Such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

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