EP1090560A2 - Protective bib - Google Patents

Abstract

A baby bib has two catchment components, namely a flexiblesheet (1) and a catchment means (6) typically formed as atrough. The flexible sheet (1) is made of a rubbermaterial, thereby providing excellent hygienic and elasticproperties.

Description

The present invention relates to a protective neck bib asis used to prevent spilled substances from staining ababy's clothing.

It is common when feeding babies to use a protective bib,which is draped around the baby's neck in order toprevent saliva or foodstuffs from coming into contactwith and soiling the baby's clothing. Conventionallythese bibs are made of a woven material which caneventually become soaked with saliva, spilled drinks orfood. As a result the baby's clothing can also becomesoaked, rendering it necessary to change and launder boththe bib and underlying clothing. An additionaldisadvantage is that the bib is typically fastened aroundthe baby's neck via a tie which can carry the risk ofchoking should it become knotted or caught, or can loosenthereby leaving a gap around the neck through which foodcan fall.

More recently, it has become common to provide baby bibsmanufactured from a more rigid protective material suchas plastic which have a cup shaped means for catchingdropped food at the bottom. However whilst these plasticbibs offer better protection to the baby's underlyingclothing and can be easily wiped clean they carry adisadvantage in that they can bear rough edges and maytherefore be uncomfortable to wear. Furthermore plasticbibs can be restrictive to the baby's motility and maycause injury if, for example, the baby falls over whilstwearing one. For this reason plastic bibs are usuallyonly put on the baby prior to a meal and taken off afterfeeding. It would therefore be advantageous to provide aprotective baby bib which offers superior protection tothe baby's clothing and is easily cleaned, but is alsocomfortable so that the baby can wear it continuously.

It is an object of the present invention to provide aprotective baby's neck bib wherein said neck bib protectsthe baby's clothing from spilled foodstuffs, is easilycleaned, does not hinder the baby's motility and can beworn continuously.

Until now, probably the closest disclosure at achievingthis and other objectives is found in US Patent4,569,086("Takefman"). Takefman teaches of a baby bib whichcomprises an apron member made of a flexible plasticmaterial which attaches to a rigid trough shaped member.

While this goes some way to achieving a preferrableproduct in mitigating the problems heretofor associatedwith the prior art, it still has certain disadvantages.For example, the material properties of plastic, even in a flexible form, are not as elastic as would be desirablefor ensuring a snug and comfortable fit around a baby'sneck. Plastic does not also present possibilities forthe attachment means to the trough member as does thepresent invention.

According to the present invention there is provided aprotective neck bib comprising a protective sheet of non-wovenflexible rubber material, wherein said protectivesheet has an integrally formed collar, and a detachablecatchment means for spilled food which can be fitted to,or removed from, the protective sheet when desired.

Preferably the protective bib further comprises fasteningmeans for fastening the sheet material around the baby'sneck. Preferably said fastening means is a hook and loopfastener such as Velcro (Trade Mark) which can beattached to the sheet material by stitching.

Preferably the catchment means for dropped food is adetachable cup-shaped trough.

Preferably, the flexible sheet material is detachablyfixable to the catchment means by a fixation means, thefixation means suitably comprising a plurality ofapertures formed in the sheet material which correspondpositionally to male components formed in the catchmentmeans. Ideally these male components would be formed asmushroom heads which co-operate with the elasticproperties of the rubber sheet material, whereby theapertures formed in the sheet material may be stretchedto pass over the mushroom heads after which they are adapted to elastically contract forming a strong non-destructivedetachable fixation means.

The apertures may be preformed as circular holes, oralternatively may be provided as slits adapted to open upwhen stretched.

Optionally said detachable cup-shaped trough is also usedas a means for packaging and storing the protectivesheet.

Also according to the present invention there is provideda catchment means for catching dropped food wherein saidcatchment means is attachable to a person's clothing orapparel. In this case the male components of thefixation means may fit into openings in the clothing orapparel.

Alternatively the fixation means include a hook and loopfastener such as Velcro (Trade Mark).

Preferably the catchment means is a cup-shaped trough.

An example embodiment of the invention will now beillustrated with reference to the following Figures inwhich:

Figure 1 is a front view of a protective sheet inaccordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a pictorial view of a cup-shaped trough, and;

Figure 3 is an illustration of a protective bibcomprising the protective sheet of Figure 1 attached tothe cup-shaped trough of Figure 2.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a protective sheet isgenerally depicted at 1. Theprotective sheet 1 isrubber and therefore has elasticity and flexibility. Thesheet has a front chest portion 2 andcollar 3. Thecollar 3 has fastening means 4a and 4b in the form of ahook and loop fastener, e.g. Velcro (Trade Mark) which issecured to thecollar 3 by stitching. The front chestportion 2 hasopenings 5, the number of which is notlimited but is nominally 3, to allow attachment to adetachable cup-shaped trough.

The rubber material may be a natural rubber, such asLatex, and this is potentially preferable as it is arenewable natural occurring resource, that has positiveenvironmental implications. It may, however,alternatively be a synthetic rubber where there is agreater scope for optimising the material properties, interms of elasticity, durability, heat resistance (forwashing), strength and so on.

The properties of rubber are also desirable in that it isthe most suitable material for compatibility with aspecific user's anatomy. In particular, the integralrubber collar provides for a snug fit around a baby'sneck, notwithstanding the inconsistencies of variousbabies neck dimensions, and thus mitigates the likelihoodof food falling behind the bib.

In Figure 2 a detachable cup-shaped trough is generallydepicted at 6. The trough 6 is shaped so as to catchspillage of food. Fixation means 7 are provided in theform of projections or male components which fit into theopenings 5 of theprotective rubber sheet 1 of Figure 1.

It is realized in the present invention that there isbenefit in terms of both manufacturing cost and hygieneif the fixation means can be made from the same materialsas the catchment means and flexible sheet with which theyare associated. It is particularly advantageous if thesefixation devices can be formed integrally with therespective components of the bib. This avoids the needfor metallic studs and stud receivers, the adhering ofhook and loop fasteners and so on.

Again, the elastic nature of rubber enables the aperturesto be sized to provide a stretch fit in relation to themale components and this provides a secure attachmentwhich can be deployed by an adult, but not by an infant.

In Figure 3 the protective bib is generally depicted at 8with therubber sheet 1 of Figure 1 attached to thedetachable cup shaped trough 6 of Figure 2.

The appearance of the bib can be enhanced by applyinggraphics onto the protective sheet or trough.

An advantage of the invention lies in the ability toclean the catchment means between meals, while a childstill wears the protective rubber sheet part of the bib.Yet further, the catchment means may be made of materialsparticularly suited to dishwasher cleaning and may be shaped to provide optimum catchment functionality in away that might not be suitable if the catchment meansrequired to be worn at all times the bib was worn.

The present invention is inherent with significantadvantages in that unlike rigid plastic bibs, known tothe art, the rubber protective bib will not restrictmotility or hurt the baby if he/she falls over. Howeverunlike woven material bibs, the rubber bib of the presentinvention will not become soaked and can be easily wipedcleaned.

Further modifications and improvements may beincorporated without departing from the scope of theinvention herein intended.

Claims (8)

1. A protective neck bib comprising a protective sheet(1),wherein said protective sheet has an integrally formedcollar (3), and a detachable catchment means (6) forspilled food which can be fitted to, or removed from,the protective sheet (1) when desired, characterised inthat the protective sheet is made of a non-wovenflexible rubber material.
2. A protective bib as claimed in Claim 1, furthercomprising fastening means (4) associated with thecollar for fastening the sheet material around a user'sneck.
3. A protective bib as claimed in Claim 2, wherein thefastening means is a hook and loop fastener such asVelcro (Trade Mark).
4. A protective bib as claimed in any one of the precedingClaims, wherein the catchment means for spilled food isa detachable cup-shaped trough.
5. A protective bib as claimed in any one of the precedingClaims, wherein the flexible sheet material isdetachably fixable to the catchment means by a fixationmeans (5,7), the fixation means comprising a pluralityof apertures (5) formed in the sheet material whichcorrespond positionally to male components (7) formedin the catchment means.
6. A protective bib as claimed in Claim 5, wherein themale components are formed as mushroom heads which co-operatewith the elastic properties of the rubber sheetmaterial, whereby the apertures formed in the sheetmaterial may be stretched to pass over the mushroomheads after which they are adapted to elasticallycontract forming a non-destructive detachable fixationmeans.
7. A protective bib as claimed in any one of the precedingClaims, wherein said catchment means is also adapted tobe used as a means for packaging and storing theprotective sheet.
8. A catchment means formed as a trough for catchingdropped food wherein said catchment means is attachableto a person's clothing or apparel.

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