Smock

Abstract

A smock for use with a person to keep the person clean while eating or working with messy materials. The smock comprises an upper body and a lower body. The upper body comprises a set of arm holes and a back panel. The lower body comprises a flared section and a drawstring. The upper body may be fit onto a person and the lower body may be secured to a tray attached to a chair or secured to a table. The person may eat or work with messy materials on the smock covering the tray or table. After the person is finished, the smock may be removed from the person and wiped clean; leaving the chair, table and person clean underneath the smock.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/857,386 tiled on Jul. 23. 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a clothing-type accessory and, in particular, to a smock.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a smock comprising an upper body and a lower body. The upper body comprises a set of arm holes and a back panel comprising a fastener. The lower body is connected to the upper body and comprises a flared section size to cover a table, and a drawstring positioned on the outer circumference of the flared section. The upper body may fit on a person and be secured to the person via the fastener. The flared section of the lower body is secured to the table by tightening the drawstring.

The present invention is also directed to a smock for use with a person positioned in a chair. The smock comprises an upper body comprising a set of arm holes. and a lower body connected to the upper body. The lower body comprises a flared section and a drawstring positioned on the outer circumference of the flared section. The upper body may fit over the person and the flared section of the lower body may lay over the person and the chair and be secured in place by tightening the drawstring.

The present invention is further directed to a method for keeping a person clean while the person is eating in a chair. The method comprises the steps of providing a smock comprising a set of arm holes, a back panel and a flared section, passing the arms of the person through the set of arm holes, securing the smock to the person by adjusting the fit of the back panel and placing the person in the chair. The method further comprises the steps of covering the person with the flared section of the smock, securing the flared section of the smock in place by tightening the drawstring on the flared section of the smock and securing the draw string in the tightened position, allowing the person to eat while the person is seated in the chair and wearing the smock, loosening the drawstring and removing the smock from the person and the chair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a person sitting in a chair and wearing a smock of the present invention while the smock is secured to a tray.

FIG. 2 is front view of the smock.

FIG. 3 is a back view of the smock.

DESCRIPTION

Bibs used to protect a person from getting dirty are known in the art. Current bibs only protect the chest area, leaving the rest of the clothing and eating area exposed. This allows food or other messy items to get on the person's clothes and the tray or table being used by the person.

Turning to the Figures, and first to FIG. 1, a smock 10 of the present invention is shown. The smock 10 comprises an upper body 12 and a lower body 14. The upper body 12 and the lower body 14 may be two separate pieces or they may be one integral piece. The upper body 12 comprises a set of arm holes 16 and a back panel 18. The set of arm holes 16 may be in the form of a tank top, short sleeves, three-quarters length sleeves or long sleeves. The lower body 14 comprises a flared section 20 and a drawstring 22 positioned on the outer circumference of the flared section.

Continuing with FIG. 1, the smock 10 is shown on a person 30 seated in a chair 32. A tray 34 is shown attached to the chair 32. The person 30 may sit in the chair 32 with the smock 10 on. The flared section 20 of the smock 10 may fit over the tray 34 attached to the chair 32. The flared section 20 may be secured to the tray 34 by tightening the drawstring 22. The drawstring 22 may then be secured to the chair 32 or the person 30 to ensure that the smock 10 stays in place. The person 30 may then eat food, play with clay, paint, or other items that may cause a mess while the person is seated in the chair 32 wearing the smock 10. When the person 30 is finished, the smock may be removed from the tray 34 and the person 30 and wiped clean. The tray 34, the chair 32, and the person 30 will remain clean underneath the smock 10.

The chair 32 may comprise a highchair for use with infants or toddlers. The person 30 may also use the smock 10 without use of the tray 34 shown in FIG. 1. Rather, the person 30 may be seated at a table and the smock 10 may be laid over the top of the table (not shown) and secured to the table. Alternatively, the smock 10 may be used without the use of the tray 34 or the table. The person 30 may just lay the smock 10 over their lap and secure the smock to the chair 32 or the person's body.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the front of the smock 10 is shown in more detail. The set of arms holes 16 are shown on the upper body 12 of the smock 10, and the drawstring 22 is shown on the outer circumference of the flared section 20 of the lower body 14 of the smock. The drawstring 22 may be threaded into the outer circumference of the flared section 20, be threaded through a drawstring hole, or the drawstring may be secured to the flared section by any means known in the art that allows the drawstring to be tightened. The drawstring 22 may comprise cording, elastic or other materials known in the art for use of a drawstring.

The smock 10 may be made from a laminate material or other materials known in the art that may be easily wiped clean. For example, the smock 10 may be made of polyurethane laminate. Alternatively, the smock 10 may be made from a cloth material or any other desired material. As a second alternative, only a front panel 36 of the smock may be made of a laminate material while the back panel 18 (FIG. 3) may be made of a different material. The flared section 20 may be shaped like the tray 34 (FIG. 1) or the flared section may be shaped like any object desired to be covered and kept clean. The smock 10 may comprise any number of sizes and shapes.

Turning to FIGS. 3, the back panel 18 of the smock 10 is shown in more detail. The back panel may comprise a first section 24 and a second section 26 that connect via fasteners 28. The fasteners 28 may comprise velcro, snaps, buttons or other fasteners used with clothing known in the art. The fasteners 28 shown in FIGS. 3 comprises velcro pieces. As an alternative, the back panel 18 may be integral with the smock 10 or the back panel may only comprise one section.

In operation. the person 30 may be placed in or may sit in the chair 32. The person 30 will then pass the person's arms through the arm holes 16 on the smock 10. The smock 10 may be secured to the person 30 by securing the fastener 28 on the back panel 18. The flared section 20 of the smock 10 may be placed over the tray 34 or the top of the table. The drawstring 22 may then be pulled tight such that the flared section 20 is secured to the tray 34 or the top of the table. The drawstring 22 may be secured to the person 30, the chair 32, or the table to secure the flared section 20 in place. The drawstring 22 in FIG. 1 is shown secured behind the back of the chair 32. The person 30 may then eat food or work with other messy materials while sitting in the chair 32 and wearing the smock 10. After the person 30 is done, the drawstring 22 on the smock 10 may be unsecured and loosened and the smock may be removed. The person 30 may then be removed from the chair 32 and the smock 10 may be washed or wiped clean.

Various modifications can be made in the design and operation of the present invention without departing from its spirit. Thus, while the preferred construction and modes of operation of the invention have been explained in what is now considered to represent its best embodiments, it should be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

Claims

1. A smock, comprising:

an upper body comprising: a set of arm holes; and a back panel comprising a fastener, and

a lower body connected to the upper body comprising: a flared section sized to cover a table; and a drawstring positioned on the outer circumference of the flared section;

wherein, the upper body may fit on a person and be secured to the person via the fastener; and

wherein the flared section of the lower body is secured to the table by tightening the drawstring.

2. The smock of claim 1 wherein the upper body and the lower body comprise a laminated front panel.

3. The smock of claim 1 wherein the table comprises a tray and wherein the flared section comprises a tray shape.

4. The smock of claim 3 wherein the drawstring is tightened around the table supporting the tray to secure the lower body to the tray.

5. The smock of claim 1 wherein the lower body is integral with the upper body.

6. The smock of claim 1 wherein the back panel comprises two separate sections.

7. The smock of claim 1 wherein the drawstring is elastic.

8. A smock for use with a person positioned in a chair, comprising:

an upper body comprising: a set of arm holes; and

a lower body connected to the upper body comprising: a flared section; and a drawstring positioned on the outer circumference of the flared section;

wherein, the upper body may fit over the person; and

wherein the flared section of the lower body may lay over the person and the chair and be secured in place by tightening the drawstring.

9. The smock of claim 1 wherein the upper body further comprises a back panel comprising a fastener.

10. The smock of claim 9 wherein the upper body may be secured to the person via the fastener.

11. The smock of claim 1 wherein the chair comprises a tray.

12. The smock of claim 11 wherein the flared section may lay over the tray.

13. The smock of claim 12 wherein the lower body may be secured in place over the person, the chair and the tray by tightening the drawstring.

14. The smock of claim 1 wherein the upper body and the lower body comprise a laminated material.

15. The smock of claim 1 wherein the lower body is integral with the upper body.

16. A method for keeping a person clean while the person is eating in a chair, the method comprises the steps of:

providing a smock comprising a set of arm holes, a back panel, and a flared section;

passing the arms of the person through the set of arm holes;

securing the smock to the person by adjusting the fit of the back panel;

placing the person on the chair;

covering the person with the flared section of the smock;

securing the flared section of the smock in place by tightening a drawstring on the flared section of the smock and securing the draw string in the tightened position;

allowing the person to eat while the person is seated in the chair and wearing the smock;

loosening the drawstring; and

removing the smock from the person and the chair.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising wiping the smock clean after the person is finished eating.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising making the smock out of a laminate material.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising laying the flared section of the smock over a tray secured to the chair.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising securing the flared section of the smock. to the tray.