NURSING GARMENTS
A nursing garment comprises material defining first and second openings, proximate a wearer's first and second breast. First and second zippers may be provided to selectively open and close the first and second openings, and first and second flaps may be defined to substantially cover the zipper teeth and zipper heads of the zippers. An inner lining has a periphery having a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment, wherein a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material. The second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/050,515, which was filed on Sep. 15, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/107,596, which was filed on Jan. 26, 2015, both of which are incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONNursing garments are items of clothing, such as dresses, blouses, skirts, etc., configured to facilitate nursing of a baby or pumping milk by a mother. One or more openings through the garment may be provided to access one or both breasts, for example. Various features are provided to facilitate discreet access to the mother's breast, including zippers to open and close the openings and flaps of garment material to cover the openings.
The appearance of many nursing garments may not be stylish, flattering, or professional because the functional requirements of the garment may not be aesthetically pleasing.
“Invisible” zippers are used to camouflage the presence of the zippers by using zippers having the same color as the surrounding materials. In another example, zipper teeth are provided beneath seams.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONHowever, known techniques for closing or covering openings to access the breasts may be difficult to use. In addition, invisible zippers, which are apparent upon close inspection, are not effective in concealing the nature of the garment, even if the zipper is the same color as the surrounding material. If the zipper teeth are covered by a seam, the zipper head still needs to be exposed for read access. Known flaps either do not sufficiently obscure the breast for privacy, are difficult to use, and/or are not aesthetically pleasing.
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, improved techniques are provided for both easy and discreet breast feeding and pumping. In accordance with one embodiment, zippers are completely hidden from view by flaps that cover the entire zipper, and pockets that cover the zipper head. In accordance with another embodiment, an internal lining is provided with a periphery that is only partially attached to an interior surface of the nursing garment. This allows the lining to be lifted and/or moved a wearer's nursing bra and breast, and then lowered to cover much of the breast during nursing and pumping. An elastic band may be provided along a lower edge of the lining to help maintain the lining in position selected by the wearer.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a nursing garment is disclosed comprising clothing material defining a first opening through the material, proximate a wearer's first breast and a second opening through the material proximate the wearer's second breast, when the garment is worn by the wearer. A first zipper is provided to selectively open and close the first opening, and a second zipper is provided to selectively open and close the second opening. The first and second zippers comprise zipper teeth and a zipper head. The material further defines first and second flaps proximate the first and second zippers, respectively. The first flap is configured to substantially cover the first zipper teeth and the first zipper head of the first zipper, and the second flap further defines a second flap configured to substantially cover the second zipper teeth and second zipper head of the second zipper. The nursing garment further comprises an inner lining having a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment. The inner lining has a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material. The second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a nursing garment comprises clothing material defining an opening through the material proximate a breast of a wearer, when the garment is worn by the wearer, and a connector to close the at least one opening. A section of the material completely covers the connector. The connector may comprise one or more zippers, buttons, Velcro, etc., for example.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a nursing garment comprises clothing material defining an opening through the material proximate a breast of a wearer, when the garment is worn by the wearer. An inner lining has a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment, the inner lining having a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material, wherein the second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast. An elastic band may be provided along a lower edge of the lining, to allow a wearer to adjust a position of the liner during nursing and pumping to reduce exposure of one or both breasts. The lining may comprise a different material than the clothing material.
In this example, the material of the dress 10 defines a first opening or slit selectively opened and closed by a first zipper 12. The opening and zipper 12 are positioned to be in front of or at a side of one breast of a woman when wearing the dress. A second opening or slit selectively opened and closed a second zipper 14 is positioned in front of or at a side of the other breast of the woman when wearing the dress. A front portion 10a of the dress 10 is shown. The dress 10 may comprise any natural, synthetic, or blended clothing material, such as cotton, wool, rayon, nylon, polyester, or a combination thereof
In this example, the dress 10 includes a plurality of flaps or pleats 16 defined by the material of the dress. The zippers 12, 14, which are shown in phantom, are completely behind respective flaps or pleats 16 to block the zippers from view. In this example, the zipper 12 is behind the leftmost flap 16a and the zipper 14 is behind the rightmost flap 16b. Additional flaps 16 may be provided between the flaps 16a, 16b in this example, but that depends on the design of the dress 10 and is not required. The lengths of the zippers 12, 14, from the zipper heads 12a, 14a, to the zipper ends, 12b, 14b, are shown. The zippers 12, 14 in this example extend substantially vertically. By “substantially vertical” is meant vertical and up to 10% from vertical. The zippers 12, 14 may extend at different angles, as well. In this example, the flaps 16a, 16b are at the same angle as the zippers 12, 14, respectively.
In
In other examples, only two flaps or pleats 16a, 16b may be provided, one to cover each zippers 12, 14. In other examples, the zippers 12, 14 may be hidden behind seams and pockets, for example, as discussed below with respect to
In
In the example of
In another example, the entire lining 20 may be formed in one-piece. In this example, the side edges of the one piece lining 20 may be folded to approach each other and then be attached to the rear 10b and front 10a inner sides of the dress 10 so that the side edges are separated from each other, adjacent to the zipper 50.
Since the dress 10 and the lining 22 are separate pieces that are connected to each other in this example, the dress and the lining may be made of different materials. The front piece 22a and the rear piece(s) 22b (23a, 23b) may be cut from woven or knitted material that has elastic characteristics, for example. The lining 22 may also comprise mechanical stretch material, such as polyester, for example. Triacetate or modal cotton may also be used, for example. The lining 22 may comprise wicking material, to absorb moisture, such as leaking breast milk and sweat.
The front and rear pieces 22a, 22b may be sewed or otherwise connected to each other along their outer edges, as shown in
In one example, to put on the dress 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the wearer 20 puts their head and arms through the opening at the bottom 30 of the lining 22, and then through the openings 26 for the arms and head 24. In another example, depending on the styles of the garment, the wearer 20 may step into and out of the garment.
In use in one example, when a wearer 20 needs to nurse a child or pump to collect milk from a breast, she may access one of the zippers 12, 14 on the side of the garment 10 in front of that breast by moving the respective flap 16a, 16b aside with a hand, as shown in
The wearer 20 then moves the bottom, elastic band 32 of the lining 22, and the lower front lining material, up and over the wearer's nursing bra 24 to a second position sufficient, to access the nursing bra, as shown in
The nursing bra 24 may be any type of nursing bra. In the example of
After the breast is exposed, the elastic band 32 and front lining 22 may be moved back down toward its original, first position in
When the woman 20 wants to nurse/pump from the other breast, the woman reattaches the cup of the nursing bra 24, repositions the lining 22 over the nursing bra, and zips up the zipper 12 via the zipper head 12a. The woman 20 may then reveal the portion of the lining 20 in front of the other breast, and then proceeds as described above with respect to
In another example, both zippers 12a, 12b maybe unzipped, the lining 22 lifted above both cups of the nursing bra 24, and both cups opened to expose both breasts for simultaneous pumping of both breasts by an automatic double pump.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above, and that such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the claims below.
Claims
1. A nursing garment comprising:
- clothing material defining a first opening through the material, proximate a wearer's first breast and a second opening through the material proximate the wearer's second breast, when the garment is worn by the wearer;
- a first zipper to selectively open and close the first opening, the zipper comprising zipper teeth and a zipper head;
- a second zipper to selectively open and close the second opening, the second zipper comprising second zipper teeth connected to opposing sides of the opening and a second zipper head;
- wherein the material further defines:
- a first flap proximate the first zipper, the first flap being configured to substantially cover the first zipper teeth and the first zipper head of the first zipper; and
- a second flap proximate the second zipper, the second flap being configured to substantially cover the second zipper teeth and second zipper head of the second zipper;
- the nursing garment further comprising:
- an inner lining having a periphery having a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment, the inner lining having a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material, wherein the second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast.
2. The nursing garment of claim 1, further comprising an elastic band at a bottom of the lining.
3. The nursing garment of claim 1, wherein:
- the material further defines openings for arms and a head; and
- the lining further defines respective openings for arms and an opening for the head proximate the locations of the arms and legs of the openings for the garment.
4. The nursing garment of claim 1, wherein:
- the material defines a rear opening;
- the garment further comprises a connector to close the opening; and
- the lining further defines a rear opening proximate the opening on the rear portion of the garment.
5. The nursing garment of claim 4, wherein the lining comprises a front portion and a rear portion connected to each other.
6. The nursing garment of claim 4, wherein the rear portion comprises first and second portions separated by a distance to define the opening in the lining.
7. The nursing garment of claim 1, wherein the zippers extend substantially vertically and the flaps over the respective zippers extend at the same angle as the zippers.
8. The nursing garment of claim 1, configured to form a dress, a blouse, a sweater, poncho, a T-shirt, or a jacket.
9. A nursing garment comprising:
- clothing material defining an opening through the material proximate a breast of a wearer, when the garment is worn by the wearer; and
- a connector to close the at least one opening;
- wherein a section of the material completely covers the connector.
10. The nursing garment of claim 9, wherein:
- the connector comprises a zipper including zipper teeth and a zipper head; and
11. The nursing garment of claim 10, wherein the section of the material defines a flap to cover the zipper including the zipper teeth and the zipper head.
12. The nursing garment of claim 10, wherein material defines a seam to over the zipper teeth, the garment further comprising:
- a pocket to receive at least the zipper head.
13. The nursing garment of claim 9, further comprising:
- an inner lining having a periphery having a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment, the inner lining having a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material, wherein the second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast.
14. The nursing garment of claim 1, configured to form a dress, a blouse, a sweater, poncho, a T-shirt, or a jacket.
15. A nursing garment comprising:
- clothing material defining an opening through the material proximate a breast of a wearer, when the garment is worn by the wearer; and
- an inner lining having a periphery having a front portion extending in front of and below the user's breasts when wearing the garment, the inner lining having a first, upper periphery portion connected, at least in part, to the material and a second, lower front periphery portion not connected to the material, wherein the second front periphery portion and a portion of the front portion are movable from below the wearer's breasts to above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast.
16. The nursing garment of claim 15, wherein the second, front periphery portion has:
- a first position in front of and extending below the user's breasts;
- a second position above the wearer's breasts to expose at least one cup of the nursing bra and/or at least one breast; and
- a third position between the second and third positions, during nursing and/or pumping.
17. The nursing garment of claim 15, further comprising an elastic band along a lower edge of the lining.
18. The nursing garment of claim 15, wherein the lining comprises a different material than the clothing material.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 15, 2015
Publication Date: Mar 17, 2016
Inventor: Yoko SHIMADA (Dubai)
Application Number: 14/854,620