Wearable towel

Abstract

There is provided an article adapted for wearing by a user while giving and removing an infant, individual or animal from a bath. The article has a body portion made from a flexible, fabric-based material capable of absorbing water. The body portion includes an upper portion that comprises a left upper portion and a right upper portion. There is an opening defined within the upper portion and which is adapted to allow the user to slip her head through the opening and thereby wear the article. The opening also defines a loop portion that rests around the back of the user's neck when the user wears the article. When the user wears the article, the left upper portion and the right upper portion rest on the respective shoulders of the user, thereby permitting the user to wear the article without having the article hang only from the user's neck, and distributing the weight of the article across the shoulders of the user.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wearable article in the form of a towel useful in bathing infants, young children and other individuals needing assistance to bathe, and in bathing domestic animals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Washing or bathing an infant, individuals needing assistance to bathe, and domestic animals can be difficult. An adult must supervise and assist with the bathing. Once bathing is completed, the adult delicately and quickly removes the infant from the bath receptacle, or assists the individual needing assistance to bathe or the domestic animal in leaving the bathing area. A drying towel must be within easy reach of the adult so that the infant, individual or animal can be dried. In the case of an infant, the adult caregiver must hold the towel first and simultaneously pick up the infant and wrap the infant with the towel.

In light of the drawbacks with using conventional bath towels, there exists the need for a bath towel that can be worn by the adult caregiver thereby freeing the adult's hands. A wearable towel would be advantageous as the infant can be picked up and wrapped in the towel quickly and easily in an uninterrupted, continuous motion.

Numerous designs for towel designs are disclosed in the prior art. Examples of these towel designs are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,901, issued on Dec. 31, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,102, issued on Dec. 16, 1997; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,021, issued on Jan. 5, 1999. However, these towel designs suffer from several drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,367 issued Jan. 14, 2003 discloses a bath towel that may be worn by an adult during and after bathing an infant or small child. The towel has a releasable, fixed or elastic neck strap attached to the top end of the towel, a lower end that may be pulled up and over the infant and a surface area adapted for substantially covering the lap and torso area of an adult in order to keep the adult user dry. The towel also includes wrap fasteners affixed to the towel for securing the lower end of the towel to another section of the towel proximal the strap edge. A major drawback is that this towel is worn by the user as an apron and is not comfortable for the user because the entire weight of the wet towel is supported by the user's neck. The towel does not cover or rest the shoulders of the user, and this towel requires that the infant be held and dried in the horizontal position, which may not be comfortable for the infant.

There, therefore, remains a need to provide an article that can be worn by a user while giving and removing an infant, individual or animal from a bath and that is comfortable to wear.

The disclosures of all patents/applications referenced herein are incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an article adapted for wearing by a user while giving and removing an infant, individual or animal from a bath, said article comprising:

• • a. a body portion made from a flexible, fabric-based material capable of absorbing water;
  • b. the body portion having an upper portion which comprises a left upper portion and a right upper portion;
  • c. an opening defined within the upper portion and adapted to allow the user to slip her head through the opening and thereby wear the article;
  • d. the opening defining a loop portion that rests around the back of the user's neck when the article is worn by the user; and
  • e. the left upper portion and the right upper portion rest on the respective shoulders of the user when the article is worn by the user,
  • thereby permitting the user to wear the article without having the article hang only from the user's neck, and distributing the weight of the article across the shoulders of the user.

Numerous other objectives, advantages and features of the process will also become apparent to the person skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to the same parts in the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the article of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a user of the article of FIG. 1 holding and drying an infant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article 10 comprises a main body portion 12 preferably made of a flexible, fabric that is capable of absorbing water. The article 10 includes an upper portion 14 and a lower portion 16. An opening 18 is defined in the upper portion 14. The opening 18 may include an elastic material around its edges 19 and is adapted to allow a user's head to fit within the opening 18 so that the article 10 may be worn by the user. A loop portion 20 is also present in the upper portion, resulting from the opening 18 in the upper portion. The loop portion 20 is adapted to fit around the back of a user's neck when the article 10 is worn by the user.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the loop portion 20 is shown as having two ends 21 and 23. Fasteners 25, such as hook and loop fasteners sold as VELCRO®, snaps, clips, and the like, may be used to allow the user to releasably fasten the two ends 21 and 23 together. Alternatively, the loop portion 20 is continuous so that the user simply slips her head through the opening 18.

The opening 18 within the upper portion 14 is located such that the left upper portion 22 and the right upper portion 24 sit on and over the respective shoulders of a user when the article 10 is worn by the user. In other words, the article 10 does not simply hang from the user's neck as a typical apron does, but instead the upper portion 14 rests on the shoulders, thereby distributing the weight of the wet towel across the shoulders of the user, thus making it more comfortable for the user to wear.

With reference to FIG. 2, the article 10 is therefore worn by a user 26 bathing another individual, such as an infant 28, or animal. The article 10 allows the hands of the user 26 to remain free to bathe and pick up the individual, infant 28 or animal, and also to dry the other individual, infant 28 or animal after the bathing. The article 10 is worn around the neck of the user 26 and the upper portion 14 of the article 10 rests on the shoulders of the user 26 so that the user's arms are free at all times to bathe the other individual, infant 28 or animal, to pick up and remove from the bath the individual, infant 28 or animal and to wrap and dry the individual, infant 28 or animal with the article 10. Once the individual, infant 28 or animal is dry, the user 26 can remove the article 10 pulling the article 10 over the user's head 30 or by releasing the fasteners 25 while keeping the individual, infant 28 or animal wrapped at all times.

As better seen in FIG. 1 article 10 is generally shaped as a large bib. The article 10 is worn around the neck 30 of the user 26 bathing the infant 28. By being worn around the neck 30, it keeps the user's hands free and available to bathe the infant 28 and then to remove from the bath and to dry the infant 28 with the said article. The body portion 12 of the article 10 generally serves two purposes: (i) it is used to keep the user 26 dry, including the user's shoulders, during the bathing process, and (ii) it is used to wrap around and dry the individual, infant 28 or animal being bathed. The body portion 12 can be of varying dimension depending on the size of the individual, infant 28 or animal being bathed. The upper portion 14 of the article 10 is shaped in such a way as to rest securely on the shoulders of the user 26. The body portion 12 of the article 10 should preferably be large enough to protect the clothing of an adult user from getting wet while bathing the individual, infant 28 or animal. The body portion 12 may also include a hood 32, for example located at one of the left upper portion 22 or right upper portion 24, that can be applied on the head of the infant 28 or animal for drying.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to its preferred embodiments and in the examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other changes, modifications, additions and omissions may be made without departing from the substance and the scope of the present invention as defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. An article adapted for wearing by a user while giving and removing an infant, individual or animal from a bath, said article comprising:

(a) a body portion made from a flexible, fabric-based material capable of absorbing water;

(b) the body portion having an upper portion which comprises a left upper portion and a right upper portion;

(c) an opening defined within the upper portion and adapted to allow the user to slip her head through the opening and thereby wear the article;

(d) the opening defining a loop portion that rests around the back of the user's neck when the article is worn by the user; and

(e) the left upper portion and the right upper portion rest on the respective shoulders of the user when the article is worn by the user,

thereby permitting the user to wear the article without having the article hang only from the user's neck, and distributing the weight of the article across the shoulders of the user.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the body portion has a width sufficient to allow the user to wrap the body portion around the infant, individual or animal.

3. The article of claim 2, wherein one of the left upper portion or the right upper portion comprises a hood adapted for covering the head of the infant.

4. The article of claim 1, wherein the loop portion has two cooperating ends, and fasteners are provided on the two cooperating ends to allow the user to releasably fasten the two ends together.

5. The article of claim 4, wherein the fasteners comprise hook and loop fasteners, snaps or clips.