ACTIVITY DEVICE

Abstract

A device to be worn by an individual is disclosed herein, where the device includes a panel body having a first panel and a second panel, a panel fastener having a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel to secure the first panel to the second panel, and a shoulder lip having a first end that attaches to another portion of the first panel. The first panel includes a hook that receives and holds an article, and a strap loop that that receives and holds the article. The first and second panels may be substantially the same, in which the device may be reversible, or, the panels may be different.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/582,231, filed Oct. 26, 2016, which is scheduled to issue as U.S. Pat. No. D807,617 on Jan. 16, 2018, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure generally relates to an article or device that may be worn and used by a person such as, for example, an infant, a toddler, a child, an adult, or the like, and more particularly, an article or device that may be worn by the person to securely and accessibly hold one or more articles such as, for example, toys, tools, instruments, and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Small children, including infants and toddlers, can quickly become bored, thereby necessitating provisioning of toys and other articles to keep them entertained and educated. Also, infants and toddlers, like to gum on articles as they teethe. However, as many have experienced, small children tend to drop and/or lose toys and other articles, which results in the children becoming frustrated and upset, requiring adult intervention to soothe the child by replacing the lost item with a new item or finding the lost item.

An unfulfilled need exists for a tangible article or device for conveniently and readily provisioning a wearer (e.g., an infant, a toddler, a child, an adult, or the like) with an article, such as, for example, a toy, a teething ring, a tool, an instrument, or the like, to keep the individual entertained and physically occupied or to provide ready access to a desired tool or instrument, while preventing the article from being dropped, lost, or misplaced, and allowing for easy access to the article as well as easy replacement of the article with another article.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The instant disclosure provides a tangible, real-life device that helps to deter the use of electronic devices (such as, for example, computer tablets, smartphones, televisions, and the like) and assist users to hone in their tactile, motor, sensory skills. The device facilitates in entertaining and educating users such as small children (including infants and toddlers).

According an aspect of the disclosure, an activity device is disclosed that may be worn by an individual, such as an infant, a toddler, a child, an adult, or the like, the activity device comprising: a panel body that may be worn by the individual; one or more panel fasteners; and one or more strap loops. The activity device may comprise a hook. The activity device may further include one or more transverse hooks. The one or more panel fasteners may comprise a strap.

The panel body comprises a pair of panels that are configurable to form a neck opening. The panel body may comprise a shoulder lip. The shoulder lip may be integrally formed at one end with one of the panels and attachable to the other panel by an attachment fastener.

One of the panels of the panel body may comprise one or more transverse hooks. The one or more transverse hooks may be integrally formed with the panel. The one or more transverse hooks may be attached to the panel by an attachment fastener.

One or both of the panels may be made partially or entirely of the same material as the attachment fastener. For instance, a portion (or the entirety) of one or both panels may be made of Velcro®, a child-safe adhesive, or the like, so as to allow attachment (or detachment) or articles from anywhere on the panel(s).

An attachment fastener may comprise an adhesive, a hook-and-loop fastener (such as, e.g., Velcro®), Veltex®, a clip, a stitching, a button, a rivet, a snap, a zipper, or the like. The attachment fastener may be made of any durable and child-safe material, including, for example, plastic, metal, cloth, polyester, or the like.

The one or more strap loops may be attached to one of the panels by an attachment fastener.

The hook may be attached to one of the panels by an attachment fastener.

The strap loop may include a hook, a loop, or the like, to which an article may be attached. The article may include a toy, a ring, a teething ring, a binky, a pacifier, a tool, an instrument, or the like.

According another aspect the disclosure, the device comprises: a panel body having a first panel and a second panel; a panel fastener having a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel to secure the first panel to the second panel; and a shoulder lip having a first end that attaches to another portion of the first panel, wherein the first panel comprises: a hook that receives and holds an article; and a strap loop that that receives and holds the article. The article may comprise a binky, a pacifier, a teething ring, a toy, a tool, or an instrument.

The first panel may comprise a transverse hook that receives and holds the article. The first panel may comprise a plurality of transverse hooks positioned along an edge portion of the first panel, each of the plurality of transverse hooks being configured to receive and hold the article. The first panel may be made of any durable and child-safe material, including cloth, plastic, synthetic material (e.g., polyester), or the like. The first panel may include an attachment fastener such as Velcro® or Veltex® that will allow for accessories and items to be attached and removed in the mode of “play and learn” (e.g., plush animal figurines with a Velcro® (hook side) application attached to the accessory, the user can then take the animal and stick it to the fabric at any point or location. Or, should a parent, or other individual need or want to engage with the user of the device, they can engage by attaching and moving the animal accessory (or the like) around the first panel.

The strap loop may comprise one or more openings along a longitudinal axis of the strap loop. The longitudinal axis of the strap loop may be positioned at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the panel body. The angle may be about 90°, about 45° and/or about 135°.

The panel fastener has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel or that attaches to the portion of the second panel. The second panel may be made similar to, or different from the first panel. For instance, the second panel may include a child safe attachment fastener such as Velcro® that will allow for removable attachment of articles such as, for example, toys.

The shoulder lip has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel or that attaches to the portion of the second panel.

The first panel may further comprise: a second strap loop having a longitudinal axis that forms a second angle with the longitudinal axis of the panel body; and a third strap loop having a longitudinal axis that forms a third angle with the longitudinal axis of the panel body, wherein the second angle, third angle, and said angle differ from each other.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is noted that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective first view of an example of a device constructed according to the principles of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a second view of the device in FIG. 1, wherein the second view is opposite to the first view;

FIG. 3 shows a first side view of the device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a second side view of the device in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows top view of the device in FIG. 1.

The present disclosure is further described in the detailed description and drawings that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments of the disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective first view of an example of a device 1, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The device 1 may comprise an activity vest to be worn by an individual, such as an infant, a toddler, a child, an adult, or the like. The device 1 includes a panel body having a first panel 10 and a second panel 20 that form an opening 5 for the individual's neck. The device 1 further includes one or more panel fasteners 30, a shoulder lip 21, one or more strap loops 11 that receive and hold articles 14, and one or more hooks 12 that receive and hold articles 14. The device may include one or more transverse hooks 13.

The device 1 according to present disclosure enables an individual to actively engage with one or more articles pertinent to the device, and thus learn the relation between these articles and the individual's world around them. The article 14 may comprise a binky, a pacifier, a teething ring, a toy, a tool, an instrument (e.g., a medical instrument, a musical instrument, or the like), or the like. The articles 14 may include, but are not limited to, for example, objects, plastic (or any other material) numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, etc.), shapes (circle, square, oval, diamond, octagon, rectangle, star, etc.), sizes (short, long, thick, thin, wide, narrow, large, small, etc.), textures (rough, smooth, soft, hard, furry, etc), colors (red, green, orange, blue, etc.), animals, alphabet letters, and the like, with the ease of mix and matching from one pre-determined portion of the garment to another using an attachment mechanism such as, for example, Velcro (or the like) in order to relate real-world articles in a fun and engaging educational matter, hands-on, while preventing the article from being dropped, lost, or misplaced, and allowing for easy replacement of the article with another article.

The panel fastener(s) 30 have a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel 10 by an attachment fastener (not shown). The panel fastener(s) 30 have a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel 20 or that attaches to the portion 35 (shown in FIG. 2) of the second panel 20 by means of the attachment fastener.

The attachment fastener (not shown) may comprise a child-safe adhesive, a hook-and-loop (e.g., Velcro), a clip, a stitching, a button, a rivet, a snap, a zipper, or the like.

The shoulder lip 21 has a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel 10 by means of the attachment fastener. The shoulder lip 21 has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel 20 or that attaches to the portion of the second panel 20 by means of the attachment fastener.

As seen in FIG. 1, the first panel 10 may be provided with one or more transverse hooks 13 (e.g., six shown in FIG. 1), each of which may be positioned along an edge portion of the first panel 10.

The strap loop(s) 11 comprise one or more openings along a longitudinal axis of the strap loop 11. The longitudinal axis of the strap loop 11 runs along the length of the strap loop 11. The longitudinal axis of the strap loop 11 may be positioned at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the panel body. The longitudinal axis of the panel body runs from the bottom to the top end at the opening 5 (e.g., parallel to the edge portion of the first panel 10). The angle may be, for example, about 90°, about 45° and/or about 135°, as seen in FIG. 1. Other angles are contemplated herein, including angles less than 45°, greater than 135°, or between 45° and 135°.

FIG. 2 shows a second view of the device 1, wherein the second view is opposite to the first view. As previously noted, the first and second panels 10 and 20, respectively, may be made similar to, or different from each other. Also, the first and second panels 10 and 20, respectively, may be made of the same, or a different material. The material may include, for example, cloth, plastic, synthetic materials (e.g., polyester), or any other durable and child-safe material. Portions (or the entirety) of the first panel 10 and/or second panel 20 may be provided with an attachment fastener such as, for example, Velcro®, or the like, to allow for easy attachment (or detachment) of one or more articles 14 from the panel, to facilitate easier learning and play time.

FIG. 3 shows a first side view of the device 1; FIG. 4 shows a second (opposite) side view of the device 1; and FIG. 5 shows top view of the device 1.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is noted that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “including,” “comprising,” and variations thereof, as used in this disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used in this disclosure, means “one or more,” unless expressly specified otherwise.

When a single structure or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single structure or article may be used in place of the more than one structure or article. The functionality or the features of a structure or article may be alternatively embodied by one or more other structures or articles that are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A device to be worn by an individual, the device comprising:

a panel body having a first panel and a second panel;

a panel fastener having a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel to secure the first panel to the second panel; and

a shoulder lip having a first end that attaches to another portion of the first panel,

wherein the first panel comprises: a hook that receives and holds an article; and a strap loop that that receives and holds the article.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the article comprises a binky, a pacifier, a ring, a teething ring, a toy, a tool, or an instrument.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first panel comprises a transverse hook that receives and holds the article.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first panel comprises a plurality of transverse hooks positioned along an edge portion of the first panel, each of the plurality of transverse hooks being configured to receive and hold the article.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the strap loop comprises one or more openings along a longitudinal axis of the strap loop.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the longitudinal axis of the strap loop is positioned at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the panel body.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the angle is about 90°.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the angle is about 45° or about 135°.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the panel fastener has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the panel fastener has a second end that attaches to a portion of the second panel.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder lip has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder lip has a second end that attaches to a portion to the second panel.

13. The device according to claim 6, wherein the first panel further comprises:

a second strap loop having a longitudinal axis that forms a second angle with the longitudinal axis of the panel body; and

a third strap loop having a longitudinal axis that forms a third angle with the longitudinal axis of the panel body,

wherein the second angle, third angle, and said angle differ from each other.

14. A device to be worn by an individual, the device comprising:

a panel body having a first panel and a second panel;

a panel fastener having a first end that attaches to a portion of the first panel to secure the first panel to the second panel; and

a shoulder lip having a first end that attaches to another portion of the first panel,

wherein the panel body comprises: a hook; a transverse hook; and a strap loop.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the strap loop comprises one or more openings along a longitudinal axis of the strap loop.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the longitudinal axis of the strap loop is positioned at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the panel body.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the angle is about 90°.

18. The device according to claim 16, wherein the angle is about 45° or about 135°.

19. The device according to claim 14, wherein the panel fastener has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel.

20. The device according to claim 14, wherein the shoulder lip has a second end that is integrally formed with a portion of the second panel.