U.S. patent application number 10/680897 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-07 for neck warmer.
Invention is credited to Joanne, Bickford.
Application Number | 20050071910 10/680897 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34394441 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050071910 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Joanne, Bickford |
April 7, 2005 |
Neck warmer
Abstract
A neck warmer is provided with a subset of indicia from a
character's face to provide the appearance of a complete character
face when worn by a child. The neck warmer appearance provides the
advantage of encouraging children to wear outdoor protection
garments such as the neck warmer by creating the appearance of a
custom. Accordingly, the warmer of the invention provides a
significant advantage in encouraging children, who are usually
reluctant to wear such garments, to wear a neck warmer during cold
weather.
Inventors: |
Joanne, Bickford; (Fayston,
VT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATENT DEPARTMENT
SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP
FOUR TIMES SQUARE
NEW YORK
NY
10036
US
|
Family ID: |
34394441 |
Appl. No.: |
10/680897 |
Filed: |
October 7, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/203 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 23/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/203 |
International
Class: |
A42B 001/04 |
Claims
1. A neck warmer comprising: an elongated cylindrical sleeve
portion having an exterior face and an upper rim; said exterior
face having indicia suggesting the appearance of a character, said
character generally including eyes and facial features below the
eyes, said indicia comprising said facial features below the eyes,
not including the eyes, said features are positioned on the
exterior face, just below said upper rim.
2. A warmer according to claim 1, wherein said sleeve portion is
formed from a fleece material.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to environmental protection garments,
and more particularly, to a children's neck warmer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Children enjoy dressing up in costumes and pretend that they
are various characters. Usually a child would wear a mask and other
accessories as part of the costume. As many parents know,
motivating a child to dress up in a costume is not difficult; it is
removing the costume that is usually the greater challenge. Hence,
children are naturally inclined to accept dressing up in articles
of clothing that are part of a costume.
[0003] It is also known that children are susceptible to colds and
other ailments when not properly protected from environmental
hazards such as cold, wind, and rain. Therefore, children, as well
as adults, should wear proper garments which protect them from
these environmental hazards. However, it is difficult and
frustrating for parents to motivate a child to wear articles of
clothing which provide this protection.
SUMMARY
[0004] Therefore, in accordance with the invention a garment for
protecting the wearer from cold and wind is provided, which
resembles a mask of a costume. Particularly, the garment is a neck
warmer which depicts features of a character's head, starting just
below the eyes. Accordingly, when the child wears the neck warmer
over the nose, to properly protect the neck and face, an appearance
of a character's face is provided by having the child's eyes in
place of the character's, thereby completing the features provided
on the neck warmer to provide a complete character face. These and
other advantages of the invention will become apparent from the
description below.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a neck warmer in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a neck warmer as worn by a child to
provide an animal face costume.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a neck warmer 10 in
accordance with the invention, which is intended to depict features
of a cat's face. The neck warmer 10 is generally made of a
synthetic material adapted to retain heat while providing a soft
interior surface, such as that provided by fleece, as is know in
the art. The neck warmer is preferably provided as an elongated
cylindrical shaped sleeve, having an upper rim 12 and a lower rim
14. As may be appreciated, the teachings of the present invention
are applicable to various neck warmer constructions in addition to
the illustrated warmer.
[0008] The neck warmer 10 is preferably arranged to have the
appearance, when worn and viewed from the front, of a complete
character head. As an example, the head of an animal may be
simulated. To provide this appearance, feature of an animal,
aligned with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder, are provided
substantially along half of the warmer's circumference. Preferably,
the features are aligned so as to create the illusion that the
character's eyes are to be located just above the upper rim 12 of
the neck warmer 10. While markings may be drawn, painted or
embroidered onto the surface of the neck warmer, greater realism
may be achievable by the use of simulated noses and ears suitably
formed, for example, from fabric or a plastic material.
[0009] As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the wearer's eyes 14 are just
above the warmer's upper rim 12, a simulation of a character face
is provided. As may be appreciated, the appearance of the neck
warmer 10 in accordance with the invention encourages children, who
are normally reluctant to wear any form of neck protection, to wear
the neck warmer. The features provided on the illustrated neck
warmer surface include the character's mouth 16, nose 18, tongue
20, and whiskers 22. The neck warmer 10 is thus of practical
advantage, as well as being of novel and attractive appearance.
[0010] It will be appreciated that, by using different combinations
of eye, nose, mouth and ear designs and colors, neck warmers giving
the appearance of a wide variety of different toy or real
characters may be produced. For example, the warmer may be adapted
to give the appearance of a cat, a snowman, a rabbit, a dog, a
tiger, or a clown.
[0011] Although the present invention was discussed in terms of
certain preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to such
embodiments. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate
that numerous variations and combinations of the features set forth
above can be utilized without departing from the present invention
as set forth in the claims. Thus, the scope of the invention should
not be limited by the preceding description but should be
ascertained by reference to claims that follow.
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