U.S. patent application number 14/511732 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-16 for clothing kit for ease of transport, spontaneous use, containment of soiled clothing and clean-up.
The applicant listed for this patent is Charles J. RICHEY, Justine L. RICHEY. Invention is credited to Charles J. RICHEY, Justine L. RICHEY.
Application Number | 20150101943 14/511732 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52808728 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150101943 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
RICHEY; Charles J. ; et
al. |
April 16, 2015 |
CLOTHING KIT FOR EASE OF TRANSPORT, SPONTANEOUS USE, CONTAINMENT OF
SOILED CLOTHING AND CLEAN-UP
Abstract
An emergency change of clothing kit is provided with a full
outfit sealed compactly into a container (vacuum sealed in one
embodiment). The container is to be small and portable and will
keep the clothing clean and dry until the time for its intended
use. A disposable, sealable bag will be provided to place any
soiled clothing in. One embodiment of the kit can range in sizes
from Newborn to 3T. Other embodiments include clothing suited for
ages from 3 to adult. The clothing can be of sufficiently high
quality and design that it can be worn repeatedly after initial
opening of the package. For the kits ages 2T and above, underwear
can also be provided.
Inventors: |
RICHEY; Charles J.; (San
Francisco, CA) ; RICHEY; Justine L.; (San Francisco,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RICHEY; Charles J.
RICHEY; Justine L. |
San Francisco
San Francisco |
CA
CA |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52808728 |
Appl. No.: |
14/511732 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61889857 |
Oct 11, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/223 ;
206/278; 53/432 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2400/42 20130101;
D06F 95/002 20130101; B65B 25/20 20130101; A41D 7/00 20130101; A45C
13/02 20130101; A45C 2013/028 20130101; A45C 13/03 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/223 ;
206/278; 53/432 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/18 20060101
B65D085/18; A41D 7/00 20060101 A41D007/00; A41B 13/00 20060101
A41B013/00; A41D 1/06 20060101 A41D001/06; B65B 1/04 20060101
B65B001/04; A41D 11/00 20060101 A41D011/00 |
Claims
1. A kit for providing a change of clothing, comprising: a sealed
substantially air impermeable encasement completely enclosing an
interior space and having at least one airtight seal; at least one
article of clothing compressed within said interior space of said
sealed substantially air impermeable encasement; and at least one
accessory for use in the change of clothing or activities related
to the change of clothing, wherein said clothing is folded or
rolled at least once.
2. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein air is removed from the said sealed substantially air
impermeable encasement reducing the size of the package.
3. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein a secondary encasement is provided to further reduce the
size such that the secondary encasement is inserted into the outer
encasement.
4. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein the clothing included is suitable for at least one
newborns, infants and toddlers.
5. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein the clothing included is suitable for children to adults
and said clothing can include conventional clothing such as shirts,
shorts pants or skirts and/or bathing suits.
6. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein said kit contains at leak one accessory that can be one or
more of: a) sanitized wipe; b) diaper wipe; c) disposal bag or
container for soiled, dirty or torn clothing; d) stickers; e)
children activity including but not limited to toys, crayons or
paper f) baby powder; g) diaper cream and h) sun screen.
7. A method of packaging the clothing in said kit for providing a
change of clothing comprising the steps of: folding or rolling the
clothing to reduce the size; inserting said clothing into an
encasement comprised of substantially air impermeable material;
evacuating the air from the encasement; sealing the encasement to
maintain vacuum created within the encasement; providing a notch on
the edge of the encasement without releasing the vacuum to aid in
opening of the encasement; and inserting said encasement into
another outer encasement to enhance aesthetic appeal and allow
containment of other accessories.
8. An outer encasement for a change of clothing kit for providing
information about the kit as defined in claim 1 including:
directions related to opening and using the kit; care instructions;
company information suggestions for use including but not limited
to space savings for travel, change of clothes after accidental
soiling and bathing suits and patent information.
9. A kit for providing a change of clothing as defined in claim 1
wherein said kit contains a disposable diaper.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority to the Provisional
Application No. 61/889,857 filed Oct. 11, 2013, the entire
disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention ("Oopsie Outfit") is a kit for
providing a change of clothing in a relatively small container. In
one embodiment, the kit would also contain other related
accessories that would aid in changing the clothing, containment of
the soiled clothing, cleaning of the child or affected area and
entertainment during the process of changing and cleaning. The kit
would be advantageous due to its significant portability of items
that would normally take up significant space in a diaper bag, car,
luggage or purse. One intended use would be for an instance when a
child, toddler or infant spills on, soils or tears their clothing
and a change of outfit is needed. The kit could provide accessories
to change the child out of the soiled clothing, clean the child,
entertain the child and store the soiled clothing until it can be
washed or disposed of at a more convenient location. The clothing
will be of sufficiently high quality and design such that the
clothing can be worn repeatedly after being removed from the
original packaging.
II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention of the present application provides a package
having a reduced volumetric configuration of clothing being
convenient for carriage or storage. The reduced volumetric
configuration characterized by reduced length, width or height of
the clothing. An outer encasement can be provided to confine the
clothing in the reduced size. A secondary encasement can be
provided to further reduce the size such that the secondary
encasement is inserted into the outer encasement. The secondary
encasement formed from an air impermeable material. The clothing
would return to nominal volumetric configuration upon opening of
the secondary encasement.
[0004] In accordance with another aspect of the invention of the
present application, the clothing change kit provided contains at
least one accessory that can be one or more of: a) sanitized wipe;
b) diaper wipe; c) disposal bag or container for soiled, dirty or
torn clothing; d) stickers; e) children activity including but not
limited to toys, crayons or paper f) baby powder and g) diaper
cream.
[0005] In accordance with another aspect of the invention of the
present application, a method of packaging the clothing is provided
and includes but not limited to the steps of a) Folding or rolling
the clothing to reduce the size; b) insert said clothing into an
encasement comprised of substantially air impermeable material; c)
evacuating the air from the encasement; d) sealing the encasement
to maintain vacuum created within the encasement; e) provide a
notch on the edge of the encasement without releasing the vacuum to
aid in opening of the encasement; and f) inserting said encasement
into another outer encasement to enhance aesthetic appeal and allow
containment of other accessories. The outer encasement can provide
information about the kit including but not limited to: a)
directions related to opening and using the kit; b) care
instructions; c) company information and d) patent information.
III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The invention will now be described more particularly with
reference to the accompanying drawing which shows, by way of
example only, preferred embodiments of the kit, wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 Illustrates one embodiment of the packaging of the
clothing kit and associated items;
[0008] FIG. 2 shows an example of top or shirt clothing items;
[0009] FIG. 3 shows an example of bottom or pant clothing
items;
[0010] FIG. 4 shows an example of "onesie" infant clothing;
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative method of packaging;
and
[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative method of packaging.
IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments
illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used
herein to describe the same. It will never the less be understood
that no limitations of the scope of the invention is thereby
intended.
[0014] One embodiment of the clothing (1,2,3) kit is illustrated in
FIG. 1. The kit includes at least one or more of the following
clothing items: a top or shirt 1, underwear 2 and bottoms or pants
3. The clothing (1,2,3) can be made of several materials known to
those in the art, including but not limited to cotton, organic
cotton, spandex, bamboo or polyester. The top or shirt 1 can have
long sleeves, short sleeves or no sleeves such as a tank top as
illustrated in Error! Reference source not found. The bottoms 2 can
be pants, short or skirts as illustrated in Error! Reference source
not found. The clothing (1,2,3) may be blank or may have designs or
writing on the external surfaces of the clothing (1,2,3) through
process of but not limited to silk screening or similar. Other
embodiments include but are not limited to other combinations of
the clothing (1,2,3) such as a single shirt and pants (1,3) or
inclusion of more clothing such as socks, two-piece shirts or
two-piece bottoms. The kit can also include one-piece clothing for
both toddlers and infants that can be included in place of one or
both of the top 1 and bottoms 2. For example, a kit could include
an infant one-piece or "onesie" as opposed to a top 1 and bottom 2
as illustrated in Error! Reference source not found. It could also
include a one piece item such as a dress as opposed to or in
addition to a single shirt and pants (1,3). One embodiment can also
include a diaper instead of underwear 3.
[0015] Each piece of clothing (1,2,3) will be folded and/or rolled
4 in such a way as to minimize volume. In one embodiment the
reduced volume would allow the clothing to be more conveniently
shaped and packaged together 8 for further volume reduction through
insertion into an unsealed encasement 9 of a substantially air
impermeable flexible material 10. The encasement can be sealed on
three sides prior to insertion of the clothing items (5,6,7) with
one side left open. It is also possible to use the vacuum-sealer 11
to create an encasement by first sealing three sides of two
parallel square sheets of encasement which will form an encasement
similar to the encasement 10 shown in FIG. 1. Care is taken to
minimize wrinkling prior upon folding or rolling of the clothing
items (5,6,7) and prior to insertion into the encasement 10. The
open side of the encasement 10, with the clothing articles placed
inside, will be placed onto the deck of a vacuum sealing machine 11
and sealed 14 after a majority of the air is removed with a vacuum
sealer 11. This is intended to further reduce the overall volume of
the rolled or folded clothing 8. A notch 13 can be included in the
sealed encasement 10 to allow ease of opening the bag shown in the
detail 12 of FIG. 1.
[0016] For example, vacuum packing or vacuum packaging is a method
of packaging that removes air from the package or encasement of a
substantially air impermeable flexible material. It can involve
both rigid and flexible types of packaging. The intent is usually
to remove air from the container to reduce the volume of the
contents and package. External vacuum sealers involve a bag or
encasement whose open end is placed onto the deck of the
vacuum-sealing machine externally. The lid of the machine is
lowered to establish a seal with the deck along the intended edge
and a pumping system evacuates the ambient air creating at least a
partial vacuum within the encasement containing the clothing items.
A sealing bar then seals the encasement to maintain the partial
vacuum. Other external sealing machines automate this process and
require only a portion of the unsealed bag to be inserted into the
designated vacuum channel. The machine will clamp around the bag
creating a seal so the interior of the encasement can be evacuated.
Once a partial vacuum is established, the machine will
automatically create a seal along the inserted edge.
[0017] Other external sealing machines contain internal
compartments for placement of rolls of bags or encasements that are
only sealed along two edges. The process of creating a vacuum
sealed encasement begins with material of the roll being pulled
through the area containing the roll cutter bar. When sufficient
length is achieved, the cutter bar is lowered creating an
encasement or bag with two open edges. One edge is then placed in
the machine in the designated area to create a third edge seal. The
intended items are then placed in the bag and the fourth edge is
placed in the external vacuum machine which pulls a partial vacuum
and then seals the fourth edge.
[0018] Single chamber sealers require the entire product to be
placed within the machine. Like external sealers, a plastic bag is
typically used for packaging. Once the product is placed in the
machine, the lid is closed and air is removed. Then, there is a
heat seal inside the chamber that will seal the bag, after sealing
the bag the chamber is refilled with air by the automatic opening
of a vent to the outside. This oncoming pressure squeezes all
remaining air in the bag. The lid is then opened and the product
removed. Chamber sealers are typically used for
low-to-medium-volume packaging, and also have the capability to
vacuum seal liquids.
[0019] Double chamber sealers require the entire product to be
placed in a plastic bag within the machine. Once the product is
placed in the machine on the seal bar, the lid is closed and air is
removed. Then a seal bar inside the chamber seals the product in
the bag, after sealing the bag the chamber is refilled with air by
the automatic opening of a vent to the outside. This oncoming
pressure squeezes all remaining air in the bag. The lid is then
opened and the product removed. Double chamber sealers are
typically used for medium-volume packaging, and also have the
capability to vacuum seal liquids. The lid generally swings from
one side to another, increasing production speed over a single
chamber model. Double chamber vacuum packaging machines generally
have either spring-weighted lids or fully automatic lids.
[0020] Edges of the sealed bag 10 can be but are not required to be
rolled 15 to allow the sealed bag to easily be inserted 16 into the
intended outer packaging 19. Other items 18 will be included in the
package 19 such as but not limited to a disposable bag intended to
place any soiled or dirty clothing, sanitary or baby wipes to aid
in cleaning the child or his or her clothing and treats/stickers or
similar objects to calm or entertain the child. After the sealed
and packaged clothing (8,10) and the associated components 18 are
placed in the outer packaging 19, a cover 17 will be placed on the
outer package to secure the internal components (8,10,18).
[0021] In one embodiment, the cover 17 will be secured with
adhesive, screw thread or tape. The cover 17 may also contain
features to allow it to be displayed in a hanging fashion as shown
in FIG. 1 on both 17 and 20. The company logo, information on the
clothing and marketing material can be included as an insert and
secured internal with the other components 18 or can be adhered to
the outside of the outer packaging 19 such that it is visible in
the final packaging 20. The product information can also be printed
on the final packaging 20.
[0022] In another embodiment, other packaging method can be
implemented other than that illustrated in FIG. 1 after the bag has
been rolled (shown as step 16). FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative
outer packaging option. The sealed and packaged clothing (8,10) and
the associated components 18 are placed in a secondary packaging
sleeve 21 that has been molded or shaped to accept the volume and
contours of the sealed and packaged clothing (8,10) and the
associated components 18. The secondary packaging sleeve 21 is in
an open position when the contents are placed on it and then it is
folded over to fully encapsulate the packaged clothing (8,10) and
the associated components 18 as shown in step 22 in FIG. 5. As
illustrated in step 23 in FIG. 5, The secondary packaging sleeve 21
along with its contents (8,10,18) are inserted into the outer
package 24. This outer package 24 is similar in function to the
outer package 19 in FIG. 1.
[0023] Still another packaging method would be that illustrated in
FIG. 6. The sealed and packaged clothing (8,10) and the associated
components 18 are placed in an outer package that allows for the
shape and volume of packaged clothing (8,10) and the associated
components 18. In step 26 in FIG. 6, after the packaged clothing
(8,10) and the associated components 18 are inserted into the outer
packaging 25, the tabs on both sides of the package are folded over
to contain the internal contents. These tabs can be held in place
by contact with other portion of the package and the nature of the
fold shape, by an adhesive applied to surface of the tabs or
through the use of tape or stickers.
[0024] In one embodiment, the kit described would be used when a
child, toddler or infant clothing is soiled from food, a beverage
including but not limited to milk or breast milk, dirt, vomit,
reflux or spit-up, a leak from a diaper, accidental urination or
bowel movement or any event that necessitates a change of clothing.
The "Oopsie Outfit" kit 20 can be kept in a purse, pocket or diaper
bag. The caregiver of the child, toddler or infant can remove the
package 20, open the cover 17, open the bag 10 using the notch 13
and remove the clothing (1,2,3). The child and/or its soiled
clothing can be cleaned using the provided wipes 18. The soiled
clothing can be placed in the included bag 18.
[0025] In another embodiment, the kit described can be used for
travel. As mentioned above, the packaging 20 will be very compact
enabling several outfits (1,2,3) to be placed in a suitcase or
travel bag. This would reduce the space needed for clothing but
also allow a change of clothes at the airport, on-board an aircraft
or train, in the car or other at location where access to luggage
or the packed clothing is limited. The kit would also be useful for
trips to the beach or pool as the packaging would not only allow
for compact transport of the clothing and associated items but
would also limit the exposure of the clothing to water or sand.
This would allow a fresh change of clothing even if the container
holding the product such as a beach bag or purse gets wait or
contains sand.
[0026] The kit would also be useful in schools, hospitals and
hotels to keep on hand due to the high level of children visiting
that may need a change of clothing for various reasons.
[0027] One embodiment of the kit described is use for adults. The
packaging would be similar in function but would need to be larger
to accommodate the larger clothing for an adult. The kit would
include would essentially be the same as illustrated in FIG. 1 with
the exception of the contents 18. The contents would include items
better suited for adult use and would be dependent on the intended
use as displayed on the outer package (19,20). For adults suffering
from incontinence or overactive bladders, the kit could contain
contents 18 such as wipes and/or a disposable bag for soiled
clothing. The kit could also be suited for travel purposes and
include a change of clothing packaged in a compact manner as to
allow for more room in luggage. Another embodiment for travel would
be a kit that included bathing suits for men and women to either
allow smaller packaging over conventional loosely folded clothes or
for consumers who have forgotten to bring a bathing suit on while
traveling. The accessories included 18 could also include sun
screen.
[0028] In another embodiment the outer encasement 19 can provide
information about the kit including but not limited to: a)
directions related to opening and using the kit; b) care
instructions; c) company information d) suggestions for use and e)
patent information. The suggestions for use are intended to
identify the type of kit and the accessories included. When the
packaging is constructed in such a way as to significantly reduce
the size of the packaging, the labeling may include reference to
travel use and reduced size in order to allow for more space
availability inside of luggage. For kits that include a swim suit
and/or accessories such as sun screen, the labeling on the outer
package may include reference to forgotten bathing suits while on
travel or convenience of the small packaging while packing a
swimsuit for travel.
[0029] Another embodiment of the kit 20 will include a disposable
diaper as an accessory 18. The disposable diaper can be in place of
underwear that may be provided in a kit for ages of two years and
above and could be included in kits for ages including newborn to 2
years of age.
[0030] It should be appreciated that the various aspects and
embodiments of the present invention as disclosed herein are merely
illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do
not therefore limit the scope of the invention when taken into
consideration with the appended claims and the following detailed
description and the accompanying Figures. Features from one aspect
and embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein can be combined
with features from other aspects and embodiments of the invention.
Having thus described the present invention in detail, it is to be
understood that the foregoing detailed description of the invention
is not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereof. One of
ordinary skill in the art would recognise other variants,
modifications and alternatives in light of the foregoing
discussion.
* * * * *