Panty-designed Diaper Cover

Abstract

The disclosure of this invention pertains to a panty-designed diaper cover having an inner and an outer water repellent layer with an intermediate layer therebetween of nonstretchable, nonshrinkable fast drying material, such as a spun-bonded polyester fiber, of the same size and shape as the inner and outer layers and in contact therewith throughout their entire surface areas and substantially free of stitching in the crotch area.

Description

The present invention relates to a panty-designed diaper cover and is an improvement over my U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,615 granted Nov. 30, 1954 for an infant's garment.

An object of this improvement is to combine with an inner and outer layer of water repellent stretchable material an intermediate layer of material which is water-resistant at all times, nonstretchable, nonshrinkable and has quick drying characteristics, such as spun-bonded polyester fiber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article of this kind in which the three layers are of the same size and shape and in which the intermediate layer is in contact with the entire surface areas of the other two layers so that by virtue of its quick drying characteristic the intermediate layer will accelerate the drying time of the other two layers.

The present invention aims to provide a garment of this type in which the three layers are secured together by a minimum of stitches so that the crotch area of the garment will be substantially free of needle holes to present in the crotch area a minimum of such holes through which wetness could seep to the child's outer garments.

A further aim of this invention is to provide a garment of this character which is considerably lighter than the conventional garment of this kind and in which the garment can not shrink since the intermediate layer to which the other layers are secured does not shrink and stays flat and smooth during use and after washing.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description thereof:

Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals refer to the same or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the panty-designed diaper cover embodying the features of the present invention as being worn by an infant;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the diaper cover before stitching;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the diaper cover as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the diaper cover shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the panty-designed diaper cover embodying the features of the present invention includes an outer layer of water-repellent material, such as knit cotton, indicated by the numeral 20, an intermediate layer of nonstretchable, nonshrinkable, water-resistant and fast drying material, such as spun-bonded polyester fiber, indicated by the numeral 21, and an inner layer of water-repellent material, such as knit cotton, indicated by the numeral 22. Each of the three layers is of the same size and shape so that the intermediate layer is coextensive and in intimate contact with the entire surface areas of the inner and outer layers. Since the intermediate layer 21 is nonstretchable, nonshrinkable and fast drying its contact with the inner and outer layers of the cover will accelerate the drying of the inner and outer layers and assist in keeping the child's outer garments dry.

As shown in FIG. 2, each crotch portion of the diaper cover is similar in size and shape and comprises a narrow central crotch area 23 and front and rear wide crotch areas 24 and 25 extending from the area 23. It is to be understood that each of the crotch portions of the layers 20, 21 and 22 are preferably similar in size and shape, and each is provided with leg cutout portions 26 and 27 on opposite sides thereof to provide openings for the infant's legs when the garment is in use, as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing.

In the assembly of the garment the three layers 20, 21 and 22 are folded over upon themselves and the leg portions 26 and 27 are stitched together as at 28 to form the leg openings. The marginal end portions remote from the crotch areas 23, 24 and 25 are stitched together as at 29. Likewise the marginal side portions remote from the crotch areas 23, 24 and 25 are stitched together as at 30. It will be noted that only a small amount of the stitches 28 border on the crotch area 23 while the crotch areas 24 and 25 are free of stitches so that there are no needle holes in the crotch areas 24 and 25 so that no needle holes are formed in these crotch areas through which wetness could seep to wet the infant's outer garments. Also in the central crotch area 23 a minimum of needle holes are formed so that an inconsequential amount of wetness can seep through the small number of needle holes in the small part of the central crotch 23.

The numeral 31 generally refers to the waist area of the garment and there may be provided a conventional elastic waistband which may be suitably sewn into the waist area 31. Shirt attaching tabs 32 of any conventional form are secured to the side portions of the garment for securing the garment to a shirt 33 of the infant by safety pins or other conventional means not shown.

Attention is directed to the fact that an important feature of the present invention is the employment of spun-bonded polyester fabric as the intermediate layer and making the intermediate layer the same size and shape as the inner and outer layers so that the great majority of the stitches and needle holes are formed along the marginal edges of the layers remote from the crotch areas. Accordingly it has been found that this spun-bonded polyester fabric as the intermediate layer is a tremendous improvement over the flannelette and other conventional linings previously used because:

1. It remains water-resistant at all times, whereas the water-repellency of the flannelette is destroyed after a few washings.

2. This material dries exceptionally fast so that the outer layers of the garment tend to dry fast also, as they are in contact with it. On the other hand, the flannelette takes a long time to dry and seems to keep the outer layers damp.

3. This spun-bonded polyester fabric is lighter in weight than the flannelette; does not shrink like flannelette and stays flat and smooth after washing, unlike flannelette.

4. By designing the garment in this new manner there is no need to sew on a separate crotch portion, thus eliminating the needle holes which could cause some wetness to seep through the water-repellent fabric. But, in the new design there are no needle holes in the crotch area, where most of the wetness of the baby's diaper is concentrated and therefore this improved garment now performs better than ever.

Also the purpose of the spun-bonded polyester fabric since it is nonstretchable is to hold the inner and outer layers of knit goods in tight position to prevent the small openings in the knit goods from stretching and enlarging to such an extent that some wetness would seep through. Moreover, since the intermediate layer is coextensive with the other layers and is water repellent, it will repel the full strength of the baby's urine to preclude the urine from travelling not only beyond the crotch areas but also throughout the entire area of the garment.

Another important feature of the present invention is the employment of the intermediate nonstretchable layer which is sewn into the leg openings of the baby' s pants in such a manner that it will prevent the leg openings from stretching completely out of fit or out of shape after the baby's pants have been washed a few times. All knit garments are subject to easily stretching after washing which is not so with the pants of the present invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A panty-designed diaper cover comprising a one-piece outer layer of water repellent cloth consisting of a waist portion and a crotch portion with oppositely disposed leg cutout portions at opposite sides thereof, an inner layer of water repellent material of similar size and shape to said outer layer, and an intermediate layer of material of the same size and shape as said outer and inner layers characterized by the fact that it is permanently water-resistant, said three layers being stitched together only at the marginal edges of the waist portions and their opposite side leg cutout portions so that the crotch portions are substantially free of needle holes to prevent the seeping of wetness which would otherwise seep through these needle holes, said intermediate layer being a fast drying material.

2. A diaper cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fast drying intermediate layer is in contact with said inner and outer layers throughout their entire surface area so that the inner and outer layers will tend to dry rapidly.

3. A panty-designed diaper cover comprising a one-piece outer layer of water repellent cloth consisting of a waist portion and a crotch portion with oppositely disposed leg cutout portions at opposite sides thereof, an inner layer of water-repellent material of similar size and shape to said outer layer, and an intermediate layer of material of the same size and shape as said outer and inner layers characterized by the fact that it is permanently water-resistant, said three layers being stitched together only at the marginal edges of the waist portions and their opposite side leg cutout portions so that the crotch portions are substantially free of needle holes to prevent the seeping of wetness which would otherwise seep through these needle holes, said intermediate layer being made from spun-bonded polyester fabric.