Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bib for holding a drinking vessel having a spout.

Background of the Invention

Toddlers drinking from a bottle or a toddler cup often drop the bottle or cup, which becomes unhygienic and unusable, requiring recleaning resterilising and refilling of the bottle or cup.

It thus desirable to provide assistance to parents or guardians in this regard.

Object of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the prior art disadvantages or at least provide a useful alternative.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a bib for holding a drinking vessel having a spout, the bib comprising: a panel having side edges and an opening for extending around a person's neck; and a pocket extending from the panel for receiving and holding the drinking vessel, the pocket adapted to be gripped by a user in use and wherein the pocket orients the drinking vessel spout generally toward said opening.

The drinking vessel is typically an infant bottle having a nipple as a spout, or a toddler cup having a spout.

Preferably, the pocket positions at least part of the drinking vessel externally of the edges of the panel in use. The panel is preferably generally rectangular and includes a top edge, a bottom edge and opposing side edges, and the opening is an aperture formed at a substantially central portion of the panel. The aperture is preferably sized to fit an infant's 's head therethrough, or the panel is adapted such that dimensions of the aperture size are expandable. The pocket is preferably a substantially cylindrical tube including a tubular sidewall having open first and second ends, with the first end of the sidewall forming an opening of the pocket and the second end thereof being closed by a closing panel.

The pocket is preferably dimensioned such that the drinking vessel spout extends slightly above the opening in use. The opening is preferably substantially aligned with one of the edges of the panel. A rear portion of the pocket is preferably substantially co- planar with a rear surface of the panel.

The bib is preferably made from cloth, plastics or a stretchable fabric material. The panel and pocket are preferably made integrally from a single piece of material. The pocket is preferably adapted to receive and hold drinking vessels of different dimensions. Preferably, the pocket includes means for locking the drinking vessel therein. In another embodiment, the pocket is separable and attachable to the panel.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of examples only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a front view of a bib with a bottle pocket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the bib of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows two bibs side by side according to a second preferred embodiment, the left bib showing the rear view and the right bib showing the front view thereof.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Figures 1 and 2 show a bib 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The bib 10 includes a generally flat rectangular main panel 11 having a front surface 12, a rear surface 13, a top edge 14, a bottom edge 15 and opposing side edges 16. The main panel 11 includes an aperture 17 therein extending between the front and rear surfaces 12 and 13. The aperture 17 is located at a substantially central portion of the main panel 11 , midway between the side edges 16 and closer to the top edge 14 than the bottom edge 15.

The aperture 17 is sized to fit an infant's head therethrough, or if the bib 10 is made from stretchable material as in the preferred embodiment, the aperture 17 is sized to be slightly larger than the child's neck but smaller than the child's head diameter. The aperture 17 preferably has about a 10 cm unstretched diameter and about a 20 cm stretched diameter.

The bib 10 includes a bottle pocket 20 which extends from the bottom edge 15. The bottle pocket 20 is shaped as a cylindrical tube and includes a tubular sidewall 21 and a bottom panel 22 which together define a pocket cavity 25 therewithin. An upper rim 23 of the sidewall 21 forms an opening 24 of the bottle pocket 20, the upper rim 23 being aligned with the bottom edge 15 of the main panel 1 1. A rear portion 26 of the bottle pocket sidewall 21 is substantially co-planar with the rear surface 13 of the main panel 11. The cavity 25 of the bottle pocket 20 is sized to fit a particular bottle (not shown) therewithin having a known diameter and length, with the bottle upper rim and nipple extending slightly above the upper rim 23 of the bottle pocket 20. In the preferred embodiment, the bib 10 is made from a stretchable fabric material and the cavity 25 is sized to fit the bottle snugly therein. The opening 24 preferably has a diameter of between 5 to 7 cm.

In use, the child's head is inserted through the main panel aperture 17 such that the main panel 11 hangs from the child's neck and the rear panel 13 is adjacent the child's clothing top. The bottle pocket 20 is disposed below the child's neck. The parent or guardian can then insert a baby bottle with the child's beverage into the bottle pocket 20. Thus, the child is provided with a bib which covers the front of the child's clothing top to protect same from drink or food spills. Further, the bottle is located by the bottle pocket 20 at a natural position below the child's neck. As the bottle pocket 20 is sized and shaped substantially in the shape of a bottle, the child can grip the bottle via the bottle pocket 20 for drinking from the bottle when desired. The child is also assisted in gripping the bottle pocket 20 by the bottle pocket 20 extending below the bottom edge 15 of the main panel 11. Thus, the main panel 11 does not hinder the child in gripping the bottle pocket 20. Further, if the child lets go of the bottle pocket 20, the bottle is held securely within the bottle pocket 20 and will not fall onto the ground.

Figures 2 and 3 show a second embodiment of the bib 10a which is substantially similar to the first embodiment bib 10 described above. The only difference with the bib 1 Oa is that the bottle pocket 20a is shorter and slightly wider than the bottle pocket 20 of the bib 10, to fit a bottle having a different height and width. In the preferred embodiment, the main panel 11 and pocket sidewall 21 are made integrally from a single piece of stretchable fabric material such as neoprene, with the bottom panel 22 being added thereto. This material is advantageous as it is soft, lightweight, stretchable, absorbent, and insulating which assists in maintaining the child's drink warm or cool. The bib is also washable in a washing machine. Alternatively, the bib can be made from other suitable material, such as fabric or plastics material.

The present invention thus provides a baby bib with a bottle holding capacity. The bottle pocket of the bib is provided in a predetermined position both longitudinally and laterally relative to the child's neck and mouth in use. The bib of the preferred embodiment also does not require any fasteners for attaching the bib to the child or for holding the bottle snugly.

As the bottle is always held at the bottom portion of the bib, the child can hold the bottle pocket and self-feed at anytime as desired. The bib positions the bottle at a position where it readily available to the child and which prevents the bottle from being dropped, Further, the bottle is insulated.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to skilled persons that modifications can be made to the above embodiments or that the invention can be embodied in other forms.

For example, the aperture 17 can be adapted such that it is expandable between a range of aperture diameters. Also, the portion of the main panel 11 between the aperture 17 and the top edge 14 can be disconnected from each other and being attachable to each other via hook and loop straps or other suitable fasteners such as buttons. In this embodiment, the bib has an opening for the child's neck. As with the previous embodiments, the pocket 17 orients the drinking vessel spout generally toward the opening.

The bottle pocket 20 can also be adapted to receive bottles or toddler cups of different dimensions. The bottle pocket 20 can include means for adjusting the dimensions thereof to receive such different cups and bottles. For example, the sidewall 21 and the bottom panel 22 can be replaced with expandable straps which will allow the bottle pocket 20 to receive bottles of different diameters and/or lengths. The bottle pocket 20 can also include means for locking the bottle therein, such as straps across the opening In another possible embodiment, the bottle pocket 20 can be made separate to the main panel 11 and attachable thereto via suitable fasteners such as a zip or buttons. This embodiment provides the advantage that the bottle pocket 20 can be used to insulate the bottle away from the bib main panel 11.