CHILD'S GARMENT WITH DOUBLE SLIDER ZIPPER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to garments for infants and small children, and particularly to a child's garment with a double slider zipper.

BACKGROUND ART

Infants and small children typically must be kept warm, both while sleeping at night and when going outside during the winter in cold climates. Consequently, sleepwear and outerwear for infants and small toddlers are often in the form of jumpsuits, many of which are equipped with feet or booties for keeping the child's feet warm. Such clothing is effective in keeping the child warm, but can be inconvenient when it becomes necessary to either partially or entirely remove the sleepwear or outerwear, especially when it becomes necessary to change the child's diaper or during toileting. The jumpsuit is often equipped with buttons, which are cumbersome. Even when the jumpsuit is equipped with a zipper, the zipper is a single slider zipper that opens at the top, so that the entire jumpsuit needs to be removed for access to the diaper, which requires time to remove the upper portion of the • garment, and which leaves both the child's upper and lower body exposed.

Consequently, there is a need for a one-piece child's garment that covers both the upper and lower body, and which has a closure element that can alternately be opened from either the top or the bottom to access either portion of the child's body when needed. Such a garment would minimize exposure to the cold or other elements, and would further be more convenient to use for the child's parent or caregiver. Thus, a child's garment having a double slider zipper solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The disclosure is directed to a child's garment with double slider zipper. The garment is adapted for covering both upper and lower portions of a child's body. The garment has a central opening that extends from the upper end of the garment to the lower end. The double slider zipper has teeth mounted on a pair of stringers attached to opposing edges of the central opening. The zipper extends from the upper end of the garment to the lower end. The double slider zipper has an upper slider and a lower slider mounted in bottom-to-bottom relation so that the upper slider is selectively movable to a first open position to provide access to the

upper portion of the child's body while keeping the lower portion covered by the garment, and the lower slider is selectively movable to a second open position to provide access to the lower portion of the child's body while keeping the upper portion covered by the garment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a child's garment with double slider zipper according to the present invention, with the zipper being in a closed configuration.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a child's garment with double slider zipper according to the present invention, with the zipper being in a first open configuration.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a child's garment with double slider zipper according to the present invention, with the zipper being in a second open configuration.

Fig. 4 is a double slider zipper according to the prior art that may be incorporated into the child's garment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a partial front view of an alternative embodiment of the child's garment with double slider zipper according to the present invention. Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The current invention is directed to a double zippered child's garment. The garment has an upper portion that is configured to cover a child's upper body, including his chest, arms, and upper torso, and a lower portion configured to cover the child's lower body, including the lower torso, hips and legs, and may also cover the feet. The lower portion may have separate legs with integral booties, or may be a one-piece, sleeping bag configuration. It should be understood that the garment may have any configuration, dependent upon the particular needs and desires of the user. For example, in the above, the garment may include separate legs without attached booties. Alternatively, it should be understood that, as noted above, the double slider zipper may be affixed to a sleeping bag-type structure, or any other suitable garment, cover or flexible structure. The garment is furnished with an elongated zipper on the front of the garment extending from the collar to the foot or lower end of the garment, the zipper extending along only one leg when the garment has two legs. The zipper has a double slider so that the upper portion may be opened by sliding the pull on the upper

slider down from the collar, or the lower portion may be opened by pulling the lower slider up from the foot of the garment.

The provision of the double slider facilitates access to one portion of the child's body while keeping the other portion clothed for warmth and comfort, and also requires less work from the caregiver (or from the child), since it is not necessary to remove the entire garment to perform such chores as changing a diaper, or during toileting. The garment may also be equipped with features that prevent accidental opening of the zipper by the child. Such features may include, for example, a flap or tab that covers the pull of the upper zipper. The flap may be releasably secured by a snap fastener, button, or other fastener that the child cannot easily open.

Fig. 4 shows a conventional double slider zipper 10 which may be incorporated into the child's garment of the present invention. The zipper 10 includes a first row of teeth 28 attached to a first stringer or tape 50, and a second row of teeth 30 attached to a second stringer 50. The zipper 10 includes an upper slider 20 and a lower slider 22. The sliders 20 and 22 are configured in a bottom-to bottom arrangement so that the teeth are locked together when the sliders 20 and 22 are moved to the ends of the stringers 50, and open or separate when the sliders 20 and 22 are moved towards the middle of the stringers. The zipper 10 is preferably made from metal or from plastic, although it should be understood that the materials, sizes and contouring of the zipper elements are dependent upon the particular needs and desires of the user.

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary child's garment with a double slider zipper of the present invention, designated generally as 12 in the drawings. The garment 12 includes an upper portion configured to cover the child's upper body, including the chest, arms, and upper torso, and a lower portion configured to cover the child's lower body, including the lower torso, hips and legs. The exemplary garment 12 shown in the drawings has separate legs with integral booties, although it will be understood that the scope of the present invention also extends to a garment having a one-piece, sleeping bag configuration, and to a garment having no provision for covering the feet, e.g., an elongated coat, and generally to any child's garment having an upper and lower portion for covering the child's upper and lower body in which it may be desirable to have separate access to one portion of the child's body while keeping the other portion covered.

The garment 12 is furnished with an elongated zipper 10 on the front of the garment 12 extending from the collar to the foot or lower end of the garment 12. As shown in the drawings, the zipper 10 extends along only one leg 18 when the garment 12 has two legs. The zipper 12 has a double slider so that the upper portion may be opened by sliding the pull on the upper slider 20 down from the collar, or the lower portion may be opened by pulling the lower slider 22 up from the foot of the garment 12, with the two sliders being independently operable. The zipper 12 is attached to the garment 12 by attaching one stringer 50 to a first side 14 of the garment 12 and attaching the opposing stringer 50 to the opposite second side 16 of the garment. Fig. 1 shows the garment 12 in a closed configuration, with the upper slider 20 pulled up to the collar and the lower slider 22 pulled down to the lower end of the garment 12. Fig. 2 shows the garment 12 with the upper slider 20 pulled down to the crotch area in a first open configuration, with the lower slider 22 remaining closed, as the garment 12 would be configured to provide access to the upper portion of the child's body while keeping the lower portion clothed. The stringer 50 on which the first row of teeth 28 is mounted is attached to the edge 24 of the first side 14 of the garment 12, for example, by stitching, and the stringer 50 on which the second row of teeth is mounted is attached to the edge 26 of the opposite second side 16 of the garment 12.

Fig. 3 shows the garment 12 with the upper slider 20 pulled up to the collar and the lower slider 22 pulled up to the crotch area in a second open configuration, as the garment 12 would be configured for providing access to the lower portion of the child's body while keeping the upper portion clothed. The stringer 50 on which the lower portion 32 of the first row 28 of zipper teeth is mounted is attached to the edge 40 of the rear portion of leg 18, for example, by stitching, while the stringer 50 on which the lower portion 34 of the second row 30 of zipper teeth is mounted is attached to the opposing edge 36 of leg 18.

The garment 12 may be provided with other features for the comfort and safety of the child, such as, for example, having elastic cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, a high friction surface on the bottom of the feet, etc.

Fig. 5 shows the child's garment 12 equipped with an additional safety or convenience feature in the form of a flap or tab 52, which may be folded over the upper slider 20 and secured to the opposite side of the garment 12 by a snap fastener 54, button, hook and loop, or other releasable fastener. The flap 52 precludes the child from playing with the pull of upper slider 20 and accidentally pulling upper slider 20 down to open the upper portion of the garment. Thus, the child's garment 12 provides the child with a warm garment 12 that

permits the caregiver easy, convenient, selective access to either the upper or lower portion of the child's body without the necessity of completely removing the garment 12. It should be understood that a second flap may also be provided for the lower slider 22.

The use of the double zipper system with a garment, such as garment 12, is desirable, but not limited to, particular application to infant clothing. Particularly, the opening of the garment from the bottom up, via lower slider 22, allows for easy and comfortable access during diaper changing and toilet training, for example, without requiring the full removal of the garment from the child, thus keeping the child continuously warm throughout the process.

It should be understood that such a garment and zipper system may be used with a person of any age where such a double zipper system would be desired.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.