Diaper housing

Nov. 13, 1951

2,575,164

M. DONOVAN

DIAPER HOUSING

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Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR.

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2,575,164

Μ. DONOVAN

DIAPER HOUSING * Nov. 13, 1951

Filed June 14, 1949

Sheets-Sheet 2

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Nov. 13, 1951

Filed June 14, 1949

M. DONOVAN

DIAPER HOUSING

2,575,164

Sheets-Sheet 3

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Patented Nov. 13, 1951

2,575,164

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,575,164

DIAPERHOUSING

Marion Donovan; Saugatuck, Conn., assignor to; Kennedy Car Liner &amp; Bag Cos, Inc., Shelbyville, Ind., a corporation of:Indiana

Application Jimel4,1949, Serial No. 99,096

Claims. (Cl. 128—287)

This invention relates; to new? and useful· improvements in diaper housings and relates more.

particularly to a novel· unitary encasement· for the- diaper, which substantially completely encloses the diaper and also forms effective fastening means for securing the diaper in place on the wearer. The. diaper housing, constituting, the. principal· embodiment of. the present, invention, is an improvement on the diaper covers set. forth: in my co-pending application Serial No. 71,580, filed January 19,, 1949, now Patent No. 2,556,800 and Serial No. 91,536, filed May 5, 1949,, and.the., present application, constitutes a continuationin-part off such, latter application.

An. important.object off the invention is to provide a. confining, and supporting element for a diaper formed ih the nature, of a housing which encloses: its outer surface,,its four edges and: the:: marginal portions of its inner surface, and when: the unit Is in place, on the baby the: assembly- is leak-proof and. the leg openings are free-and wellventilated; Thus, the need for safety pins·; tying tapes and other fastening devices for the diaper is eliminated and the conventional diaper may be simply fblded to proper size and placed’within the housing; The complete unit- is then adjusted in place on the baby- and* suitably secured as'bysnap fasteners. In this fashion, a diaper of usual size can be folded so as to provide many more layers’ off material than- would be the case* with the’ usual folding off the diaper· and? application by safety pins or the like.

It will beapparent from the foregoing that anS'· position. The housing' provides a greater meas* ure offreedomfor the child than do usual, rubber pants?; or diaper coverings, and since: there is no constriction of the: parts there: is. provided a desired measure of ventilation.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a housing of the character, described; with novel side walls formed;.from blanks havinggenerally the shape; of: a catenary - curve and: whose

W edges; are largely on: the: bias of the material so; as to provide a desired measure of stretchability': and also to cause the diaper assembly to hang in a comfortable and non-binding manner when the child is standing or sitting.

A further:object of'the invention is:to provide?· a diaper housing which is: readily cleaned: byrinsing: in· warm water· and whereas the housing

ISi is fully pocketed, convenient drain means areprovidedin order that it may be simply hung up

20. todry and retain none of the. water in the pockets.

Still another object of the invention is to pro* vide a diaper, assembly including a diaper and, housing therefor which provides: interconnected; front and back panels, having laterally extending wing-portions which overlap each other and are provided, with, plural, complemental fastening, means arranged in spaced relation at the corners of the housing, any pair of which may be.engaged to secure, the housing in place and to enable the housing to be used as the child grows.

Ih the dr a wings:

other object of the invention is to provide a diaper assembly-having-a greater measure of absorption' and wherein the area of the wet diaper which is· exposed' to the body is very considerably reduced by providing an inner wall construction comprising side flaps and end flaps which cover the four margins of the folded diaper.

.Another object of the invention is to? provide a · diaper housing having an outer wall, side waKs, and an. inner wall, formed from· asingleblankor from·; plural? blanks which provides an elongated opening: of such: size as; to: permit: of: effective 45» ing. the front flap.

40s

Fig-. 1 is? a front, and partial side perspective? view, off a diaper housing embodying my inven* tion.

Fig;,, 2 is a vertical section taken, on line. 2—2' off Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view off the. inner surface ofthe. diaper housing.

Fig,4 is.a plan view of the outer surface, thereof .

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5—5 of Fig.. 3.

Fig. 6.is a plan view of the blank used in forming the outer wall of the housing.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the back flap.

Fig. 8 is a plan view ofthe blank used,in formdiapering but which encloses the balance of 'the inner surface of the. diaper element, securely supporting the. same; and' effectively shielding such: portions;, when wet, from the. body- of the; infant’.

The* entire· housing, is preferably made from; flexible. waterproof material which/prevents wetting of the bed or. of a chain in that; the; housing provides an effective pocket from which no

50·

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the blank used informing each side wall.

Fig. .10 is a plan view of the blank used in form* ing each side flap.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a second embodiment havingintegrally formed, endflaps..

Kg;. 12ris. a. plan, view off a-· further embodiment having a one-piece inner wall.

,_______________________ „______________ ______________ The., pattern of the. diaper housing, forming a, fluid, can flow so.long as the child is in any usual.. 55- pref err edembodiment ofthe present inventionis

2,575,164 shown in Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive and includes an elongated blank 10 forming the outer wall. This blank is provided with a rear edge ί 1, and a front edge i 2 of lesser length than edge i I, both of such edges being joined by concavely curved edges 13, the curves flattening out as they approach their terminals as shown at 14.

A rear flap 15 has two generally parallel edges 16 and IT and angular edge sections 18 and 19 at each end thereof. Edges 16 and IT, which are _:of substantially equal length, are shorter than' rear edge li. -.......A front flap 23 of generally the same shape as blank 15 is provided with opposed generally parallel edges 24 and 28 the latter being the longer of the two, and angular edge sections 25—26 at each end thereof.

A fourth blank 27, two of which are used, has an inner concave edge 3f, an opposed, generally straight edge 29, both joined by short edges 30.

Finally, blank 34, forms a side wall, one on each side of the housing, and is of generally the shape of a catenary curve with opposed edges 35—36, both joined at their ends by short edges 37. Lines which are tangent to the central portions of edges 35—36 would be generally parallel with the grain line of the material.

In assembling the diaper housing a tuck 40 is first formed in the rear section leading inwardly from edge 11. The rear flap i 5 is folded along _;broken line 41 to form the upper edge 42 of the housing. Edge 11 of blank 10 is next stitched to blank 15 forming stitch line 43 which extends through both layers of the flap. The inner section 44 of the rear flap now overlays a portion ; of the inner surface of the outer wall 10.

‘ Blank 23 is now folded along line 45 to form the upper front edge 46 and edge 28 is stitched to blank 10 to form stitch line 47 which also ex10 tends through both layers of the material. The 40 Iⁿ ibis instance, the terminal sections are folded fold line 45 of blank 23 is of substantially the same length as edge i 2 of blank 10 and when assembled, is positioned adjacent thereto. The remaining section 51 forms the inner front flap.

The outer curved edge 36 of each side wall blank is now secured to outer wall 10 as by means of stitching along straight lines 52 shown in Fig. 6 forming stitch line 56. The ends 37 of these side wall blanks are left free and unattached for a reason presently to be discussed.

The inner curved edges 35 of side wall blanks 34 are now stitched to the straight edges 29 of side flap blanks 27 to form stitch line 57. Finally the terminal edges 30 of the latter blanks are stitched to the inner surface of end flaps .44 and 51, forming stitch lines 61. Complemental fastening means 62 are disposed in spaced relation at each corner section of the housing, and as the child grows the fasteners nearer the corner section may be used.

In Fig. 3 these fasteners are shown as being substantially equally spaced from upper edges 42—46 whereas in Fig. 4 these fasteners 62' are disposed progressively nearer the corner sections to allow for a more rounded opening for the legs as the child grows.

By leaving the terminal edges 37 of side walls 23 free and unattached the housing may be easily washed and rinsed and then hung up to thoroughly dry, such edges forming openings for 70 side walls 90—91 are used and the inner wall is an otherwise closed pocket. This pocket is'defined by stitch lines 56—57 along each side of the housing and 43—47 at opposed ends thereof. Extending inwardly from these stitch lines are the

This defines a substantially rectangular compartment for the diaper 60 (Figs. 2 and 5).

In use the diaper is first folded to proper shape and is then inserted under the side walls and flaps. Thus, a substantial portion of the margins of the inner surface of the diaper are covered with waterproof material, leaving the central, elongated section exposed for effective diapering. The front section defined by the overlapping flaps 23—51 is slightly more narrow than the rear section which makes application of the diaper assembly to the squirming child easier.

In Fig. 1 the wing terminals of the front section are shown as overlapping the wing terminals of the rear section. This arrangement may, of course, be reversed.

It was earlier pointed out that the outer, convexly curved edges 36 of the side wall members 34 are stitched along straight lines 52 of outer wall blank 10 to form stitch line 56. When the housing is in the flat position of Figs. 3 and 4 this curved edge-straight edge relationship has a tendency to have a gathering effect in the housing which is of no consequence. When, however, the diaper is in the position of Figs. 1 and 2 the straight line 52 has assumed a concavely curved contour integrating it with the curved edge 36 of the side wall. Similarly, the outer curved edge 35 of the side wall is joined to a straight edge 29 of the inner wall 27 which has the same effect. ‘

In the modified arrangement of Fig. 11 the outer wall 65 and the end flaps 66 and 67 are formed integrally rather than in separate pieces as in the first embodiment, the broken lines 68—69 showing the initial contour of the outer blank. It will also be noted that the grain line of the material has been rotated approximately. 45° from that shown in the first embodiment..

along lines 70—71 to form the front and back upper edges, respectively, of the housing.. The side walls 72—73 may be formed from blanks similar to that shown in Fig. 9.

The side flaps 74—75 are of the shape shown and have overlapping portions 76—77 at the ends of the housing. The outer, longitudinal edges of the side flaps are shown as being concavely curved rather than straight as in the first embodiment. The end flap portions 66—67 are stitched to the outer wall portion along stitch line 81. In this instance, again the short terminal edges of the side walls 72—73 may be left free and unattached to form openings for drainage in laundering. Snap fasteners 82 are secured at the four corners of the housing. This particular construction has many of the same advantages as the first embodiment and is less expensive to construct.

The diaper (not shown) is inserted in the housing in the same fashion as in the first embodiment of the invention. For the purpose of reinforcing the terminal sections of the housing additional layers of material may be interposed between inturned ends 66 and the outer wall of the housing.

In the modified arrangement of Fig. 12 the outer wall 85 is formed in one piece and the terminals 86—87 may be turned inwardly. The same formed in one piece 92 with an elliptical·opening 93. A stitch line 94 secures the flap portions and the ends of the inner wall. At 95 there are shown ...... in broken lines small fastening elements secured side flaps 27 and the front and rear flaps 51—44. 75 adjacent stitch lines 94 for securing to the ends

2,575,164 of the diaper to correct any tendency for the ends of the diaper to fall.

The term “stitching” as used herein and in the appended claims is not limited to joining portions of two blanks by a stitch line produced by a sewing machine but has reference to any joining means. Since the flexible plastic films, either with or without fabric backing, are waterproof and are particularly well suited to the diaper housing of the present invention, various heat sealing or solvent joining means may be used..

The contour of all lines shown in the drawing, whether edges or blanks are stitch lines, is suggestive only and the lines may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, lines 52 on blank 10 which form stitch lines 56 are shown as being straight and slightly non-parallel. The housing would function substantially as well if these lines were more nearly parallel or if they were slightly curved.

While three forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to specific applications thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.