Infant Pouch Garment With Horizontal Stretch Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Parents of newborn children face difficulty in finding carriers that allow for extended close contact while freeing their arms and hands for other tasks, as existing carriers often require one or both arms to support the infant's head, limiting mobility and activity.
Innovation Solution
An upper body garment with a pouch designed for newborn infants, featuring a stretchable fabric construction that allows the pouch to expand horizontally, providing a secure and comfortable space for the infant between the wearer's chest and upper belly, with a U-shaped seam and optional breast panels for nursing access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a parent uses a traditional infant carrier, then the infant is securely supported, but the parent's arms and hands are occupied and cannot perform other tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the infant carrier with the parent's clothing by integrating a pouch into a shirt or t-shirt garment. The pouch is formed by panels that are part of the garment structure, allowing the infant to be carried securely while the parent's hands remain free for other activities. This merging of carrier and clothing eliminates the need for separate carrier devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment panels act as an intermediary structure between the parent's body and the infant. The pouch panels provide the supporting surface for the infant while being attached to the parent's clothing, mediating the connection and allowing the parent to carry the infant without direct arm support.
2Ease of operation
If a parent places the infant in a separate cradle or carrier to free their hands, then they can perform additional tasks, but close contact with the infant is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the carrier pouch into the parent's shirt or t-shirt, the invention maintains continuous close contact between the parent and infant. The pouch is positioned against the parent's body, ensuring the infant remains in contact with the parent's torso while the parent's hands remain free for other tasks.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the pouch is made from non-stretchable material, then the garment structure is stable, but the pouch cannot expand to accommodate the infant
Solution Approach 1:
The garment is constructed with different material properties in different regions. The pouch panels are made from stretchable material to allow expansion when the infant is placed inside, while other portions of the garment may use non-stretchable material for structural stability. This local differentiation of material properties allows both expandability and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pouch panels utilize stretchable material that can change its physical parameters (dimensions, volume) in response to the infant's weight and size. The material's elastic properties allow the pouch to expand from a compressed state to an expanded state accommodating the infant, then return to its original shape when the infant is removed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables parents to maintain close contact with infants for extended periods while freeing their hands for other activities, enhancing mobility and convenience, with the garment being comfortable and versatile for various tasks and interactions.
Implementation Method 1
The front panel is formed from a stretchable material that allows the front panel to be stretched outwardly to open the pouch compartment to receive the infant
Data Source
AI summary
An upper body garment for supporting an infant adjacent the chest and upper belly of a wearer that includes a tubular garment body made from a stretchable fabric and comprising a front panel and a back panel, one or more breast panels extending from a top portion of the back panel and over the shoulders of the wearer; and a pouch panel extending from a lower portion of the breast panels. The pouch panel is secured along a U-shaped seam to an inside surface of the front panel to form a pouch with a top opening proximate the lower portion of the breast panels. The stretchable fabric is a two-way stretchable fabric with an increased capability for elastic expansion within a substantially horizontal plane when the wearer is in an upright position.