Adhesive bandage with soft three-dimensional figure

[0002] Not Applicable

[0003] Not Applicable

[0004] Not Applicable

[0005] 1. Field of Invention

[0006] This invention relates to improvements in adhesive bandages or wound dressings and particularly to bandages that would be attractive and entertaining for children.

[0007] 2. Description of Prior Art

[0008] Adhesive bandages come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are used to cover and protect wounds such as cuts, abrasions, punctures, and other forms of wounds inflicted on human tissue such as the skin of the arms, legs, hands, and other parts of the human body. Typically, an adhesive bandage comprises a flexible backing with an adhesive surface for attaching the bandage to the skin. Most, but not all, of these bandages have a patch of gauze or absorbent material disposed at the center of the adhesive surface. Such adhesive bandages are well-known and staple items in a first-aid kit or medicine cabinet.

[0009] In recent years, several bandage manufacturers have attempted to make bandages more attractive and entertaining, particularly to children, by the addition of colorful designs and imprinted animals and cartoon characters. Other bandages have come in fun shapes such as hearts or kissing lips. All of these bandages, though, have remained two-dimensional. These flat representations do not engage a child's imagination as readily as a three-dimensional toy representation of the character, animal, or object.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,338 to Lemelson (1981) describes a protective cover for a bandage and includes a three-dimensional figure as one of its embodiments, but the figure is made from a molded plastic resinous material. A hard cover for a bandage may bruise, scrape, or otherwise injure the child to which it is applied or another individual with whom the child is playing. Since it is hard and three-dimensional, it is also likely to catch on objects such as chairs and tables and prematurely fall off of the child.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,296 to Schaar (1980) describes a bandage with a three-dimensional protective member made of foam material. This bandage is designed only for protection and does not specify any playful figure shapes that would be entertaining for a child.

[0012] It is well known that children can become quite engaged with soft or plush figure toys such as teddy bears or bean bag animals. Accordingly, several objects, features and advantages of the present invention are:

[0013] (a) To provide a more attractive and entertaining adhesive bandage for children by incorporating a soft three-dimensional figure.

[0014] (b) To provide an adhesive bandage that children are more likely to want to place over their wounds and keep over their wounds so as to speed the healing process.

[0015] (c) To provide an adhesive bandage that will make children more aware of their bandage so as to keep it from getting wet or dirty.

[0016] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a further reading of the following summary, description, drawings and claims.

[0017] The invention consists of adhesive bandages that incorporate at least one soft three-dimensional figure such as a character, animal, or object. The figure or figures may be generally made of soft materials similar to those of stuffed or bean-bag animals, or may be made of other soft materials, without a shell-and-stuffing configuration, such as squeezeable foam, yarn, bunched-up material, etc. Upon application of the bandage, the figure or figures are raised relative to the skin surface, thereby providing a three-dimensional effect.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adhesive bandage incorporating a soft three-dimensional figure.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a side view in cross section of the bandage of FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the invention with no flexible backing.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of FIG. 4.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the invention with a plurality of appendages made of flexible backing material.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG. 5.

[0024] FIG. 7 is an alternate embodiment of the invention incorporating more than one soft three-dimensional figure.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing a soft three-dimensional figure, a flexible backing for an adhesive bandage, and means for joining them together.

[0026] FIG. 9 is a partial side view showing a soft three-dimensional figure, flexible backing for an adhesive bandage, and means for joining them together.

[0027] FIG. 10 is a partial side view showing a cross-section of a soft three-dimensional figure, a flexible backing for an adhesive bandage, and means for joining them together.

[0028] A typical embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. An adhesive bandage 10 is shown that includes a flexible backing 12, such as a strip of plastic material or woven or non-woven fabric or the like capable of receiving and retaining adhesive of the type normally employed for adhesive bandages. Backing 12 could be made of a material that is breathable, gas-permeable, and/or hydrophobic. The backing 12 could also contain one or more designs and colors and could also be made to look translucent, transparent, or opaque. These materials, their dimensions, modifications, etc., are well known in the industry.

[0029] For this embodiment, the backing 12 is in the shape of a strip having end portions 14 and 16, extending from a central portion 24. A skin-contacting or bottom surface 18 of the end portions 14 and 16 is coated with an adhesive 22 for attaching bandage 10 to the skin. Generally disposed at the central portion 24 of the bottom surface 18 of the flexible backing 12 may be an absorbent pad 34, made of gauze, cotton, or some other absorbent material, that is meant for direct contact with a body wound and therefore void of adhesive on a wound-facing surface 36. Adhesively bonded or affixed in any other conventional way above a top surface 20 of the backing 12 is a soft three-dimensional figure 26.

[0030] The figure 26 is a stuffed character in this embodiment, though the figure 26 could take the form of any soft three-dimensional figure such as an animal or a toy object. The figure 26 of this embodiment comprises a soft three-dimensional figure shell 28 and filling or stuffing 30 to provide the three-dimensional effect. Stuffing 30 is a polyester stuffing used to stuff conventional toy animals, characters, or objects. However, one skilled in the art will find it apparent that stuffing 30 could be beads, beans, or any conventional natural or synthetic type of stuffing used to stuff toy animals, characters, or objects. One skilled in the art would further understand that shell 28 could be created from a variety of materials used to create the shells of soft or plush three-dimensional stuffed animals, characters, or objects. The figure 26 could also not have a shell-and-stuffing configuration, but rather be made into a three-dimensional animal, character, or object using yarn, bunched-up fabric, squeezable foam, or other soft materials.

[0031] Figure 26 may also include simulated features 32 such as mock eyes, nose or other objects which could be made from hard materials, such as a rigid plastic resin, without jeopardizing the overall soft feel of the figure 26. When the bandage 10 is applied, the absorbent pad 34 is positioned over the body wound, the bottom surfaces 18 of the end portions 14 and 16 are adhered to the skin, and the figure 26 is raised relative to the skin surface.

[0032] An additional embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. In this embodiment, no flexible backing material and no absorbent pad is used. Rather, an adhesive bandage 40 comprisess a soft three-dimensional FIG. 42 with a plurality of soft three-dimensional appendages 46a, 46b, 46c, 46dextending peripherally from the figure 42. The appendages 46a, 46b, 46c, 46dcan be made of the same materials as the figure 42 or other materials conventionally used to create soft three-dimensional animals, characters, or objects as discussed previously. The appendages 46a, 46b, 46c, 46dhave adhesive 52 coating their bottom surfaces 50a, 50b, 50c, 50drespectively for attaching bandage 40 to the skin. On a bottom or skin-contacting side 56 of figure 42, located at a central portion 55 of bandage 40, is an adhesive-free area 54 which is left void of adhesive so as not to stick to the body wound on which it is placed. In this embodiment, the material of which the skin-contacting side 56 of figure 42 is made serves the same purpose as the absorbent pad of the previous embodiment. The figure 42 may also include a simulated feature 44, such as mock eyes, nose, or other object, which in this embodiment is made of the same material as figure 42, though the feature 44 can be made from a variety of conventional materials, hard or soft.

[0033] Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. In this embodiment, an adhesive bandage 60 consists of a soft three-dimensional figure 62 with simulated feature 64 and a plurality of appendages 66a, 66b, 66c, 66dextending peripherally from the figure 62. These appendages 66a, 66b, 66c, 66dare made of similar flexible backing material as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The appendages 66a, 66b, 66c, 66dhave bottom surfaces 70a, 70b, 70c, 70dto which is applied an adhesive 72 for attaching the bandage 60 to the skin. As in the previous embodiment, bandage 60 has an adhesive-free area 74, which is located at a central portion 68 of bandage 60, on a bottom or skin-contacting side 76 of figure 62 to allow direct contact with a body wound without sticking to the body wound. The appendages 66a, 66b, 66c, 66dare adhesively bonded or attached in any other conventional way to the skin-contacting side 76 of figure 62 without overlapping the adhesive-free area 74.

[0034] FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention that includes more than one soft three-dimensional figure. An adhesive bandage 80 has a flexible backing 81 in the general shape of a circle, which illustrates that the scope of this invention can cover any type of backing or bandage shape including, but not limited to, rectangular, strip, butterfly, and irregular shapes. Bandage 80 has two soft three-dimensional figures 84aand 84blocated toward the outside edge 82 and on a top surface 83 of backing 81. On the skin-contacting, bottom surface (not shown) of the backing 81, at a central portion 86 of bandage 80 is an absorbent pad 88 for application directly to a body wound.

[0035] FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 show three alternate embodiments of connecting a soft three-dimensional figure 90 to flexible backing 92. In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, figure 90 is removably affixed to flexible backing 92. In FIG. 8 there is a VELCRO® brand feature 94 of hooks and loops, manufactured by Velcro Industries, B.V., for effecting the affixation. In FIG. 9 there are press buttons 96. The methods to removably affix the figure 90 from the backing 92, though, can be accomplished in many other ways, including, but not limited to, regular buttons, a weak adhesive, and safety pins. FIG. 10 illustrates how a soft 3D figure shell 97 does not have to completely encase a filling or stuffing 98. Rather stuffing 98 is bordered in part by shell 97 and by backing 92. Shell 97 is attached adhesively or through other conventional means at interengaging position 99 on backing 92.

[0036] Thus there is provided in accordance with the invention a novel and highly effective bandage that accomplishes the objects of the invention set out above. It is intended that all matter contained in the specifications, descriptions and discussions above shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Many modifications of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed above will readily occur to those skilled in the art. For example, instead of the appendages of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 being attached to the soft three-dimensional figure, they could be attached to the sides of an absorbent pad with the figure attached to the top of the absorbent pad. The appendages could not be appendages at all but rather one continuous apron around the figure or any of a variety of shapes intended to attach the bandage to the skin. The invention could employ these or any of a variety of combinations of attachments, shapes and materials using similar components to those described. In addition, located at the previously described central portion of the bandage meant for direct contact with a body wound, there could be an area on the bottom surface of a flexible backing that is void of adhesive, rather than using an absorbent pad or having the bottom of the figure be adhesive-free. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.