Wearable blanket with distributed weight system

Abstract

A wearable blanket with a distributed weight system for providing gentle and soothing weight on an infant's body without excessive pressure with optional swaddling wings that are removably attached to the wearable blanket. The wearable blanket has an array of subpanels containing weight or pressure-inducing material that can be adjusted to provide evenly distributed weight throughout the front panel of the wearable garment or create a weight gradient to provide more focused weighted support to particular areas of the wearable blanket depending on the physical or medical need of the wearer. The subpanels are compartmentalized and separated from one another to prevent undesirable movement or accumulation of weighted material and may include individual pouches or containers to hold the weight or pressure-inducing material that allows for customization and adjustment of any of a number of the subpanels that constitute the distributed weight system.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A wearable weighted blanket having a form of a garment including a neck opening, the wearable weighted blanket comprising:
 a front panel comprising an outer surface;   an array of weighted sub-panels, wherein the array is coextensive with and connected to at least a portion of the outer surface of the front panel; and   a back panel comprising a construction that is substantially similar to the front panel.   
     
     
         2 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of leg pouches;   
     
     
         3 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of sleeves.   
     
     
         4 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 3 , wherein each sleeve of the plurality of sleeves further comprises a back surface and a front surface. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 1 , wherein each weighted sub-panel is separated from adjacent sub-panels of the array by a sewn, stitched, or bonded border. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the weighted sub-panels are substantially equal in weight. 
     
     
         7 . A wearable weighted blanket having a form of a garment including a neck opening, the wearable weighted blanket comprising:
 a front panel comprising a first outer surface;   a plurality of shoulder portions;   a plurality of sleeves, each sleeve in the plurality of sleeves comprising a second outer surface; and   an array of weighted sub-panels, wherein the array is coextensive with and connected to at least a portion of the outer surface of the front panel.   
     
     
         8 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is distributed across a front surface of each sleeve in the plurality of sleeves. 
     
     
         9 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is coextensive with and connected to at least a portion of each sleeve in the plurality of sleeves. 
     
     
         10 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of shoulder portions is detachably fastened with suitable fastener. 
     
     
         11 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the suitable fastener comprises one or more of a following: buttons, snaps, or a hook-and-loop fastener. 
     
     
         12 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is between two layers of a multi-layer construction. 
     
     
         13 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 9 , wherein each weighted sub-panel comprises a hollow member independently holding a weighted material. 
     
     
         14 . A wearable weighted blanket having a form of a garment including a neck opening, the wearable weighted blanket comprising:
 a front panel comprising an outer surface;   a plurality of leg pouches;   a plurality of leg openings; and   an array of weighted sub-panels, wherein the array is coextensive with and connected to at least a portion of the outer surface of the front panel.   
     
     
         15 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 14 , wherein a back panel is devoid of a layer of weight-inducing material. 
     
     
         16 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is distributed across a front surface of each leg pouch of the plurality of leg pouches. 
     
     
         17 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is distributed across a front surface of each leg opening of the plurality of leg openings. 
     
     
         18 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels has a checkerboard or tiled diamond configuration. 
     
     
         19 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the array of weighted sub-panels is coextensive with at least 90% of the outer surface of the front panel. 
     
     
         20 . The wearable weighted blanket as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the weighted sub-panels each independently have a weight between about 0.5 ounces and 4 ounces.