U.S. patent number 3,583,765 [Application Number 04/804,244] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-08 for protective baby support.
Invention is credited to Connie D. Wallis.
United States Patent |
3,583,765 |
Wallis |
June 8, 1971 |
PROTECTIVE BABY SUPPORT
Abstract
A protective baby support and restraining device formed of a
resilient material and including a horizontal base portion and an
oval, hollow horse-collar-shaped body portion, said body portion
having a greater height at one end than at the other and being
dimensioned to receive a reclining infant. A horizontal tray is
removably supported between the sides of the body portion, and a
crotch strap is removably connected between the tray and the base
portion to extend between the legs of an infant when seated in the
support, thereby preventing a child from sliding forwardly in the
support.
Inventors: |
Wallis; Connie D. (Forth Worth,
TX) |
Family
ID: |
25188518 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/804,244 |
Filed: |
March 4, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/655;
297/153 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47D
5/00 (20130101); A47D 15/008 (20130101); A47D
15/003 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47D
5/00 (20060101); A47d 015/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/384,390,256,152,148,153,457,377 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McCall; James T.
Claims
I claim:
1. A protective baby support, comprising
a unitary cushion member formed of a resilient synthetic plastic
material and including a planar horizontal base portion, and an
oval hollow generally horse-collar-shaped body portion secured to
the upper surface of, and spaced inwardly from the outer periphery
of, said base portion, said body portion having at one end a
greater height than at the other end, each of the sides of said
body portion tapering generally uniformly from the high end to the
low end of the cushion, said sides having a greater width than said
end portions, the opening in said oval body portion being
dimensioned to receive a reclining infant and having a greater
width adjacent said one end than at the other, the sides of said
body portion having such a height as to prevent the infant from
rolling over in the support;
tray means removably connected between the sides of, and extending
transversely across, said body portion, said tray means being
spaced above said base portion;
and a vertically extending crotch strap removably connected between
said tray means and said base portion, said crotch strap being
arranged to extend between the legs of an infant, when said infant
is seated within the body portion, to prevent said infant from
sliding in the support.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further including retainer
spring means for removably connecting the ends of said tray with
said body portion, said tray being resiliently supported by said
retainer spring means.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further including an
impermeable layer of washable material substantially completely
covering said base and body portions.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said layer-covered
support is leakproof and is adapted to contain water, whereby said
support serves as a portable bath tub.
Description
The present invention relates to a protective baby support for
gently supporting and restraining an infant in either a reclining
or a sitting position during sleeping, transport, bathing, feeding
or holding of the child.
As evidenced by the prior U.S. Pats. to Johnson No. 3,013,555,
Hughes No. 2,229,411 Easley et al. No. 3,245,382 and Arp No.
3,306,287, various types of resilient cushion devices have been
proposed in the patented prior art for restraining and/or
supporting an infant. While in general the known devices have
proven to have merit, they do not afford the degree of support
required for a relatively unstable seated infant, and are normally
so expensive in construction that they are not commercially
acceptable. The present invention was developed to avoid the above
and other drawbacks of the known devices, and to provide an
inexpensive lightweight durable washable support that safely and
comfortably supports an infant in a reclining or a sitting
position.
Accordingly, the primary object of the invention is to provide an
improved baby support formed of a resilient cushion material and
including a hollow oval horse-collar-shaped body portion secured to
a planar base portion, said body portion being higher on one end
than the other and including sides that taper downwardly from the
high end to the low end. The opening in the hollow body portion is
dimensioned to receive a reclining infant, and the end and side
walls are of such a height and thickness as to gently restrain the
infant against rolling or turning, and to support the infant's back
when seated in the support.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a baby
support of the type described above and including a horizontal tray
removably connected between the sides of the body portion.
A further object of the invention is to provide releasable crotch
strap means connected between the tray and the base portion to
extend between the legs of an infant seated in the support and
thereby prevent the child's seat from sliding forwardly in the
support.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from a study of the following specification when viewed in the
light of the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the baby support;
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the support;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.
Referring to the drawing, the baby support comprises a horizontal
planar base portion 2 and an oval, hollow generally
horse-collar-shaped body portion 4, said base portion being oval
and extending horizontally outwardly beyond the body portion to
define a stabilizing flange 2a which prevents tipping of the
support when mounted on a horizontal surface. The body and base
portions are formed of a resilient lightweight cushion material,
such as foam rubber, a foamed synthetic plastic material
(polyfoam), or the like, and can be molded either as a unitary
construction or as separate parts secured together by a suitable
adhesive.
One end 4a of the body portion is higher than the other end 4b to
define an infant's back support, the sides 4c and 4d tapering in
height downwardly from the high end to the low end. Generally this
tapering in height is from about 7 inches at the high end to about
3 inches at the low end. The widths of the ends 4a and 4b are about
3 inches, and the widths of the sides 4c and 4d decrease from a
maximum width of about 5 inches adjacent the high end 4a to a
minimum width of about 3 inches at the low end 4b.
The interior of the hollow body portion is adapted to receive a
reclining infant and has a length of about 22 inches, a shoulder
room width of 9 inches adjacent the high end 4a, and a leg room
width of about 7 inches at the lower end 4b. The width of the
peripheral stabilizing flange 2a is about 3 inches, and the
thickness of the base cushion pad is 1 inch. The overall dimensions
of the support are about 34 inches by 25 inches. The base and body
portions of the support are preferably enclosed by a layer 6 of
washable, synthetic plastic material.
In accordance with an important feature of the invention, a rigid
horizontal synthetic plastic tray 8 is removably connected between
the sides 4c, 4d, of the body portion. More particularly, the tray
is provided at each end a rod-shaped enlarged portion 8a adapted to
be snapped into engagement with a corresponding spring retainer 10
that is secured to the adjacent side wall by rivets 12. Thus, the
tray is resiliently and removably mounted between the sides 4c and
4d of the support.
In accordance with another important feature of the invention,
there is removably connected (by snap means, or the like) between
the tray 8 and the base 2 a crotch strap 14 formed of a flexible
material, such as a suitable synthetic plastic material. The crotch
strap and tray are so arranged that when an infant is seated
between the tray and the back-supporting high end 4a, the crotch
strap extends between the legs of the child to prevent its seat
from sliding forward in the support.
The baby support may be used in a play pen or on the floor, as a
bed while traveling in an automobile, or as a restraining device
during feeding. Furthermore, owing to the unitary waterproof
construction, the baby support serves also as a portable bath tub.
An advantage of the support is that a parent may briefly leave an
infant therein unattended while performing light household chores,
such as cleaning, sewing, telephoning or the like. The
manufacturing cost of the baby support is quite reasonable, and the
device is so designed that a child may be supported in a safe
injury-free manner.
While in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes I
have illustrated and described the best form and embodiment of the
invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the
apparatus described without deviating from the invention set forth
in the following claims.
* * * * *