ADJUSTABLE SEAT FOR BABY OR CHILD FLOAT

Abstract

An adjustable seat for a flotation device includes a seat member made of flexible material attached to, surrounded by, and depending from the flotation device, said seat having two apertures therein for receipt of the legs of a child. A matable connector attached to the flotation device and the seat member means permits the adjustment of the shape and relative depth of the seat member to accommodate children of different sizes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to boats, tubes, or other flotation devices for babies and small children, and particularly to devices in which the baby or child is placed upright in a seat that depends from and is surrounded by a flotation device such as a buoyant ring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Floating pool and beach toys are often used to keep a young child, including a baby or toddler, floating in a seated position at the surface of a body of water while preventing the child from becoming submerged in the water. One example of a common floating pool and beach toy comprises a seat affixed to, depending from, and surrounded by a flotation device such as an inflatable ring. The child is placed on the boat or float by inserting his or her legs into and down through apertures in the seat. The seat in cooperation with the flotation device supports the weight of the child and keeps the child afloat while the flotation device rests on the water.

A seat of one fixed size may be suitable for a particular child at a given time, but for a smaller or larger child the seat may be either too low, too high, too large, or too small for purposes of comfort and safety. It is an object of this invention to provide a means for adjusting the dimensions of the seat so that it may it may accommodate the small child or a larger child. Moreover, for any particular child the seat may be adjusted to match the size of the child as he or she grows older and larger.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures, which are schematic and are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component illustrated is typically represented by a single numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure, nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a child placed in a baby boat having a seat member attached to, depending from, and surrounded by a buoyant ring.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the baby boat of FIG. 1, showing snap buckle elements that allow adjustment of size and shape of the seat.

FIG. 3 is another side view of the baby boat of FIG. 2, showing the snap buckle elements.

FIG. 4 is bottom view of the boat of FIGS. 2 and 3, showing each pair of snap buckle elements in position to be connected together.

FIG. 5 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention, in which paired toggles and loops are provided to allow adjustment of the size and shape of the seat.

FIG. 6 is another side view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, baby boat 10 comprises a seat member 12 attached to and surrounded by a buoyant ring 14. A shade or canopy 15 may be attached to the ring in some embodiments.

FIGS. 2 and 3 depict side views of baby boat 10, with seat member 12 attached to and depending from buoyant ring 14. Seat member 12 may be made of flexible plastic. As seen in FIG. 4, seat member 12 includes apertures or leg holes 16 for receipt of the child's legs.

To one side of the seat member 12, snap connector element 20A is affixed to buoyant ring 14 while element 20B is affixed to the bottom of seat member 12. Similarly, on the other side of seat member 12, snap connector element 22A is affixed to buoyant ring 14 while element 22B is affixed to the bottom of seat member 12. When each of the two pairs of snap connector elements are mated together, the bottom of seat member 12 is raised upward to a new position, having a lower depth and a somewhat narrower width for the seat.

In another embodiment of the instant invention, shown in FIGS. 5-7, the shape of the seat member 12 may be adjusted by means of paired loops and toggles. Toggle element 30A is attached on one side of buoyant ring 14, while loop member 30B is attached to a side of seat member 12 and loop member 30C is attached to the bottom of seat member 12. Similarly, toggle element 32A is attached on the other side of buoyant ring 14, while loop member 32B is attached to a side of seat member 12 and loop member 32C is attached to the bottom of seat member 12.

The toggle elements 30A and 32A may be connected to either loop members 30B and 32B, respectively, or loop members 30C and 32C, respectively, in order the adjust the shape and depth of seat member 12 to either of two positions: connecting toggle element 30A to loop member 30B and toggle element 32A to loop member 32B will raise seat member 12 slightly. Connecting toggle element 30A to loop member 30C and toggle element 32A to loop member 32C will raise seat member 12 to a height that will approximately halve its depth for sitting.

The loop members preferably comprise a tab having a first portion attached to seat member 12 and the a second portion extending outwardly away from the side of seat member 12. An aperture in the outwardly extending portion of the tab accepts a toggle element. For example, as see in FIG. 5, loop member 30B comprises a first portion 40A attached to seat member 12 and a second portion 40B extending from seat member 12. As seen in FIG. 6, aperture 44 in second portion 40B may accept toggle member 30A. The toggle elements are preferably made of nylon, while the tabs may be made of PVC material.

Those skilled in the art may readily recognize various alterations, modifications, and improvements. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting.

From the description of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the functions and/or obtaining the results and/or one of more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are mean to be exemplary and the actual parameters, dimensions, materials and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings of the present invention is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, with the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. The present invention is directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An adjustable seat for a flotation device for a child, comprising a seat member made of flexible material attached to and depending from the flotation device, said seat having a bottom with two apertures therein for receipt of legs of a child; anda connector having two matable members, one member being attached to the flotation device and the other attached to the seat member, whereby dimensions of the seat may be selectively changed by mating the two connector members, thereby causing the bottom of the seat member to be raised in relation to the flotation device.

2. The adjustable seat of claim 1, wherein the connector comprises a snap buckle.

3. The adjustable seat of claim 1, wherein the connector comprises a toggle and a corresponding loop.