BASSINET AND CRADLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bassinets and cradles are used for babies and small children, allowing them to lie flat to sleep and nap in a safe and sheltered environment. A cradle may offer the possibility of a rocking feature, usually from side to side to keep the baby content, and for soothing or calming the baby such as to more easily fall asleep.

The rocking movement is often instigated by an adult gently rocking or pushing the cradle, although some cradles have automated devices.

A number of cradles have been made for the purposes mentioned above; however, the movement in current cradles does not seem to keep all babies soothed and calm.

PRIOR ART

The cradles presently on the market are mainly based on two different principles for allowing movement of the baby or small child lying in the cradle. The first movement is a rocking-chair movement or inverted pendulum provided by a set of curved bands, or rockers, mounted to the bottom part of the cradle. The second movement is a simple pendulum movement provided by a bassinet part of the cradle being suspended from two opposing supports in the head and front end of the bassinet, allowing the bassinet to swing from side to side.

In both of these prior art types of cradles, the baby's body moves along a curved trajectory, i.e.

a mattress supporting the baby does not stay in a horizontal direction but is tilted during the swinging motion of the cradle.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the invention is to provide a cradle providing a more pleasant movement pattern for the baby, rather than only a pendulum swing or rocking-chair movement of previous cradles. More specifically, the objective is to provide a movement which is natural for the baby and closer to that experienced in the womb.

Further, an objective of the invention is to provide a cradle in which a baby or infant may initiate movement of the cradle by their own movement, such as by limb movements.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a cradle wherein a bassinet portion of the cradle may be moved and positioned onto different types of supports, while maintaining the same movement ability.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a cradle bassinet with the combination of safe restraints preventing the baby rolling out of the cradle while at the same time providing sufficient aeration for the baby and a swinging motion feature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a bassinet and cradle according to claim 1. Further embodiments are apparent from the dependent claims. These and other objects are achieved with a cradle according to an embodiment of the invention.

The bassinet and cradle of an embodiment of the present invention is based on an open box shaped hammock with side panels of a suitable material, such as a fabric of quality suitable for contact with babies and small children. There are at least four side panels and one bottom panel making up the box shape, wherein the side edges of the side panels are attached to one and another and all side panels are connected to the bottom panel at their bottom edge. In addition, at least two opposing side panels are attached at their upper edges to a support structure, such as a frame. The bottom panel may accommodate a mattress to support the baby or child placed in the bassinet or cradle.

However, a box-shaped hammock construction on its own will not provide the ability of the bassinet to swing in relation to the support structure in any cyclic manner, but only yield or partly deform when exposed to external forces such as a push. In order to provide a swinging feature, at least two of the opposite side panels are flexible so that they may be deformed in their own plane, i.e. stretched and/or compressed in a direction which extends along the plane of the substantially two-dimensional panel. Very few woven fabrics, if any, have such characteristic as the weaving would need to be very loose and the friction between the threads extremely low.

According to embodiments, the material in at least two side panels may be folded or creased in the vertical direction to create vertical folds or creases which provide translational flexibility and wherein each fold or crease will function as a separate pendulum. The folds or creases provide means for the side panels to support a cyclic swinging motion of the bottom panel in parallel translation wherein the bottom panel mainly remains horizontal throughout all swing deflections.

By constructing the remaining two opposing side panels of rigid material, the bassinet or cradle will be limited to swing in one plane, perpendicular to the rigid panels. The elastically deformable side panel pair of the bassinet or cradle may be chosen as either the longitudinal panel pair in order to obtain a head-to-toe swing direction, or they may be the shorter transversal panel pair in order to obtain side-to-side swing direction. Alternatively, all four panels could be made elastically deformable in order to enable a swinging motion of the bottom panel in two perpendicular directions in the horizontal plane.

The unique head-to-toe swinging motion obtained by the folded or creased longitudinal side panels according to an embodiment, together with the maintaining of a substantially horizontal bottom panel carrying the baby mattress, has proven surprisingly calming for some babies. The reason is thought to be the resemblance of the motion the baby experiences in the womb.

In the following description, it is assumed that the bottom panel, which forms a support surface for a baby to be placed into the bassinet or cradle according to the present invention, is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction, and that the side panels are oriented in a substantially vertical direction. For the purpose of the present invention, the terms “horizontal” and “vertical” also encompass inclined directions, wherein e.g. a bottom panel is inclined to provide a resting surface with the baby's head being slightly higher than its feet, or wherein side panels extend at an angle to the vertical direction in order to connect e.g. a wider and/or longer support frame to a narrower and/or shorter bottom panel suspended below the support frame. Further, in the following description, the term “longitudinal” is used to define a direction extending horizontally along a longer side of the bassinet, i.e. in general a head-to-toe direction of a baby placed in the bassinet. Similarly, the term “transverse” is used to define a direction extending horizontally along a shorter side of the bassinet, i.e. in general a side-to-side direction of a baby placed in the bassinet

An aspect of the present invention provides a bassinet comprising a hammock and a framework. Therein, the hammock has a first pair of opposing panels, a second pair of opposing panels and a bottom panel. The panels may e.g. be formed from a fabric material. At least one of the first or second pair of opposing panels are connected to the framework, and the first and second pair of opposing panels each are connected to the bottom panel such that the bottom panel is suspended in a predetermined orientation relative to the framework. Each panel of the first pair of opposing panels is capable of flexible deformation such that the bottom panel is displaced in relation to the framework while the relative orientation of the bottom panel and the framework remains constant. The bottom panel can swing due to the flexible deformation of the panels of the first opposing pair while the orientation of the bottom panel relative to the framework (and thus also relative to the ground) remains constant. Thus, a baby mattress provided on a horizontal bottom panel remains in a horizontal orientation at all times during the swinging motion.

The first and second pairs of opposing side panels may be attached to each other in order to secure a baby from falling out of the bassinet. Additionally, the side panels may be formed from air permeable material in order to ensure good aeration to a baby placed in the bassinet.

According to embodiments, each panel of the first pair of opposing panels comprises a folded and/or creased material, wherein the folds and/or creases in the material deform during displacement of the bottom panel. Thus, each fold or crease forms an individual pendulum which allows a swinging motion of the bottom panel due to a deformation of the fold or crease. Alternatively, the panels of the first pair of opposing panels may be formed from a number of parallel, substantially vertical strings or strips of fabric, which, just like the above-described folds and creases, serve as individual pendulums for enabling a horizontal swinging motion of the bottom panel.

The first and the second pair of opposing panels may be oriented in a substantially vertical direction and the bottom panel may be oriented in a substantially horizontal direction such that the first and second pairs of opposing panels and the bottom panel form an open box. In this case, the folds and/or creases in the material of the first pair of opposing panels may then be provided in a vertical direction in order to allow a swinging motion of the horizontal bottom panel. In the context of the present description, the term “vertical folds and/or creases” is to denote folds and/or creases, wherein the fold lines extend in a substantially vertical direction, so that the length of the folded material in the longitudinal direction has been shortened when compared to a non-folded, non-creased state of the material of the panel.

With the provision of vertical folds and/or creases, it can be ensured that the side panels do not deform in a vertical direction, since the material of the side panels is not elasticated or deformable and since the vertically oriented creases or folds do not deform in a vertical direction. Hence, the bottom panel can be stably suspended below the framework by the flexible side panels, without the bottom panel dipping or bouncing in a vertical direction. The vertically aligned folds and/or creases enable an elastic deformation of the side panel in a horizontal direction by opening/closing the individual folds and/or creases, thus enabling the swinging motion of the bottom panel in a horizontal direction.

The direction of displacement of the bottom panel may be in a plane which is substantially parallel to a panel of the first pair of opposing panels. Thus, the first pair of opposing panels, which may e.g. extend in a substantially longitudinal direction, deform in their own plane, e.g. by the material of the panels stretching or by the folds and creases provided in the material of the panels deforming. The bottom panel, which is attached to the panels, is then displaced in the longitudinal direction by the deformation of the panels.

According to embodiments, the second pair of opposing panels may be rigid, thus restricting the displacement of the bottom panel to a direction parallel to a plane of the first opposing pair of panels.

Alternatively, each panel of the second pair of opposing panels may be capable of flexible deformation such that the bottom panel is displaced in relation to the framework in a plane which is substantially parallel to the plane of a panel of the second pair of opposing panels. Thus, a side-to-side swinging motion in a transverse direction may be achieved if the opposing panels that extend in a transverse direction are elastically deformable. With two pairs of elastically deformable panels, the bottom panel may be displaced in a number of different directions in the horizontal plane, allowing for a more complex swinging motion, while the orientation of the bottom panel relative to the framework remains constant.

According to embodiments, the framework may comprise a rectangular frame and the bottom panel may be suspended parallel to a plane defined by the rectangular frame. Alternatively, the framework may comprise a frame in a non-rectangular shape. The bottom panel may be suspended in a predetermined orientation relative to the framework, so that, in use, the bottom panel is suspended in a horizontal or in an inclined orientation in order to provide a suitable support surface for a baby.

The framework may comprise transverse support beams and/or longitudinal support beams. According to some embodiments, the framework may comprise only one pair of opposing support beams, thus providing a stretcher-like structure, wherein only one pair of opposing side panels is attached to respective support beams, and wherein, before use of the bassinet, the support beams may be secured to a further support structure, such as e.g. a stand.

According to embodiments, the first and/or the second pair of opposing panels may comprise respective fastening sections for fastening the first and/or the second pair of opposing panels to the framework. The fastening sections may be releasably fastened to the framework, such as e.g. by zippers, buttons, Velcro™ fasteners or the like.

The bassinet may further comprise a rigid board which is insertable into a pocket formed in the bottom panel in order to form a firm support surface for the baby. A mattress may be provided on the bottom panel.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a system comprising the bassinet as described above and a stand adapted for receiving the framework of the bassinet. The stand may e.g. comprise longitudinal and/or transverse support beams attached to legs, wherein the support beams support the respective longitudinal and/or transverse support beams of the framework.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a raised perspective view of a cradle bassinet according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows the cradle bassinet in FIG. 1 in longitudinal side view.

FIG. 3 shows the cradle bassinet in FIG. 2 in a state of swinging.

FIG. 4 shows a raised perspective view of cradle according to the invention.

FIG. 5 shows the cradle in FIG. 4 in longitudinal side view.

FIG. 6 shows the cradle bassinet in FIG. 5 in a state of swinging.

FIG. 7 shows a raised perspective view stand for the cradle bassinet in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 shows a bottom perspective view of a frame of the cradle bassinet in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 shows a raised perspective view baby bed with indication of area for attachment of the cradle bassinet in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 shows a detail view of the attachment of the cradle bassinet in FIG. 1 onto the baby bed in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows a raised perspective view of the base frame in FIG. 8 turned upside down onto the soft bassinet parts and the fastening of a first set of panels to the frame.

FIG. 12 shows the parts in FIG. 11 and the fastening of a second set of panels to the frame.

FIG. 13 shows the flipping of the ensemble in FIG. 12 and the insertion of a cradle base plate into a bottom panel of the bassinet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the further description, the following terms will be used which should be understood as follows unless otherwise specified.

The term “longitudinal” is to be interpreted as the mainly horizontal direction parallel to the plane of symmetry of an objects largest dimension. For the present bassinet, the longitudinal direction generally coincides with a head-to-toe direction of a baby placed on a baby support surface of the bassinet. The term “lateral”, “cross” or “transverse” is to be interpreted as the generally horizontal direction parallel to the plane of symmetry of the an objects shortest dimension. For the present bassinet, the transverse direction generally coincides with a side-to-side direction of a baby placed on the baby support surface of the bassinet. The term “inward” is to be interpreted as the mainly horizontal direction towards any of the planes of symmetry of an object.

The invention will in the following be illustrated by examples of embodiments as shown in the attached figures, none of which are limiting for the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the bassinet 1 according to the invention, which comprises a hammock 10 and a rigid support structure 20. The hammock 10 comprises a first and second pair of opposing parallel vertical side panels 11, 12 and a bottom horizontal panel 13, which are flexibly connected together in the shape of an open box. The top edges of the side panels 11, 12 are connected to the support structure 20 which in this embodiment comprises a rectangular rigid frame comprising a first and second pair of opposing parallel beams 21, 22.

The first opposing side panels 11 are in this embodiment made up of a vertically creased or folded material. The total length of the material is greater than that of the effective length of the side panel providing a non-smooth surface with mainly vertical creases or fold lines running from the support structure 20 down to the bottom panel 13 like a curtain. Thus, the material making up the first opposing side panels 11 is dimensioned longer in a longitudinal direction than the actual side panel 11 and is shortened by introducing vertical crease or fold lines in order to create the vertical folds or creases shown in FIG. 1.

The first side panels 11 may be made of any suitable material. A light and air permeable fabric is preferred, in order to allow air to flow through the panel and provide good circulation of air to the baby while being flexible enough to allow parallel swinging of the bassinet. Further, respective neighbouring panels 11 and 12 may be connected to each other at their side edges in order to ensure that the baby is securely contained within the bassinet 1 and cannot fall out.

The second opposing side panels 12 in this embodiment are made up of a rigid, semi-rigid, or substantially non-stretchable material.

In FIG. 2, the bassinet 1 is viewed from a side view, showing one of the first side panels 11 of the hammock 10 and the support structure 20. In the state shown, the hammock is in its starting position hanging straight down from the support structure 20. In FIG. 3, the bottom panel 13 has been moved to the right side in relation to the support structure by a translational parallel displacement thereof. The displacement of the bottom panel is caused by the folds and/or creases in the material of the side panel 11 deforming. This sideways and mainly parallel movement allows for the bottom panel 13, onto which a mattress 5 may be placed, to swing back and forth to the left and right of the starting position shown in FIG. 2.

The translational parallel movement has the ability to emulate a swinging motion which is more natural for the baby than a single pendulum or inverted pendulum motion. In this embodiment, the swinging motion is enabled by the deformation of the longitudinal side panels 11 of the bassinet 1, hence providing a swinging motion in the longitudinal direction, such as from head to toe. However, the motion may also or alternatively be provided in the transversal direction for swinging sideways by providing elastically deformable transverse side panels 12, or by dimensioning the panels 11, 12 accordingly.

FIG. 4 shows the bassinet 1 of FIG. 1 mounted onto a stand 30. The stand 30 may be a standalone structure onto which the bassinet may be attached, either permanently or detachably. Alternatively, the stand 30 may comprise the support structure 20 and the hammock 10 may then be attached directly to the stand, either permanently or detachably.

In FIG. 5, the cradle 1 is shown from a side view, showing one of the first side panels 11 of the hammock 10, the support structure 20 and the stand 30. In the state shown, the hammock 10 is in a starting position hanging straight down from the support structure 20. In FIG. 6, the bottom panel 13 has been moved to the right side in relation to the support structure 20 by a translational parallel displacement thereof, similar to that of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of the stand 30, comprising a top rectangular rigid frame with a first and second pair of opposing parallel beams 31, 32 and four legs 33.

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of the framework 20 in detail. In this embodiment, the framework 20 comprises a rectangular frame comprising longitudinal beams 21 and cross beams 22. The cross beams 22 are extended in a horizontal direction in order to form support surfaces which can rest on suitably positioned structures. Further, the longitudinal beams 21 form side walls for securing the bassinet 1 e.g. on the longitudinal beams 31 of the stand 30 of FIG. 7. With the side walls of the cross beams 22 resting against respective outside surfaces of the longitudinal beams 31 of the stand 30, the bassinet 1 is secured against any inadvertent slipping or movement in the transverse direction relative to the stand 30. A similar construction may be provided for the cross beams 22 of the framework 20.

As shown in FIG. 9, a baby bed 40 has longitudinal sides 42 and transverse sides 41. FIG. 10 shows the bassinet 1, wherein the cross beams 22 of the framework 20 are resting on respective top surfaces of the longitudinal side walls 42 of the baby bed 40. Therein, the horizontally extending support surfaces of the cross beams 22 of the framework 20 provide a secure support for the bassinet 1 on a variety of different baby beds, even if the respective widths and/or the spacing of the side walls 42 differ by a few centimetres between different makes and models of baby beds.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the side panels 12 are located close to the side walls 42 of the baby bed 40, so that only a very limited swinging motion is possible. According to some embodiments, however, the transverse panels 12 may be elastically deformable in addition to, or instead of the longitudinal panels 11 being elastically deformable, thus enabling a side-to-side swinging motion of the bottom panel 13. If the bassinet 1 is then placed at a distance away from the transverse side walls 41 of the baby bed 40, a side-to-side swinging motion of the bottom panel 13 could be achieved when the bassinet 1 is secured on the side walls 42 of the baby bed 40.

As shown in FIG. 11, the bassinet 1 may be assembled by placing the framework 20 onto the side panels 11, 12 of the hammock 10. In the example shown, the framework 20 has been turned upside-down to allow the fastening sections 11′, 12′ of the side panels to be fastened in an area which will not be visible during use of the bassinet 10. The fastening sections 11′, 12′ may be fastened to the framework 20 using e.g. zippers (as shown in FIG. 12), buttons, Velcro™ fasteners or the like. As shown in FIG. 13, before use, the framework 20 with the hammock 10 attached thereto is flipped over again. In order to provide a suitably supportive bottom panel 13, a rigid cradle base board 14 may be inserted into a pocket formed in the bottom panel 13 of the hammock 10. Additionally, a mattress (not shown) may be placed on top of the bottom panel 13 in order to provide a comfortable support surface for a baby.

A further embodiment comprises a stretcher-like structure of the bassinet. Therein, the hammock is not suspended from a rectangular frame as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 and 11 to 13, but is attached via a single pair of side panels to two opposing beams, which extend e.g. in the longitudinal or in the transverse direction of the bassinet. Thus, the bassinet resembles a stretcher in that a fabric hammock is suspended from two parallel and opposing support beams.

Prior to use, the bassinet according to this embodiment may then be placed onto a further support structure, such as e.g. the stand 30 of FIG. 7 or the baby bed 40 of FIG. 9, and the two opposing beams may be secured to the support structure. Therein, the rigid panels of the hammock may be attached to the two opposing beams, and the flexibly deformable panels of the hammock may be attached to the bottom panel at their lower edge and move freely at their upper edge. In order to ensure the stability of the vertical folds and/or creases in the side panel material, a string or a strip of non-stretchable fabric may be attached to the top end of the elastically deformable side panels. With this embodiment, a swinging motion of the bottom panel can be achieved using very little force Thus, this embodiment enables a baby to initiate the swinging motion of the bassinet e.g. by kicking his/her legs.

Alternatively, the flexible panels may be attached to the opposing beams, so that the unattached rigid panels may be used for stiffening the overall hammock structure, even though these panels are not attached to a support framework at their respective top ends.

It should be noted that the description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the proposed device and its associated use and manufacturing method. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the proposed methods and systems and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.

BASSINET AND CRADLE

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