Patent Application
20130074260
The present invention is directed to a crib bumper and in particular a crib bumper which has a plurality of holes for allowing an exchange of air from one side of the bumper to the other side of the bumper thus allowing air to pass between the interior of a crib and the environment outside of the crib.
Conventional infant cribs are made of wood or another composite rigid material. The crib usually has a number of slats on the sides and may have a solid headboard and footboard or one which also includes a series of slats. Since the sides of most cribs tend to be hard, in order to avoid injury from an infant coming in contact with the relatively hard side surfaces of the crib interior, various soft or padded inserts have been developed for being placed within the crib.
One commonly used padding is known in the art as a bumper which is placed inside a crib along its perimeter adjacent the side slats and/or headboard and footboard. The bumper may be composed of multiple segments such as two segments for the sides and two for the headboard and footboard, respectively. Alternatively, the bumper may be a single elongated rectangular padded material which is folded to form the four perimeter sides inside the crib.
The present invention relates to a new and improved protective material which surrounds the interior of an infant's crib. The present protective material may be in the shape of an elongated rectangular material, such as a single panel which is folded to form four sides of a substantially rectangular box for placement within the infant's crib. Alternatively, a plurality of panels, e.g., four, may be used, two for the head and foot, respectively, of the crib and two for the sides of the crib.
Advantageously, the panel is composed of felt which has a sufficient rigidity so as to remain in an upright position when stood upright and held from a bottom of the panel. The panel(s) has/have a number of holes or apertures comprising 25% to 60% of the surface area of the panels which allow air to pass between the inside of a crib and the outside environment. One or more fasteners are used to secure the one or more panels to the sides of a crib, e.g., slats of a crib.
In alternative further embodiments, the felt material may be a synthetic material such as polyester felt or can be a natural material such as wool felt, including wool felt composed of wool fibers which have been subject to heat and pressure or the wool felt may be formed using needle punching wool fibers.
The present invention, in one form, is directed to a protective material for surrounding an infant's crib. The material includes at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape and composed of felt. The panel has a plurality of apertures formed completely through the material and the apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the panel. The panel has sufficient rigidity so that when positioned upward, the panel remains in the upright position when held from a bottom of the panel. At least one fastener is provided for securing the panel to the side of a crib.
The present invention, in another form, is directed to a particular material for surrounding an infant's crib. The material includes at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape. The panel forms four sides of a rectangular box to be disposed inside a crib adjacent its sides. The panel is composed of felt and has a plurality of apertures formed completely through the material. The apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the panel. The panel has sufficient rigidity so that when positioned upright and held from a bottom edge thereof, the panel remains in the upright position. A plurality of fasteners secure the panel to the crib.
a and 5b comprise two die-cut panels in accordance with the present invention.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the figures and in particular
A plurality of fasteners such as ties 16 extend from the plurality of panels 11, 12, 13, 14 and are tied to adjacent slats 22 of the crib 20.
The protective material 10 is advantageously formed from either synthetic or natural felt. One advantage of using felt is that it provides a balance of allowing holes or apertures 17 to be either die-cut or laser-cut completely through the material. In addition, felt provides sufficient rigidity at a reasonable thickness, e.g., between ¼ inch and ¾ inches in thickness. Sufficient rigidity is defined as allowing the material to stand upright and not flop over when placed upright and held from a bottom edge, e.g., edge 11b. In addition, felt is soft to the touch and thus the felt material forms a pleasant material to be in contact with an infant's skin.
The synthetic felt material can be made of polyester, polypropylene, Nylon or acrylic with polyester being one advantageous material. The natural felt can be wool felt including a non-woven material made by compressing wool fibers using heat pressure and optionally moisture. Alternatively, the wool felt can be formed from needle punched wool fibers.
The plurality of apertures 17 completely through the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 allow for the exchange of air from inside the interior of the crib to the outside environment. Advantageously, the apertures 17 are formed using the technique of die-cutting or laser-cutting the felt material. One advantage of using die-cut or laser-cut felt is that the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 can be composed of a single material of a single layer, namely the felt material which is cut without requiring an additional material to provide rigidity to the respective panels such as a mesh or backing material. Further, a separate soft to the touch facing material or layer is not needed. As a result, a single continuous piece of felt forms the respective panels 11, 12, 13, 14.
In an alternative embodiment, rather than felt material, the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 may be composed of EVA foam or polyurethane foam.
The arrangement and pattern or design of the apertures 17 may vary based on aesthetics. Advantageously, between 25% to 60% of the surface area of the respective panels 11, 12, 13, 14 comprise the holes, and preferably between 30% and 50%. This allows for a sufficient transfer of heat and air from inside the crib to the outside environment.
A number of non-limiting patterns of apertures are shown in
Referring to
Although the invention has been described above in relation to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected in these preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
