Crib gate position indicator

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6225913
  • Patent Number
    6,225,913
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, August 25, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 1, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A crib gate position indicator for use with a baby crib to automatically alert the parent or infant-caretaker, who is at a location outside of the room or location of the baby crib, when the crib gate has been left in an open condition. The apparatus includes crib gate sensor having a transmitter that communicates with a remotely-located indicator, having a receiver, whenever the crib gate is left in an open condition. The remotely-located receiver is plugged into any conventional electrical wall outlet throughout the house and includes either a visual indicator or an audible indicator that provides a warning to the parent or caregiver in the vicinity of the indicator that the crib gate has been left in an open condition.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates generally to indicators and, more particularly, to electronic position indicators for the gate of a crib.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Most baby cribs comprise a mattress located within a bed frame having four sides, with each side comprising vertical bars positioned between a top molding and a bottom molding. Two opposing sides are vertically displaceable, known as a crib gate, in either a raised (closed) condition or in a lowered (open) position. Lowering the gate is accomplished by displacing a footbar (located at the bottom and just under the bottom molding) which disengages a bottom molding catch from the footbar and then allows the gate to drop downward. Raising the gate is accomplished by simply lifting the gate upwards until the bottom molding catch re-engages the footbar, thereby locking the gate in a raised position.




In most instances, the parent or infant-caretaker will be holding or rocking the baby to sleep. When the parent or infant-caretaker is ready to place the baby on the mattress, the gate is lowered as discussed previously. Usually, the parent or infant caretaker is so focused on positioning the infant on the mattress without waking the infant that frequently the parent or infant-caretaker forgets to raise the gate after the infant is placed on the mattress. The result is that the infant is left in a crib with the gate down. If the infant is old enough to roll and raise himself/herself, the infant could fall out of the crib at a later time because the crib gate remains in an open condition.




Moreover, a recent study conducted by a Temple University researcher has recommended increasing the side heights of cribs to reduce the number of falls from cribs. If this recommendation is followed, the opening and closing of the crib gate by the parent/caregiver should occur more often since raising the height of the crib sides makes it more difficult to place or lift a toddler from the crib without opening the gate. As a result, this increases the chances that a parenticaregiver may walk away from a crib with the toddler inside and with the crib gate left open.




The following U.S. patents disclose some form of indication or warning in association with a baby crib or bed.




U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,104 (Gollhofer) discloses an alarm for alerting an attendant that the crib gate is in a down position.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,030 (Weiss) discloses a safety device for a crib that provides an indicating light or an alarm at the crib to alert a person to the fact that the crib gate is in a down position.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,032 (Langsam) discloses a crib rail safety monitor that utilizes a weight sensor for detecting the presence of a child in the crib and an ultrasonic motion detector or infrared temperature sensor for detecting the presence of an attendant at the crib in order to provide an indication or alarm at the crib that the crib gate is down when the child is in the crib and is unattended.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,819 (Valenti) discloses a safety cushion device that is positioned on the floor adjacent the baby crib for cushioning the fall of a child and an alarm for alerting an adult of such a fall.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,181 (DePonte) discloses a wet bed alarm and temperature monitoring system for detecting urine on the bed and the temperature of a person lying on the bed and for supplying a remote annunciator panel with such information.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,683 (Slomowitz et al.), whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein, discloses an automatic crib gate indicator that utilizes a remote-enabling means to enable a crib gate sensor that detects the open condition of the crib gate and then transmits a signal to a remotely located indicator.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,274 (Slomowitz et al.), whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein, discloses an automatic crib gate indicator that utilizes a crib gate sensor, for detecting the open condition of the crib gate, that is integrated with a baby monitoring system.




Therefore, there remains a need to provide the parent or infant-caretaker with an automatic remotely-located indication or warning of the crib gate being left in open condition.




OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a crib gate position indicator that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.




It is a further object of this invention to provide a crib gate position indicator that automatically informs the parent or infant-cretaker that the crib gate is open.




It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a crib gate position indication to a parent or infant-caretaker at a location outside the room of the crib.




It is a further object of one aspect of this invention to provide a crib gate position indicator that generates a gate open indication without the need for the parent or infant-caretaker to manually enable/disable some indication apparatus.




It is yet another object of this invention to provide a crib gate position indicator that is easy to install on existing cribs.




It is still a further object of this invention to provide a crib gate position indicator that has no wires within reach of the infant when the infant is in the crib.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




These and other objects of the instant invention are achieved by providing an apparatus for providing an automatic crib gate position indication of a crib having a gate that can be positioned in an open or a closed condition. The apparatus comprises a gate sensor which comprises a power source, a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting a signal when electrically coupled to the power source, and a switch coupled to the gate and electrically coupled between the power source and the transmitter. The switch electrically couples the power source to the transmitter whenever the gate is in an open condition. The apparatus further comprises a remotely-located indicator that comprises a receiver and an indication means whereby the receiver receives the signal and activates the indication means to alert someone in the vicinity of the remotely-located indicator that the crib gate is in an open condition.











DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:





FIG. 1

is a top plan view of a home showing the location of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an enlarged isometric view of the gate sensor shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a side view of the crib with the gate sensor coupled thereto;





FIG. 4

is an isometric view of the remotely-located indicator electrically-coupled to an electric wall outlet and showing either a visual indicator or an audible indicator;





FIG. 5

is a block diagram/schematic of the gate sensor;





FIG. 6

is block diagram of the remotely-located indicator utilizing a visual indicator;





FIG. 7

is a block diagram of the remotely-located indicator utilizing an audible indicator; and





FIG. 8

is a side view of another conventional crib having a rotating gate and having a gate sensor coupled thereto.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION




Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown generally at


1020


in

FIG. 1

, a crib gate position indicator constructed in accordance with this invention.




The crib gate position indicator


1020


comprises a gate sensor


1022


(

FIG. 2

) coupled to a crib


22


having a crib gate


26


(

FIG. 3

) and a remotely-located indicator


1080


(

FIG. 4

) which comprises either a visual indicator


1054


A or an audible indicator


1054


B. Operation of the crib


22


is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,683 (Slomowitz et al.), whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein, and is therefore not repeated here. The remotely-located indicator


1080


is located in another room


25


, e.g., the parent's bedroom, not necessarily adjacent the baby's room


23


and, in fact, can be any room where an electrical wall (or power strip, not shown) outlet


39


is available. Thus, the crib gate position indicator


1020


provides for the remote indication (i.e., outside of the baby's room


23


) of the open position of the crib gate


26


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the gate sensor


1022


comprises a housing


1050


having a crib gate switch


1052


(e.g., a C&K® 8168J81ZGE22 SPDT switch or proximity switch) located on the top surface of the housing


1050


. The bottom surface of the housing


1050


includes a fastening means (e.g., a Velcro fastening tape, magnet, screw, clasp, etc.) for securement of the housing


1050


to one of the crib support plates


34


B or


36


B. Activation of the crib gate switch


1052


is caused by the lower molding


32


B of the crib gate


26


depressing the switch


1052


when the gate


26


is in the “down” (open) condition. Conversely, raising (cdosing) the gate


26


de-activates the crib gate switch


1052


. When the crib gate


26


depresses the switch


1052


, a power source (e.g., a 9VDC battery)


1060


is electrically coupled to a gate transmitter


1028


(e.g., Linear Alert Receiver Model No. D-8C and associated transmitter), thereby activating the gate transmitter


1028


to emit a “crib gate down” signal


1030


to the remotely-located indicator


1080


.




It should be understood that the switch


1052


is by way of example only and that any similar or equivalent means for detecting the open position of the gate


26


(e.g., a proximity switch, a magnetically-mupled sensor, Hall effect sensor, etc. such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,968 (Amett et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,214 (Angott et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,014 (Greenwaldt); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,236 (Kister), all of whose disclosures are incorporated by reference herein) and then for electronically coupling the gate transmitter


1028


to the power source


1060


when the crib gate


26


is in the open condition, is covered by the scope of the switch


1052


.




Furthermore, it should also be understood that, although not shown, it is within the broadest scope of the invention to include a gate sensor


1022


that is integral with the crib


22


, i.e., the gate sensor


1022


can either be coupled to an existing crib


22


or can be integral with the crib


22


frame.




The remotely-located indicator


1080


comprises a visual indication means


1054


A (FIG.


6


,. e.g., a light emitting diode-Panasonic LN28RP, a light bulb or any type of illuminator), or an audible indication means


1054


B (

FIG. 7

, e.g., Panasonic EFB-CB37C11 Ceramic Buzzer). The remotely-located indicator


1080


further comprises an indicator receiver


1024


(e.g., Linear Alert Receiver Model No. D-8C) that is coupled to the base of a transistor


1066


and whose emitter is coupled to a multivibrator


1062


which in turn is coupled to ground; the collector of the transistor


1066


is coupled to the power source, e.g., DC voltage provided by an AC/DC converter


1091


. The remotely-located indicator


1080


further comprises a conventional plug


1093


that permits the indicator


1080


to be plugged into any electrical wall outlet


39


throughout the home. The output of the multivibrator


1062


is coupled to the visual indication means


1054


A; if the audible indication means


1054


B is used, the emitter of the transistor


1066


is coupled directly to the audible indication means


1054


B.




Operation of the apparatus


1020


is as follows. When the crib gate


26


is opened, the switch


1052


of the gate sensor


1022


activates the gate transmitter


1028


which transmits the signal


1030


. The signal


1030


is received by the indicator receiver


1024


which then turns on the transistor


1066


which in turn activates the multivibrator


1062


. This causes the visual indicator means


1054


A to flash, thereby warning the parent or caregiver in view of the remotely-located indicator


1080


to go to the crib


22


and close the gate


26


. Once the gate


26


is cdosed, the switch


1052


is opened and the gate transmitter


1028


de-activated. Furthermore, to avoid depleting the power source


1060


in the gate sensor


1022


when, for example, the toddler or infant is being removed in the morning, the parentlcaregiver should close the crib gate


26


, thereby opening the switch


1052


until the toddler or infant is placed back in the crib


22


.




Alternatively, if the audible indication means


1054


B is used, the turning on of the transistor


1066


causes the audible indication means


1054


B to emit an audible signal (e.g. a humming, a whistle, a statement, a tune, etc.) that can be heard by the parent or caregiver causing them to again corrective action, i.e., close the crib gate


26


. Once the gate


26


is dosed, the switch


1052


is opened and the gate transmitter


1028


de-activated.




It should be understood that the multivibrator


1062


could be coupled between the transistor


1066


and the audible indication means


1




054


B to cause a wavering sound for the audible signal.




Although not shown, the remotely-located indicator


1080


may comprise a portable unit, comprising its own power source (e.g., a 9VDC battery), with the transistor


1066


driving a tactile means (e.g., SU 020S-09170 vibrator device). Thus, when the indicator receiver


1024


receives the emitted signal


1030


, the receiver


1024


turns on the transistor


1066


which activates the tactile means which is felt by the parent or caregiver who is wearing (e.g., on the wrist or waist) the portable indicator means.




As disclosed in both U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,683 (Slomowitz et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,274 (Slomowitz et al.), the emitted signal


1030


may comprise a signal in the 900 MHz range or above where low power, wireless transmission is permitted for home use.




It should be noted that is also within the broadest aspect of this invention to have the gate sensor


1022


be compatible with a variety of displaceable gate cribs. For example, there is shown in

FIG. 8

, a Gerry Wood Products, Inc. Model


85


crib


132


having a crib gate


134


that has a rotatable upper portion


136


and fixed lower portion


138


. In particular, the upper portion


136


rotates about an axis


140


towards the crib interior (into the plane of the paper in FIG.


8


), thereby opening the gate


134


. The ends of the upper molding


142


are releasably press-fit into catches


144


A and


144


B by the parent or infant-caretaker to dose the gate


134


. Pressure on the upper molding


142


towards the crib interior disengages the ends of the upper molding


142


from the catches


144


A and


144


B, thereby opening the gate


134


.

FIG. 8

depicts the crib gate


134


in a closed condition.




The gate sensor


1052


can be coupled to the crib


132


to detect the “open” condition of the upper portion


136


. To operate properly, though, the switch


1052


would be reversed, i.e., the switch


1052


depicted in

FIG. 4

would be open (i.e., the power source


1060


and the gate transmitter


1024


would be de-coupled) whenever the upper portion


136


were dosed; conversely, when the upper portion


136


were open, the switch


1052


would be dosed, thereby coupling the power source


1060


to the gate transmitter


1028


to emit the signal


1030


.




Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for providing an automatic crib gate position indication of a crib having a gate that can be positioned in an open or a closed condition, said apparatus comprising:(a) a non-intrusive gate sensor that is positioned out of reach of an infant or toddler who is placed in the crib, said gate sensor comprising: (1) a power source; (2) a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting a signal when electrically coupled to said power source; and (3) a switch coupled to the gate and electrically coupled between said power source and said transmitter, said switch electrically coupling said power source to said transmitter whenever the gate is in an open condition; and (b) a remotely-located indicator comprising a receiver and an indication means, said receiver receiving said signal and activating said indication means to alert someone in the vicinity of said remotely-located indicator that the crib gate is in an open condition.
  • 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said indication means is a visual indicator.
  • 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said indication means is an audible indicator.
  • 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said remotely-located indicator further comprises AC/DC conversion circuitry and electrical plug for insertion into a conventional electrical wall outlet.
  • 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said switch comprises a non-contact sensor that detects the open condition of the gate and electrically couples said power source to said transmitter.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Number Name Date Kind
2734104 Gollhofer Feb 1956
3641540 Cutler et al. Feb 1972
4231030 Weiss Oct 1980
4278968 Arnett et al. Jul 1981
4924214 Hill May 1990
4951032 Langsam Aug 1990
5057819 Valenti Oct 1991
5291181 DePonte Mar 1994
5365214 Angott et al. Nov 1994
5402105 Doyle et al. Mar 1995
5499014 Greenwaldt Mar 1996
5604478 Grady et al. Feb 1997
5629683 Slomowitz et al. May 1997
5689236 Kister Nov 1997
5757274 Slomowitz et al. May 1998
5883579 Schriener et al. Mar 1999
5973591 Schwartz et al. Oct 1999
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry
New Study on how to avoid crib injuries to infants and toddlers, M. V. Ridenour, Ph.D., Temple, College of Education.