Patent Application
20090205140
The present invention relates to the field of juvenile products and specifically to devices on which an infant is placed to engage in play activities. In greater particularity the present invention relates to a portable environment in which an infant may be placed on the floor.
The typical infant play gym is constructed of a flat play mat to which a pair of toy bars are attached. This design results in several shortcomings. Most significantly, because the mat lacks vertical walls surrounding the play surface, the mat does not provide the sense of security which is important to the youngest users nor does it prevent older users from easily rolling off the mat or otherwise losing their view of and proximity to the attached toys. Additionally, toys placed on the play mat can easily be pushed beyond the boundaries of the mat and out of reach of the infant or perhaps removed by household pets.
The present invention overcomes the short comings of cited above and provides other use modes for infants as they grow.
It is an object of the present invention to extend the life of a typical infant play gym by including additional modes of use.
Another object of the invention is to deter interference from pets as well as pet's access to the infant's toys.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a play gym that is easily and compactly stored.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
An infant play environment is depicted in the accompanying drawings which form a portion of this disclosure and wherein:
Referring to the
It is envisioned that the four side panels are permanently attached to the sides of the interior mat 11 and that the connection will allow the panels to fold over or under the interior mat 11. Each panel may be oriented at approximately 90 degrees relative to mat 11 and cooperate to form four walls which enclose mat 11. To maintain the panels in their upright position, the panels may have one or more assembly tabs 22 attached thereto which can be detachably affixed to an adjacent panel at the corners of mat 11. It will be understood that the tabs may be detachably affixed to the adjacent panel by any suitable means including hook and loop fasteners, snap fasteners, or buttons. Typically, the invention will utilize two long panels 12 and 14 and two short panels 16 and 18 such that the upstanding panels surround a rectangular mat. When the panels are coplanar with the mat 11, the tabs 22 fill the corner interstices to complete a generally oval shape as shown in
Each plastic wall insert 26 is a two piece construction such that the length of the insert may be reduced to facilitate storage of the article or to allow the invention to be carried in a smaller tote bag. The plastic walls may be of a cantilevered interlocking construction having two wall sections 28 & 30 as depicted in
Panels 12 and 14 have a plurality of opposing sleeves 33 attached to their outer surface. The sleeves 33 receive the ends 41 of a toy bar 35 which spans the mat at a height sufficient to allow a number of toys to be suspended there from. The toy bar is a padded wire assembly (new one will be fiberglass) with a fabric strap 36 sewn to the end. Fabric strap 36 has a hook and loop patch sewn thereon for mating engagement with a cooperative hook and loop patch sewn to the underside of mat 11. The straps connect to the bottom of the mat to secure the toy bar in position. It should be understood that with at least one toy bar engaged in the sleeves on opposite panels 12 and 14 these panels can be maintained vertically and panels 16 and 18 disposed horizontally to form a “tunnel” play environment for an infant who has begun to crawl.
It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown is a preferred embodiment thereof and that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope as defined in the following claims.
