BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to infant play gyms, and more particularly to an infant play gym that has a removable protective cover to shield from the sun and to protect from insects and other outside elements.
Description of Related Art
Play gyms are typically used indoors to provide entertainment and education to infants. Typically, a play gym includes include a mat and one or more support bars extending over the mat to suspend various toys. Such play gyms are typically adapted for infant children and are configured such that the infant can lie on the mat and play with the toys suspended above the mat by the support bars. However, these play gyms are generally intended for use indoors, and thus do not include a roof or covering.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an improved play gym that provides protection from the infant falling out of the gym/away from the mat, and also to protect the infant from sun and other elements. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides an infant play gym that includes a mat having a top surface and a bottom surface that each extends outwardly to an outer perimeter. The infant play gym further has a plurality of support members extending upwardly from and over the mat, wherein the plurality of support members are attached to the mat via fasteners, and a protective cover sheet is positioned over the plurality of support members, wherein the protective cover sheet is at least partially translucent and at least partially transparent.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an infant play gym having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide an infant play gym having a protective cover sheet that is at least partially translucent, which makes the play gym suitable for outdoor use.
A further objective is to provide an infant play gym having a plurality of support members that are attached to a mat via a clip that passes through a slit of the mat to engage a loop on the bottom surface of the mat, so that the support members are more securely attached for outdoor use.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an infant play gym according to one embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a protective cover sheet positioned over the infant play gym.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled infant play gym, illustrating the protective cover sheet secured on the infant play gym with ties attached to play gym support members.
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the protective cover sheet.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fastener used to fasten the support members to the mat of the play gym.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, an infant play gym. Once the infant play gym has been assembled, a protective cover sheet may be mounted on top of the infant play gym, as discussed in greater detail below, so that an infant is able to play in the play gym while being protected from the sun, wind, insects, and other outdoor elements.
For purposes of this application, the term “flexible sheet” is defined to include any form of fabric, plastic sheet, mesh, and/or equivalent material that is flexible.
For purposes of this application, the term “fabric” is defined to include various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and similar materials known in the art, natural and artificial, which may be knitted, woven, non-woven, or formed using any other method known in the art.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an infant play gym 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the infant play gym 10 comprises a mat 20 having a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24 that each extend outwardly to an outer perimeter 26. The mat 20 is made of fabric suitable for an infant to lay on in a seated or laying position, and may therefore include padding or other features intended to enhance comfort. The mat 20 may further include a skid resistant coating 28 on the bottom surface 24, to prevent the infant play gym 10 from easily sliding around during use (shown in FIG. 4). In some embodiments, a semi-wall 40 having a height H may be attached at the perimeter of the mat 20, and extends upwardly from the mat 20. In some implementations, the semi-wall 40 has a height that is approximately 2-12 inches, though any desired height may be constructed, according to the needs of the consumer. In this embodiment, the semi-wall 40 is formed from a fabric, although a plastic sheet or equivalent material known in the art may alternatively be used, and is approximately 6-8 inches.
As illustrated, the infant play gym 10 further includes a plurality of support members 30 extending upwardly from and over the mat 20, the plurality of support members 30 being attached to the mat 20 via fasteners 32. The fasteners 32 are best shown in FIG. 4 and discussed further below. As illustrated, the semi-wall 40 is supported upright by a lower portion 36 of the support members 30, and similarly, the plurality of support members are retained in place by the semi-wall 40. In some embodiments, the plurality of support members 30 includes a pair of supports that each extend upwardly from a different corner of the mat 20 to the opposite corner of the mat 20, thereby crossing in an x-configuration. However, in alternative implementations, a different number of supports may be implemented, and may form a frame that does not cross in an x-configuration. Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the support members 30 each form an arcuate or U-shape over the mat 20, but in other embodiments, the support members 30 may form an angular shape (i.e., having multiple pieces fastened together, or having articulated joints, etc.). In this embodiment, the support members 30 are semi-flexible, being capable of bending while still maintaining enough shape to support themselves and other elements above the mat 20. As shown, one or more fabric loops 34 may be attached to the support members 30 from which hanging toys (not shown) can be removably coupled. The child can reach and play with the hanging toys while lying or sitting on the mat 20.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a protective cover sheet 42 may be positioned over the plurality of support members 30 to protect the infant from outside elements, wherein the protective cover sheet 42 is at least partially translucent. In some embodiments, the protective cover sheet 42 includes a translucent portion 44a and a transparent portion 44b. In this embodiment, the cover sheet 42 includes a plurality of panels, two of which are translucent fabric which may or may not allow some level of light through, but which diffuses the light enough to protect the infant from harm from the sun. Two other panels are made of mesh to form the transparent portion 44B, which may exclude bugs, but which can be allow the parents or guardians to see the infant to make sure he or she is ok. In other embodiments, the panels 44 of the protective cover sheet 42 may have varying combinations of opaque fabric and mesh fabric or other forms of transparent fabrics or sheets (e.g., plastic, etc.).
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the infant play gym 10 assembled with the protective cover sheet 42. In this embodiment, a central loop 46 is attached to the protective cover sheet 42, which may be used to handle the protective cover sheet 42 and also to pull it off of the plurality of support members 30. The central loop 46 may be fabric, or any other suitable material (e.g., plastic, rubber, etc.), and may further be in the form of any other handle shape.
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the protective cover sheet 42, illustrating a plurality of ties 48 for fastening to the support members 30 of the play gym 10. In this embodiment, eight ties are attached to the inside of the protective cover sheet 42 so that four ties are tied to one support member, and four ties are tied to the other support member. For purposes of this application, the term “tie” includes any form of fastener for attaching the protective cover sheet 42, including elongate material suitable for tying, such as a ribbon, cord, rope, etc., and also any other suitable fastener known in the art. In other embodiments, the protective cover sheet 42 may be secured to the play gym 10 with any suitable number of ties. Additionally, while this embodiment illustrates ribbon ties that are tied around the support members 30, other materials may be used to fasten the protective cover sheet 42 to the support members 30, and such alternatives which may be designed by one skilled in the art should be considered within the scope of the present invention. In alternative embodiments, the protective cover sheet 42 may be coupled to the play gym 10 through snaps, clips, buttons, hook-and-loop strips, etc., or other fasteners.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the fasteners 32 used to fasten the support members 30 to the mat 20 of the play gym 10. In some embodiments, each fastener 32 is in the form of a hook that is inserted through a slit 50 in the mat 20 and secured to a loop 52 that is attached to the bottom surface 24 of the mat 20, thereby coupling the support members 30 to the mat 20. In some uses, the loop 52 passes through the slit 50 instead for engagement with the hook 32. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the hook 32 is attached to the lower portion 36 of the support member 30 via a strip 54 of a flexible material (e.g., fabric, ribbon, cord, etc.) that engages the hook 32 at one end, and is attached (e.g., stitched) onto the lower portion 36 at the other end. However, the strip 54 may be attached to the support member 30 via a different means, e.g., an adhesive, hook-and-loop fastener, etc., or it may be integrally formed with the lower portion 36. In some embodiments, the loop 52 may also be stitched to the bottom surface 24 of the mat 20, though other means of attachment may be implemented.
For purposes of this application, the term “slit” is defined to include any form of opening that enables the hook 32 to be passed through the mat 24.
The hook 32 may include a closed loop portion 56 that enables attachment to the strip 54 of fabric material, and an open hook portion 58 that removably engages the loop 52. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the support members 30 may be configured to removably couple to the bottom surface 24 of the mat 20 through other conventional fasteners, straps, hooks, ties, or other fasteners (e.g., hook and loops, snaps, mechanical fasteners or non-mechanical fasteners, such as magnets). FIG. 4 also illustrates the skid resistant coating 28 on the bottom surface 24, which prevents the infant play gym 10 from easily sliding around during use.
The title of the present application, and the claims presented, do not limit what may be claimed in the future, based upon and supported by the present application. Furthermore, any features shown in any of the drawings may be combined with any features from any other drawings to form an invention which may be claimed.
As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean +/−10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.
Patent Application
20240138591
