Patent Application
20230329452
Nursing pillows are cushioned devices used or worn by caretakers when feeding or nursing an infant. Such pillows are generally put on the caretaker's lap during feeding to support an infant so that the caretaker can rest his or her hands from time to time. Some nursing pillows wrap around a caretaker's body, but such pillows are large and therefore are not easily portable. Although nursing pillows may support an infant, they don't orient a baby's head toward a caretaker's chest, so the baby needs to be pushed towards the caretaker.
Infant sling-type carriers are devices used to carry an infant from birth up until the infant weighs approximately 30 pounds. Such carrier-type slings are typically fabricated from a flexible fabric and comprise a carrier panel terminating at one or both ends in a tail portion, which serves as a sling tie. The sling is formed by securing the ends of the carrier panel. While sling carriers may generally orient an infant toward the chest of a caretaker, an infant's head and body must be further supported in order for breast feeding to be successful.
Considering the fact that an infant may nurse 10 to 15 times every day for sometimes between 15 and 30 minutes, caretakers are faced with the very real possibility that the act of nursing may result in pain and even injury. Wrist and/or back injuries caused at least in part by nursing may persist for years after a child's infancy, for example. Such injuries are more likely when a pillow is not easily available to support the weight of a nursing infant. The prospect of pain and injury may shorten the time that a child is breast fed by the caretaker, which may be disadvantageous for the child.
The present nursing sling pillow addresses shortcomings in prior infant sling carriers by incorporating a cushion, both to support an infant during feeding and to relieve pressure on a caretaker. The cushion supports an infant's body, relieving weight from the arms and hands of a caretaker, and also orients the infant toward a caretaker's chest. The nursing sling pillow also addresses shortcomings in prior nursing pillows by incorporating a sling which wraps around an infant to supports the infant in a comfortable, fitted way during feeding.
The present nursing sling pillow 10 generally comprises an elongated cushion 100, which can be curved or longitudinally oriented, and which has a right side 102, a left side 104, a proximal end 126, a distal end 128, an inner surface 130, and an outer surface 140. The cushion includes one or more resilient materials, such as fiber, foam, or aggregate particles, which are retained within a cover 105 formed by one or more panels, in order to provide comfort and protection to an infant user of the sling pillow 10. The distance between the proximal end 126 and distal end 128 of the cushion 100 can between about 40 cm and about 80 cm for example, between about 50 cm and about 70 cm, or about 60 cm.
The nursing sling pillow 10 also includes one or more straps 300, each strap having an outer surface 301, an inner surface 303, a proximal end, and a distal end. The straps 300 are secured to the proximal end 126 and the distal end 128 of the cushion 100. A fastener 200, such as a buckle, is further included to the straps 300 and the cushion 100 together, thereby forming a sling.
In one embodiment, the nursing sling pillow comprises a first strap 330 having a proximal end 332 and distal end 334 and a second strap 350 having a proximal end 352 and a distal end 354. The first strap 330 is attached at the proximal end 332 to the proximal end 126 of the cushion 100, and wherein the second strap 350 is attached at the proximal end 352 to the distal end 128 of the cushion, and wherein the fastener 200 reversibly secures the first strap 330 to the second strap 350.
The cushion 100 can additionally include an arm hole 150 having a right side opening 152, a left side opening 154, and a through-hole extending therebetween in order to allow a user to extend a hand and arm portion therethrough. Alternatively, a loop 60 having a proximal end 66 attached to the strap 300 can be provided to help rest the hand of a caretaker using the nursing sling pillow. In some embodiments, a cover panel 70 can also be attached to the cushion 100 to provide privacy during feeding of an infant.
The reference numbers in the figures designate the following components of the present nursing sling pillow:
As used herein, the following terms and variations thereof have the meanings given below, unless a different meaning is clearly intended by the context in which such term is used.
“About” refers to a quantity within 10% of the stated quantity or amount. “Cushion” refers to a flexible structure formed by one or more panels which form a closed receptacle having a space or cavity which holds a filler material therein, in particular a resilient filler material. A cushion can be called a pillow when used to support a head or other body part of a human.
“Fastener” refers to a mechanism for attaching one item or component to another, in particular for attaching two straps together.
“Outer” refers to a location or direction which is on or away from the outer surface of a component of the present nursing sling pillow.
“Panel” refers to a section or piece of material extending over or covering a predetermined area. Panels are generally flat, i.e. are relatively thin as compared to the extent of their length or width, and can be curved or planar. Materials used to form the panels used in the present disclosure are flexible, such as fabric.
“Resilient” refers to a material or component which is reversibly deformable, i.e. it can recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.
“Sling” refers to a length of flexible material, such as a strap or belt, used to form a loop to support or raise a weight (i.e., the weight of an infant).
“Strap” refers to a length of flexible material used to secure one or more components of the present nursing sling pillow. Preferably, straps are relatively flat and have a length greater than their width, in the manner of a belt.
The term “user” will refer to an adult human user of the present nursing sling pillow, generally a caretaker of an infant. An infant or other juvenile supported by the present invention will be referred to as such.
The terms “upper,” “lower,” “top”, “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “proximal,” “distal,” “inner,” “outer,” and similar terms will be used to designate areas and positions of components or portions of the present nursing sling pillow, but it is to be understood that these terms are relative and are not absolute terms. “Right” and “left” will thus be used to designate opposing lateral sides of components of the nursing sling pillow.
The term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” and similar referents used herein are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural unless their usage in context indicates otherwise. Ranges which are described as being “between” two values include the indicated values.
The present nursing sling pillow 10 generally comprises a cushion portion 100 and a strap portion 300. As illustrated in
The cushion 100 can comprise a continuous body structure which defines a generally elongated shape and/or structure of the cushion 100 and which is configured to comfortably and safely accommodate an infant. The cover 105 of the cushion 100 includes an outer surface 140 facing away from a caretaker when the sling pillow 10 is in use, and an inner surface 130 for contacting an infant which faces toward a caretaker when the sling pillow 10 is in use. The cushion 100 can be fashioned as a curved body structure, as shown in
The cushion portion 100 comprises a flexible structure made from one or more flexible panels and one or more resilient materials which are reversibly deformable by the weight of an infant, such as a weights of between 6 and 30 pounds. Material forming the cushion should be dense enough to comfortably support the body weight of an infant, but flexible and elastic enough to conform to the body shape of an infant. The cushion portion 100 can comprise a single piece of an appropriate material, such as a piece of memory foam, or can comprise beads, feathers, or other combinations of materials which provide appropriate support, deformability and cushioning. A variety of materials known to the art can be used as the resilient material, such as cotton or polyester fiber, foam rubber, particles of polyester or other aggregate materials, silicone or polyurethane gel, latex, or feathers. Preferably the material is non-allergenic, and is also preferably washable. The cushions can be elastically deformable, such as through the use of an elastically deformable filler material as polyurethane foam (memory foam) or other polymer foam material.
The present sling pillow 10 further includes a strap portion. The strap 300 comprises a length of flexible material capable of supporting the weight of an infant user 10 of the nursing sling pillow 10. The strap portion connects the proximal end 126 and distal end 128 of the cushion 100 using one or more straps 300 extending between the proximal end 126 and distal end 128 of the cushion 100. Each strap comprises an outer surface 301 and an inner surface 303. In the illustrated embodiments, the proximal end 126 and distal end 128 of the cushion 100 are joined through the use of a pair of straps, a first strap 330 and second strap 350. The first strap 330 has a proximal end 332 attached to the proximal end 126 of the cushion in a non-reversible fashion, i.e. such that it cannot be removed without damaging or destroying the attachment means, and also has a distal end 334. The second strap 350 has a proximal end 352 attached to the distal end of the cushion 100, also in a non-reversible manner, and a distal end 354. The distal end 334 of the first strap 330 and the distal end 354 of the second strap 350 are attached to each other in ways known to the art, such as through a fastener 200, preferably in a reversible manner. The fastener 200 preferably allows the distance between the proximal end 332 of the first strap 330 and the proximal end 352 of the distal strap to be adjusted, such as through a loop mechanism as shown in the illustrated embodiments, in order to be able to change the circumference of the nursing sling pillow 10 to accommodate adult users (caretakers) 20 and infant users 30 of different sizes. Alternatively, the strap portion 300 can comprise a piece of flexible material secured to each longitudinal end of the cushion 100 in order to allow it to stretch over a caretaker when being put on.
The fastener 200 preferably allows for reversibly securing the first strap 330 to the second strap 350, so that the two strap portions can be separated. A variety of fasteners known to the art can be used in the present nursing sling pillow 10. For example, a clasp, latch, button, hook-and-eye, tie or hook-and-loop closure (such as Velcro) can be used. In one embodiment, the fastener is a loop buckle, as shown in the illustrated embodiments. Alternatively, the buckle can be a plastic clip buckle, which typically comprises a male portion having a projection on each lateral end and female portion having an opening for receiving the projections. The projections have a wider, laterally extending shape at their distal ends, and when the male portion is inserted into the receptacle, the distal ends of each of the projections is urged into a respective lateral slot of the female portion, thereby securing the male portion to the female portion. The buckle can then be released by squeezing the lateral sides of the female portion and pulling out the male portion of the buckle.
In other embodiments, a single strap 300 can be used. In these embodiments, a fastener or a mating portion of a fastener are attached directly to the proximal end 126 or distal end 128 of the cushion, and a proximal end of the strap 300 is attached to the other end of the cushion 100. The distal end of the strap 300 is then adapted to be attached to the cushion 100 with the fastener 200.
In the embodiments of
The embodiment of
In another embodiment, shown in
The cushion 100 is preferably sized to accommodate the uses described herein. For example, the distance between the proximal end 126 and distal end 128 of the cushion 100 can be approximately the distance between the hips of a user as shown in
The present sling pillow 10 is adapted to support an infant while feeding, but it can also be used when an infant is not feeding, to support the infant in a proper resting position. As shown in
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible. The steps disclosed for the present methods, for example, are not intended to be limiting nor are they intended to indicate that each step is necessarily essential to the method, but instead are exemplary steps only. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in this disclosure.
Recitation of value ranges herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method for referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All references cited herein, including U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/595,549, are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/770,525, which was filed on Jun. 5, 2020 and is the U.S. national stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2018/064358 filed on Dec. 6, 2018, and also claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/595,549 filed on Dec. 6, 2017. The disclosures of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62595549 | Dec 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16770525 | Jun 2020 | US |
| Child | 18213992 | US |
