The present invention relates generally to pillows and particularly to support pillows for infants and toddlers.
An infant's mental and physical development is stimulated by play, including the use of toys. Babies and toddlers, especially those who are not yet walking steadily, may benefit by having some support surrounding them to help them maintain their balance while entertaining themselves. Various pillows are available for supporting infants and toddlers during different activities. However, the remains a need for a pillow that will provide good support for a baby in a seated position while still allowing some freedom of movement.
The play pillow of this invention allows the seated baby room to lean to and fro and move his legs and arms and yet still provides firm support surrounding the child. The compressible bolster provides support to help the baby remain upright; the baby can lean back on it or steady himself by using the bolster as a grab bar. The bolster is enclosed in a removable cover with a center panel that forms a closed well in the center of the pillow on which the child sits. A retractable border on the bottom of the cover grips the bottom of the bolster. This cover configuration restrains the pillow firmly in an upright position; downward tension on the seat panel pulls the bolster upwardly and inwardly. These and other features and advantages will be apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.
Turning now to the drawings in general and to
Referring also to
The bolster 14 is endless and has a top surface 20, a bottom surface 22, an inner periphery 24 and an outer periphery 26. As the drawings herein suggest, the top 20 and the bottom 22 of the bolster 14 preferably are identical so that the bolster can be flipped from side to side. That is, the “top” and “bottom” of the bolster are in fact interchangeable. Thus, as used herein, “top” refers to the side of the bolster 14 that is uppermost in the assembled pillow 10. Likewise, the “bottom” of the bolster 14 is the side that forms the bottom of the assembled pillow 10.
The height of the bolster 14, designated at “h” in
While the shape of the pillow 10 may vary, the preferred shape is toroidal so that the inner and outer periphery 24 and 26 both are circular and so that the bolster 14 has a constant transverse cross-section along its entire length. However, the pillow 10 may be oval, square, rectangular, or have another polygonal or irregular shape. Although in the preferred toroidal form, the inner periphery 24 and the outer periphery 26 have the same shape, forming concentric circles, the shape of the central opening 30 may be different from the shape of the outer periphery of the pillow 10. For example, the inside opening 30 could be circular while the outer periphery 26 is square. Similarly, though a bolster 14 with a constant cross-sectional shape is preferred, the height “h” or width “w” of the bolster could vary along its length.
While the dimension of the pillow 10 may vary, the central well or opening 30 preferably is sized to receive the baby 12 in a sitting position as shown in
Where the shape of the bolster 14 is toroidal, a preferred circumference is between about 80 and 110 inches, with about 90 inches being ideal in most instances providing an outside diameter of about 25 to 30 inches. The height “h” and width “w” of the bolster 14 may be the same or different, depending on the desired cross-sectional shape of the bolster. In the illustrated embodiment, the height “h” and the width “w” are between about 5 to about 10 inches, and preferably about 7 inches.
The bolster 14 may be made in various ways, preferably comprising a fabric enclosure 34 with a compressible filler material 36 contained therein. The fabric enclosure 34 may be integrally formed or constructed by sewing several panels together to form the endless ring shape. In the most preferred form, the enclosure 34 is formed of four panels of fabric, two flat annular panels forming the top and bottom surfaces 20 and 22, and two long, slightly gathered panels forming the inner and outer peripheries 24 and 26, stitched together at seams designated collectively at 38.
The fabric of the enclosure 34 may be any suitable fabric, including but not limited to waterproof nylon, flannel, or elastic fabrics, such as spandex or cotton-spandex blends. However, presently a polyester/cotton blend is preferred. A preferred filler material 36 is polyester fiberfill. Other suitable fillers include down feathers, memory foam, and polystyrene pellets. Still further, the bolster 14 could be an inflatable inner tube.
With continuing reference to
The cover 16 comprises a bolster portion 42 and a center panel 44. The bolster portion 42 has the same general shape and size as the bolster 14, though it is slightly larger to easily receive and substantially enclose the bolster 16. Accordingly, the bolster portion 42 has a top 48, a bottom 50, an inner periphery 52, and an outer periphery 54. The inner periphery 52 has a bottom edge 56. As with the enclosure 34 for the bolster 14, the cover 16 may be comprised of an annular panel of fabric forming the top 48, and elongated, gathered panels forming the inner and outer periphery 52 and 54, sewn together at inner and outer upper seams 58.
A retractable border 60 is provided on the bottom 50 of the bolster portion 42 continuous with the outer periphery 54. Preferably, the retractable border takes the form of an elastic edge on the bottom 50 of the bolster portion 42 a distance inwardly from the bottom edge 62 (
As shown best in
Referring still to
Now it will be appreciated that, when the bolster 14 is received in the cover 16, the elastic border 60 grips the bottom 22 of the bolster. In this way, downward tension exerted on the center panel 44 causes inward and upward tension on the bolster portion 42 of the cover 16, which in turn restrains the bolster 14 itself. This prevents the bolster 14 from being excessively deformed. As used herein, “downward” denotes a direction running from the top 20 to the bottom 22 of the pillow 10.
Returning briefly to
Although not illustrated in the drawings, the cover 16 may be reversible. To that ends, toy loops 68 and pockets 78 may be provided on both sides of the cover 16. In the reversible cover, the opposing sides of fabric may be different colors, textures or patterns. In some instances, it may be desirable to make one layer waterproof.
Turning now to
The inner and outer peripheries 52A and 54A of the cover 16A may be similarly comprised of elongated, gathered panels, except that the bottom edges of the outer peripheral panels are sewn at the bottom, outer edge 62A (
In accordance with this second embodiment, the cover 16A further comprises a mat 80. The mat 80 may take many shapes, but preferably the mat includes an edge 82 defining a curve that conforms to radius of the bottom edge 62A of the outer periphery 54A of the bolster portion 42A of the cover 16A. The curved edge 82 then may be attached to the bolster portion 42A, preferably in some permanent manner as by stitching.
The construction of the mat 80 may vary. However, it most instances, it will be preferable for the mat to comprise an inner padded layer (not shown). This gives the mat 80 some body and is more comfortable for an infant lying or playing on the mat. It will be appreciated that although a generally rectangular mat is shown herein, the shape of the mat may differ widely. In most instances, it will large enough to serve as a play mat, or as changing mat, or both.
Also shown in
While the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an ideal pillow for supporting a baby at play, it is not so limited. The inventive pillow alternately may be used as a bed for a pet, such as a cat or dog. When this is the intended use, it is advantageous to make the cover out of a rough, textured material. It is also often desirable to make the cover reversible with a cooler fabric for summer on one side, and warmer fabric on the other side for winter.
The embodiments shown and described above are exemplary. Many details are often found in the art and, therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. It is not claimed that all of the details, parts, elements, or steps described and shown were invented herein. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present inventions have been described in the drawings and accompanying text, the description is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the inventions to the full extent indicated by the broad meaning of the terms of the attached claims. The description and drawings of the specific embodiments herein do not point out what an infringement of this patent would be, but rather provide an example of how to use and make the invention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patent protection are measured by and defined in the following claims.
This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 11/849,292 entitled “Pillow for Supporting a Baby at Play,” filed Sep. 2, 2007, and the contents of the prior application are incorporated herein by reference.
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Entry |
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The “Tuckie Duckie” product shown in the webpage (Exhibit A) from http://www.leachco.com published by Leachco, Inc. (Ada, OK, USA) on May 23, 2009, was in public use and/or on sale at least since about Jun. 2005. |
The “Bath 'N Bumper” product shown in the webpage (Exhibit B) from http://www.leachco.com published by Leachco, Inc. (Ada, OK, USA) on Jan. 28, 2008,was in public use and/or on sale at least since about Aug. 1999. |
The “Wee Sleep” product shown in the webpage (Exhibit C) from http://www.leachco.com published by Leachco, Inc. (Ada, OK, USA) on May 17, 2007, was in public use and/or on sale at least since about Aug. 2000. |
The “Baby Go Round” product shown in the webpage (Exhibit D) from http://www.leachco.com published by Leachco, Inc. (Ada, OK, USA) on May 26, 2009, was in public use and/or on sale at least since about Aug. 1991. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11849292 | Sep 2007 | US |
Child | 12199548 | US |