GB2285215A

GB2285215A - Bath mattress or cushion

Info

Publication number: GB2285215A
Application number: GB9425833A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Marc Varlet
Original assignee: SIEP SARL
Current assignee: SIEP SARL
Priority date: 1993-12-23
Filing date: 1994-12-21
Publication date: 1995-07-05
Also published as: GB9425833D0; FR2714280B1; FR2714280A1

Abstract

A bath accessory of the mattress or cushion type is designed to receive a baby in the lying or seated position and comprises a block (10) of cushioning material, eg foamed plastics, completely covered with a cover (2) which cannot be torn by a baby. In the mattress form a trough shaped configuration is provided with a wedge shaped headpiece (20) having an indent (21). <IMAGE>

Description

Bath accessory of the mattress or cushion type designed to receive a baby in the lying or seated position.

The present invention relates to a bath accessory of the mattress or cushion type designed to receive a baby in the lying or seated position. Such an accessory is generally placed in the bottom of a bath and is designed to receive a baby there, either lying down or in a seated position.

Therefore it can be a matter of a bath mattress used to lay the infant in an adult bath or even a bath cushion used to seat the baby on, the baby being held by a ring-type bath support. In this way such an accessory, bath mattress or bath cushion, particularly allows the parents to have their hands free when bathing their baby.

Bath accessories such as those mentioned above which are primarily made of blocks of foam in a shape designed to receive the lying infant or the seated baby are already known. Now a decree dated 20th December 1991, relating to the prevention of dangers resulting from the use of nursery articles, considers foam as being dangerous since the baby may tear pieces from it, put them in his mouth and perhaps choke as a result.

The objective of this invention is therefore to propose a bath accessory which is of the mattress or cushion type such as has just been described but which also prevents this danger.

For this purpose, a bath accessory according to the invention is made of a block of cushioning material, said block being shaped so as to receive a baby in a lying or seated position, said block also being completely covered with a cover which cannot be torn by a baby.

By its presence, the cover makes the foam inaccessible to the baby and the dangers mentioned above are therefore averted.

According to advantageous embodiments, the cushioning material is for example foam with open or closed cells, or rubber, or any other equivalent material. Likewise the cover which covers the block of cushioning material is made in one or more pieces which are each for instance made of terry cloth, net fabric, plastic or other material.

The cover is advantageously made of plastic material, this so as to make the bath accessory according to the invention rot-proof, which cannot be the case with the foam accessories of the prior art.

A bath accessory according to the invention can also be provided on its lower surface with gripping means. These means allow the accessory to be held in place in the bottom of the bath during bathing.

These means can consist of at least one recess provided on the lower surface of said accessory or a sheet of plastic material, with a free border, fixed on to the lower surface of said accessory. These to types of means form gripping means by partial vacuum operating in the way of a suction cup.

According to another characteristic of the invention, said accessory is a bath mattress and said block is made of a substantially parallelepiped section having raised longitudinal sides so that the block has a U-shaped profile which widens out towards the top.

According to another characteristic of the invention, it also includes, at the head end, a wedge which is formed on its lower surface, said wedge having a profile on a longitudinal plane of the mattress in the form of a triangle.

According to another characteristic of the invention, it also includes, substantially at right angles to the transversal edge of the wedge which is closest to the foot end of the mattress, a transversal groove in each of the longitudinal sides of the block. In order to facilitate folding, this may be V-shaped.

The above-mentioned characteristics of the invention, as well as others, will become clearer on reading the following description of working examples, said description being given with reference to the attached drawings, among which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bath cushion according to the invention, partially cut open so that its internal structure can be seen, Fig. 2 is an end view of a bath mattress according to the invention, Fig. 3 is a front view of a mattress according to the invention, Figs. 4a to 4c are respectively a front view, a view from above and a view from the left of a second embodiment of a mattress according to the invention, Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of gripping means according to the invention, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of gripping means according to the invention.

The bath cushion represented in Fig. 1 constitutes an accessory according to a first embodiment of the invention.

It is made up of a block 1 taking the form of a disc which is imprisoned in a hermetic cover 2.

The block 1 is advantageously made of a cushioning material such as foam with cells which are open or closed, having cavities or otherwise.

The cover 2 is made of a material which cannot be torn by a baby, material which may be terry cloth, net fabric, or plastic material.

The cover is mde up of an upper sheet 2a, square in shape, and a lower sheet 2b, also square in shape, which are in contact with each other at their four corners. Holes 3 are made in the corners of the cover 2 to receive the feet of a bath support which is designed to hold the baby resting on the cushion in seated position. The edge 2c of the cover 2 as well as the edges 3a of the holes 3 are advantageously welded, in order to form a hermetic cover 2.

The cover could have a shape other than square and the number of holes made depends on the type of support which is used with the cushion.

A calculated volume of air is imprisoned during velding which allows softness to be maintained and prevents bursting of the cushion.

The bath mattress represented in Figs. 2 to 4c constitutes an accessory according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The mattress represented in Figs. 2 and 3 is made up of a block 10 having a substantially parallelepiped section 11 of which the longitudinal sides 12 and 13 have additional thickness so that the block 10 has a U-shaped profile which widens towards the top. The block 10 is completely covered with a cover which cannot be torn by a baby.

The bath mattress according to the invention thus has a shape designed to receive an infant in the lying position.

The block 10 also includes, at its head end, a wedge 14 formed on its lower surface. The wedge 14 has a profile on a longitudinal plane of the mattress in the shape of a triangle. Substantially at right angles to the transversal edge 14a of the wedge 14 which is closest to the foot end of the mattress, in each of the longitudinal sides 12 and 13 of the block 10, a transversal groove 15 is provided which has a V-shaped profile. The angle of the "V" of each groove 15 is acute, indeed less than 45 degrees, and the angle which the profile of the wedge 14 has at the top along its edge 14a is equal to or less than the angle which forms the "V" of each groove 15. Thus, in operation, when the edge 14 has its lower surface 14b resting in the bottom of a bath, the head end of the mattress is raised and forms a cushion for the infant's head.

It will be noted that at this time the "V" of each transversal groove 15 is closed and that the lower surface 14b of the wedge 14 is on the same plane as the lower surface 11a of the section 11 at the foot end.

The head-end section of the block 10 is provided with a hollow 16 which forms a place for the baby's head when he is in a lying position.

Another embodiment of the bath mattress according to the invention is represented in Figs. 4a to 4c, respectively from the front, from above and from the left.

As before, it is made up of a block 10 provided with lateral edges 12 and 13 forming a U-shaped profile which widens towards the top. Moreover it includes, on its upper surface, a head-rest 20 of which the surface facing the foot of the mattress slopes downwards. It has a recess 21 with a crosssection in the shape of a circular arc.

On its lower surface 22, gripping means are provided which, in the embodiment represented, are made up of a recess 23.

It will be noted that the recess 23 is of a shape which follows the shape of the mattress, especially in its section at the head end.

In Fig. 5, the recess 23 is represented in section and in Fig. 6 a second embodiment of the gripping means is represented, comprising in this case a sheet of plastic material 23' which is free at the edge and which is welded at points 23a' and 23b' on to the lower surface 22 of the mattress.

Instead of a single recess underneath the mattress, the means 23 could also advantageously consist of a plurality of recesses for safety reasons.

It will be noted that these gripping means 23, 23' can be provided on any bath accessory according to the invention and especially cushions such as the one which is represented in Fig. 1.

By creating a partial vacuum inside the volume produced by the means 23 or 23' and the bottom of a bath, these means 23, 23' hold an accessory according to the invention in the bottom of the bath in the manner of a suction-cup.

It will be noted that the mattress of Figs. 4a to 4c is also completely covered with a cover which cannot be torn by a baby. It is advantageously made by thermocompression. Its cover is for example made in two pieces: the top of synthetic mesh for the baby's comfort and the bottom of plastic sheeting in order to obtain the suction effect mentioned above. The foam advantageously has closed cells.

Claims

Patent Claims

1) Bath accessory of the mattress or cushion type designed to receive a baby, in lying or seated position, said accessory being substantially made up of a block (1, 10) of a cushioning material, characterized in that the block (10) is completely covered with a cover (2) which cannot be torn by a baby.

2) Accessory according to Claim 1, characterized in that said cushioning material is foam with cells which are open or closed, having cavities or otherwise.

3) Accessory according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cover which covers the block of cushioning material is made in one or more pieces, each made of terry cloth, net fabric or plastic material.

4) Accessory according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided, on its lower surface, with gripping means.

5) Accessory according to Claim 4, characterized in that said means are made up of at least one recess (15) on the lower surface (14) of said accessory.

6) Accessory according to Claim 4, characterized in that said means are made up of a sheet of plastic material (15') which is free at the edge and which is welded at least at one point on to the lower surface of said accessory.

7) Accessory according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said block (10) includes a substantially parallelepiped section (11) having longitudinal sides (12 and 13) which are raised so that the block (10) has a U-shaped profile which widens towards the top.

8) Accessory according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the block (10) also includes, at its head end1 a head-rest (14, 20) which is made up of a wedge (14) formed on its lower surface, said wedge (14) having a profile on a longitudinal plane of said accessory in the shape of a triangle.

9) Accessory according to Claim 5, characterized in that the block (10) also includes, at its head end, a wedge (14) formed on its lower surface, said wedge (14) having a profile on a longitudinal plane of the mattress in the shape of a triangle, and, substantially at right angles to the transversal edge (14a) of the wedge (14) which is closest to the foot end of the accessory, in each of the longitudinal sides (12 and 13) of the block (10), a transversal groove (15) vith V-shaped profile.

10) Accessory according to Claim 8, characterized in that said head-rest (20) has a recess (21).

11) 3ath accessory of the mattress or cushion type, substantially as any of the embodiments hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.