AU2013100123A4 - Protective liner for a cot - Google Patents

Abstract

A protective liner for a cot having a sleeping space which is at least partly defined by a plurality of side rails and a plurality of corner posts, the protective liner including: a sheet of a flexible material, and a plurality of padded members which are attached or attachable to the sheet at predetermined attachment positions, wherein the predetermined attachment positions are separated by distances corresponding to distances between adjacent comer posts of the cot, such that the padded members are positionable within the sleeping space in overlapping relationship with the corner posts. LO (0- jl - N C) Li) NY y

Description

CKRPonbI\DCC\KZS\4876I16_ I DOC-2II/20D -1 PROTECTIVE LINER FOR A COT Field of the invention The present invention relates to a protective liner for a cot, and to a method of installing a 5 protective liner in a cot. Background When a child is sleeping in a cot with solid side rails, there is a risk that the child, in moving about in the cot, will bump his or her head and suffer an injury. In order to address 10 this problem, it has been known to provide protective devices for the interior of children's cots, also known as "cot bumpers". Exemplary cot bumpers comprise padded material which is attached to the lower part of the cot interior by means of ties or other fasteners. The material generally spans the entire interior circumference of the cot so as to minimise the risk of the child's head contacting a hard surface. 15 A problem with known cot bumpers is that the padding poses a suffocation risk for the child. The padding may also in some circumstances provide a platform to assist a child to climb out of the cot. In order to overcome this, a more recently produced type of protective device employs a liner of a flexible breathable material which is wrapped around the cot 20 interior and interleaved between the corner posts and side rails of the cot. However, although it addresses the problems of climbing and suffocation risk, the liner leaves the corner posts of the cot exposed. These are the strongest and most stable sections, and thus the most dangerous to the child. 25 Embodiments of the present invention seek to address one or more of the above problems, or at least to provide a useful alternative. Summary of the invention The present invention provides, in a first aspect, a protective liner for a cot having a 30 sleeping space which is at least partly defined by a plurality of side rails and a plurality of corner posts, the protective liner including: CNPonb1DCCrKZS\4876 16_ DOC-T01/201 -2 a sheet of a flexible material, and a plurality of padded members which are attached or attachable to the sheet at predetermined attachment positions, wherein the predetermined attachment positions are separated by distances 5 corresponding to distances between adjacent corner posts of the cot, such that the padded members are positionable within the sleeping space in overlapping relationship with the corner posts. By overlapping padded members with the corner posts in use, the invention provides 10 protection against head injury. In certain embodiments, the padded members each have a pair of opposed edges, a first one of which is attached to the sheet at one of the predetermined attachment positions. 15 Typically, the second of the edges includes a first portion of a fastener, and a corresponding second portion of the fastener is located on the sheet. The fastener may be a hook-and-loop fastener. The padded members may include multiple layers of padded material. In some instances, 20 further layers of padding may be interposed between the layers. The flexible material may be a breathable material, for example a padded breathable material. 25 In certain embodiments, the first edge is removably attached to the sheet. The first edge may be attached to the sheet by a hook-and-loop fastener. The sheet may be a single continuous sheet of material.

C %NRPortbDCCKZS\4876016_ .DOC-22/01/2013 -3 In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of installing a protective liner in a cot having a sleeping space which is at least partly defined by a plurality of side rails and a plurality of corner posts, the method including: providing a sheet of a flexible material; 5 attaching a plurality of padded members to the sheet at predetermined attachment positions, the predetermined attachment positions being separated by distances corresponding to distances between adjacent corner posts; threading the sheet between the corner posts and the side rails such that the sheet forms a loop around the sleeping space except at the corner posts; and 10 positioning the sheet such that the padded members are in overlapping relationship with the corner posts. Brief description of the drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting 15 example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of one side of a cot liner according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the cot liner of Figure 1; 20 Figure 3 shows, in top perspective view, the cot liner of Figures 1 and 2 in use with a cot; and Figure 4 is a top plan view of the cot and liner of Figure 3. Detailed description of the drawings 25 Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a protective liner 10 for a cot, including a sheet 12 of a flexible material (preferably, a breathable material), and a plurality of padded members 15, 16, 17 and 18. The sheet 12 has a leading edge 13 and a trailing edge 14. 30 The padded members 15-18 are substantially identical to each other in construction and may be formed of similar material to the flexible sheet 12. The padded members 15-18 are C:\NRPonbl\DCC\KZS487 I6_. DOC-22/0/2C0 3 -4 attached or attachable to the sheet 12 at predetermined attachment positions 21, 22, 23, 24 respectively. The padded members 15-18 and/or the flexible sheet 12 may include a single air 5 permeable layer or multiple air-permeable layers. The layer(s) may be of varying thicknesses and may be formed of any suitable air-permeable material known in the art. Each padded member has a pair of opposed edges 25 and 26. A first opposed edge 25 is attached to the sheet 12 (preferably permanently, for example by stitching) at one of the 10 attachment positions 21-24, whilst the second opposed edge 26 is initially free of the sheet. The second opposed edge 26 carries a hook (or loop) portion of a hook-and-loop fastener which is adapted to mate with a corresponding loop (or hook) portion 30 of the hook-and loop fastener which is carried by the sheet 12. 15 Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the cot liner 10 is shown in use with a cot 100 having a plurality of side rails 102 and a plurality of corner posts 105, 106, 107 and 108. The side rails 102 and corner posts 105-108 define a sleeping space, generally indicated by reference numeral 110. Each of the padded members 15-18 is in overlapping or overlying relationship with a corresponding one of the corner posts 105-108 of the cot 100, so that if 20 a child in the sleeping space 110 happens to impact one of the corner posts, his or her head will be cushioned against injury by an intervening padded member. The padded members 15-18 are attached to the sheet 12 at the predetermined attachment positions 21-24 thereby ensuring the overlapping relationship depicted in Figures 3 and 4. 25 The predetermined positions 21-24 are such that the distances between adjacent padded members correspond to the distance between adjacent corner posts of the cot. That is, distance 122 between respective attachment points 21 and 22 for padded members 18 and 17 corresponds to the distance between corner posts 108 and 107; distance 123 between attachment positions 22 and 23 for padded members 17 and 16 corresponds to the distance 30 between corner posts 107 and 106; distance 124 between attachment positions 23 and 24 for padded members 16 and 15 corresponds to the distance between corner posts 106 and C:\NRPonbl\DCCZS14876116_ 1 DOC-22/01/2013 -5 105; and distance 121 between attachment positions 24 and 21 for padded members 15 and 18 corresponds to the distance between corner posts 105 and 108. It will be appreciated that, once installed, the trailing edge 14 of sheet 12 is looped around to meet the leading edge 13 in a manner such that positions 24 and 21 are separated by the appropriate 5 distance. To install the cot liner 10 in cot 100, the leading edge 13 of the sheet is inserted between, for example, corner post 105 and one of its adjacent side rails 102a, looped around the outside of corner post 105, and then threaded through the gap between corner post 105 and 10 side rail 102b which is on the opposite side of corner post 105 to side rail 102a. The leading edge 13 is then pulled along the inside of the sleeping space 110 towards corner post 108, where it is threaded and looped around in the same manner as previously described for corner post 105. This is repeated for corner posts 106 and 107 until the flexible sheet 12 forms a complete loop around the inside of the cot, between the sleeping 15 space 110 and side rails 102, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. At this point, the flexible sheet 12 forms a loop around the sleeping space 110, except at the corner posts, i.e. the sheet 12 does not itself overlap the corner posts within sleeping space 110. Once a complete loop is formed, the respective padded members 15-18 are positioned in 20 overlapping relationship with respective corner posts 105-108, and the hook (or loop) portion 26 of each padded member is attached to the corresponding loop (or hook) portion 30 located on the sheet 12, so that the padded members are secured in place between the sleeping space 110 and corner posts 105-108. 25 In order to perform the installation method as previously described, the padded members 15-18 are necessarily of a thickness which is less than the smallest gap between adjacent side rails 102 and corner posts 105-108. If thicker padded members are desired, then the permanent attachment of edge 25 to sheet 12 may be replaced by a fastener such as a hook and-loop fastener, so that the padded members are attachable to the sheet 12 after the sheet 30 has been looped around the sleeping compartment 110.

C:\NRPonbl\DCC'KZS\4R7 16)) D0C-22/1/21113 -6 Many modifications and variations of the above embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (9)

1. A protective liner for a cot having a sleeping space which is at least partly defined by a plurality of side rails and a plurality of corner posts, the protective liner 5 including: a sheet of a flexible material, and a plurality of padded members which are attached or attachable to the sheet at predetermined attachment positions, wherein the predetermined attachment positions are separated by distances 10 corresponding to distances between adjacent corner posts of the cot, such that the padded members are positionable within the sleeping space in overlapping relationship with the corner posts.

2. A protective liner according to claim 1, wherein the padded members each have a 15 pair of opposed edges, a first one of which is attached to the sheet at one of the predetermined attachment positions.

3. A protective liner according to claim 2, wherein the second of the edges includes a first portion of a fastener, and a corresponding second portion of the fastener is 20 located on the sheet.

4. A protective liner according to claim 3, wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener. 25

5. A protective liner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible material is a breathable material.

6. A protective liner according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first edge is removably attached to the sheet. 30 C:\NRPortbl\DCC\KZ47616 6_1DOC-22/1/2113 -8

7. A protective liner according to claim 6, wherein the first edge is attached to the sheet by a hook-and-loop fastener.

8. A protective liner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet 5 is a single continuous sheet of material.

9. A method of installing a protective liner in a cot having a sleeping space which is at least partly defined by a plurality of side rails and a plurality of corner posts, the method including: 10 providing a sheet of a flexible material; attaching a plurality of padded members to the sheet at predetermined attachment positions, the predetermined attachment positions being separated by distances corresponding to distances between adjacent corner posts; threading the sheet between the corner posts and the side rails such that the 15 sheet forms a loop around the sleeping space except at the corner posts; and positioning the sheet such that the padded members are in overlapping relationship with the corner posts.