GB2466944A

GB2466944A - An infant wrap

Info

Publication number: GB2466944A
Application number: GB0900507A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dawn Kelleher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-01-14
Filing date: 2009-01-14
Publication date: 2010-07-21
Also published as: GB0900507D0

Abstract

An infant wrap 1, comprises an infant receiving portion A and first and second side panels B, C, wherein corner portions of the first B and second C side panels are arranged to be outwardly folded and releasably secured. An upper portion of the infant receiving portion A further comprises a height adjusting means whereby the length of the portion can be adjusted. The lower edge of both portion A and the first side panel B is provided with a continuous releasable closure means, and similarly the second side panel C has a closure means for securing the panel over the first side panel B. The wrap 1 may include a weighted insert which contains granular material and which may be used to retain heat. Apertures 2 are provided in portion A to receive the straps of a car seat or carrycot, allowing the infant to be secured. The wrap 1 may be made of a soft woven material such as a fleece or microfiber material.

Description

AN INFANT WRAP

This invention relates to blankets for infants and toddlers and particularly but not exclusively to infant wraps.

It is well known to swaddle small babies or infants with a swaddling cloth to maintain their temperature and to provide a sense of security arising from the swaddling cloth tightly surrounding the baby and constraining movement. Swaddling a baby can be a difficult art for new parents and a number of blankets or wraps have been developed that attempt to provide easier methods of swaddling an infant. However, as the infant grows and develops, swaddling is no longer desirable as the infant resents any restraint to its movement imposed by swaddling. It may, however, still be necessary to wrap the baby in a blanket to keep the infant warm.

Babies kick and wriggle and may kick off an ordinary blanket placed over them thus exposing some or all of the infant's body to cold air which may potentially result in a chill. It is advantageous to have a blanket, wrap, or covering that can be used in a number of different locations, such as a cot, a pram, a pushchair, or a car seat, which will stay in place around the infant, allowing some movement without being displaced. It is also desirable to have a wrap that can be arranged such that the infant cannot easily pull the blanket over its head with an associated risk of smothering.

A particular disadvantage of some known wraps is that an infant placed in the wrap can slide down into the wrap and a front of the wrap can pass over the infant's face and head.

A number of attempts have been made to provide a solution to this problem. These include US 2006/0010600 and US 6 321 389, but each of these solutions have associated disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided an infant wrap, the wrap comprising an infant receiving section; a first side panel extending to a first side of the infant receiving section; a second side panel extending to a second side of the infant receiving section and opposed to the first side; a releasable closure means generally being substantially continuous being provided between at least a first side panel lower edge and a lower edge of the infant receiving section the second side panel having means of securing the second side panel over the first side panel.

Preferably the wrap has a generally rectangular shape having a length and a height. Other shapes may be used, preferably such that the wrap is shaped to fit around an infant.

The wrap may be provided with one or more means of varying the overall height of the wrap to adapt the wrap to a length of an infant to be wrapped. Preferably the means of varying the height of the wrap comprises suitably located touch and close closure means arranged so as to vary the height of the wrap. Other soft and flexible closure means may be utilised. Such touch and close closure means may be hook and loop closures of the kind sold under the trademark VELCROTM.

Preferably, the closure means between the first side panel and the infant receiving section comprises a touch and close closure means. Such closure means may require cooperating means located in a corresponding position on the wrap or the wrap may be arranged to be of suitably soft material to cooperate with the touch and close closure means. The touch and close closure means may be arranged such that cooperating portions are located on a lower edge of the first side panel and a lower edge of the receiving section. Alternatively, the closure means may comprise a piece of a hook portion of touch and close closure means arranged to cooperate with and attach to the wrap material. A further alternative is to attach each of the lower edge of the receiving section and the lower edge of the side panel to an intermediary means.

In a preferred embodiment, an outer edge of the first side panel is provided with a further substantially continuous closure means arranged in use to cooperate with and attach to an opposing side of the infant receiving section. Cooperating closure means may be provided on the receiving section or the material of the wrap may be suitable to interact with the closure means.

The intermediary means may comprise a weighted insert having cooperating closure means on opposing faces. The intermediary means preferably contains a granular material such as wheat that may be warmed and advantageously may further contain a fragrance such as lavender which may be soothing.

Advantageously the second side panel may be provided with a substantially continuous closure means along a lower edge and/or an outer side edge of the second side panel. Further closure means may be provided if desired.

The infant receiving portion may be provided with suitable apertures arranged to receive fixing straps of a harness system which may be a five point harness system. Such fixing straps may be of the kind used to secure an infant into a cot, seat, pushchair or car seat. A number of apertures may be provided such that an infant enclosed in the wrap may be positioned and secured within any of such a range of baby equipment.

Fixing means may be provided on the wrap such that it may be secured in position. Ties, straps, or touch and close closure means may be provided along at least one outer edge of the wrap when it is used with an infant.

Such fixing means may be used to connect the wrap to bars of a cot and to secure the wrap in place.

Preferably, at least the first side panel may be provided with a lining panel positioned to be adjacent to an infant's feet when the first side panel is positioned over an infant in use. The lining panel may be made of any smooth, silky material or textile that will allow the lining and associated first side panel to slide over the infant's feet thus resisting a tendency of the wrap to be caught and pushed away due to the infant's kicking motion.

In one embodiment, further fixing means, typically touch and close closure means, may be provided on an outer face of each of the first and second side panels such that an upper corner of each of the side panels may be folded away from an infant enclosed in the wrap. Alternatively, the fixing means may be located on an outer face of the receiving section.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an infant wrap having a first face and a second face comprising an infant receiving portion and first and second side panels arranged to releasably secure over the infant wherein corner portions of the first and second side panels are arranged to be outwardly folded and releasably secured to the second face and an upper portion of the infant receiving section comprises a height adjusting means whereby a length of the infant receiving portion can be adjusted.

Preferably, the upper portion may be outwardly folded and releasably secured to an outer face of the receiving section being on an opposite side of the wrap to the side at which an infant is in use received. Height adjusting means may be provided in the form of cooperating pieces of a touch and close closure means arranged to releasably secure at least a part of the upper portion to the outer face of the receiving portion. A number of cooperating pieces of touch and close closure means or other suitable closure means may be located on the outer face of the receiving section to provide a suitable variation in the length of the receiving section.

Alternative fixing means may be employed to secure a folded part of the upper portion to the outside face. It is also envisaged that pieces of a hook portion of touch and close closure means may be attached to the upper portion and arranged to attach to the material of the outer face of the receiving section. Preferably the height adjusting means is attached to the outer face of the receiving section.

A particular advantage of this aspect of the invention is that corner portions of the side panels are drawn away from an infant placed on the receiving section and are secured to a second, outer face of the wrap. In this way the opportunity for an infant in the wrap to pull a portion of the wrap over its face is reduced and so any risk of smothering is reduced.

Since the upper portion of the receiving section is provided with height adjusting means, the length of the receiving section can be adjusted to be of a length appropriate for the infant to be placed in the wrap. This reduces any chance of the infant sliding into the wrap and a portion of the wrap resting over the infant's face. This is of a particular advantage when the infant is small and unable to remove material from its face. In the present invention the wrap can be shortened such that the infant's feet are resting against the closure at the lower edge of the wrap and the face of the infant is exposed.

The skilled person will appreciate that features described in relation to the first aspect of the invention may be applied mutatis mutandis to the second and visa versa.

An embodiment of the invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an inside of a wrap in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a view of an outside of the wrap, and Figure 3 shows the wrap in a folded position.

As illustrated in Figure 1 a wrap for an infant according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a blanket 1 or other material having a generally rectangular shape having a first inner face and a second outer face as can be seen in Figure 1 and 2. The wrap is made of a soft woven material such as a fleece or microfiber material and is in three sections and comprises a central infant receiving section A, a first side panel B and a second side panel C. The central section A is sized to receive an infant or small child.

Apertures 2 are provided in the central section A of such a size and arrangement that straps provided in a conventional five point arrangement in a car seat or carry cot may pass through the apertures before the infant is placed on the central child receiving section A. A lining 4 is provided on a lower portion of the first inner face of the wrap. In this embodiment the lining 4 extends across the central section and the two side panels B and C. The lining may be made of any slippery, silky material such as a satin lining material, that will allow the lining and attach wrap to slide relative to the infant's feet. Whereas the soft material of the wrap may be caught and dragged by the infant's movement but the lining 4 is not caught and dragged out of position. The lining may, alternatively, be located on a lower portion of the first side panel B that locates over the infant's feet in use.

A closure means 6 is provided extending along a lower edge 8 of the central section. The closure means extends along the whole of the lower edge of the central section A and provides a continuously extending closure. The closure means is formed by a strip of touch and close material, such as is known under the trade name VELCROTM.

In this embodiment the VELCRO strip 6 extends along lower edges of the side panels B and C and is Continuous. Generally VELCROTM is supplied in two parts comprising a hook portion and a soft loop portion. The closure means 6 utilises the hook portion.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 an insert or intermediary means comprising a bag 10 containing small granular material such as beads, wheat or lentils, has a strip of ioop portion VELCROTM attached thereto.

The bag further contains scented material and preferably the contents may be readily warmed, for example in a microwave. The bag 10 is attachable by a strip 12 to the VELCROTM hook strip 6 on the central section. An opposing face of the bag 10 has a second strip of loop VELCROTM.

Attaching the weighted bag 10 to the central section A weighs down the wrap 1 and anchors it in position. Further, the bag 10 may be warmed before use and so may provide additional warmth to an infant enclosed within the wrap.

In use, the infant is placed on the first inner face of the central section A, the bag 10 is attached to the strip 6 and then in a second stage the first side panel B is folded over the infant. An extension 14 of the strip 6 is secured to the second strip of ioop closure means on the opposing face of the bag 10. A continuous releasable closure is thus formed along the lower edge 8 of the wrap.

In an alternative embodiment the weighted bag 10 may be omitted. In this case the extension 14 of the hook formation strip may also be omitted and as such the hook formation strip 6 may engage with the material of the wrap 1 to form the releasable closure. Alternatively a loop formation strip may be located at the lower edge of the panel 3 in place of the extension 14. Again, a releasable continuous closure is formed when the loop formation strip is placed in contact with the hook formation strip.

A third stage of wrapping the infant comprises folding the second side panel over the infant receiving section and folded first side panel and securing the second side panel to an outer face of the wrap and front side panel. The second side panel is provided with a closure means 16 along a lower edge 18. In the embodiment shown, the closure means 16 is an extension of the closure means 6 and the closure means 16 is also a hook formation strip in other embodiments the closure means 16 may be a separate strip. Additional upwardly extending hook formation strips 20, 20' are provided on either side of an inner face of the second side panel C. In this embodiment the closure strips 16 and 20, 20' engage and attach to the material of the wrap on an outer side B of the first side panel. It is envisaged that corresponding strips of loop formation tape may be provided on the outer side of the second side panel. Some or all of the closure means 16, 20, 20' may have corresponding strips on the outer face of the first side panel.

Once the third stage of wrapping is complete the infant is securely wrapped in a blanket which allows freedom of movement to the infant but which will not come off leaving the infant exposed to cold.

Loops 22, 22' are provided on an outer face 24 of the wrap in use and these may be used to secure the wrap in place in a cot.

Tapes 26, 28 of hook formation tape are attached in upper corners of the wrap and are used to fold back and secure the corners to the outer face of the wrap and away from the infant as can be seen in Figure 3. Whilst in the embodiment being described the tapes 26, 28 attach to one another the tapes 26, 28 could also attach to an outer face At of the central section (i.e. the side that does not in use contact the infant). This prevents these corner portions being pulled over the infant's head and forming a suffocation risk. Corresponding loop formation tapes may be provided or the hook formation tapes may be attachable to the wrap material. The cooperating ioop formation tapes may be provided on the outer faces (i.e. a surface that is in use away from the infant in the wrap) of the side panels or may be provided on an outer face of the receiving section such that the corners and folded away from and around an infant in the wrap.

A height adjusting means comprising a first piece of hook formation tape is provided extending transversely across an upper portion of the outer face A' of the central section. Corresponding second and third pieces of loop formation tapes 32, 34 are located parallel to, and inwardly of, the tape 30. A height of the wrap is adjusted by folding the wrap such that the first tape 30 is secured to the second tape 32 or, for a shorter blanket, to the third tape 34.

The second and third tapes are suitably positioned to adapt the wrap for use with a three month, nine month or at full height a nine month or older infant. Thus, the wrap provides a simple and effective adjustment for infants of varying ages allowing the wrap to grow with the child.

Additional or fewer tapes may be provided to provide further/fewer positions.

It will be understood that further tapes may be incorporated to provide additional adjustment. In an alternative embodiment, the hook formation tape on the upper portion of the receiving section could be arranged to attach to the material of the outer face of the wrap. Such an arrangement would allow an infinite adjustment of the length of the receiving section.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An infant wrap, having a first face and a second face comprising an infant receiving portion and first and second side panels arranged to releasably secure over the infant, wherein corner portions of the first and second side panels are arranged to be outwardly folded and releasably secured to the second face and an upper portion of the infant receiving section comprises a height adjusting means whereby a length of the infant receiving section can be adjusted.
2. A wrap according to claim 1 wherein the height adjusting means is arranged to provide discrete adjustments of the length of the receiving section.
3. A wrap according to claim 1 wherein the height adjusting means is arranged to provide a variable adjustment of the length of the receiving section.
4. A wrap for an infant the wrap comprising an infant receiving section; a first side panel extending to a first side of the infant receiving section; a second side panel extending to a second side of the infant receiving section and opposed to the first side; a releasable closure means generally being substantially Continuous being provided between at least a first side panel lower edge and a lower edge of the infant receiving section and the second side panel having means of securing the second side panel over the first side panel.
5. A wrap according to claim 4 wherein the releasable closure means is formed of at least a first strip of a touch and close closure means.
6. A wrap according to claim 5 wherein at least one cooperating position of a loop formation strip of the touch and close fastener is arranged to cooperate with the first hook portion.
7. A wrap according to any preceding claim wherein a weighted insert is provided.
8. A wrap according to claim 7 wherein the weighted insert is arranged to attach to the first portion of the releasable closure means and is adapted to be substantially continuously and releasably securable to the first side panel.
9. A wrap according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the insert comprises a bag containing granular material, such as wheat, lentils, polystyrene balls.
10. A wrap according to claim 9 wherein the granular material is readily warmed and retains heat for a period of time.
11. A wrap according to any one of claims 7 to 10 wherein the insert is scented.
12. A wrap according to any preceding claim wherein a lining is provided on at least a lower portion of the first side panel.
13. A wrap according to any preceding claim wherein the receiving section is provided with apertures adapted to cooperate with a harness attachment system.
14. A wrap according to any preceding claim wherein the second side panel is provided with releasable means of securing the second side panel to an outer face of the first side panel.
15. A wrap according to claim 14 wherein the releasable means comprises at least one section of a touch and close closure means position on the second side panel.
16. A wrap according to claim 15 wherein the outer face of the first side panel is provided with at least one cooperating strip of touch and close closure means.
17. A wrap according to any preceding claim wherein fixing means at upper corners of the wrap are arranged to secure the corners in a folded position away from an infant received in the wrap.
18. A wrap as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.