NZ513734A - Safety device for infants - Google Patents

Abstract

A safety device for babies is disclosed comprising of two overlapping sheet portions (3,4), a securing strap (5) and a garment portion (6). The garment portion (6) consists of a sleeveless vest or waistcoat. The first sheet portion (3) is dimensioned so as to extend at least part of the length of a bed. The second sheet portion (4) is secured to and arranged to overlie part of the first sheet portion (3). The front portion of the garment (6) is securable to the second sheet portion (4) and the rear of the garment is securable to the first sheet (3). The garment portion (6) and/or one of the sheet portions has a closable opening and means for releasably securing the device to the bed.

Description

13 7 3 4 PC.'Vjiv Cii'ca oi 2ft r •, *f\ 3 f\Jj <UUl O E i V E 0 Patents Form No 5 Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION SAFETY DEVICE FOR INFANTS I, Charlotte Elizabeth Fuller, a New Zealand citizen of Robertson's Road, RD1 Hari Hari, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 The present invention relates to a safety device for infants; as used herein, the term "infants" includes both babies and young children, typically in the age range six weeks to four years old. In particular, the invention relates to a device which enables infants to sleep safely and securely in a conventional adult bed, rather than in a cot.

Babies generally are put to sleep in cots, since the high sides of the cots prevent babies from rolling out of the cots or, in the case of older babies, climbing out of the cots. However, cots are not always available, particularly when a family is travelling. In addition, once babies are old enough to pull themselves up, they may try to climb 10 the sides of a cot and this can lead to serious injury if the baby overbalances the cot or falls over the side.

A baby sleeping in a conventional adult bed is at risk of falling out of the bed, and a toddler or older child can simply climb out of the bed whenever they wish to do so.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device which can be quickly and easily fitted to a conventional adult bed, and which enables infants to sleep comfortably but securely, without risk of falling or climbing out of the bed.

The present invention provides a safety device for use with a bed, said device comprising: a first sheet portion dimensioned so as to extend at least part of the length of the bed; a second sheet portion secured to and arranged to overlie part of said first sheet portion; a garment portion the front of which is securable to said second sheet portion and the rear of which is securable to said first sheet portion, said garment 25 portion and/or one of said sheet portions having a closable opening therein ; and means for releasably securing said device to a bed; said sheet portions and said garment portion being made of flexible material.

Preferably, the garment portion is formed like a sleeveless waistcoat, and the closable 30 opening extends the full length of the waistcoat and down part of said second sheet portion.

By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-— 2 Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the device of the present invention fitted to a single bed; and Fig. 2 is a side view of the device of Fig 1 The drawings show the device of the present invention as applied to a single size conventional adult bed, but it will be appreciated that the device of the present invention can be sized to fit any size or shape of bed.

Referring to the drawings, a device 2 comprises two overlapping sheet portions 3,4, a securing strap 5, and a garment portion 6. For clarity, the drawings show the sheet portions spaced apart from each other and from the bed.

The first sheet portion 3 extends from the head 7 of the bed to about two-thirds of the 15 way down the length of the bed; the end of the sheet portion 3 at the head 7 of the bed is formed as a fitted sheet in known manner, so that the sheet fits snugly over the mattress. The opposite end 8 of the sheet portion 3 is left open.

The second sheet portion 4 extends from the foot 9 of the bed to about two-thirds of 20 the way up the length of the bed, partially overlapping and lying on top of the first sheet portion 3. The end of the second sheet portion 4 at the foot 9 of the bed is formed as a fitted sheet in known manner. The overlapping parts of the first and second sheet portions 3,4, are sewn together along the edges 16. The opposite end 10 of the second sheet portion 4 is sewn to the underlying first sheet portion 3 except 25 over the area occupied by the garment portion 6.-- over this area, the end 10 of the second sheet portion 4 is secured to the end of the front 11 of the garment portion 6, along the line 12.

The garment portion 6 consists of a sleeveless vest or waistcoat. The end of the back 30 13 of the garment portion 6 is secured to the underlying part of the first sheet portion 3 along the line 14. The garment portion 6 could be secured to the sheet portions permanently, by sewing, or releasably, e g. using a zip fastener or Velcro (trademark). A closure 15 extends from the neck of the garment portion 6 down the full length of the garment portion, and continues down part of the length of the second sheet portion 4. 35 Preferably, total length of the closure 15 should be at least the height of the infant to 3 be using the device. Although a shorter closure 15 may be used, the shorter the closure, the greater the difficulty in positioning an infant in the device. The closure 15 may be any suitable closure which is reasonably difficult for infants to undo - for example a zip fastener closed off at the neck with a Velcro tab, or a strip of Velcro, or 5 buttons.

The securing strap 5 consists of a piece of webbing or similar material of sufficient length to pass right around the breadth of the mattress 17. Part of the strap 5 is secured across the width of the first sheet portion 3, a short distance away from the 10 end 10 of the second sheet portion, the remainder of the strap 5 is passed under the mattress 17 (or under the bed) and is secured by a catch 18. The use of the securing strap means that an infant cannot pull both sheet portions right off the mattress.

In use, the device is fitted over the mattress of the bed much like a conventional fitted 15 sheet, and the strap 5 secured around the mattress as described above. The closure 15 is opened to allow an infant to wear the vest or waistcoat 6 on the upper part of their body, and to put their legs underneath the second sheet portion 4 The closure 15 is then closed, securing the infant. The sheet portions 3,4 and the garment portion 6 may be made of any suitable washable fabric e.g. a cotton/polyester mix. 20 Preferably, the fabric has some elasticity However, even a non-elastic fabric has sufficient flexibility to allow the infant wearing the waistcoat 6 to move comfortably in bed:- the infant can sit up or lie down and can turn freely from side to side. However, the infant cannot get out of bed or drag the device off the bed In addition to keeping the infant secure, the device also is useful in keeping the infant warm and underneath the covers The first sheet portion 3 may extend for the full length of the bed if preferred, but really only needs to extend to a level slightly beyond the level of the infant's feet. The 30 opened end 8 allows any accumulated lint or dirt to be easily removed.

The device may be quickly and easily removed and fitted to the bed, for laundering or when travelling.

If the device was designed to be fitted to a very large bed, or if it was desirable to save 4 as much fabric is possible, then closed the first and second sheet portions 3,4 could be cut short:- instead of extending the first and second portions to the head and the foot of the bed respectively, they could stop short and be secured to the bed by further securing straps similar to the strap 5. Equally, although the sheet portions 3,4 have 5 been depicted as extending the full width of the bed, they could extend only part of the width of the bed. However, if this option is adopted, then unless the device is for use with a very small infant, it will probably be necessary to use additional securing straps similar to the strap 5 to hold the device flat on the bed.

Claims (1)

1. A safety device for use with a bed, said device comprising- a first sheet portion dimensioned so as to extend at least part of the length of the bed; a second sheet portion secured to and arranged to overlie part of said first sheet portion; a garment portion the front of which is securable to said second sheet portion and the rear of which is securable to said first sheet portion, said garment portion and/or one of said sheet portions having a closable opening therein; and means for releasably securing said device to a bed; said sheet portions and said garment portion being made of flexible material. The safety device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the garment portion is formed as a sleeveless waistcoat. The safety device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the closeable opening extends the full length of the waistcoat and down part of the adjacent second sheet portion. The safety device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the first and second sheet portions are dimensioned so as to extend respectively from the head and foot of the bed. The safety device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the ends of the first and second sheet portions which in use are at the head and foot of the bed are formed as fitted sheets. The safety device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the garment portion is permanently secured to the sheet portions. The safety device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 wherein the garment portion is releasably secured to the sheet portions. The safety device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the securing device comprises a strap permanently secured to at least one of the sheet portions, said strap being positioned and dimensioned so as to be 9 securable around the width of a mattress or bed. A safety device for use with a bed, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings 7