US2645781A

US2645781A - Baby's bath seat

Info

Publication number: US2645781A
Application number: US46410A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rebecca C Mover; Solomon H Rubin
Original assignee: BUNNY BEAR Inc
Current assignee: BUNNY BEAR Inc
Priority date: 1948-08-27
Filing date: 1948-08-27
Publication date: 1953-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 1970-07-21

Description

July 21, 1953 H. MOVER BABYS BATH SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27. 1948 mr 6 mm M ED vN .m INDWA m y 1953 H. MOVER 2,645,781

BABY'S BATH SEAT Filed Aug. 27. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENToR.

O PI' A ATTORNEY Patentecl July 21, 1953 I BABYS BATH SEAT Hyman Mover, Marblehead, Mass.; Rebecca C. Mover, Milton Kahn, and Solomon H. Rubin, executors of Hyman Mover, deceased, assignors to Bunny Bear, Inc., Everett, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 27, 1948, Serial No; 46,410

i 11 Claims The present invention relates to a bath seat and in particular a bath'seat for infants to be placed inabath tub. I

When bathing a baby it is always necessary to support the childs back or at least to hold the must be paid as to how'the child is held so that' the inexperienced or experienced person as well finds it difficult to give the child a good bath.

This is particularly true when the child is active, enjoys the water and wants to play continually while in the bath. The advantages of having both hands free for bathing the infant, reaching for bathing accessories and so forth is quite obvious. In the present invention these advantages are fully obtained in providing a removable bath seat which may be firmly secured to the base of the tub, and which supports the child in a sitting position and permits suflicient freedom of motion so that the child can be as active as he likes and yet permit .the mother or nurse to bathe the child freely, easily and safely. The bath seat of the present invention is made of a light plastic material with smooth rounded edges and has suflicient flexibility so that while the child is safely restrained and held in a sitting position it can move about and knock against any part of the seat without receiving injury or being chafed or rubbed by the bath seat. In fact the safety seat of the presentinvention holds the baby in the bath in such a comfortable position that the mother can safely let the child play in the bath tub with his water toys as a part of its daily exercises and play.

In the present invention the anchoring elements are away from the ordinary movements and motion of the child and the anchoring is so positioned that little or no'leverage can be obtained in order to lift the anchors away from the bottom of the tub. v I i A further feature of the present invention is that the supporting frameis made up of a channel member with the opening in the channel facillg outward away from contact with the child. The supporting anchors are also formed asextensions from the vlower sides of; the channels extending downward and outwardly as a bracket upon which the soft vacuum cups are attached.

The invention will be more fully described in: connectionwith the specification set forth below in which:

Figure 1' shows a seat as viewed from the front of the seat.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view as viewed I from the side of the seat.

Figure 3 shows a detailed view as seen from the rear, and, I

. Figure 4 is a section line 4-4 of Figure 3 in an enlarged View.

In the drawings the bathshown comprises a frame I made of a single molded plastic element. The plastic used for this purpose may be cellulose acetate, polystyrene or any of the usual thermoplastic materials adaptable for molding purposes. I p I i The frame is molded as a flat frame and then formed around a proper form to provide the back curvature. The flatmolded frame is made on an injection type mold in'which the

brackets

2, 3, 4, and 5 are included so that the molded frame as it comes out of the injection mold only needsto be degated and formed on the forming frame.-

to provide the finishedframe. The frame itself, is made in a C channel section as indicated par ticularly in Figures 2 and 3, in which the deribs or a little lower.

A strap beneath and in front of the child may be employed as will be described more fully in the specification and this is attached in such a way as not to require any fixtures or projections on the bath seat itself. '1 v gating marks are on the inside of the .C, so that" this need merely to be cut offand will not cause any roughness o1" rubbing since they are away from contact with the child. The frame with its 0 section channel with sides 6 and I projecting outward in every portion provides remarkable sturdiness and strength to the frame in contrast to its very light weight The frame itself comprises a top supporting channel 8 and a bottom supporting channel 9 joined together at the back by a single upright channel I0 and joined at the sidesby channel elements H and l2.

l3 and M to join the upright side channels I l and I2. I

The whole frame is rounded to fit loosely or freely a child's body about the position of the On the bottom channel 9 are the outwardly projecting

brackets

2, 3, 4, and 5 which, have already been mentioned. These brackets are formed as channel brackets extendingfrom the bottom side of the channel 9 and i merge into an outwardly extending plate section [4 which has a, hole I6 in whichthe vacuum cup, [5 is positioned. The vacuum cup 15 is made of rather soft rubber and is provided with a shoulder I! which comes against the plate, l4 and the perspective view of the bath taken substantially on the All of these parts merge into one another; to form a single unitary frame in which the top channel 8 slopes downwardgently at the sectionsneck portion [8 with an enlarged head 19, the neck portion [8 fitting through the hole I6 of the plate and the head 19 securing it in place similarly as a rivet head does. In order to use a comparatively soft rubber cup, whichis preferable in the present structure, a tightly fitting washer 20 is forced over the head l9 so that the cup cannot pull clear of the bracket. soft rubber cup under water, a very effective seal is obtained, much more effective than with the use of a stiff rubber cup which would provide sufficient stress in itself, so; that a tight joint with a base of the tub may not be obtained. The attaching vacuum cups, while extending outward from the position that the infant occupies are yet sufficiently close to the frame so that practically no leverage is obtained when the infant leans against the back of the seat to give the seat a chance to get free from the tub. In addition to this, by positioning the cups at both sides near the front of the seat and also at both sides in the rear of the seat, a symmetrical balance is obtained so that a forward pull would be opposed by the rear cups, a backward push by the front cups and sidewise pushing by the cups on the opposite side. This position of the vacuum cups prevents the prying action which deforms the cups themselves and are the one chief source why the ordinary vaccum cup at times fails to hold.

In the present invention a slot is made on each side of the frame at the junction of the upper .channel and the forward channel elements as indicated at 2i and 22. These slots which are directed parallel to the side Walls of the channel are inclined to the vertical sides at about 45 and are positioned substantially in the middle of the rear wall of the channel and receives an adjustable body strapr23, which extends across the front of the seat. The cross strap 24 is looped in a slot 25 similar to the slots previously mentioned in the lower channel wall 9 just below the upright back member i 0. This strap 24 is provided at its forward end with a loop 28 which loops about the front strap 23. The various straps may be retained in their slots in any suitable manner, as for instance as by a loop which is riveted to the strap. The cross body strap 23 is provided with an extension buckle 21 which is at one end of the loop 28 which passes through ametal loop 29 of a clamping claw 30. This clamping claw 30 is provided with spring hooks 3| which latch to a diamond shaped projecting latch 32 projecting inwardly from the eye buckle 33. This provides a convenient and quick means of closing the cross strap when the child is put in the seat. The usual difficulty in securing a belt buckle in a strap hole is avoided.

The use of the bath seat is obvious and hardly needs to be explained. The seat is put in the bath tub and secured by pressing the cups firmly against the bottom of the tub. The child may then be put in the seat and the buckle closed. The body strap may be adjusted to permit the infant to move around as may be desired. The back channel is sufficiently high so as to provide a back support for the infant and yet permit the infant relatively free motion. This is cared for particularly by sloping the support downward at the sides practically to the position of the elbow when the child is'sitting upright in the seat.

A further feature of the seat is that when made of plastic material it warms up quickly to the temperature of the water in the bath al- With a most immediately when it is put in, so that it will not be uncomfortable for the child.

Having described my invention, I now claim:

1. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting position in a bath tub comprising a plastic frame molded as a unitary structure with channel section members curved to a general body shape to form the back and sides of the device, the channels facing outward of the device, a plurality of brackets extending from the lower side of the lowest channel member slightly outward and downward of the said lowest channel member, and a plurality of vacuum cups retained in said brackets for attaching the device to a bath tub.

2. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting position in a bath tub comprising a plastic frame molded as a unitary structure with channel section members curved to a general bodyshape to form. the back and sides of the device, said members including a lower channel member having a lower edge surface lying in a plane. said channels on the members all facing outward of the device, a plurality of brackets extending slightly outwards and downwards from the lower edge surface of said lower channel member and a vacuum cup retained in each of said brackets for attaching the device to a bath tub.

3. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting, position in a bath tub comprising a plastic frame molded as a unitary structure with channel section members curved to a general body shape to form, the back and sides of the device, said members comprising a lower channel member having" a lower edge surface lying in a plane and an upper channel member having an outer wall substantially coplanarly positioned with the outer wall of the lower channel member and. joining the same, at the sides, a plurality of brackets extending slightly outwards and downwards of said lower edge surface of the lower channel member and a vacuum cup retained in each of said brackets for attaching the device to the bath tub.

4. A device for supporting and holding a child ina sitting position in a bath tub comprising a plastic, open frame molded as a unitary structure and rounded to form the back and sides of theseat', said frame having a lower edge surface extending around its bottom a plurality of brackets extending from the lower edge surface of the frame downwards and outwards and a vacuum cup retained in each of said brackets for attaching. the seat to, a bath tub.

5. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting position in a bath tub comprising a plastic, open frame molded as a unitary structure and rounded to form the back and sides of the seat, said frame comprising C-shaped section channel members with a lower member havingits lower side wall of the C in a horizontal plane with the channel facing outwards, a plurality of brackets extending slightly outwards and downwards of the lower side wall of said lower memher and a vacuum cup retained in each of said brackets for attaching the seat to a bath tub.

6. A device for supporting and holding a child ina sitting position in a bath tub comprising a molded plastic frame formed of lower and upper C-shaped section channel members extending around the back and sides of the device and joined in a continuous curve one to the other at the sides of the frame, a joining channel member between said lower and upper members, a plural molded plastic frame formed of lower and upper C-shaped section channel members extending around the back and sides of the device, and joined in a continuous curve one to the other at the sides of the frame, a C-shaped section chan nel member extending from one of the pair to the other in the middle of the back of the device, a plurality ofv ears extending downwardly and outwardly of said lower member at both sides of the frame at the front thereof and at the rear of the device from said lower strip and a vacuum cup retained in each of said ears.

8. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting position in a bath tub comprising a plastic frame molded as. a unitary structure with.

10. A device for supporting and holding a child in a sitting position in a bath tub comprising a molded plastic frame formed of lower and upper C-shaped sectionchannel members exchannel section members curved to a general body shape to form the back and'sides of the device, the channels facing outward of the device,

a plurality of brackets extending from the lower side of the lowest channel slightly outward and downward of the member, a plurality of vacuum with channel section members curved to a gen-V eral body shape to form the back and sides of the device, the channels facing outward of the device, a plurality of brackets extending from the lower side of the lowest channel slightly outward and downward of the member, each bracket having a hole, a plurality of soft rubber vacuum cups having a flat shoulder at the top, a neck portion extending from the top, a

rounded head attached to the end of the neck portion, said neck extending through said hole and a washer and said rounded head fitting tightly around said neck.

tending around the back and sides of the device and joined in a continuous curve one to the other at the sides of the frame, a C-shaped section channel member extending from one of the pair to the other in the middle of the back of the device, a plurality of ears extending downwardly and outwardly of said lower member at both sides of the frame at the frontthereof and a bottom strap attached in a slot at the center around the back and sides of the device and joined in a continuous curve one to the other at the sides of theframe, said members having their, inner surfaces substantially in the same plane, a joining strip between the first mentioned members, a plurality of-ears extending downw-ardly and outwardly ofsaid lower member at both sides of the frame at the front thereof and towards the rear of the device and a vacuum cup retained in each of said ears.

HYMAN MOVER;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS