Child interaction device and method therefor
A child interaction device that is placed over the back of a chair or other article of furniture having at least one article of entertainment attached to its face. The device is positioned so that the article of entertainment is displayed on the front of the seat back so that a person sitting in the chair will face forward while the child held by that person will face rearward and therefore face toward the child interaction device, enabling the child to interact with the at least one article of entertainment.
The present invention relates generally to entertainment and methods therefor and, more particularly, to a child interaction device that is connected to a chair or other piece of furniture and that is used by the child while being held by a person sitting on a chair or other piece of furniture.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONVarious child interaction devices have been invented to entertain children. This is due to the recognized benefits of occupying a child's mind. There is both a long tern benefit of improving the mental development of a child and an immediate benefit of placating an upset or restless child. However, the child interaction devices created heretofore have rarely been integrated with a device used by the adult holding the child. Benefit may be obtained in making such integration, in that the adult holding the child does not have to concurrently hold the child interaction device as well as the child, and in that the adult would receive an additional benefit or use from the integrated device, such as sitting comfortably.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems by integrating a child interaction device with a chair or other article of furniture, thereby allowing a person holding a child to sit while the child is entertained or occupied by the child interaction device while at the same time allowing the person holding the child to entertain or occupy the child without having to hold the child interaction device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a child interaction device used in connection with a chair or other piece of furniture, so that a person holding a child may sit facing forward in the chair while the child can view the front of the chair back over the shoulder of the person and thereby interact with the child interaction device coupled to the chair.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a child interaction device used in connection with a chair or piece of furniture that has a multitude of mechanisms for child interaction, the multitude of mechanisms being integrated into the device in such a manner to allow for different mechanisms to be revealed to the child in different forms or at different times without having to remove and/or replace the child interaction device altogether.
A consequential benefit is also obtained by the present invention in that the child interaction device will protect the material of the chair or other piece of material from baby spit up while being easily removed from the chair and washable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSA child interaction device is disclosed, comprising, a furniture cover dimensioned to cover at least a portion of an article of furniture, and at least one article of entertainment coupled to the furniture cover and dimensioned to provide entertainment.
A child interaction device is disclosed, comprising, a furniture cover having an exterior surface and an interior surface and a closed end and an open end, the open end dimensioned to be placed over at least a portion of an article of furniture with at least a portion of the interior surface proximate at least a portion of the article of furniture, the open end defines a channel dimensioned to allow one of a string and an elastic band to pass through the channel in order to secure the furniture cover about at least a portion of the article of furniture, and at least one article of entertainment from a group of a picture, a drawing, a story page, a tactile object and a display device coupled to the exterior surface of the furniture cover and dimensioned to provide entertainment.
A method of entertaining a child is disclosed, comprising, providing an article of furniture, providing a furniture cover, covering at least a portion of an article of furniture with the furniture cover, providing at least one article of entertainment coupled to the furniture cover, and positioning a child in front of the furniture cover facing the at least one article of entertainment.
Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and detailed descriptions to indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSReferring to
Still referring to
Referring now to
In accordance with one embodiment of the child interaction device 10, the furniture cover 12 is placed over the back of a chair 14 (or other article of furniture), or otherwise coupled to the front side of a chair 14, with its front exterior surface 23 facing a user. The holder of the child that will interact with the child interaction device 10 then sits on the chair 14 facing forward with the child facing rearward (i.e. toward the chair back 15. The child interaction device 10 comprises at least one article of entertainment 26 on at least the exterior surface 23 of the furniture cover 12. Preferably, the furniture cover 12 will have at least one additional sheet/page 28 coupled thereto, with each sheet/page 28 having at least one article of entertainment 26, such as a toy, design, graphical representation or other item. In this way, the caregiver or child can flip the pages 28 of the child interaction device 10 in order to vary the entertainment. Accordingly, when it is desired to allow the child to interact with articles of entertainment 26 attached to the additional sheets/pages 28, the additional individual sheets/pages 28 may be flipped over the top of the furniture cover 12 of the child interaction device 10, thereby resting on the backside of the chair back 15, and thereby exposing a different sheet/page 28 with a different set of mechanisms for child interaction. If the child grows uninterested with a particular sheet or page 28, it may be flipped over, thereby exposing a new sheet or page 28 and a new source of entertainment for child interaction.
Claims
1. A child interaction device comprising:
- a furniture cover dimensioned to cover at least a portion of an article of furniture; and
- at least one article of entertainment coupled to said furniture cover and dimensioned to provide entertainment.
2. The child interaction device of claim 1 wherein said at least one article of entertainment being at least one of a picture, a drawing, a story page, a toy, a tactile object, and a display device.
3. The child interaction device of claim 1 wherein said furniture cover having wireless communication capabilities.
4. The child interaction device of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of sheets coupled to said furniture cover, wherein said at least one article of entertainment coupled to each said plurality of sheets.
5. The child interaction device of claim 1 wherein said at least one article of entertainment being removable and interchangeable with another said at least one article of entertainment.
6. The child interaction device of claim 1 wherein said article of furniture being at least one of a wall, a crib, a playpen, a sofa, a lounger, a recliner, a couch, a beanbag chair, a bench, a bergere, a chair, a fauteuil, a footstool, a love seat, an ottoman, a settee, a stool, a tuffet, a watchman's chair, a coffee table, a desk, an end table, a folding table, a gateleg table, a table, an armoire, a bookcase, a cabinet, a chest, a credenza, a curio, a dresser, a filing cabinet, a hall tree, a hatstand, a knoll sofa, a sideboard, a wardrobe, a bed, a hutch, a lamp, and a folding screen.
7. The child interaction device of claim 1 further comprising a securing mechanism coupled to said furniture cover and dimensioned to secure said furniture cover to at least a portion of an article of furniture.
8. The child interaction device of claim 7 wherein said furniture cover comprising a closed end and an open end, wherein said open end defines a channel dimensioned to allow one of a string and an elastic band to pass through said channel in order to secure said furniture cover about at least a portion of said article of furniture.
9. A child interaction device comprising:
- a furniture cover having an exterior surface and an interior surface and a closed end and an open end, said open end dimensioned to be placed over at least a portion of an article of furniture with at least a portion of said interior surface proximate at least a portion of said article of furniture, said open end defines a channel dimensioned to allow one of a string and an elastic band to pass through said channel in order to secure said furniture cover about at least a portion of said article of furniture; and
- at least one article of entertainment from a group of a picture, a drawing, a story page, a tactile object and a display device coupled to said exterior surface of said furniture cover and dimensioned to provide entertainment.
10. A method of entertaining a child comprising:
- providing an article of furniture;
- providing a furniture cover;
- covering at least a portion of an article of furniture with said furniture cover;
- providing at least one article of entertainment coupled to said furniture cover; and
- positioning a child in front of said furniture cover facing said at least one article of entertainment.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said article furniture being at least one of a wall, a crib, a playpen, a sofa, a lounger, a recliner, a couch, a beanbag chair, a bench, a bergere, a chair, a fauteuil, a footstool, a love seat, an ottoman, a settee, a stool, a tuffet, a watchman's chair, a coffee table, a desk, an end table, a folding table, a gateleg table, a table, an armoire, a bookcase, a cabinet, a chest, a credenza, a curio, a dresser, a filing cabinet, a hall tree, a hatstand, a knoll sofa, a sideboard, a wardrobe, a bed, a hutch, a lamp, and a folding screen.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein said at least one article of entertainment being at least one of a picture, a drawing, a story page, a toy, a tactile object, and a display device.
13. The method of claim 10 wherein said at least one article of entertainment having wireless communication capabilities.
14. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of sheets coupled to said furniture cover wherein said at least one article of entertainment being coupled to each of said plurality of sheets; and
- flipping at least one of said plurality of sheets to at least one of reveal and cover at least one article of entertainment
15. The method of claim 10 wherein said at least one article of entertainment being removable and interchangeable with another said at least one article of entertainment.
16. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:
- providing a securing mechanism coupled to said furniture cover; and
- securing said furniture cover to at least a portion of an article of furniture with said securing mechanism.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said furniture cover comprising a closed end and an open end, wherein said open end defines a channel dimensioned to allow one of a string and an elastic band to pass through said channel in order to secure said furniture cover about at least a portion of said article of furniture.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 4, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 10, 2010
Inventor: Lisa Wilkins (Henderson, NV)
Application Number: 12/328,557
International Classification: A63H 33/00 (20060101); A47C 31/10 (20060101);