Toddler Stair Safety System
A heavy net is used with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for the toddler's hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A net is fastened to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners.
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This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/519,678, filed on Sep. 12, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,216, filed on Sep. 30, 2003, abandoned, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/498,956, filed Aug. 30, 2003, the full disclosures of each being incorporated by reference in their entirety.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCHNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONEach year about 3 million children in the United States alone visit emergency room departments for fall-related injuries. A major cause is falling down stairs. These falls result in more open wounds, fractures and brain injuries than all other accidents of children. Nearly one hundred children under the age of 9 die per year from falls. A major problem is going up and down stairs for toddlers. These are infants between 18 months and 4 years of age. They are old enough to be able to crawl up stairs, but not typically tall enough to be able to use the adult-height banister.
The solutions suggested to date have basically involved a lower height stair rail. For example, Roberts (U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,242) teaches a secondary railing that hangs below the primary railing. Ruhnke (U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,553) teaches the use of adjustable shelf-type hangars to adjust the height of the railing. Turner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,201) teaches a secondary handrail for toddlers as does Jaworski (U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,528) and Koza (U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,166) and finally Sedlack (U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,854).
Hartman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,255) teaches a double rail telescoping system. Stevens (U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,100) teaches a special hand railing for toddlers. Another approach is the use of an adjustable railing system. This is taught by Rezek (U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,433), Toomey (U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,194) and finally Marsden (U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,968). An interesting solution is that of Flory (U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,475) who basically teaches an obstacle course of gates on alternate sides of the stairway to prevent people from falling more than a few feet if they do stumble.
For completion one should mention some of the solutions for another safety problem. This problem involves children falling through the balusters in open stairways. This includes a panel of screens as taught by Langan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,194), the Railnet product (attached literature) Plexiglas sheets as taught by Bodzin (U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,545), and finally Dandrea (U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,715) which weaves rigid fabric in and out of the balusters to form a barrier for the toddlers.
Thus in spite of the need for a simple safety system to allow toddlers to more safely go up and down stairs, none exist. The ideal system would be something that can be packed in a small box for easy retail sale and transport to a home, can be installed without the use of any tools, and leave no permanent marks on the home in any way. In spite of the need for such a product none has existed to date.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe major object of this invention is the use of a heavy net with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for a toddler hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A further object of this invention is to provide a method of providing tension securement to a carpeted surface by the use of deep-machined hook surfaces.
Another object of this invention is to teach the use of fastening a net to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners. Another object of this invention is to teach the manufacture of a carpeted stair gripper, which allows objects to be attached, and custom fitted, to the edges of carpeted stair steps with great strength and with no tools or defacement of the stairs.
Attachments 32 and 34 are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces.
The length of each wing of the stair edge gripper 32 is preferably between 2-4 inches but lengths of 1-10 inches are usable.
These dimensions are critical to proper operation of the invention. Note that the netting “barriers” such as the one by Langan have ¼-½ inch weave (col 2:46) which would not allow even a toddler to get a handgrip or even multiple fingers in the net.
The diameter of the cord in the mesh is also important. If this is too large it will add excessive weight and bulk to the netting as well as fill up too much of the space in the mesh. If it is too small it will tend to cut the child's hand and be uncomfortable and thus discourage its usage. The optimal cord diameter for the net is 3 mm. However, diameters between 2 mm and 4 mm are very usable, and diameters between 1 mm and 5 mm would function for this usage. Diameter 84 is about 3 mm. The child's thumb 88 is also shown going over a horizontal cord of the net. The meshes need not be square but may be triangular, rectangular, hexagonal, or of any irregular polygonal shape.
First in step 100 the duck or nylon material is cut to shape and size.
Then in step 102 it is folded in half.
In step 104 a hole is punched near the fold.
In step 106 a grommet is attached to the mesh near the fold.
In step 108 a deep-machined hook piece is attached to the underside of this duck material.
In step 110 the installer will rub one flap into the vertical piece of carpet of the stair step.
In step 112 the installer will rub the other flap into the horizontal piece of carpet of the stair step In step 114 the user will run a connector through the grommet to attach to the object of attachment.
In step 120 the user will weave a large mesh net using thick cord.
In step 122 the user will cut the hook and loop strips to size and shape for attachment.
In step 124 the user will attach the net to a stair railing or banister with the hook and loop strips; alternatively these could be cable ties. Even knotted string would suffice.
In step 126 the user will tightly attach the bottom of the large mesh net to the existing stair carpet gripper to pull the net down to make it taut to increase the toddler's confidence in the net.
This 30-50% of the typical railing height (36 inches by United States building code) gives a net height of 10.8-18 inches. None of this is anticipated by net barriers such as that of Langan who teaches a nominal range of 36-42 inches with a broad range of 26-36 inches (col 3:47-49). The 20-60% range for the net depth in the instant invention translates to a 7.2-21.6 inch depth. The resulting gap would be in the range of 14.4-28.8 inches.
In the embodiment shown in
Claims
1. A safety system for attachment to a stair railing for aiding toddlers, comprising:
- a mesh net, the mesh net having a first edge and a second edge, the mesh net having a first portion comprising the first edge, the first portion defining a plurality of first openings, the first portion being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler; and
- a plurality of connectors, each connector being constructed and arranged to engage the first edge of the mesh net and the stair railing wherein the second edge is free from engagement.
2. The safety system of claim 1, further comprising a second portion, the first portion being engaged to the second portion, the second portion comprising the second edge, the second portion defining a plurality of second openings, the first openings being larger than the second openings.
3. The safety system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of stair grippers, each gripper having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface, the stair grippers being attached to the second portion.
4. The safety system of claim 3 wherein the vertical engagement surface of the stair grippers comprises at least one of double sided adhesive, screws, and deep machined hooks.
5. The safety system of claim 3, wherein the horizontal engagement surface of the stair grippers comprises at least one of double sided adhesive, screws, and deep machined hooks.
6. The safety system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the first openings have a dimension between about 0.75-3 inches.
7. The safety system of claim 2, wherein at least some of the second openings have a dimension between about 0.125-0.5 inches.
8. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the connectors comprise hook and loop material.
9. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the first edge is substantially parallel to the second edge.
10. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the connectors are cable ties.
11. A safety system for attachment to a stair railing and stairs for aiding toddlers, comprising:
- a mesh net with a first edge and a second edge, the mesh net being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler;
- a plurality of stair grippers, each gripper having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface;
- a plurality of connectors, each connector being constructed and arranged to engage the first edge and the stair railing; and
- a plurality of straps, each strap being attached to the mesh net and a stair gripper, wherein the stair railing and stairs are separated by a distance d, the mesh net extending from the stair railing between 20-60% of the distance d.
12. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the first edge is substantially parallel to the second edge.
13. The safety system of claim 11, wherein there is a distance of 10.8-18 inches between the first edge to the second edge of the mesh net.
14. The safety system of claim 11, wherein there is a distance of 14.4-28.8 inches between the second edge of the mesh net to the stairs.
15. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the mesh net defines a plurality of openings, and wherein at least some of the openings have a dimension between about 1-2 inches.
16. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the net comprises a cord, the cord having a diameter between 1-5 millimeters.
17. A method of building and using a toddler stair safety system for attachment to a stair railing and stairs for aiding toddlers, comprising:
- providing a stair railing and stairs being separated by a distance d;
- providing a mesh net being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler, the mesh net having a first edge and a second edge;
- providing a plurality of stair grippers having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface;
- providing a plurality of straps;
- attaching the straps to the mesh net;
- attaching the stair grippers to the straps;
- attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing with fasteners; and
- attaching the stair grippers to the stairs, wherein the mesh net extends from the stair railing between 20-60% of the distance d.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein there is a distance of between 7.2-21.6 inches between the first edge and the second edge.
19. The method of claim 17, further comprising leaving the second edge of the mesh net between 14.4-28.8 inches above the stairs.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing is performed with a hook and loop material.
21. The method of claim 17, wherein attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing is performed with a plurality of cable ties.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 25, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009
Applicant: Kroll Family Trust (Crystal Bay, MN)
Inventors: Lori C. Kroll (Crystal Bay, MN), Mark W. Kroll (Crystal Bay, MN)
Application Number: 12/238,146
International Classification: E04H 17/00 (20060101);