Crib Bumper

Abstract

A protective material for surrounding the inside of an infant's crib includes at least one panel having a substantial rectangular shape. The panel is composed of felt and has a plurality of apertures formed completely through the panel. The apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the panel. The panel has sufficient rigidity so that when positioned upright, and held from a bottom edge, the panel remains in the upright position. At least one fastener secures the panel to the side of a crib. In various further forms, the protective material may comprise a single panel having four segments which are foldably attached to one another, folded inward 90 degrees to thereby form four sides of a substantially rectangular box. Alternatively, the bumper comprises four discrete, separate panels.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a crib bumper and in particular a crib bumper which has a plurality of holes for allowing an exchange of air from one side of the bumper to the other side of the bumper thus allowing air to pass between the interior of a crib and the environment outside of the crib.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional infant cribs are made of wood or another composite rigid material. The crib usually has a number of slats on the sides and may have a solid headboard and footboard or one which also includes a series of slats. Since the sides of most cribs tend to be hard, in order to avoid injury from an infant coming in contact with the relatively hard side surfaces of the crib interior, various soft or padded inserts have been developed for being placed within the crib.

One commonly used padding is known in the art as a bumper which is placed inside a crib along its perimeter adjacent the side slats and/or headboard and footboard. The bumper may be composed of multiple segments such as two segments for the sides and two for the headboard and footboard, respectively. Alternatively, the bumper may be a single elongated rectangular padded material which is folded to form the four perimeter sides inside the crib.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and improved protective material which surrounds the interior of an infant's crib. The present protective material may be in the shape of an elongated rectangular material, such as a single panel which is folded to form four sides of a substantially rectangular box for placement within the infant's crib. Alternatively, a plurality of panels, e.g., four, may be used, two for the head and foot, respectively, of the crib and two for the sides of the crib.

Advantageously, the panel is composed of felt which has a sufficient rigidity so as to remain in an upright position when stood upright and held from a bottom of the panel. The panel(s) has/have a number of holes or apertures comprising 25% to 60% of the surface area of the panels which allow air to pass between the inside of a crib and the outside environment. One or more fasteners are used to secure the one or more panels to the sides of a crib, e.g., slats of a crib.

In alternative further embodiments, the felt material may be a synthetic material such as polyester felt or can be a natural material such as wool felt, including wool felt composed of wool fibers which have been subject to heat and pressure or the wool felt may be formed using needle punching wool fibers.

The present invention, in one form, is directed to a protective material for surrounding an infant's crib. The material includes at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape and composed of felt. The panel has a plurality of apertures formed completely through the material and the apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the panel. The panel has sufficient rigidity so that when positioned upward, the panel remains in the upright position when held from a bottom of the panel. At least one fastener is provided for securing the panel to the side of a crib.

The present invention, in another form, is directed to a particular material for surrounding an infant's crib. The material includes at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape. The panel forms four sides of a rectangular box to be disposed inside a crib adjacent its sides. The panel is composed of felt and has a plurality of apertures formed completely through the material. The apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the panel. The panel has sufficient rigidity so that when positioned upright and held from a bottom edge thereof, the panel remains in the upright position. A plurality of fasteners secure the panel to the crib.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a crib with a protective material surrounding the interior of the crib in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of two panels of a protective material in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another panel of the protective material in accordance with the present invention having a different aperture pattern from the panels of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another panel having a different aperture pattern in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5a and 5b comprise two die-cut panels in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a protective material, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the figures and in particular FIG. 1. Protective material 10 surrounds the interior of crib 20 adjacent slats 21 and directly above mattress 22. Protective material 10 is composed of four discrete panels 11, 12, 13, 14. The length of the end panels 11, 13 are in the range of 20 to 30 inches and the length of the side panels 12, 14 are between 40 and 60 inches. The height of the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 is between 5 and 15 inches with a preferred height of 10 inches. The thickness of the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 is between ¼ inches and ¾ inches.

A plurality of fasteners such as ties 16 extend from the plurality of panels 11, 12, 13, 14 and are tied to adjacent slats 22 of the crib 20.

The protective material 10 is advantageously formed from either synthetic or natural felt. One advantage of using felt is that it provides a balance of allowing holes or apertures 17 to be either die-cut or laser-cut completely through the material. In addition, felt provides sufficient rigidity at a reasonable thickness, e.g., between ¼ inch and ¾ inches in thickness. Sufficient rigidity is defined as allowing the material to stand upright and not flop over when placed upright and held from a bottom edge, e.g., edge 11b. In addition, felt is soft to the touch and thus the felt material forms a pleasant material to be in contact with an infant's skin.

The synthetic felt material can be made of polyester, polypropylene, Nylon or acrylic with polyester being one advantageous material. The natural felt can be wool felt including a non-woven material made by compressing wool fibers using heat pressure and optionally moisture. Alternatively, the wool felt can be formed from needle punched wool fibers.

The plurality of apertures 17 completely through the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 allow for the exchange of air from inside the interior of the crib to the outside environment. Advantageously, the apertures 17 are formed using the technique of die-cutting or laser-cutting the felt material. One advantage of using die-cut or laser-cut felt is that the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 can be composed of a single material of a single layer, namely the felt material which is cut without requiring an additional material to provide rigidity to the respective panels such as a mesh or backing material. Further, a separate soft to the touch facing material or layer is not needed. As a result, a single continuous piece of felt forms the respective panels 11, 12, 13, 14.

In an alternative embodiment, rather than felt material, the panels 11, 12, 13, 14 may be composed of EVA foam or polyurethane foam.

The arrangement and pattern or design of the apertures 17 may vary based on aesthetics. Advantageously, between 25% to 60% of the surface area of the respective panels 11, 12, 13, 14 comprise the holes, and preferably between 30% and 50%. This allows for a sufficient transfer of heat and air from inside the crib to the outside environment.

A number of non-limiting patterns of apertures are shown in FIGS. 1-5b. Referring to FIGS. 2-5b, where like elements to those in FIG. 1 have been increased by 100, respectively, in FIG. 2 side panel 112 and panel 113 has a flower pattern 118. A plurality of ties 116 extend from a top and bottom edge of the panels 112, 113 for securing the panels 112, 113 to a crib. In alternative patterns, FIG. 3 shows panels 212, 213 having a dot pattern 218 and FIG. 4 shows side panels 312, 313 having a links pattern 318. In yet another alternative pattern, FIGS. 5a and 5b show panels 412, 512, respectively, having pattern 518.

Referring to FIG. 6, in an alternative embodiment, instead of four discrete panels, the protective material may be composed of a single panel 610 having a series of foldably attached segments 611, 612, 613, 614, via fold lines 615. A total length of panel 610 is between 100 and 200 inches. The segments 611, 612, 613, 614 are folded at fold line 615, 90 degrees, to thereby form four sides of a substantially rectangular box which is then placed inside the crib. Accordingly, each fold line 615 forms a respective corner of an assembled bumper.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected in these preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A protective material for surrounding an infant's crib, said material comprising:

at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape, the panel composed of felt and having a plurality of apertures formed completely through the at least one panel, the plurality of apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the at least one panel, the panel having sufficient rigidly so that when positioned upright, and held from a bottom edge thereof, the panel remains in said position; and

at least one fastener for securing the at least one panel to a crib.

2. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the at least one panel comprises four foldably attached segments, each of the four segments are folded inward, 90 degrees relative to an adjacent segment to thereby form four sides of a substantially rectangular box.

3. The protective material of claim 1, the wherein the at least one panel comprises four discrete segments, each of the four discrete segments positioned to form four sides of a substantially rectangular box.

4. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the at least one panel comprises two pairs of panels, wherein respective panels of each pair are disposed opposite each other to form the four sides of a rectangular box.

5. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the felt material is synthetic felt.

6. The protective material of claim 5, wherein the synthetic felt material is polyester felt.

7. The protective material of claim 5, wherein the felt material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, Nylon, and acrylic.

8. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the felt material is wool felt.

9. The protective material of claim 8, wherein the wool felt material is composed of wool fibers having been subjected to heat and pressure.

10. The protective material of claim 8, wherein the wool felt is composed of needle-punched wool fibers.

11. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the at least one panel comprises two pairs of panels, wherein respective panels of each pair are disposed opposite each other to form the four sides of a rectangular box.

12. The protective material of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fasteners for securing the at least on panel to the crib.

13. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the felt is selected from the group consisting of die-cut felt and laser-cut felt, in which the die-cutting or laser-cutting, respectively, produced the plurality of apertures.

14. The protective material of claim 1, wherein the at least on panel has a length of about 100-200 inches, a height of 5-15 inches and a thickness from ¼ to ¾ inches.

15. A protective material for surrounding an infant's crib, said material comprising:

at least one panel having a substantially rectangular shape, said at least on panel forming four sides of a rectangular box to be disposed about an inside of a crib, adjacent its sides;

the panel composed of felt and having a plurality of apertures formed completely through the at least one panel, the plurality of apertures comprise between 25% and 60% of the surface area of the at least one panel, the panel having sufficient rigidly so that when positioned upright, and held from a bottom edge thereof, the panel remains in said position; and

a plurality of fasteners for securing the at least one panel to the crib.

16. The protective material of claim 15, wherein the felt material is synthetic felt.

17. The protective material of claim 16, wherein the synthetic felt material is polyester felt.

18. The protective material of claim 15, wherein the felt material is wool felt.

19. The protective material of claim 18, wherein the wool felt material is composed of wool fibers having been subjected to heat and pressure.

20. The protective material of claim 15, wherein the felt is selected from the group consisting of die-cut felt and laser-cut felt, in which the die-cutting or laser-cutting, respectively, produced the plurality of apertures.

21. The protective material of claim 15, wherein the at least one panel comprises four foldably attached segments, each of the four segments are folded inward, 90 degrees relative to an adjacent segment to thereby form four sides of the substantially rectangular box.

22. The protective material of claim 15, wherein the at least one panel comprises four discrete segments, each of the four discrete segments positioned to form four sides of a substantially rectangular box.

23. The protective material of claim 22, wherein each of the panels are formed from a respective continuous piece of felt.

24. The protective material of claim 15, wherein at least on panel is formed from a continuous piece of felt.