GB2316866A

GB2316866A - A support mat for infants

Info

Publication number: GB2316866A
Application number: GB9618586A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Walter Leslie Allen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-09-04
Filing date: 1996-09-04
Publication date: 1998-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-04
Also published as: GB9618586D0; GB2316866B

Abstract

An infant support mat 10 comprises a first circular region 12 surrounded by a second radially outwardly extending region 14. The first region 12 has a first surface 16 to support an infant with the second region 14 having a second surface 18 which slopes upwardly from the first surface 16. The mat is made of a cushioning material, eg polyurethane foam, and is particularly suitable for supporting an infant in the age range of 4 to 7 months. In use, the mat supports the infant whilst he is learning to sit upright, the raised second region providing extra cushioning should he fall over with the slope acting to keep toys within his reach. The mat may be rectangular rather than circular.

Description

A support mat for infants This invention relates to support mats for infants.

At ages of between 4 and 7 months, infants are slowly learning to sit upright. At this stage in their development, they can easily lose their balance and topple over, often banging their heads on the ground.

Also, at this age, when they have not yet learned to crawl, any toys with which they are playing can often be knocked out of the child's reach causing frustration to the infant.

According to this invention there is provided a support mat for an infant comprising a first cushioning region having a first surface for supporting an infant, and a second cushioning region having a second surface for supporting the infant, the second region extending outwardly from the first region and the second surface extending above the first surface.

Preferably, the second surface slopes upwardly from the first surface.

Preferably, the first and second regions are formed of a cushioning material, for example polyurethane or other suitable foamed plastics material.

The first region may be substantially circular in plan and the second region may extend radially outwardly from the first region. Alternatively, the first region may be of rectangular configuration and the second region may also be of rectangular configuration extending around the first region. It will be appreciated that the first region may be of any appropriate shape and the second region may also be of any appropriate shape.

The angle of slope of the second surface may be between 5 and 200, preferably between 5 and 150 and, more preferably, between 5 and 100, for example 7-9 .

The first region may be integral with the second region. Alternatively, the first region may be separate from the second region to be arranged together therewith when desired. The first region and/or for the second region may be foldable or may be provided in two or more pieces to allow easy storage.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mat; Fig. 2 is a view along the lines ll-ll of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment; and Fig. 4 is a view along the lines IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2, there is shown an infant support mat 10, which is particularly suitable for supporting an infant in the age range of 4 to 7 months. The mat 10 comprises a first region 12 which is of substantially circular configuration in plan, and a second region 14 extending radially outwardly from the first region 12.

Referring to Fig. 2, the first and second regions 12,14 are formed of a suitable cushioning material, for example, polyurethane foam. The first region 12 defines a first surface 16 to support an infant thereon. The first surface 16 is substantially planar and enables the infant to play thereon without fear of injury in the event that he or she should fall over. The second region 14 defines a second surface 18 which, as shown in Fig. 2, slopes upwardly from the first surface 16. This provides extra cushioning in the event that the infant's head should strike the second surface 18. Also, the provision of the sloped second surface 18 provides the mat 10 with a dished configuration whereby any toys knocked by the infant onto the second surface will fall down the slope to be returned to an area within reach of the infant. Thus, toys are prevented from being knocked.

The dimensions of the mat 10 can be, for example, as follows. The diameter of the first region 12 can be 16" and the width of the second region (from the outer circumference of the first region to the outer circumference of the mat) can be, for example, 14". The depth of the material from which the first region 12 is made can be, for example 1", and the depth of material at the circumference of the second region 14 can be, for example, 3". The angle of slope of the second surface 18 can be approximately 8Y20.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, there is shown another embodiment of the mat 10 which has similar features to those in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These features have been designated with the same reference numeral.

The embodiments shown in Figs. 3 and 4 differs from that shown in Figs.

1 and 2 only in that the first region 12 and the second region 14 are of a rectangular configuration, whereby the second region 18 extends wholly around the first region 12.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the first and second regions can be of any other suitable configuration to those shown in the drawings and described above.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A support mat for an infant comprising a first cushioning region having a first surface for supporting an infant, and a second cushioning region having a second surface for supporting the infant, the second region extending outwardly from the first region and the second surface extending above the first surface.

2. A support mat according to claim 1 wherein the second region extends substantially wholly around the first region.

3. A support mat according to claim 2, wherein the first region is substantially circular in plan.

4. A support mat according to claim 3, wherein the second region extends radially outwardly from the first region.

5. A support mat according to claim 2, wherein the first region is of rectangular configuration.

6. A support mat according to claim 2, 3 or 5, wherein the second region is of rectangular configuration.

7. A support mat according to any preceding claim, wherein the second surface slopes upwardly from the first surface.

8. A support rnat according to any preceding claim, wherein the angle of slope of the second surface is between 5 and 200.

9. A support mat according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the angle of slope of the second surface is between 5 and 15 .

10. A support mat according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the angle of slope of the second surface is between 5 and 100.

11. A support mat according to any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the angle of slope of the second surface is 7-90.

12. A support mat according to any preceding claim, wherein the first and second regions are formed of a cushioning material.

13. A support mat according to claim 12, wherein the cushioning material is a suitable foamed plastics material.

14. A support mat according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the cushioning material is polyurethane.

15. A support mat according to any preceding claim, wherein the first region is integral with the second region.

16. A support mat according to any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the first region is separate from the second region to be arranged together therewith when desired.

17. A support mat according to any of claim 16, wherein the first region and/or the second region is provided in two or more pieces to allow easy storage.

18. A support mat according to any preceding claim, wherein the first region and/or the second region is foldable.

19. A support mat substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.