Field of Search:
269/322,328 128/134,1R,133 5/317,92,82 250/54,55
Claims:
I claim
1. A securement for an infants' dressing table comprising
2. having three slots arranged to receive the straps, and
3. being positioned on the dressing table top near the middle thereof, said straps extending down through the adjacent outside slot in the fastener and both straps being looped back up through the middle slot therein so that when the two straps are pulled taut, the fastener constitutes a non-sliding anchor point near the middle of the dressing table top; and
4. The securement defined in claim 1 wherein
5. The securement defined in claim 1 wherein the removable securing means is a buckle
6. The securement defined in claim 3 wherein the buckle is secured by means of a heat-sealed loop in the strap.
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to juvenile furniture. It relates more particularly to an improved safety securement for an infant's dressing table.
Present day changing and dressing tables for babies are usually outfitted with a safety strap for holding the baby on the table while the mother's attention is momentarily diverted for one reason or another. The simplest type of conventional securement consists of a pair of straps which are anchored at one end at opposite sides of the dressing table and whose other ends buckle together in some fashion. That type of arrangement is not satisfactory because the strap does not snugly encircle the baby. Rather, the infant is free to move sideways under the strap and in some cases he can slide out from under the strap.
Another type of securement which we are aware of consists of four separate strap sections and three double-slot fasteners. One strap is passed through one slot of each of two fasteners and then both ends of the straps are secured to the underside of the table at opposite sides thereof. A second short section of strap is passed through the other slot of the same two fastners and is heat sealed to itself to make a closed loop. This forms an anchoring point at the center of the dressing table for a third strap which is passed through the same two slots in the aforesaid two fasteners. The free ends of the third strap are engaged around the waist of the baby and fastened together with a two-slot fastener.
While this arrangement securely holds the baby, it is relatively expensive, involving, as it does, four separate lengths of strap and three separate fasteners. Moreover, the anchoring point at the center of the dressing table is fairly bulky and could cause some discomfort to the baby.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide a securement for an infant's dressing table which is relatively inexpensive to make.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a securement which has minimum bulk and should be less of a source of discomfort to an infant.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a securement for an infant's dressing table which has a relatively few number of separate parts and hence is inexpensive to make.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
The securement is designed for use on an infant's dressing table having a flat, preferably padded, surface. A table such as this is disclosed in application Ser. No. 103,956, filed Jan. 4, 1971, entitled Infant's Dressing Table. It comprises a pair of straps which are secured at one end underneath opposite sides of the dressing table. Each strap is then passed down through the side slots of a special three-slot fastener which will be described in detail later. Each strap is then passed up through a center slot in the fastener and pulled taut so that the fastener is retained by the two straps near the middle of the dressing table top. The fastener now provides a non-slidable anchor point at the center of the dressing table.
In use, the free ends of the two straps are engaged around the waist of the baby and buckled together using a conventional two-slot fastener. With this arrangement, the safety strap snugly encircles the infant's waist so that he cannot slip out. Furthermore, although he is held firmly right at the center of the table, he can turn and roll to some extent about the anchoring point so that he still has freedom of movement.
The present arrangement has fewer parts than conventional securing straps and requires fewer heat seals to secure the straps so that its cost is relatively low.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, showing an infant's dressing table outfitted with a safety securement embodying the principles of this invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the securement in greater detail;
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the three-slot fastener shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing the two-slot fasteners used to buckle the straps around the baby.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a conventional infant's dressing table 10 has a flat top surface 10a. Preferably, a pad 12 covers the top for the baby's comfort. The improved securement is shown generally at 14 restraining an infant shown in dotted lines at 17 near the middle of the table. While the securement 14 holds the baby securely in place, the child is still able to roll and turn so that he does not lack freedom of movement, a condition which might tend to frustrate him.
Turning now to FIG. 2, the securement 14 is composed of a pair of straps 16 and 18. One end of each strap is secured underneath the table top 10a at opposite sides of the table. Thus, in FIG. 1, the end 18a of strap 18 is anchored at a point underneath the right hand side of the table by a screw 22. The corresponding end of strap 16 is anchored in a similar fashion underneath the opposite side of table top 10a.
The free ends 16b and 18b of the straps 16 and 18 are then brought up around the sides of pad 12 and passed through a special three-slot fastener 24 positioned near the middle of pad 12. As best seen in FIG. 3, fastener 24 has three slots 26a, 26b, and 26c, the slots being somewhat longer than the straps are wide. The free ends of straps 16 and 18 are passed down through the side slots 26b and 26c respectively. Then strap 16 is looped up through the center slot 26a. When the two straps are pulled apart, the fastener 24 is retained and forms a secure, non-sliding anchoring point at the center of pad 12.
Means are provided for securing together the free ends 16b and 18b of the two straps when it is desired to restrain the baby 17 as shown in FIG. 1. More particularly, a conventional two-slot buckle type fastener 28 is secured to the end of strap 16. As best seen in FIG. 4, fastener 28 includes a pair of slots 32a and 32b. The strap end 16b is passed up through slot 32a and then down through slot 32b. The end 16b of the of the strap is then folded back on itself and then anchored to itself by heat seals 34.
When it is desired to use the dressing table, the infant is placed on the pad 12 on top of fastener 24 as shown in FIG. 1. Following this, the free ends of the straps 16 and 18 are brought up around to the baby's waist. The strap end 18b is then passed up through the fastener slot 32b and down through the fastener slot 32a. When the strap end 18b is pulled fairly tight, the straps 16 and 18 snugly encircle the baby's body so that he cannot slide free; yet, he still has a degree of freedom of movement on the table.
The present arrangement has only three parts, not including the conventional buckle 28. Moreover, these parts are relatively inexpensive, the straps 16 and 18 being made of plastic and fasteners 24 and 28 consisting of simple metal stampings. In additon, the anchoring point at the center of the dressing table is not bulky and the relatively soft straps 16 and 18 are situated between the metal fastener 24 and the baby's back. Therefore the arrangement should cause no discomfit to the infant.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.