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(11) | EP 2 976 973 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | BABY CRIB |
| (57) A baby crib with perimeter walls (1, 2, 3, 4) made of a flexible material and supported
by a frame (10) composed of rid-like element, wherein one of the perimeter walls (4)
of greater longitudinal extent comprises a portion (6) that can be detached from the
adjacent walls (1, 3) and overturned toward the exterior of the crib on the same wall
(4) by being folded around a line (7) substantially parallel to the plane of the bottom
(5) of the crib. The line (7) around which overturning occcurs is spaced from the
bottom (5) of the crib, by the provision of a stationary portion (9). A rod-like element
(21) comprises a pair of opposed sections (22) which extend along the height of said
stationary portion (9) from the plane of the bottom (5) of the crib and at least one
section (23) which extends along at least one middle section of the length of said
stationary wall portion (9).
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[0001] The present invention relates to a baby crib having a substantially rectangular shape, with a bottom having a mattress of conventional thickness and with perimeter walls made of a flexible material, said bottom and said walls being supported by a frame composed of rod-like elements, wherein at least one of the perimeter walls of greater longitudinal extent comprises a portion that can be detached from the adjacent walls and overturned toward the exterior of the crib on the same wall by being folded around a line substantially parallel to the plane of the bottom of the crib, and wherein the frame of the crib has support members (or legs) that can be adjusted to increase and/or decrease the height of the crib.
[0002] Baby cribs of the above mentioned type are well known in the art and may be particularly used next to ad adult bed, namely the bed of the mother or the person who cares for the baby at night, due to the possibility of adapting the height of the crib to the height of the bed (to create a seamless, stepless surface).
[0003] The crib wall portion that can be detached from the adjacent walls and overturned toward its own wall, will form an opening through which the person who cares for the baby may access the baby without rising from his/her bed.
[0004] While the above structural arrangement provides apparent advantages in addressing nighttime baby-care issues, it still suffers from certain drawbacks, including the problem that, in spite of all the efforts for ensuring that the crib is positioned next to the adult bed with as small a gap as possible therebetween, no one can exclude that, once the wall portion has been overturned, a temporarily unattended baby may come out of the crib through the stationary portion of the wall, which is also made of a flexible material, like that of the overturned portion, and fall within the gap, as small as it is, between the crib and the side of the bed of the adult who is taking care of him/her.
[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a baby crib that has such a structure as to obviate the above mentioned drawback.
[0007] The invention will be now described in greater detail with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of illustration and without limitation, and shown in the annexed drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the crib of the invention, in a form involving its use in a position far from an adult bed;
- Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the crib of the invention, in a form involving its use next to the side of an adult bed;
- Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the support frame of the crib when the latter is in the form of Figure 1;
- Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the support frame of the crib when the latter is in the configuration as shown in Figure 2;
- Figure 5 shows the plan view of the support frame of the crib of Figure 4.
[0008] Referring to the above mentioned figures, the baby crib of the invention has a substantially rectangular plan shape with perimeter walls 1, 2, 3 and 4 made of a flexible material, preferably a textile material. Conventionally, these walls also have paddings in certain portions thereof. The opposed walls 2 and 4 have a greater longitudinal extent than the opposed walls 1 and 3. The crib has a bottom 5 which may accommodate a conventional mattress, not shown, whose thickness, for example ranges from 25 to 70 mm, and is preferably 50 mm. At least one of the perimeter walls of greater longitudinal extent, in the illustrated example the wall 4, comprises a portion 6 that can be detached from the adjacent walls 1 and 3 and overturned toward the exterior of the crib on the same wall 4, by being folded around a line 7 substantially parallel to the plane of the bottom 5 of the crib.
[0009] For this purpose, the wall 4 is connected to the adjacent walls 1 and 3 by means of quick reversible detachment means, such as zippers, schematically referenced 8. The detachable and overturnable portion 6 of the wall 4 contains an area, referenced 6a, of adequate size, made of a transparent flexible material.
[0010] The line 7 around which said portion 6 of the wall 4 is overturned is spaced from the bottom 5 of the crib, by the provision of a stationary portion 9 of the wall 4. The height of the stationary portion 9 relative to the plane of the bottom 5 of the crib, with the addition of the conventional thickness of a mattress, not shown, is such that a substantially cylindrical body having a diameter of about 200 mm, a length of about 300 mm and a weight of about 15 kg, when left free to roll on the crib mattress, assuming the latter is tilted about 15 degrees from the bottom 5, from the side proximate the side wall 2 opposite to that 4 comprising said detachable and overturnable portion 6 toward the stationary portion 9 of the wall, is stopped by the latter.
[0011] As a non-limiting example, the distance of the line 7 from the bottom 5 of the crib ranges from 100 to 250 mm, and is preferably 150 mm.
[0012] The walls, 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the bottom 5 that form together the crib of the invention are supported by a frame composed of rod-like elements, generally referenced 10.
[0013] Referring to Figure 3, the frame 10 is shown in the arrangement that it takes when the crib is in the configuration of Figure 1, i.e. a conventional use, with the portion 6 of the wall not overturned.
[0014] Said frame 10 comprises support members 11, 12, preferably a pair of vertical posts 11 and 12. The vertical posts 11, 12 have an inverted T shape. The transverse arm of the T shape forms the base of the posts.
[0015] Preferably, each transverse arm of the T shape underlying the crib wall 4 with the detachable and overturnable wall portion 6 has a respective end section, 13a, 14a that can be folded at an angle relative to the rod itself, by pivoting about respective pins 13b and 14b.
[0016] This structure of the posts 11 and 12 of the support frame of the crib can reduce the transverse dimensions of the crib at its supports, as more particularly shown in Figure 4, for it to be moved as close as possible to the side of a bed of an adult that may take care of the baby at night without having to get up, by simply overturning the portion 6 of the wall 4.
[0017] The rod-like elements 15 and 16 are fixed to the posts 15 and 16 and are connected by conventional arrangements to the rod-like elements 17 and 18. These elements are connected by conventional arrangements to the upper free edges 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a of the walls 1, 2, 3, 4 of the crib, and are thus supported in their vertical position.
[0018] The posts 11, 12 are configured to increase and/or decrease the height of the crib from the ground, such that the crib and its mattress may be brought to the same height as the mattress of the bed against which the crib is moved. For this purpose, the posts 11, 12 are of telescopic type and have lock members (of conventional and per-se known type) for stable configuration thereof at different heights. As shown in the accompanying figures, the posts 11, 12 are preferably placed at the side walls 1, 3 of smaller extent (those adjacent to the overturnable wall 4). It shall be noted that the columns 11, 12 may be configured to allow the bottom 5 to be tilted relative to the ground.
[0019] Additional rod-like elements 19 and 20, also connected to the posts 11 and 12, act to support the bottom 5 of the crib.
[0020] For the crib to maintain its position once it is moved close to the bed, the crib comprises at least one belt (not shown), which is rigidly joined to the frame and can be closed around an element of the bed. Preferably, the belt is of extensible type (by means of appropriate buckles) and is rigidly joined to the above mentioned rod-like element 20 that supports the bottom 5 of the crib.
[0021] In a preferred aspect of the invention, a rod-like element, generally referenced 21, is connected to the element 20 and extends in the stationary portion 9 of the wall 4 with the detachable and overturnable portion 6. This element 21 comprises a pair of opposed sections 22 which extend along the height of said stationary portion 9 from the plane of the bottom 5 of the crib and at least one section 23 which extends along at least one middle section of the length of said stationary wall portion 9. The middle section 23 is smaller in length than the distance between the two side walls 1, 3 adjacent to the overturnable side wall 4. In other words, the length of the middle section 23 is smaller than the width of the overturnable side wall 4, such that the latter may be overturned and attached to the structure of the crib. The element 21 is preferably inserted into a pocked formed in the stationary wall portiion 9.
[0022] The presence of the element 21 in the portion 9 imparts the required resistance to the latter, when the upper portion 6 of the wall 4 is overturned around the line 7 to provide free access to the plane of the crib by the person that cares for the baby when the crib is next to the bed.
[0023] When the portion 6 of the wall 4 is detached from the adjacent walls 1 and 3 and overturned around the line 7, the ends 18a and 18b of the rod-like element 18 inserted in the free edge 4a of the wall 4 are also detached from the rod-like elements 15 and 16 and later placed on appropriate supports 24 and 25 on the posts 11 and 12 of the support frame.
1. A baby crib having a substantially rectangular plan shape, with a bottom (5) having
a mattress of conventional thickness and with perimeter walls (1, 2, 3, 4) made of
a flexible material, said bottom (5) and said walls (1, 2, 3, 4) being supported by
a frame (10) composed of rod-like elements, wherein at least one of the peripheral
walls (4) of greater longitudinal extent comprises a portion (6) that can be detached
from the adjacent walls (1, 3) and overturned toward the exterior of the crib on the
same wall (4) by being folded around a line (7) substantially parallel to the plane
of the bottom (5) of the crib, said crib further comprising support members (11, 12)
for supporting said frame (10), the bottom (5) and the walls (1, 2, 3, 4) which can
be configured to increase and/or decrease the distance of the bottom (5) from the
ground, additional rod-like elements (19, 20) connected to said support members (11,
12) supporting the bottom (5) of the crib, said line around which said wall portion
(6) is overturned being spaced from the plane of the bottom (5) of the crib by the
provision of a stationary wall portion (9), said frame (10) for supporting the bottom
(5) and the walls (1, 2, 3, 4) of the crib comprising at least one rod-like element
(21) which extends in said stationary portion (9) of the wall (4) with the detachable
and overturnable portion (6), characterized in that said rod-like element (21) comprises a pair of opposed sections (22) which extend
along the height of said stationary portion (9) from the plane of the bottom (5) of
the crib and at least one section (23) that extends along at least one middle section
of the length of said stationary wall section (9).
2. A baby crib as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support members (11, 12) comprise a pair of vertical posts for supporting the
crib, said posts having an inverted T shape, the transverse arm (13, 14) of the T
shape forming the base of the posts, the ends of each transverse arm of the T shape,
underlying the wall (4) of the crib having the detachable and overturnable wall portion
(6) having a section (13a, 14a) that can be folded at an angle relative to the rod
itself.
3. A baby crib as claimed in any of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said support frame (10) for supporting the bottom (5) and the walls (1, 2, 3, 4)
of the crib comprises rod-like elements (15, 16, 17, 18) engaged with the edge of
said peripheral walls, the rod-like element (18) engaged with the edge (4a) of the
wall with the detachable and overturnable portion (6) being adapted to be separated
from the rod-like elements (15, 16) engaged with the other peripheral walls and to
be attached to said posts (11, 12) when said detachable and overturnable portion (6)
is in its overturned position.
4. A baby crib as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flexible material that
forms said peripheral walls (1, 2, 3, 4) of the crib is a padded flexible material.