Sanitary pad for nursery chairs

Application filed February 23, 1928. Serial No. 256,077.

The present invention relates to sanitary pads for nursery chairs.

Heretofore it has been found practically impossible to use nursery chairs for small 5 infants, say from about four to twelve months of age, even though they are able to sit up, because an infant of such age will not sit still on the chair but naturally wriggles and turns thereon, with the result that its skin, which 10 at that age is very tender, is chafed and rendered so sore and uncomfortable that the infant will dread the chair and will not willingly sit thereon again and if it is forced to do so will squirm more than before because of 15 the discomfort and thus increase the irritation.

It is, of course, necessary for an infant to sit on such a chair at regular intervals and, in the beginning, for· a considerable period ²⁰ at each time, in order to induce natural movements, establish control of elimination, and form the desired habit Of regularity. But the conditions above referred to make it difficult, if not impossible to meet these requirements. ²⁵ Moreover, because of the discomfort, the infant will not relax when sitting on the chair, as is essential from a physiological standpoint in inducing normal functioning. The seat of the chair being hard and unyielding ³⁰ also causes the infant to be tense, in which state it tends to strain in an effort to get the ordeal over as quickly as possible, but this tendency, as is well known, not only retards the formation of the desired habit but is like³⁵ ly to be injurious.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing difficulties and make it possible to use a nursery chair for an infant of but a few months of age and to readily ⁴⁰ train an infant by means of such a chair to develop the desired habit much sooner than heretofore.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad for a nursery chair, which provides ⁴⁵ a broad and effective support for an infant seated thereon, which is soft and yielding and comfortable for a small infant to sit upon, which induces it to sit still and relax there„ oh and has sufficient give to eliminate, or at least minimize and ease, any straining, which can be readily regulated to have different degrees of softness and yieldability, which adapts itself to and fits the infant’s body and tends to support it in proper position, which has a surface that is not harsh to and does 55 not irritate a tender skin, which may be readily attached and detached from the chair as occasion requires, and which is sanitary and can be easily and quickly cleaned when necessary. 60

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain novel features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the device hereinafter set forth, 65 and pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawing—

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating one embodiment of my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view there- 70 of, the section being taken on the line 2—2 of Fig. 1.

According to my invention I provide a pad 1 adapted to rest upon and cover substantially the entire area of the seat of a nursery 75 chair (not shown) to provide a broad support for an infant seated thereon to distribute the weight of the infant and to prevent it from squirming out of position on the pad, the pad being formed with a central toilet opening 2 80 for registry with the usual opening through such seat and the toilet opening being preferably elongated in order better to fit the infant’s body. The pad is formed of sheet rubber, rubberized fabric or other suitable mate- 85 rial or substance which is flexible and normally substantially limp, which is waterproof and air-tight, and which has a smooth outer surface that will not irritate a tender skin. There are upper and lower sheets 3 and 4, °0 the marginal portions of which are cemented or otherwise suitably joined together, as indicated at 5, along the outer edge or perimeter of the pad, and the inner edges of which are similarly secured together to form a joint 95 6 within and extending around the wall of the central opening 2. The joints are made air-tight, and the sheets 3 and 4 are free and unattached between such joints, so that the pad is inflatable to form an air-cushion which 100

1,746,963 is soft and yielding and comfortable for an infant to sit upon.

A valve 7 is provided, preferably in the outer edge of the pad and at one corner 5 thereof so that it will be conveniently accessible for inflating or deflating the pad and also will be out of the way when the pad is in use. By means of the valve the amount of air within the pad can be readily 10 regulated in order that the pad may have different degrees of softness and yieldability, according as would be most comfortable for an infant to induce it to sit still and relax thereon, and to afford sufficient give to elim15 inate, or at least minimize and ease, any strain. By virtue of this construction and arrangement the pad also adapts itself to and fits the infant’s body and tends to support it in proper position on the nursery 20 chair. In this connection it is to be noted that the upper . surface of the pad slopes, when inflated, downwardly and inwardly toward the central opening 2, which assists in supporting the infant, and also tends to keep 25 it from wriggling out of proper position.

It is also desirable to hold the pad on the chair against accidental displacement in order to insure of the central opening 2 being kept in registry with the opening in the chair 30 seat, as well as to prevent any danger of the pad slipping and causing the infant to fall off of the nursery chair. As one means of accomplishing this a plurality of rings 8 are arranged at intervals along the outer 35 edge of the pad, preferably at the corners thereof, and suitably secured thereto as by means of strips passing through the rings with their end portions cemented or otherwise permanently attached to the pad. These 40 rings mav be used for attaching tapes (not shown) for fastening the pad to the back, sides or other suitable portions of the nursery chair in order that it may be readily secured thereto and detached therefrom as 45 occasion requires. To further prevent the pad from slipping it may be made substantially of the size and shape of the chair seat so that it will fit snugly between the sides of the chair and between the back thereof 50 and the front edge of the seat, so that the sides and back will limit its movement and hold it against displacement. To this end and also to cover substantially the entire area of the chair seat, the pad is perferably of sub55 stantially rectangular form, as shown.

By having the joints 5 and 6 located as above described they are entirely out of the way and leave the supporting surface of the pad free and unobstructed. Hence, the 60 tender skin of an infant sitting upon the pad will not come in contact with such joints, which might result in chafing and irritation. Furthermore, the pad is rendered reversible, and if the upper surface should be punc65 tured and require a patch'the pad may be turned over and the opposite side used to sit upon and to afford a smooth and nonirritating surface.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the manner of using my improved pad will be obvious. It will be seen that I have provided a device which will materially increase the usefulness and comfort of nursery chairs, which is sanitary and can be easily and quickly cleaned when necessary, 75 which may be easily and cheaply manufactured, which when deflated will be substantially flat and compact and can be folded or rolled into a small size for convenience in shipment or carrying about with an infant’s so paraphernalia, and which is simple and durable in construction and not likely to get out of order.

While the pad preferably entirely surrounds and encloses the central opening 2, 35 it is understood that this is not essential and that various changes may be made in the combinations of elements and in the size, shape, form and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and scope of the 90 invention as defined in the appended claim.