JP2024081120A - Infant and toddler bath aids - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a bathing aid for infants being usable depending on a growth state of an infant and having excellent use applications.SOLUTION: A bathing aid for infants comprises: a bath body and a cushion member formed by injecting gas into a flexible bag, where a bathtub is formed of a bath body including a bottom part, a backrest part connected to a rear end of the bottom part, and a side wall part connected to the bottom part and the backrest part. The cushion member includes a cushion part detachably disposed in the bathtub along the backrest part, and the bath body and/or the cushion member further include fixing means for fixing the cushion part to the bathtub.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a bath aid that can be used when washing the bodies of infants and young children.

As disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in a baby bath formed by injecting gas into a flexible bag, the angle of the backrest with respect to the bottom is initially determined.
For example, in Patent Document 1, the angle of the backrest with respect to the bottom is equal to or greater than 130 degrees and equal to or less than 150 degrees, while in Patent Document 2, the slope of the backrest is relatively gentle.
Because users cannot freely adjust the angle of the backrest, for example, if the slope of the backrest is too steep, the space inside the baby bath for a fast-growing infant is likely to become narrow, and the baby bath will only be usable for a short period of time.
On the other hand, if the slope of the backrest is too gentle, the baby's position is likely to become unstable when they start rolling over, making the baby bath unsuitable for a younger age group.
Patent Document 3 discloses a bath chair for infants and young children that is composed of a chair member with an air chamber and a cushion member. However, since this type of bath chair does not have a bathtub, the infant's body is prone to getting cold, and its use is limited to being a seat.

JP 2022-134141 A JP 2008-36036 A Utility Model Registration No. 3210128

The present invention aims to provide a bath aid for infants and toddlers that can be used according to the infant's developmental stage and has excellent usability.

The baby bath aid of the present invention comprises a bath body and a cushion member formed by injecting gas into a flexible bag, the bathtub being formed by the bottom of the bath body, a backrest connected to the rear end of the bottom, and side walls connected to the bottom and the backrest, the cushion member having a cushion portion detachably disposed in the bathtub along the backrest, and the bath body and/or the cushion member further having a fixing means for fixing the cushion portion to the bathtub.

This baby bath aid can be used for a relatively long period of time according to the baby's development, for example, by using the bath body without the cushion attached as a bathing device when the baby is newborn, attaching the cushion part to stabilize the baby's position when the baby begins to roll over, and then removing the cushion part to expand the space as the baby grows.
In addition to being able to fill the bathtub with hot or cold water for bathing or showering, it can also be used as a seat by filling the bottom with a little hot water to warm the body.
By fixing the cushion portion to the bathtub, the present invention can prevent the mounting state of the cushion portion from becoming unstable due to the parent's movements relative to the baby, the baby's own movements, the hot water, etc.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cushion portion is fixed to the backrest portion in a state spaced apart from the bottom portion.
By fixing the cushion part in a state spaced apart from the bottom, it becomes easier to prevent the cushion part from being lifted up by the buoyancy of water accumulating at the bottom, making it easier to achieve a more stable wearing state.

In the present invention, the cushion portion and the backrest portion may be configured such that one of them is connected to an arm portion and the other is restrained.
For example, a pair of arms may be connected to both the left and right sides of the cushion portion.
Alternatively, the tip ends of a pair of arms may be engaged with each other to form a generally annular shape by the cushion portion and the arms.

As an example, the cushion portion and the backrest portion may have a locking portion on an arm portion connected to one of them, and a locked portion on the other that is locked to the locking portion.
For example, a pair of arms connected to the cushion portion may have locking portions, and a side surface or rear surface of the backrest may have an engaged portion.
In this case, with the cushion part in contact with the front side of the backrest, the pair of arms are pulled to the rear side of the backrest, and the locking parts on the arm parts are locked with the locking parts on the backrest, thereby fixing the cushion part to the backrest.
This gives the appearance of the backrest being hugged by the cushion and arms, giving the user a cute impression and excellent aesthetic appeal.

As another example, the cushion portion and the backrest portion may be configured such that one of them is supported by an arm portion connected to the other.
For example, the cushion portion and the backrest portion can be fixed by constraining the backrest portion within the substantially annular shape formed by the cushion portion and the arm portions.
In this case, for example, a pair of protrusions may be formed in the vertical direction on the back side of the backrest, and the arm portion may be disposed between the pair of protrusions to suppress vertical movement of the arm portion, thereby making the attached state of the cushion portion more stable.

The infant bath auxiliary device of the present invention has a detachable cushion portion inside the bathtub of the bath body, and can be used according to the growth stage of the infant. As the cushion portion is fixed to the bathtub, it is easy to keep the attachment state stable while avoiding the influence of the infant or hot water, etc.
This baby bath aid can be used not only for bathing by filling the bathtub with hot water, but also as a chair when the bathtub is filled with a small amount of hot water.

As a structural example of a baby bath aid according to the present invention, (a) is a front perspective view of the aid when not worn, and (b) is a front perspective view of the aid when worn. 1A shows a plan view of the mounted state, and FIG. 1B shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line A-A. 1A to 1C are partial rear views illustrating the mounting method. FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a partial rear perspective view of a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a partial rear perspective view of a fourth embodiment.

The baby bath aid according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
As a first embodiment, FIG. 1(a) shows a bus body 1 and a cushion member 20 in an unattached state, FIGS. 1(b), 2(a), and (b) show the attached state, and FIGS. 3(a) to (c) show partial rear views explaining a method for attaching the cushion member 20.
The bus body 1 and the cushion member 20 are each formed three-dimensionally by injecting a gas such as air into a flexible bag made of a resin sheet such as polyvinyl chloride resin.

When gas is injected into the bath body 1 as shown in FIG. 1(a), the bathtub is formed by a bottom 2, a backrest 3 connected to the rear end of the bottom, and a side wall 4 connected to the bottom and backrest, and further includes a crotch support 5 protruding upward from the bottom 2 and support legs 6 on the underside of the rear surface of the backrest 3.
The inside of the bathtub refers to the space roughly formed by the upper surface 2a of the bottom, the front surface 3a of the backrest, and the inner surface 4a of the side wall, and is the space for accommodating infants and small children within the bath body 1.
The front surface 3a of the backrest portion includes not only the lower side (the curved portion 11 side described later) that comes into contact with the water stored in the bathtub, but also the upper side (the inclined portion 12a described later) that is located above the side wall portion 4.
On the other hand, the cushion member 20 has a cushion portion 21 that can be placed in the bathtub when gas is injected therein, and an arm portion 22 connected to the cushion portion.

The bottom 2 has a plurality of gas chambers 7 formed inside by partially welding the resin sheets on the upper and lower sides, and the gas chambers are connected to each other, so that gas injected from one location can be filled into each gas chamber.
As shown in FIG. 2(a), this embodiment has rod-shaped gas chambers 7a, 7c extending to both the left and right ends of the bathtub, and a collection 7b of multiple other gas chambers, and a drain plug 8 is provided on the front end side of the bottom 2.
As shown in FIG. 2(b), a backrest 3 is connected to the rear end of the nearly horizontal bottom 2, and a hanging portion 9 is formed on the outside of the front end of the bottom 2, which is outside the bathtub, which can be used for drying or storing the bath body 1.

The crotch support portion 5 is connected to approximately the center of the assembly 7b and is disposed slightly forward of the center in the front-rear direction and approximately in the center in the left-right direction with respect to the bottom portion 2.
This embodiment has a first air vent hole at the upper end of the crotch support part 5 through which gas can be injected, and a first blocking plug 5a that blocks this air vent hole, and is equipped with a first pump mechanism in the crotch support part 5 and the assembly 7b.
By providing a first pump mechanism equipped with a valve to prevent gas from escaping inside the crotch support part and the assembly, gas can be injected into the gas chamber by pressing down the crotch support part 5 with the first air vent open.
As shown in FIG. 2(a), the assembly 7b is welded symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the crotch support portion 5 in a generally wave-like shape, and a plurality of small gas chambers are formed around the crotch support portion 5.
As a result, even if the first pump mechanism is disposed inside the assembly 7b, the thickness of the bottom portion does not differ significantly from the thickness of the gas chambers 7a and 7c.
In this embodiment, the crotch support portion 5 is substantially cylindrical, and supports the crotch and buttocks of an infant.

The backrest portion 3 is formed continuously with the rear end of the bottom portion 2 and has a plurality of gas chambers 10 therein.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the gas chamber 7c at the rear end side of the bottom portion 2 communicates with the gas chamber 10 in the backrest portion 3, and this gas chamber 10 communicates with the gas chamber in the support leg portion 6.
Therefore, the gas injected through the ventilation hole in the crotch support portion 5 causes the crotch support portion 5, the bottom portion 2, the backrest portion 3, and the support leg portion 6 to be formed three-dimensionally.
The backrest 3 has a curved portion 11 on the bottom 2 side that forms a roughly gentle arc, and an inclined portion 12 that rises upward and rearward from the curved portion.
For example, the curved portion 11 may be a lower portion that is about one-fourth to three-tenths of the height H of the backrest 3 (approximately the height from the lower surface of the base 2 to the upper end of the backrest 3).
In addition, the inclined portion 12 may have an upper portion 12 a (hereinafter, also referred to as the inclined portion 12 a ) that is approximately one-third to one-half of the inclined portion 12 protruding upward from the upper end portion 4 c of the side wall portion 4 .

The support leg 6 is connected to the rear side of the curved portion 11 and has a connecting portion 6a that protrudes slightly downward and rearward from the curved portion 11, and a support piece 6b that is approximately triangular in side view and extends rearward from this connecting portion.
When a force is applied from the front side of the backrest 3, the connecting portion 6a acts as a fulcrum, bringing the rear side of the backrest 3 and the support piece 6b closer together, making it easier for the backrest 3 to be supported by the support leg 6.
As shown in FIG. 2( a ), the support legs 6 may extend longer in the left-right direction than the bottom 2 and the backrest 3 .
Such support legs 6 can stably support the backrest 3 and the cushion member 20 even when the cushion member 20 is attached to the backrest 3.
In the bathtub, the baby's lower body is supported mainly on the bottom 2 and the upper body is supported on the backrest 3.
Depending on the growth rate of the baby, the baby's back may be positioned on the gas chamber 7c at the rear end of the bottom, or the buttocks may be positioned on the curved portion 11 of the backrest.

The side wall portion 4 is generally U-shaped in plan view, erected so as to surround the bottom portion 2 and the backrest portion 3, and has a plurality of gas chambers 16, 17 which communicate with each other inside.
As shown in FIG. 1( b ), gas chambers 16 extending vertically (up and down) are arranged in the front-to-back direction on both the left and right sides of the bottom 2, while gas chambers 17 extending horizontally (front and back) are arranged in parallel in the up and down direction on the backrest 3 side. The vertical gas chambers 16 provide strength, while the horizontal gas chambers 17 make it easy for parents to wrap their arms around the back of an infant.
In addition, the side wall portion 4 in this embodiment has a second air vent hole on the front outer surface through which gas can be injected, and a second blocking plug 4b that blocks this air vent hole, and a second pump mechanism equipped with a valve to prevent gas from being discharged is provided on the inside.
With this, by pressing the front side of the side wall portion 4 with the second ventilation port open, gas can be injected into the entire side wall portion 4.

The cushion member 20 is a separate bag from the bus body 1, and has a pair of arms 22 connected to the left and right sides of a cushion portion 21 that is generally elliptical when viewed from the front.
The cushion portion 21 has a flat portion 21a at approximately the center, and a three-dimensional portion 21b that bulges out in a substantially annular shape along the periphery of the flat portion.
The flat portion 21a is formed by welding the resin sheets together as a whole and does not have a gas chamber, whereas the three-dimensional portion 21b is formed three-dimensionally and has a gas chamber inside, so that the flat portion 21a is recessed inward of the three-dimensional portion 21b.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the rear side of the three-dimensional portion 21b is provided with an air vent 24 for injecting and discharging gas, and a hook 25 that can be used when drying or storing the cushion member 20.
The left-right width of the planar portion 21a is preferably such that the head of an infant can be accommodated therein.
As shown in FIG. 2(b), the cushion portion 21 may be attached so that approximately 3/5 to 4/5 of its lower portion faces the backrest portion 3, and its thickness (front-to-back width) may be the same as that of the inclined portion 12 or may be thinner than that of the inclined portion.

As shown in FIG. 3( a ), the arm portion 22 is in the shape of a band made by welding together resin sheets as a whole, and one end side 22 a is fixed to the back side of the three-dimensional portion 21 b. The other end side, which is the open end, can rotate and move back and forth, up and down, etc., with the one end side 22 a as a fulcrum.
When fixing the cushion portion 21 to the backrest portion 3, the arm portion 22 may be connected above the center in the vertical direction of the cushion portion 21 so that the arm portion 22 can be easily aligned along the side and back of the inclined portion 12a.
In this embodiment, a locking portion 23 is provided on the rear surface of the other end of the arm portion 22, and a locked portion 14 is provided on the rear surface of the inclined portion 12a in a corresponding manner.
The locking portion 23 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and has a locking projection 23a that protrudes rearward from approximately the center.
The locked portion 14 has an insertion hole 14a into which the locking protrusion 23a can be inserted, and a locked hole 14b which has approximately the same diameter as the locking protrusion 23a and communicates with the insertion hole 14a, and the periphery of each hole is covered with an elastic material.

A method for mounting the cushion portion 21 inside the bathtub body 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in Figure 3 (a), the cushion portion 21 is inserted into the bathtub, and as shown in (b), with the three-dimensional portion 21b of the cushion portion abutting the front of the inclined portion 12, the pair of arms 22 are pulled along the side of the inclined portion 12a to the rear side, and the locking protrusion 23a is inserted into the insertion hole 14a.
As shown in FIG. 3C, the locking protrusions 23a are slid into the locking holes 14b located on the outer sides of the insertion holes 14a in the left-right direction.
The engaging portion 23 and the engaged portion 14 are prevented from shifting in position by their elastic materials abutting against each other, and the arm portion 22 can be firmly fixed to the inclined portion 12.
This allows the cushion portion 21 (the three-dimensional portion 21b) to maintain a state in which it abuts against the inclined portion 12 as shown in FIG. 2(b).
In addition, the cushion portion 21 in the attached state may be in contact with the bottom portion 2 or the curved portion 11, but it is preferable that the lower end of the cushion portion 21 is located above the curved portion 11.
Compared to leaning against the backrest 3, leaning against the fixed cushion portion 21 makes it easier for the baby's upper body to be kept upright and makes it easier for the baby to see the parent's face.
In addition, although this embodiment is an example in which the arm portion 22 is integrally formed with the cushion portion 21, the arm portion may be formed on the backrest portion 3, in which case the engaging portion may be arranged on the front or side of the cushion portion 21.
Furthermore, the arm portion 22 may be formed of an elastic material, and there is no particular restriction on the material as long as the cushion portion can be fixed to the backrest portion using the arm portion.

Example 2 is shown in FIG.
This embodiment is an example in which the cushion portion 21 has a flat portion 21a inside a three-dimensional portion 21b that is substantially U-shaped when viewed from the front, and no three-dimensional portion is formed below the flat portion.
As a result, when the cushion portion 21 is attached to the bath body 1 (inside the bathtub), the flat surface 21a of the cushion portion is relatively smoothly continuous with the front surface 3a of the backrest and the upper surface 2a of the bottom.

Example 3 is shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the locked portion 14 provided on the rear surface of the backrest portion 3 (inclined portion 12a) has a substantially cylindrical tubular projection 14c into which the locking portion is inserted.
In this case, it is preferable that the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical projection 14c has a locking groove and/or a locking projection, so that the outer side of the locking portion is engaged with this, thereby providing a locking mechanism.
The structures of the locking portion and the locked portion are not limited to those in the first and third embodiments.

Example 4 is shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, a pair of arms 22 connected to a cushion portion 21 are formed in a continuous manner like linked hands, and the cushion portion and the arms form a substantially circular shape.
For example, one of the pair of arm portions 22 may have an engaging portion and the other an engaged portion, so that the open ends of the arm portions 22 can engage with each other.
The cushion portion 21 may be brought into contact with the front surface of the backrest portion 3, and the engaging portion and the engaged portion of the arm portion 22 may be engaged with each other on the rear side of the backrest portion, thereby embracing the backrest portion.
In this case, a pair of protrusions 15 may be formed in the vertical direction on the side or back of the backrest portion 3, and by arranging the arm portion 22 between this pair of protrusions, the vertical movement of the arm portion can be restricted by the protrusions, making the attachment of the cushion portion 21 more stable.

The bus body 1 may further have a third air vent (and a third blockage plug 13) capable of injecting and discharging gas on the rear side of the backrest portion 3 (inclined portion 12) as shown in FIG. 3(a), and gas within the crotch support portion 5, the bottom portion 2, the backrest portion 3, and the support leg portion 6 may be discharged from this air vent.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the outer surface of the side wall portion 4 on the backrest side may have a fourth air vent (and a fourth block plug 18) through which gas can be injected and exhausted, thereby allowing the gas inside the side wall portion 4 to be exhausted, and there is no particular restriction on the position or number of the air vents.
The bath body 1 may, for example, have an interior width from front to back of about 40 to 50 cm, a left to right width of about 25 to 28 cm, a backrest height H of about 34 to 36 cm, a water depth (approximately the height from the upper surface 2a of the bottom 2 to the upper end 4c of the side wall 4) of about 16 to 20 cm, and a support leg 6 with a front to back width of about 15 to 19 cm, a height of about 15 to 19 cm, and a left to right width of about 28 cm to 35 cm, etc.
It is preferable that the depth of the water be approximately 8 cm or less when the cushion portion 21 is not attached and approximately 4 cm or less when the cushion portion 21 is attached when the baby is in the bathtub.
The cushion member 20 may have, for example, a cushion portion 21 that is approximately 35 to 39 cm high and approximately 5 to 7 cm wide from front to back, a flat portion 21a that is approximately 11 cm or more wide from left to right, an arm portion 22 that is approximately 6 cm high and approximately 15 cm wide, and one end side 22a (the portion connected to the three-dimensional portion 21b) that is approximately 2 cm wide from left to right.
Note that front/back, left/right, and up/down (height and depth) correspond to the directions of the arrows (front/back, left/right, up/down) shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 3(a).

1 Bus body 2 Bottom 3 Backrest 4 Side wall 14 Locked part 20 Cushion member 21 Cushion 22 Arm 23 Locking part

Claims (1)

The bathtub includes a body and a cushion member formed by injecting gas into a flexible bag,
the bath body has a bottom, a backrest connected to a rear end of the bottom, and a side wall connected to the bottom and the backrest, and the cushion member has a cushion portion detachably disposed in the bath along the backrest,
The bath body and/or the cushion member further have a fixing means for fixing the cushion part to a bathtub,
The cushion portion has a flat portion approximately in the center when viewed from the front and a three-dimensional portion that bulges approximately in a circular shape along the periphery of the flat portion, the three-dimensional portion abutting the backrest portion and being fixed in a spaced-apart position from the bottom portion, making it easy to maintain the upper body of an infant leaning against the three-dimensional portion in an upright position.

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