US20120276805A1

US20120276805A1 - Child Activity Wrap

Info

Publication number: US20120276805A1
Application number: US13/097,475
Authority: US
Inventors: Maria Muscarella
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-04-29
Filing date: 2011-04-29
Publication date: 2012-11-01

Abstract

A child activity wrap comprising a band, where the band wraps around an object; a fastening means attached to an end of the band, where the fastening means secures the band around the object; a mirror attached to a central portion of the band; a plurality of hanging toys attached to the band; and a plurality of attachments fastened to the band, wherein the plurality of attachments connect the plurality of hanging toys to the band to provide entertainment for a child. The child activity wrap may further include textured shapes, and a beam to attach sliding rings for additional stimulating pieces to entertain the child.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an activity center that is worn around the arm of a user to provide toys for a child while being in continuous contact with the user; therefore the toys are never dropped or lost during use.
2. Description of Related Art
Parents and caretakers understand the time commitment associated with caring for an infant or small child. Continuous attention, supervision and interaction are required when attending to the children. The babies need constant stimulation, whether it's from the care taker, a toy, a television, a music player or the like. A common problem caretakers share is being able to perform non-child related tasks while the child is awake. This may be especially difficult when in a public location like a restaurant or a store wherein the normal playthings and stimulus are unavailable. Often the caretaker is unable to eat comfortably or interact with others normally when carrying or entertaining a child in public.
Some devices and aids have been developed to assist a parent or caretaker when caring for an infant. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,091 by Gary W. Mood discloses a wrist attached rattle and educational device for infants wherein a rattle is built into a watch like attachment. The rattle may entertain the child temporarily but the parent must continuously shake their arm to maintain the child's attention. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 7,640,598 by Margot Millik discloses an infant caregiver padded pillow garment wherein a padded pillow is strapped around a caregiver's chest. Various items like rattle, bottles, toys and pacifiers may be attached and suspended from the pillow to entertain the infant while being held. While this device does provide entertainment for the baby, they must be in continuous close contact with the caregiver's chest which may become uncomfortable or interfering if the parent desires to perform other activities. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,861 by Gloria McCall Kanehele discloses an arm mountable child activity device wherein a child activity device anchors to an arm of a caregiver at one end and then is secured against a tabletop or within the caregiver's hand at an opposing end. Multiple sliding and spinning objects are strewn across the device for the child to entertain themselves while sitting at the table or in the caregiver's arms. This device does allow the caregiver to perform other tasks, but the child may become bored with the spinning toys since they are the only ones available on the device.
It would be beneficial in the art to provide a child activity device that is easily worn or carried by a user. It would also be desirable in the art to provide a child activity device that includes many different types of toys and activities attached to the device to continuously stimulate the child while preventing the toys from falling during play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an activity center that is worn around the arm of a user to provide toys for a child while being in continuous contact with the user; therefore the toys are never dropped or lost during use.
An object of the present invention is to provide a child activity device that includes many toys and activities for an infant or child to play with while their caretaker performs other tasks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a child activity device wherein the toys are detachable and may be interchanged with other toys.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a child activity device wherein the device is attachable to many locations like the arm of the caretaker, a crib, a rocker and the like.
To achieve the above objects, in an aspect of the present invention, a child activity wrap is disclosed comprising a band, where the band wraps around an object; a fastening means attached to an end of the band, where the fastening means secures the band around the object; a mirror attached to a central portion of the band; a plurality of hanging toys attached to the band; and a plurality of attachments fastened to the band, wherein the plurality of attachments connect the plurality of hanging toys to the band to provide entertainment for a child. The child activity wrap may further include textured shapes, and a beam to attach sliding rings for additional stimulating pieces to entertain the child.
These together with other aspects of the present invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the present invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part of this present invention. For a better understanding of the present invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a child activity wrap in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention relates to an activity center that is worn around the arm of a user to provide toys for a child while being in continuous contact with the user; therefore the toys are never dropped or lost during use. The present invention provides a child activity wrap to entertain a child while they are being held. The child activity wrap may include many different stimulating toys to entice the child's senses. The toys may be mirrors, hanging toys, sliding rings and textured shapes all of which may be securely attached to the wrap to prevent any of the toys from being lost during use. By entertaining the child without the user's active attention, the user is able to perform other tasks like eating, talking on the phone, using a computer, reading or other activities.
Tuning now descriptively to the drawings, referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a child activity wrap (100) is shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The child activity wrap (100) includes a band (102) that wraps around an object. The object may be an arm of a user, a crib, a playpen or even a piece of furniture. The band (102) may wrap around a wrist, forearm or even upper arm of the user depending on the likes, comfort and preferences of the user. The band (102) may be made from a soft, stretchable, durable fabric like felt, neoprene, canvas, poly poplin and the like. The band (102) extends between two ends, a first end (104) and a second end (106).
To secure the band (102) around the object or the user's arm a fastening means (108) may be attached to the first end (104). The fastening means (108) may be a hook and loop fastener (more commonly known as Velcro®), a clip, a set of snaps, a set of buttons, or a hook and eye closure. The fastening means (108) enables quick and easy attachment of the band (102) so that the user does not have to struggle attaching the child activity wrap (100).
Attached to a central portion of the band (102) may be a mirror (110). The mirror (110) provides an interactive device for a child or infant to look at themselves and the world around them. The mirror (110) may include a plurality of extensions (112) (hereinafter extensions) protruding from around the mirror (110). The extensions (112) may be sunbeams, spider legs, bug legs, star bursts, octopus legs and the like. The extensions (112) may be textured for a stimulating feel against the child's skin. Additionally, textured shapes (120, 122) may be attached to the band (102). The textured shapes (120, 122) may comprise geometric shapes like squares, triangles, circles, hexagons, octagons etc. or miscellaneous shapes like hearts, stars, birds, puzzle pieces, clovers, moons, arrows and other commonly used shaped for children's toys.
Attached at various places along the band (102) are a plurality of hanging toys (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) (hereinafter hanging toys). The hanging toys (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) may be a teething toy (114 a), a rattle (114 b), a vibrating toy (114 c), and a crunchy toy (114 d). The teething toy (114 a) may comprise a circular, square, oval, heart, star or the like shape. The rattle (114 b) may comprise similar shape as the teething toy (114 a) and further include multiple hanging rings. The vibrating toy (114 c) and the crunchy toy (114 d) may comprise stuffed toys such as animals, bugs, dolls, or alien creatures. The vibrating toy (114 c) may include a vibrating mechanism that vibrates when squeezed or triggered by the user. The crunchy toy (114 d) may be made from a fabric or be lined with a material that emits a crinkly or crunchy sound when manipulated.
The hanging toys (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) are suspended from the band (102) by a plurality of toy attachments (116) (herein after toy attachments) which in turn in are attached to the band (102) with a plurality of connection rings (118) (hereinafter connection rings). The toy attachments (116) may be a coil, strap of fabric, or a strip of elastic, which may enable the hanging toy (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) to stretch, spring or bounce toward and away from the band (102). By utilizing the toy attachments (116) the child is able to play with the hanging toys (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) without dropping them or losing them before the next use. The hanging toys (114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d) may be detachable from the toys attachments (116) to enable the user to interchange the types of hanging toys attached to the band (102).
Finally, suspended below the mirror (110) may be a beam (124). The beam (124) extends below the mirror (110) and is attached to the band (102) with a pair of attachment means (128). The pair of attachment means (128) may be shaped as flowers, geometric shapes, or miscellaneous shapes. Looped along the beam (124) may be a plurality of sliding members (126) that slide and spin along the beam (124) to entertain the child. The sliding members (126) may be rings, geometric shapes, miscellaneous shapes and the like. With all of the stimulating attachments positioned along the band (102) the child may be provided with hours of entertainment and the user is assured that none of the pieces will be dropped or lost.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A child activity wrap comprising:

a band, where said band wraps around an object;

a fastening means attached to an end of said band, where said fastening means secures said band around said object;

a mirror attached to a central portion of said band;

a plurality of hanging toys attached to said band; and

a plurality of attachments fastened to said band, wherein said plurality of attachments connect said plurality of hanging toys to said band to provide entertainment for a child.

2. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said object is one of at least an arm, a crib, a playpen and a piece of furniture.

3. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said band includes a plurality of textured shapes.

4. The child activity wrap according to claim 3, wherein said plurality of textured shapes include one of at least a geometric shape and a miscellaneous shape.

5. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means includes one of at least a hook and loop fastener, a set of buttons, a clip, a set of snaps and a hook and eye closure.

6. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said mirror includes a plurality of extensions surrounding said mirror.

7. The child activity wrap according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of extension includes one of at least sunbeams, spider legs, bug legs, star bursts and octopus legs.

8. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said toy attachment is one of at least a fabric strap, a coil and an elastic strip.

9. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of hanging toys include at least one of a teething toy, a rattle, a vibrating toy and a crunchy toy.

10. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said band includes a beam attached below said mirror.

11. The child activity wrap according to claim 10, wherein said beam includes a plurality of sliding members looped along said beam.

12. The child activity wrap according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of hanging toys are detachable and interchangeable.