Abstract:
A sleeper for infants is described. The sleeper has four short legs, a frame supported by the legs and a bassinette hanging from the frame. The sleeper can rest on its legs for use in a stand-alone state, or be mounted on a playard for use as a bedside sleeper. When mounted on a playard, the sleeping surface of the sleeper has approximately the same height as an adult&#39;s bed.

Description:
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/978,732 filed Oct. 9, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a sleeper for infants, and in particular, it relates to a bedside sleeper for infants. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Some conventional playards are equipped with a removable infant sleeper in the form of a bassinet hanging from the top frame of the playard. Such sleepers, however, cannot be used in a stand-alone mode. In addition, the sleepers are typically about 12 inches deep, and the level of the sleeping surface is typically lower than an adult&#39;s bed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a sleeper for infant. An object of the present invention is to provide a sleeper that can be used either as a stand-alone sleeper or mounted on a support structure to form a bedside sleeper. 
     Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the descriptions that follow and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides a sleeper for infants, which includes: at least four legs; at least four joining blocks each mounted at a top end of one of the legs; four side rail bars connected to the joining blocks to form a frame; and a plurality of webbings attached to at least two of the four side rail bars to form a bassinette, wherein a depth of the bassinette is less than a length of the legs. The four joining blocks each include a hook for mounting the sleeper on a support structure (a playard). The frame is about 24×27 inches in size; the bassinette is about 4 inches deep and the legs are about 5 inches long. 
     In another aspect, the present invention provides a sleeper system for infants, which includes: a sleeper including a support frame and a bassinette attached to and suspended from the support frame, the support frame having a depth greater than a depth of the bassinette; and a support structure having a top frame, wherein the sleeper is removably mounted on and suspended from the top frame of the support structure. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1-4  are perspective, front, left side and bottom views, respectively, of the sleeper in a stand-alone state according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a support structure (playard) without the sleeper. 
         FIGS. 6-9  are perspective, front, left side and top views, respectively, of the sleeper mounted on the support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  show the sleeper mounted on the supported structure with a fabric cover. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a sleeper for infants, such as infants from newborn to six months of age. The sleeper can be mounted on a support structure so that it has approximately the same height as a bed. This configuration can accommodate new mothers who wish to have their infants sleep beside them at night.  FIGS. 6-9  show the sleeper mounted on a support structure. The support structure may be connected to the bed with the sleeper resting on the support structure. The sleeper is also removable for use in a stand-alone state, as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the sleeper  10  has four short legs  102  with a joining block  104  mounted at the top of each leg. In a preferred embodiment, the legs  102  are approximately 5 inches long. Four side rail bars  106  are connected to the joining blocks  104  to form a frame  108 . In one embodiment, the joining blocks  104  have holes on the bottom and two sides, and the legs  102  and two side rail bars  106  are inserted into the holes. The frame  108  is preferably approximately 24×27 inches in size. A cross bar  110  is joined to the two longer side rail bars  106 . A plurality of webbings  112  are attached to three side rail bars  106  and the cross bar  110  to form a bassinette  114  hanging from the frame  108 . In one embodiment, the webbings  112  include two sets of webbings extending perpendicular to each other. The depth of the bassinette  114  is less than the length of the legs  102  so that the sleeper  10  can be used by resting the legs  102  on the floor. In the preferred embodiment, the bassinette  114  is approximately 4 inches deep. Mattress and/or other suitable materials (not shown) are placed inside the bassinette  114 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the legs  102  and the joining blocks  104  are made of plastic materials, the side rail bars  106  and the cross bar  110  are made of a tubular metal material of about 0.5 inches in diameter, and the webbings  112  are made of nylon. Alternatively, the webbings may be replaced with a mesh or fabric material or other suitable materials to form the bassinette  114 . 
     The sleeper  10  can be disassembled by disconnecting the legs  102  and the side rail bars  106  from the joining blocks  104 . 
     Optionally, a number of top rails  116  are provided above the frame  108 . In the illustrated embodiment, two vertical posts  118  are joined to the two ends of the cross bar  110  and extend above the frame  108 , and three curves top rails  116  are supported by the vertical posts and the frame  108 . Covers  120  may be placed over the top rails  116  to form raised walls on three sides (rear, left and right) of the sleeper as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a support structure  20  on which the sleeper  10  may be mounted. In a preferred embodiment, the support structure  20  is a playard/crib. The support structure  20  has four vertical posts  202  and four side rails  204  joined to the top ends of the posts  202  to form a top frame  206 . In the preferred embodiment, the top frame  206  is approximately 28 inches from the ground. A number of cross bars  208  are joined to the vertical posts  202  near their bottom end to form a reinforcing structure. A mesh or fabric material (not shown) is attached to the vertical posts  202  and the side rails  204  to form a floor and four side walls of the playard. A mattress and/or other suitable material (not shown) may be placed on the floor of the playard. 
       FIGS. 6-9  show the sleeper  10  mounted on the support structure  20 . In the preferred embodiment, each joining block  104  of the sleeper  10  has a hook  104   a  formed on it to mount the sleeper in the support structure  20  (see also  FIGS. 1 and 3 ). The hooks  104   a  fit over two side rails  204  of the support structure  20  so that the sleeper  10  is suspended from the top frame  206  of the support structure. 
     The lengths of the side rail bars  106  and the cross bar  110  of the sleeper  10 , and hence the size of the bassinette  114 , are design choices. In the preferred embodiment, the length of the longer two of the side rail bars  106 , namely 27 inches, is chosen to fit the width of the top frame  206  of the support structure which is a playard. The cross bar  110  is employed because the desired width of the bassinette  114  is less than the width of the top frame  206  of the support structure (playard)  20 . In an alternative embodiment, the support structure  20  has the same width as the desired width of the bassinette  114 , so the cross bar  110  is not necessary. In this alternative embodiment, the webbings  112  are attached to the four side rail bars  106  of the sleeper  10 . 
     In another alternative embodiment, the webbings  112  are attached to and suspended between two opposite side rail bars  106  and no cross bar is employed. In yet another embodiment, the webbings are attached to three side rail bars  106  and no cross bar is employed. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the four legs  102  of the sleeper are replaced by a support frame. For example, the support frame may include four vertical posts and four lower horizontal bars joining the four vertical posts at their lower ends, so that the vertical posts, the top side rail bars and the lower horizontal bars form a box shaped frame. The bassinette is less deep than the box shaped frame so the sleeper can be free standing. 
     The sleeper described above is portable and light weight. It can be easily mounted on or taken off from the support structure. When mounted on the support structure, the bottom of the bassinette is at approximately the same level of a normal bed, so the mother can easily attend to the infant. The sleeper can also be easily taken the off from the support and used as a stand-alone sleeper in another room. Further, the sleeper, without the support structure, can be easily disassembled and carried for use on overnight trips. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modification and variations can be made in the infant sleeper of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.