Abstract:
A crib accessory that can be placed beneath an infant&#39;s mattress or crib. A movable plate is rhythmically moved up and down to pat the crib mattress and soothe the infant.

Description:
Applicant claims priority of Provisional application Ser. No. 60/483,910, filed Jul. 2, 2003. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates, in general, to accessories for cribs, and, in particular, to accessories for cribs which make a patting sound or vibration to soothe an infant by rhythmically contacting the bottom of the crib. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
   In the prior art various types of accessories for cribs have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,963 to Black et al discloses a crib patting device with two hinged elements that are separated by the action of a rotatable cam. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,331 to Pereira discloses a crib patting device which has an adjustable frame to place a patting device against the bottom of a crib. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,311 to Crawford discloses a crib bouncer which has a bouncer housing connected to the bottom of the crib and a cam to operate the device. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,032 to Reardon discloses a crib rocking device which uses an electromagnet to operate the device. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a crib accessory that can be placed beneath an infant&#39;s crib. A movable plate is rhythmically moved up and down to pat the crib and soothe the infant. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved crib patting device. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved crib patting device that can easily moved beneath the crib. 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved crib patting device which can be powered by a variety of devices. 
   These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a partial side view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a partial view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a partial view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a partial view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a partial view of one of the elements of the  FIG. 5  device. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the drawings in greater detail,  FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of the present invention  1 . A casing or support  2  holds an electro magnet  15  attached thereto in any conventional manner. A metal plate  7  is attached to an arm  18  which pivots about pivot point  19 . A pad  20 , similar to pad  20  in  FIG. 2 , is mounted on the end of arm  18  by threaded post  21 . When magnet  15  is energized, it attracts plate  7  downwardly, which raises the opposite end of arm  18  (i.e. the end with pad  20 ). When pad  20  is raised it will apply a patting motion to the underside of a crib or mattress on the crib, which will sooth an infant on the mattress. When the magnet  15  is de-energized, the weight of the baby will force the end of the arm  18  with the pad  20  downward. 
   The device shown in  FIG. 2  accomplishes the same result as the  FIG. 1  device in a slightly different manner. A piston  17  is mounted in a housing  16  and moves up and down under the control of an electro magnet or solenoid  15  similar to the operation of the plate  7  and the magnet  15  in FIG.  1 . Piston  17  is attached to arm  18  in any conventional manner. As the piston  17  moves down from the position shown in  FIG. 2  under the pull of the magnet or solenoid  15 , it pulls arm  18 , which pivots on bar  19 , downward. The left side of arm  18  (as seen in  FIG. 2 ) has a pad  20  which will strike the bottom of the crib mattress when the right side of the arm  18  is moved downward. Pad  20  is connected to arm  18  by a screw threaded post  21  which engages in a threaded aperture in arm  18  so the height of the pad  20  can be adjusted up and down. The magnet/solenoid  15 , used in the  FIGS. 1 and 2  devices, can be operated by an AC or DC source which has a conventional switch which cycles to turn on and off the magnet/solenoid  15 . 
   The  FIG. 3  device uses the same arm  18  and pivot point  19  as used in the  FIG. 2  device, however the arm  18  is moved in an up and down manner by a cam  22  which is eccentrically mounted at  23 . The cam  22  can be powered by any conventional motor (not shown). As the cam rotates it will push the right side of arm  18  down, which will raise the left side of arm  18  (as seen in FIG.  3 ), with the pad  20  (not shown in  FIG. 3  for clarity) which will pat the crib in the same manner as the  FIG. 2  device. 
   The  FIG. 4  device is another type of moving means for moving the arm  18  about the pivot point  19 . In this device a motor  28  rotates a rubber wheel  29 . The wheel  29  rotates wheel  26  about point  27 . An arm  24  is connected at one end to wheel  26  at point  30 , and at the other end to arm  18  at point  25 . As wheel  26  rotates, arm  24  will move up and down, which will move arm  18  up and down, which will raise the left side of arm  18 , with the pad  20  (not shown in  FIG. 4  for clarity), which will pat the crib in the same manner as the  FIG. 1 , FIG.  2  and  FIG. 3  devices. 
   The device shown in  FIG. 5  is an adjustment device for placement between piston  17  an arm  18  as shown in  FIG. 2. A  housing  36  holds a spring  35  above the piston  17 . The housing  36  would incase the piston  17  and the spring  35 , as shown in FIG.  5 . The housing has an adjustment device  34  secured to the top of the housing. The device  34  has a plurality of spaced projections  32  which are spaced in a vertical direction along the outer surface of the device  34  to form rows between the spaced projections  32 . The projections  32  are also spaced in a horizontal direction to form at least one slot  33  between the projections. The housing has a right angle projection (see  FIG. 6 ) at the top of the housing. The device  34  can be moved up and down within the housing  36  by aligning the projection  31  with the slot  33 , moving the device, and when the device is positioned as desired by the user, rotating the device  34  until the projection  31  is placed between two of the projections  32 , which will lock the device  34  with respect to the housing  36 . Moving the device  34  down into the housing will compress spring  35 , which will make it easier for the piston to move the arm  18  down. 
   Although the Crib Patting Device and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.