Patent Publication Number: US-2017347839-A1

Title: Safety cushion for bathtub

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to bathtub injury prevention, and more particularly, to a safety cushion that can be readily flush mounted on a surface of a bathtub and/or bathtub rim. 
     Every year, thousands of children are injured in bathtubs from slips and falls. A large proportion of these involve very young children and toddlers, with more than half of all bathtub injuries occurring to children under 5 years of age. It is very easy for an active child to strike his or her head on the side of the tub or the rim. Toddlers in particular have a high center of gravity and can easily topple so quickly that even the most vigilant parent may not react quickly enough to prevent a fall. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a tub cushion that can be easily attached to the walls and/or rim of the tub to prevent injury. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a safety cushion for attachment to a surface of a bathtub or bathtub rim. The safety cushion includes a body fabricated from a pliable material that includes a top surface and a bottom surface disposed opposite the top surface to define a thickness of the body between the top surface and bottom surface. The body defines a plurality of integrally formed openings extending partially through the thickness of the body from the bottom surface towards the top surface. The plurality of openings permit attachment by suction of the body to the surface of the bathtub or bathtub rim when the pliable material is depressed over each opening from the top surface towards the bottom surface. 
     In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure each opening is substantially concave and leaves a reduced thickness of the body between an apex of the opening and the top surface. 
     In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, the body is fabricated from one of rubber, silicone and polyurethane, and sized to fit over and conform to the bathtub rim. 
     In accordance with these and additional aspects that will become apparent hereinafter, the present disclosure will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an illustrative bathtub with three safety cushions attached thereto in an exemplary installation; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are top and bottom isometric views of an illustrative safety cushion in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the illustrative safety cushion; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view along lines  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 , showing detail of a substantially concave opening formed in the body of the safety cushion; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view similar to  FIG. 4 , showing the safety cushion overlying a surface of a bathtub or bathtub rim prior to attachment; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view similar to  FIG. 5  depicting the safety cushion being secured to the bathtub/bathtub rim of  FIG. 5  by suction in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Specific embodiments of the disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the examples described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the examples described herein. 
     It will be appreciated that the examples and corresponding diagrams used herein are for illustrative purposes only. Different configurations and terminology can be used without departing from the principles expressed herein. For instance, components and modules can be added, deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections without departing from these principles. 
     In the following detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more through understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  there is depicted an isometric view of an illustrative bathtub  100  with three safety cushions  102   a ,  102   b , and  102   c  (referred to generally as  102 ) attached thereto over a rim  104  of the bathtub  100 . The cushions  102  may bend over the rim and attach to tub surface  106  as shown. The structural details of cushions  102  are described hereinbelow. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are isometric views of an exemplary safety cushion  202  in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Safety cushion  202  includes an elongated body  208  fabricated, such as by injection molding, from a pliable or flexible material such as rubber, silicone or polyurethane. The body  208  includes a top surface  210  and a bottom surface  212  disposed opposite the top surface  210  to define a thickness “t” of the body  208  between the top surface  210  and bottom surface  212 . The body defines a plurality of integrally or unitarily formed substantially concave openings  214  extending partially through the thickness of the body  208  from the bottom surface towards the top surface  210  and disposed proximal to each other in rows  216   a ,  216   b  and  216   c  extending between a first side  218  and a second side  220  of the body  208 . Each substantially concave opening  214  leaves a reduced body thickness between an apex of the substantially concave opening and the top surface  210 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the safety cushion  302 , with the plurality of substantially concave openings  314  in body  308  shown as hidden lines. The substantially concave openings  314  extend from the bottom surface  312  towards the top surface  310 , and are spaced along the length of body  308  between first side  318  and second side  320 . 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view along lines  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 , showing a safety cushion  402  with details of a substantially concave opening  414  formed in body  408  of thickness “t” between top surface  410  and bottom surface  412 . The substantially concave opening  414  leaves a reduced body thickness “t r ” between an apex  422  of the opening  414  and the top surface  410 . It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that although depicted as spherical, an alternative substantially convex opening may include non-spherical segments, such as for example, a flat apex and a conical side extending from bottom surface  412  to the apex. Any integrally or unitarily formed recess capable of providing suction may be employed within the scope of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view similar to  FIG. 4 , showing a portion of the safety cushion  502  placed on top of a tub surface  504  of tub  500  prior to attachment. As shown, the body  508  of safety cushion  502  includes the substantially concave opening  514  defined in body  508  that overlies tub surface  504 . The plurality of substantially concave openings permitting attachment by suction of the body to a surface of a bathtub or bathtub rim when the pliable material is depressed over each substantially concave opening from the top surface towards the bottom surface. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates attachment of the safety cushion  602  to tub or rim surface  604  of the tub  600 . Finger pressure “FP” is applied from the top surface  610  over the substantially convex opening ( 515 ,  FIG. 5 ) to push the area of reduced thickness t r  of body  608  to make contact against tub/rim surface  604 . In this manner suction is applied in the remaining annular space  624  to attach a portion of the safety cushion  602  to tub  600 . This procedure is repeated for the plurality of substantially convex openings in body  608  to attach the entire safety cushion  602  to tub  600 . In order to aid in the attachment, the bottom surface  612  of body  608  may have water applied to surface  612  to assist in proper suction. To remove the safety cushion  602 , the body  608  is simply peeled away from the tub/rim surface  604 . 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     Having thus described the invention of the present application in detail and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims as follows: