Patent Publication Number: US-7587772-B2

Title: Infant nesting device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   None. 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The invention relates to an infant nesting device, and more particularly, to an infant nesting device for premature infants which simulates the in-utero experience. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The gestational period is of prime importance in human development. Each trimester of gestation targets specific functions in the construction of a fetus&#39; body and mind. When infants arrive in a pre-term status, the gestational period is truncated, and a myriad of challenges may arise. Although neonatology has made significant advances in caring for pre-term infants, there still exist some concerns. 
   Once the critical period of cardiopulmonary functioning is stabilized, the infant continues to require a “nesting” period to support growth and continued development as if in-utero. A stimulation of the intrauterine environment offers the pre-term infant an opportunity to grow as if gestation had not been interrupted. Thus, a need exists to provide a nesting environment that effectively simulates environmental features of an intrauterine experience. 
   The present invention is provided to solve the problems discussed above and other problems, and to provide advantages and aspects not previously provided. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the present invention, an infant nesting device is provided. The infant nesting device comprises a bottom surface, a sidewall and at least one audio speaker. The bottom surface has a defined perimeter and is formed from a substantially cushioning material. The sidewall is attached to the bottom surface and surrounds at least a portion of the perimeter of the bottom surface. The sidewall is formed from a substantially cushioning sound-permeable material. The speaker is disposed in the sidewall and is adapted for operable connection to an external audio device. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, the cushioning material forming the sidewall is a resilient foam material. 
   According to still another aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the nesting device is detachably coupled to the sidewall. 
   According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the nesting device further comprises a receiver disposed in the sidewall. The receiver is operably coupled to the audio speaker and may be adapted to receive wireless transmission of an audio signal from an external audio device. 
   According to one aspect of the present invention, an infant nesting device is provided. The infant nesting device comprises a bottom surface, a sidewall and an audio recorder. The bottom surface has a perimeter and comprising a flexible enclosure with a fluid encapsulated therein. The sidewall attached to at least a portion of the perimeter of the bottom surface and is formed from a substantially cushioning and sound-permeable material. The audio recorder is at least partially disposed in the sidewall and is adapted to broadcast recorded audio signal of a heartbeat and including at least one audio speaker. 
   According to this embodiment of the present invention, the audio device may be a transceiver adapted to at least receive and broadcast a wireless audio signal. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of pacifying an infant is provided. According to the method, a nesting device is provided. The nesting device comprises a bottom surface, a sidewall and at least one audio speaker. The bottom surface has a perimeter and comprises a flexible enclosure having a fluid encapsulated therein. The sidewall is attached to at least a portion of the perimeter of the bottom surface and is formed from a substantially cushioning and sound-permeable material. The audio speakers are disposed in the sidewall, and are operably coupled to an audio recorder and a microphone. The speakers, in conjunction with the audio recorder, are adapted to broadcast recorded audio signal of a heartbeat. According to the method, the heartbeat of a maternity patient is recorded onto the audio device. An infant is subsequently place in the nesting device, and the recorded heartbeat is broadcasted through the audio speakers and into the nesting device. 
   Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a nesting device according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the nesting device according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the nesting device according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the nesting device shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the nesting device shown in  FIG. 4  as taken through line  5 - 5 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of the nesting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. 
   The present invention generally relates to a nesting device  10  for and infant. In particular, the present nesting device  10  is provided to simulate the in-utero experience of an infant by providing a simulated womb, embryonic fluid and audible maternal heartbeat as would be present in-utero. Referring now to  FIGS. 1-6 , the infant nesting device  10  of the present invention comprises a bottom surface  12 , a sidewall  14  and at least one audio speaker  16 . 
   It is of great importance to exercise substantial care with infants, and particularly with premature infants, as they continue to develop outside of the womb. Accordingly, the bottom surface  12  has a defined perimeter and is formed from a substantially cushioning material. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface  12  is a flexible enclosure having a fluid encapsulated therein. Preferably, the fluid encapsulated in the flexible closure is silicone. However, it is contemplated by the present invention that the fluid can be any suitable fluid for providing a soft and deformable bottom surface  12  upon which an infant may rest. Alternatively, the bottom surface  12  may be formed from a resilient foam. It is also preferable that the bottom surface  12  be covered with a plush, hypoallergenic material, such as sheepskin, fleece, velour, boa fabric, tricot fiber, polyester fiber, or any other suitable material for use with infants. This covering is particularly important when using the nesting device  10  with premature infants that tend to have fragile skin. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , the sidewall  14  of the nesting device  10  is attached to the perimeter of the bottom surface  12 . Preferably, the sidewall  14  surrounds the entire perimeter of the bottom surface  12 . However, it may be desirable that the sidewall  14  is attached only to a portion of the perimeter of the bottom surface  12  so that one end of the nesting device  10  can be easily accessed for purposes of changing or otherwise accessing an infant cradled therein. According to one embodiment of the invention, the sidewall  14  is preferably formed from a substantially cushioning sound-permeable material. For example, the sidewall  14  can be formed from a resilient foam material such as polyester, a poly-fiber blend fiber, or from any other material suitable for protecting an infant placed within the nesting device  10  while also providing structural support to the nesting device  10 . It is also preferable that the sidewall  14  be covered with a hypoallergenic plush material, such as sheepskin, fleece, velour, boa fabric, tricot fiber, polyester fiber, or any other suitable material for use with infants. 
   In use, the sidewall  14  or bottom surface  12  of the nesting device  10  may become dirty, worn or damaged. Accordingly, it may be desirable to detach the sidewall  14  from the bottom surface  12  of the nesting device  10  for separate cleaning or replacement. According to one embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 3 , the bottom surface  12  of the nesting device  10  is detachably coupled to the sidewall  14 . The bottom surface  12  may be detachably coupled to the sidewall  14  by any one of various means known to those of skill. For example, the sidewall  14  can be attached to the bottom surface  12  by snaps, buttons, zippers, Velcro™ or other suitable attachment devices that allow for detachable connection of the sidewall  14  from the bottom surface  12 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , the nesting device is also includes at least one audio speaker  16  disposed in the sidewall  14 . It is contemplated that the audio speaker  16  is a conventional audio speaker  16  that can be operably connected to an external audio device. To reduce the risk of injury to an infant resting in the nesting device  10 , the audio speaker  16  is preferably entirely disposed within the cushioning material of the sidewall  14 . However, it is also contemplated that a body of the speaker  16  be disposed within a cavity in the sidewall  14 , and the output end of the speaker  16  be externally accessible through an inner portion of the sidewall  14 . In such an embodiment, the speaker  16  will typically include a removable cover made from a soft material such as the resilient foam from which the sidewall  14  is preferably formed. The audio speaker  16  is operably coupled to an audio device comprised of an audio recorder  20  and a microphone. The external audio device may be an audio cassette recorder, a compact disc (CD) recorder an MP-3 recorder or any other audio device suitable for at least playback of a recorded audio track. It is further contemplated that the external audio device may be a the central processing unit (“CPU”) of a computer, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”) or other device suitable for playback of a recorded audio track. Specifically, it is desirable that the audio recorder  20  is adapted to broadcast an audio signal of a recorded heartbeat or soothing musical tones. 
   In one embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1 , the nesting device  10  includes an internal audio recorder  20  at least partially disposed in the sidewall  14 . According to this embodiment, the entire audio recorder  20 , including the audio speaker  16 , is disposed as a self-contained unit within the sidewall  14 . The audio recorder  20  may include an internal microphone, or the audio recorder  20  can have an input for receiving an external microphone. The audio recorder  20  may be an audio cassette recorder, a compact disc (CD) recorder an MP-3 recorder or any other audio device suitable for both recordation and playback of a recorded audio track. 
   According to one embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 2 , the nesting device  10  further includes a receiver  22  disposed in the sidewall  14  and operably coupled to the speaker  16 . According to such an embodiment, the receiver  22  is adapted to receive wireless transmission of an audio signal. Thus, an audio signal in the form of a recorded heartbeat or musical tones may be transmitted from a remote transmitter  24  via radio frequency, satellite signal or other known audio transmission means to the receiver  22  within the nesting device  10  without the use of external wiring. It will be understood by those in the art that the audio signal may be transmitted by any known transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting an audio wave or signal. 
   In use, it is important that the sound being projected into the nesting device  10  be maintained at a level that will not be detrimental to the infant resting therein. For example, excessive exposure to loud noise may result in tinnitus or temporary or permanent hearing loss. Accordingly, it is preferable that sound emanating from the speaker  16  into the nesting device  10  be between 10 decibels and 50 decibels. 
   As discussed herein, the present invention is meant to simulate the intrauterine environment of pre-term infants by allowing optimum growth as an infant is ensconced in the nesting device  10 . The silicone bottom surface  12  of the cradle device, in combination with the cushioning sidewalls, simulate the infant&#39;s in-utero experience. Furthermore, the transmission of predetermined an audio signal in the form of a mother&#39;s heartbeat encourages the emotional and psychological bonding that had been interrupted due to an early-term delivery. Accordingly, the following description is directed to the method of using the nesting devices  10  to pacify an infant. According to the method of the present invention, a nesting device  10  of the type described herein is provided. The heartbeat of a maternity patient is recorded onto the audio device. Methods of recording heartbeat audio are known in the art. An infant is placed in the nesting device  10 , and the recorded heartbeat is broadcasted through the audio speaker  16  and into the nesting device  10 . 
   While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.