Patent Publication Number: US-2018049585-A1

Title: Insert element positionable within a tray and tray liner of a high chair

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Globally, infants and babies and toddlers eat from a high chair for years during the most important growth stages of their lives. Food items cool extremely quickly when put on the high chair feeding members to include high chair trays, or the high chair tray&#39;s provisioned with high chair tray liner, and even more rapidly when foods must be cut into very small pieces so that a child won&#39;t choke when being fed or feeding themselves by hand or utensil from the high chair feeding members. As these foods, which are meant to be eaten warm, quickly cool, they also quickly become less palatable as they cool resulting in less efficient feeding and added stress to both parent and child during feeding times, and the majority of time eventual rejection of certain food items can happen, along with a number of different stress related peripheral issues from difficult feeding and eating sessions. 
     Cold food can be of negative influence on infants since they have a tendency to reject food which is not warm enough, whereby the food feels less tasty to be consumed and which gradually generates inefficient and stressful mealtimes, as well as poor appetite at mealtime do to food quickly becoming much less palatable extremely quickly after placed onto high chair tray feeding members for feeding and eating. Growth during these early years of a child&#39;s life is extremely important and therefore there is a need for a solution or a device which is determined to eliminate one of the leading causes of food rejection by infants because of quick loss of ambient heat from the food item which is required for the food to be palatable. 
     Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a heat conduction apparatus which can be assembled into the high chair feeding members to include the feeding tray, or the feeding tray liner, during manufacture of any conventional high chair meant for seating and feeding infants. The heat conduction apparatus is intended to effectively sustain the heat in the food which is served to the infant which keeps the food item palatable for the infant. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The heat sustaining system comprising an insert element positionable within the feeding members of a high chair addresses the above mentioned need for a heat conduction apparatus which can be assembled onto a feeding tray or feeding tray liner during manufacture of any conventional high chair meant for seating and feeding. The heat conduction apparatus is intended to effectively sustain the heat in the food which is served to the infant which keeps the food item palatable for the infant. The insert element of the heat sustaining system is configured to be housed within the high chair feeding members, where the high chair feeding members define a thin cavity. The heating element is configured to be inserted into the cavity of the high chair feeding members to transfer generated heat to an upper surface of the high chair feeding members thereby conductively transferring heat to the surface of the high chair feeding members, and the electrical power source positioned adjacent to the heating element configured to heat the heating element, wherein the heat generated in the heating element is of a predefined temperature which sustains the heat of a food item positioned above the upper surface of the high chair feeding members. In an embodiment, the high chair feeding members are a high chair tray, or a high chair tray liner. 
     In an embodiment, the heating element heating element inserted into the cavity of the insert element, is of a generally flat wafer type material configured to conduct maximum heat at low power consumption. In an embodiment, the electrical power source is one of a battery and an A/C power supply. In an embodiment, the battery is positioned within the cavity adjacent to the heating element, and insulated from the heating element to prevent damage to the battery from heat radiation. In an embodiment, the battery pack can be either removable or permanently mounted. In an embodiment, the high chair feeding members with the insert element further comprises a socket section configured to receive a power adapter from the A/C power supply. 
     In another embodiment, an insert element positionable within high chair feeding members to selectively heat the tray member is disclosed herein. The insert element is configured to be housed within the high chair feeding members, where the high chair feeding members define a cavity. The heating element is inserted into the cavity of the high chair feeding members to transfer generated heat to an upper surface of the high chair feeding members, thereby conductively transferring heat to a surface of the high chair feeding members. The electrical power source is positioned adjacent to the heating element to heat the heating element, where the heat generated in the heating element is of a predefined temperature which sustains the heat of a food item positioned above the upper surface of the high chair feeding members. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  exemplarily illustrates an exploded view of the heat sustaining system. 
         FIG. 1B  exemplarily illustrates the top perspective assembled view of the heat sustaining system. 
         FIG. 2A  exemplarily illustrates the top view of the high chair feeding members with the insert element. 
         FIG. 2B  exemplarily illustrates the top cutaway view of the high chair feeding members with the insert element. 
         FIG. 2C  exemplarily illustrates the front view of the high chair feeding members with the insert element. 
         FIG. 2D  exemplarily illustrates the top perspective view of the high chair feeding members with the insert element. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1A-1B , shows the exploded view and assembled view of the heat sustaining system  100 , showing the high chair feeding members  101 , for example, a high chair tray liner  102  or a high chair tray  103 , with an insert element configured to inserted within the high chair feeding members  101 . The heat sustaining system  100  comprises the insert element attachable within the high chair feeding members  101  which is configured to be attached to a high chair  104 , a heating element  106 , and an electrical power source  107 . The insert element is basically intended to sustain the heat of the food that&#39;s served to an infant seated on the high chair  104  and feeding from the high chair feeding members  101 . In a general case, an infant may not immediately feed on the food that&#39;s served to him or her and the duration of feeding times results in cooled food as well at this age, and this can cause the food to lose the heat due to convection to the air. As the heat is lost from the food, the food further loses its softness, or the palatable quality. This food is difficult for the infant to consume because of rapid cooling of the food and the infant would also feel that the food is not tasty or soft enough to be consumed. The insertion of the insert element within the high chair tray liner  102  or high chair tray  103  rectifies this issue of heat loss by maintaining a warm and palatable amount of heat for the food, whereby the heat is effectively sustained in the food which keeps the food item palatable for the infant. 
       FIG. 2A  exemplarily illustrates the top view of the high chair feeding members  101  with insert element,  FIG. 2B  exemplarily illustrates the top cutaway view of the high chair feeding members  101  with insert element, and  FIG. 2C  exemplarily illustrates the front view of the high chair feeding members  101  with insert element. The insert element is configured to be housed within the high chair feeding members  101 , for example, the high chair tray liner  102  or the high chair tray  103 , where the high chair feeding members  101  defines a cavity  105 . The heating element  106  is inserted into the cavity  105  of the high chair feeding members  101  to transfer generated heat to an upper surface of the high chair feeding members  101 , and an electrical power source  107 , comprising the battery  108  and the socket section  109 , positioned adjacent to the heating element  106  configured to heat the heating element  106 . Here, the heat generated in the heating element  106  is of a predefined temperature which sustains the heat of a food item positioned above the upper surface of the high chair feeding members  101 . 
     In an embodiment, the high chair tray liner  102  comprises flanged sections  110 , as shown in  FIG. 2C , positioned on opposing sides of the high chair tray liner  102  configured to extend beyond width of the high chair tray  103  to support and removably position the high chair tray liner  102  above the high chair tray  103 . The user can hold the high chair tray liner  102  on the flanged sections  110  and position the high chair tray liner  102  carefully above a high chair tray  103  of any configuration. Conventionally feeding trays, or high chair tray liner  102  and high chair tray  103  have a space defined on the upper surface which allows the food to be placed for the infant, therefore the insert element is inserted below this surface where the insert element is comfortably positioned and within the high chair tray liner  102  or high chair tray  103 . The flanged sections  110  can further be used to remove the removable insert element from the surface of high chair tray liner  102  from the high chair tray  103 . In an embodiment, the flanged sections  110  are made of nonmetallic and no heat conductive material to prevent the heat from damaging the hands of the user. 
     In an embodiment, the heating element  106  is of a generally flat wafer type material configured to conduct maximum heat at low power consumption. In general, heat supply elements are usually of a tubular, screened electrical resistance which is designed for conducting heat to utensils. This method does not allow reasonable thermal contact between the resistance and the base structure of the utensil, nor allow consistent temperature distribution. The circular cross sectional geometry of the heat supply elements does not allow the heat to be transferred uniformly on to the utensil that&#39;s positioned above the heat supply element. The only remedy is a flat heating element  106  which is easy to participate with the heating article which gives a guarantee of uniform heat distribution over the base heating surface of the utensil and food placed directly on high chair feeding members, and which is inexpensive to manufacture. 
     In an embodiment, the electrical power source  107  is one of a battery  108  and an A/C power supply. In an embodiment, the battery  108  is positioned within the cavity  105  adjacent to the heating element  106  and insulated from the heating element  106  to prevent damage to the battery  108  from heat radiation. In an embodiment, the battery  108  can be either removable or permanently mounted. The insert element within the high chair tray liner  102  or high chair tray  103  normally works on the battery  108  because of the portability and safety aspect of the design, where it can be used without being connected to A/C power during feedings where children are in close proximity to the power source. The design only requires A/C power to recharge the D/C battery power source after many feeding times using the battery power source. The D/C power source also provides portability for breakdown and storage of the high chair and removal from storage during feeding times, as well as simplistic feeding without the hindrances of power cords required when connected to A/C power. Portability also provides benefits during a vacation or camping with the infant, where electrical power is not readily available. The temperature generated is much less below a temperature which could hurt the body of the infant. Therefore, the high chair tray liner  102  and high chair tray  103  provides an ambient temperature which is just enough to sustain the temperature of an already heated food inside a utensil which is kept above the insert element or already heated food placed directly on the high chair tray liner  102  or high chair tray  103 . In an embodiment, the high chair tray liner  102  and high chair tray  103  of the heat sustaining system  100 , further comprises a socket section  109  configured to receive a power adapter from the A/C power supply. As shown in  FIGS. 2C and 2D , there is an indicator  111  positioned frontally to the high chair tray liner  102  and high chair tray  103  to indicate the temperature and power generated during the usage, and there is a battery level indicator  112  to show the amount of charge which is left in the battery  108  during usage. Heat is transferred to the utensil or directly to food via conduction from the heating element  106  which is heated either by the power supply from the battery  108 , or by direct A/C power supply which is available indoors. 
     The foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present concept disclosed herein. While the concept has been described with reference to various embodiments, it is understood that the words, which have been used herein, are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Further, although the concept has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials, and embodiments, the concept is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the concept extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may affect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the concept in its aspects.