Patent Publication Number: US-8113580-B1

Title: Disposable child seat cover

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/173,798, filed on Apr. 29, 2009, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to disposable hygienic products, and more particularly, to a disposable seat cover for a baby or child, particularly suited for use in a public child seat, such as a shopping cart and/or a restaurant high chair. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Babies and other young children are commonly brought on family shopping trips, so retail stores customarily provide a shopping cart having an integral child seat near the cart handle in the back of the cart. Although convenient, the cleanliness of the child seat has been shown in several studies to be severely lacking. Usually numerous other children have recently used the child seat, often chewing on the surfaces or spilling drinks on the seat or contaminating it with cold or flu viruses, bacteria, and/or dirt. Shoppers inadvertently transfer illness-causing microorganisms to the cart simply by using it for its intended purpose. Additionally, customers not having a child in the cart may place raw meats in the child seat, with the juices dripping onto the seat leaving dangerous (and increasingly antibiotic-resistant) campylobacter, salmonella, or other bacteria. 
     Likewise, restaurant high chairs may be similarly soiled with germs and food or drink residue. Further, restaurant high chairs are often wooden and worn, raising the possibility of splinters. 
     In the desire to protect babies and children; numerous washable decorative fabric child seat covers are available. Also, disposable seat covers mimicking the fabric seat covers are available. Both washable and disposable child seat covers have openings for the child&#39;s legs and cover all or most of the seat. Often they are particularly formed to fit a single type of seat. Also, it is inconvenient and time consuming to wash a fabric cover after each use, and, without washing, it remains contaminated from touching the seat. Additionally, it is difficult to remember to bring the freshly washed seat cover for each shopping trip or to restock the diaper bag with more disposable covers. Further, the available disposable covers are not economical and not recyclable. Therefore, it would be advantageous for the retail stores or restaurants to provide a disposable, recyclable seat cover to protect babies, as currently hand sanitizers or disposable bibs are often provided. However, this is not presently feasible due to the cost per conventional disposable seat cover. 
     Accordingly, there is an established need for a practical, convenient child seat cover adaptable to a variety of seat types and capable of effectively protecting babies and young children from germs, dirt, and splinters, yet inexpensive enough to be provided complimentarily by the retail stores and restaurants. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a practical disposable, recyclable child seat cover formed of a single sheet of preferably plastic material that is capable of effectively protecting the child from germs and dirt, while being sufficiently economical to allow retail establishments to provide complimentary disposable child seat covers to their customers. The disposable child seat cover is formed of a single sheet of preferably plastic material that can be torn by a user off a roll of a continuous web of material configured with multiple disposable child seat covers. 
     The disposable child seat cover has two central expandable leg openings and two opposing longitudinal perforations divided by bisecting perforations. The perforations allow the user to easily create two front ties and two back ties from the longitudinal sides of the single sheet. The ties are utilized to secure the disposable child seat cover to a public child seat, such as a shopping cart seat or high chair. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a disposable child seat cover that can be adapted for use with a wide variety of child seats, particularly public child seats, such as conventional shopping carts or high chairs. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a disposable child seat cover that is very inexpensive. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable child seat cover that is quickly and easily adaptable to be installed in a shopping cart or high chair. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a disposable child seat cover that can be dispensed off a roll. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a disposable child seat cover that is recyclable. 
     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the disposable child seat cover of the present invention as installed in a shopping cart child seat; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a roll of multiple disposable child seat covers of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a top view showing the preferred embodiment of the disposable child seat cover of the present invention intact and without the ties created; and 
         FIG. 4  is a top view showing the preferred embodiment of the disposable child seat cover of the present invention, with the ties and enlarged leg holes created by use of the perforations. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Shown throughout the figures, the present invention is directed toward a convenient, recyclable, disposable child seat cover that is capable of efficiently protecting a child from germs and dirt in a public child seat, while being sufficiently economical to allow retail establishments to provide complimentary disposable child seat covers to their customers. The disposable child seat cover of the present invention is adapted and easily usable with a wide variety of child seats, including public child seats, such as shopping cart child seats and high chairs. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a disposable child seat cover, shown generally as reference number  10 , is illustrated in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A single disposable child seat cover  10  is shown in use in a public child seat, a shopping cart seat  11 , forming protection over the shopping cart seat bottom, with a cover back section  12  spread over the shopping cart seat back and a front cover section  13  spread over the shopping cart handle. A first leg hole  17  and second leg hole  16  are positioned to fit the two leg holes of the shopping cart. Forward ties  24 ,  23  ( FIG. 2 ) and rearward ties  21 ,  22  ( FIG. 2 ) are provided to secure the disposable child seat cover  10  to the shopping cart, allowing maximum flexibility and adaptability to any shopping cart design. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , multiple disposable child seat covers  10  are formed from (and manually removable from) a single sheet of preferably recyclable plastic material, with a continuous web of material  40  forming a plurality of adjacent disposable seat covers  10   a ,  10   b  . . .  10   n . The adjacent disposable seat covers  10   a ,  10   b  . . .  10   n  are preferably separated by a dividing perforation facilitating convenient manual removal of a single disposable child seat cover  10  from the continuous web of material  40 . The continuous web of material  40  forming the plurality of adjacent disposable seat covers  10   a ,  10   b  . . .  10   n  is preferably wound around a central axis to form a roll, as illustrated, for convenience in transport, storage, and dispersal. Such a roll of material might be conveniently placed at a store (or restaurant) entrance to allow parents to obtain protection for their child from any harmful microorganisms or dirt on the public child seat in a shopping cart (or high chair). The parent can easily remove a single disposable child seat cover  10  from the continuous web of material  40  by utilizing dividing perforation  41 . The disposable child seat cover  10  can be manufactured in any color (including clear, for stores that may want to prevent theft by issuing clear covers) or in any pattern or with any logo (such as a store might desire for advertisement). 
     Each disposable child seat cover  10  is configured with two central expandable leg openings  16 ,  17 , two opposing longitudinal perforations, (first longitudinal perforation  31 ,  33  and second longitudinal perforation  32 ,  34 , and preferably two seat belt slits  44 ,  45  to accommodate a seat belt that may be supplied on the high chair or cart. 
     The first longitudinal perforation  31 ,  33  and second longitudinal perforation  32 ,  34  are generally parallel with the longitudinal edges of a single disposable child seat cover and somewhat inset inwardly from the disposable child seat cover longitudinal edges, as illustrated. The inset is approximately 1 to 4 inches, preferably between 2 and 3 inches, but may depend on the particular material used. However, the first longitudinal perforation  31 ,  33  and second longitudinal perforation  32 , do not extend to the lateral edges  47 ,  48  of the disposable child seat cover  10  formed by dividing perforation  41 , as illustrated, but end at a point somewhat inset from the lateral edges  47 ,  48 . 
     Each opposing longitudinal perforation is bisected by a lateral perforation  25 ,  26 . The first longitudinal perforation  31 ,  33  is bisected by a first bisecting perforation  25 . Similarly, the second longitudinal perforation  32 ,  34  is bisected by a second bisecting perforation  26 . The positioning of these perforations allow the manual creation of ties  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  to secure the disposable child seat cover  10  to a public child seat. Using the first bisecting perforation  25 , the forward part of first longitudinal perforation  33  allows the formation of first forward tie  23  and the rearward part of first longitudinal perforation  31  allows the formation of first rearward tie  21 . Using the second bisecting perforation  26 , the forward part of second longitudinal perforation  34  allows the formation of second forward tie  24 , and the rearward portion of second longitudinal perforation  32  allows the formation of second rearward tie  22 . 
     Leg openings  16 ,  17 , are disposed in a generally central area of the disposable child seat cover  10 , but preferably positioned somewhat nearer the front than the rear of disposable child seat cover  10 , to allow sufficient rearward material to accommodate the space required for the public child seat back and the public child seat bottom. Leg openings  16 ,  17  are sized to accommodate a small child&#39;s legs, but are preferably manually modifiable and/or expandable by use of leg opening perforations  18 ,  19  to create a slightly larger leg hole, if needed. Leg opening perforations  18 ,  19  preferably extend radially from the circumference of leg openings  16 ,  17 , respectively. Although four leg opening perforations  18  are shown on leg opening  16  and four leg opening perforations  19  are shown on each leg opening  17 , other numbers of leg opening perforations are within the scope of the invention. 
     Although dividing perforation  41 , first longitudinal perforation  31 ,  33 , second longitudinal perforation  32 ,  34 , leg opening perforations  18 ,  19 , and lateral bisecting perforations  25 ,  26  are herein described as “perforations” for conciseness, the word “perforation” is not meant in a limiting way, but to describe any and all possible separation aids, which includes cuts, splits, slashes, patterned holes, score lines, penetrations, score lines, etc., made by any means in the continuous web of material  40 . 
     Preferably, the disposable child seat cover includes two seat belt slits  44 ,  45  ( FIG. 2 ). The seat belt slits  44 ,  45  are disposed in a back section  12  of the disposable child seat cover to allow child safety belts that are attached to the public child seat to be more readily usable. Optionally,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , the disposable child seat cover  10  can be formed without the seat belt slits. 
     To use the disposable child seat cover  10  of the present invention, a user removes a single disposable child seat cover  10  from a continuous web of material  40  (or alternatively, a single disposable child seat cover  10  previously separated from the continuous web of material  40  may be presented to the user). The user first forms the ties  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  ( FIG. 3-FIG .  4 ) in any order. The first bisecting perforation  25  is torn, thereby allowing the forward part of first longitudinal perforation  33  to be split from the central portion of the disposable child seat cover forming first forward tie  23  and the rearward part of first longitudinal perforation  31  to be split from the central portion of the disposable child seat cover forming first rearward tie  21 . The second bisecting perforation  34  is torn, thereby allowing the forward part of second longitudinal perforation  24  to be split from the central portion of the disposable child seat cover forming second forward tie  24  and the rearward part of second longitudinal perforation  32  to be split from the central portion of the disposable child seat cover forming second rearward tie  22 . 
     The user then positions leg openings  16 ,  17  over the leg openings of the public child seat, and spreads and distributes the remainder of the central portion of disposable child seat cover to fit the particular public child seat to be used. If desired, a cover back section  12  is spread over the back of the public child seat and a front cover section  13  is spread over the front of the public child seat. The ties  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  are then tied to secure the disposable child seat cover to the public child seat. The ties  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  can be used for several methods of tying, based on the requirements presented by the particular public child seat to be used. They may by tied over the disposable child seat cover or under the disposable child seat cover. They may be tied around available posts or bars. They may be tied together. A great deal of flexibility is furnished to the user both in tying methods and in positioning the disposable child seat cover in an optimal way for the situation presented by the public child seat (for instance, allowing a particularly dirty area to be well covered). 
     If needed, the user can adjust the size of leg openings  16 ,  17  by opening leg opening perforations  18 ,  19  to fit the child&#39;s legs. The child can then be easily positioned within the public child seat with sanitary protection provided by the disposable child seat cover  10 . If provided by the public child seat, each side of the child safety belt can then be inserted into one of the seat belt slits  44 ,  45 , with the child safety belt brought to the front of the child and the engagement mechanisms engaged (other methods of installing the child seat belt may be required, depending on the particular design of the provided child seat belt. 
     From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the disposable child seat cover  10  of the current invention provides a sanitary protective device that is conveniently usable in, and easily adaptable to, a wide variety of child seats, particularly public child seats, such as shopping cart seats or restaurant seats. 
     Further, the disposable child seat cover is very inexpensive, due to the material used and to the fabrication within a continuous web of material  40 . 
     Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.