Abstract:
A heavy net is used with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for the toddler&#39;s hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A net is fastened to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/519,678, filed on Sep. 12, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,216, filed on Sep. 30, 2003, abandoned, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/498,956, filed Aug. 30, 2003, the full disclosures of each being incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Each year about 3 million children in the United States alone visit emergency room departments for fall-related injuries. A major cause is falling down stairs. These falls result in more open wounds, fractures and brain injuries than all other accidents of children. Nearly one hundred children under the age of  9  die per year from falls. A major problem is going up and down stairs for toddlers. These are infants between  18  months and  4  years of age. They are old enough to be able to crawl up stairs, but not typically tall enough to be able to use the adult-height banister. 
         [0004]    The solutions suggested to date have basically involved a lower height stair rail. For example, Roberts (U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,242) teaches a secondary railing that hangs below the primary railing. Ruhnke (U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,553) teaches the use of adjustable shelf-type hangars to adjust the height of the railing. Turner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,201) teaches a secondary handrail for toddlers as does Jaworski (U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,528) and Koza (U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,166) and finally Sedlack (U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,854). 
         [0005]    Hartman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,255) teaches a double rail telescoping system. Stevens (U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,100) teaches a special hand railing for toddlers. Another approach is the use of an adjustable railing system. This is taught by Rezek (U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,433), Toomey (U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,194) and finally Marsden (U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,968). An interesting solution is that of Flory (U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,475) who basically teaches an obstacle course of gates on alternate sides of the stairway to prevent people from falling more than a few feet if they do stumble. 
         [0006]    For completion one should mention some of the solutions for another safety problem. This problem involves children falling through the balusters in open stairways. This includes a panel of screens as taught by Langan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,194), the Railnet product (attached literature) Plexiglas sheets as taught by Bodzin (U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,545), and finally Dandrea (U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,715) which weaves rigid fabric in and out of the balusters to form a barrier for the toddlers. 
         [0007]    Thus in spite of the need for a simple safety system to allow toddlers to more safely go up and down stairs, none exist. The ideal system would be something that can be packed in a small box for easy retail sale and transport to a home, can be installed without the use of any tools, and leave no permanent marks on the home in any way. In spite of the need for such a product none has existed to date. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The major object of this invention is the use of a heavy net with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for a toddler hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A further object of this invention is to provide a method of providing tension securement to a carpeted surface by the use of deep-machined hook surfaces. 
         [0009]    Another object of this invention is to teach the use of fastening a net to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners. Another object of this invention is to teach the manufacture of a carpeted stair gripper, which allows objects to be attached, and custom fitted, to the edges of carpeted stair steps with great strength and with no tools or defacement of the stairs. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows the PRIOR ART. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows the basic system in use. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows the side view of the stair step gripper. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows another side view of the stair step gripper. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows the details of the deep-machined hook-gripping surface. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows the top view of a stair edge gripper. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of the mesh net being attached to the stair step edge with the stair edge gripper. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  shows the large mesh. 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  shows the method of making and using the stair step gripper. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  shows the method of making and using the wall stair safety system. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  shows the system using the partial net embodiment. 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  shows the system using the hybrid net embodiment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  shows the system using other elements. 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  shows the system using a partial net embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  shows the system using a partial net embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  shows the PRIOR ART for a toddler stair safety system. The conventional railing  10  is attached to the wall with mounting brackets  12 . A toddler railing  14  is shown at a lower height attached to a wall with brackets  16  to allow a toddler to more safely go up and down stairs  18 . Such a system is very bulky to ship and transport, requires the use of a tool, and causes damage to a wall. 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  shows the system of the instant invention in application. The existing railing  10  is shown over the existing stairs  18 . But, in this case, there is a heavy netting of thick material and a large mesh  30  which is pulled down and attached to stair edge grippers  32  and pulled up and attached to the banister (or railing)  10  by stand-alone fasteners  34 . 
         [0027]    Attachments  32  and  34  are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces. 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of the stair edge gripper  32 . The thick duck material or nylon strapping  40  runs the full length of the gripper. Attached underneath is the deep-machined hook fastening surface  42 , which is attached to the duck or nylon material  40  by adhesive  46 . In an alternative embodiment grommets  44  on each side of the fastener are inserted in the material  40  to allow for the use of a wood screw to attach. This would be used for a case where the stairs are not carpeted. The grommet  50  is mounted just beneath the fold  48  of the main body material. An example of a suitable deep-machined hook fastener is the MVA8 available from the Velcro Fastening Systems of Manchester, N.H. An alternative deep-machined hook surface is the Velcro “extreme” fastener surface strip. 
         [0029]    The length of each wing of the stair edge gripper  32  is preferably between 2-4 inches but lengths of 1-10 inches are usable. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  shows an alternative embodiment to the stair edge gripper, which does not require carpeted stairs. In this case the main body material has a double-sided adhesive  46  attached to it and protected for shipping by release liner  52 . The grommet assembly is as before. Another example of a suitable material for attaching to non-carpeted areas is 3M® Command™ adhesives. 
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the machined hook material  42 . Note that each hook  60  is in the shape of an upside down “T”. The width  62  of the T section is approximately 20% of the height  64 . However, fractions between 10% and 40% will also work. The height of the T is preferably at least 1 mm and preferably about 2 mm. Alternatively, heights between about 0.7 mm and 5 mm will work. 
         [0032]      FIG. 6  gives a top view of the stair edge connector  40 . Here we see the fold  48  with the main grommet  50  installed in it. Also see the alternative grommets  44  in the top surface. The width of the wings is preferably in the range of 0.6-1.5 inches but widths in the range of 0.4-2.5 inches will also work. 
         [0033]      FIG. 7  shows the stair edge gripper  32  being attached to the one-stair edge steps  18  and pulling down the net  30 . Here the vertical force of the net is transferred through a hook and loop fastener  70  through the grommet  50  and down through the duck material  40  and into the deep machined hook fastening surface  42 . That will maintain great strength in this vertical tension. The horizontal part of the stair edge gripper  32  with this primary body material  40  and deep machined hook  42  is not in tension in this case and will only go into tension when the toddler hand pulls the net in a horizontal direction or because of pre-stresses when the net was first installed. A suitable material for fastener  70  is the Ultra Mate® brand self-fastener available from Velcro USA of Manchester, N.H. preferably in a ⅜″ width. 
         [0034]      FIG. 8  shows the net  30  in use. There is an optimal width and height of the mesh. Width  80  and height  82 , is about 38 mm or about 1.5″. This is enough room for a toddler&#39;s hand  86  to grip across the net. Yet, it is not so large to allow major distortion with the child pulling on the net. Secondly it is large enough so there is no risk of having a child&#39;s finger getting caught in the net. The dimension of about 1″ to 2″ is optimal for this mesh. However, dimensions of ¾ to about 3 inches could be used. 
         [0035]    These dimensions are critical to proper operation of the invention. Note that the netting “barriers” such as the one by Langan have ¼-½ inch weave (col 2:46) which would not allow even a toddler to get a handgrip or even multiple fingers in the net. 
         [0036]    The diameter of the cord in the mesh is also important. If this is too large it will add excessive weight and bulk to the netting as well as fill up too much of the space in the mesh. If it is too small it will tend to cut the child&#39;s hand and be uncomfortable and thus discourage its usage. The optimal cord diameter for the net is 3 mm. However, diameters between 2 mm and 4 mm are very usable, and diameters between 1 mm and 5 mm would function for this usage. Diameter  84  is about 3 mm. The child&#39;s thumb  88  is also shown going over a horizontal cord of the net. The meshes need not be square but may be triangular, rectangular, hexagonal, or of any irregular polygonal shape. 
         [0037]      FIG. 9  shows the method of making and using the stair edge gripper. 
         [0038]    First in step  100  the duck or nylon material is cut to shape and size. 
         [0039]    Then in step  102  it is folded in half. 
         [0040]    In step  104  a hole is punched near the fold. 
         [0041]    In step  106  a grommet is attached to the mesh near the fold. 
         [0042]    In step  108  a deep-machined hook piece is attached to the underside of this duck material. 
         [0043]    In step  110  the installer will rub one flap into the vertical piece of carpet of the stair step. 
         [0044]    In step  112  the installer will rub the other flap into the horizontal piece of carpet of the stair step In step  114  the user will run a connector through the grommet to attach to the object of attachment. 
         [0045]      FIG. 10  gives a method of manufacturing and using the stair stepper system of the invention. 
         [0046]    In step  120  the user will weave a large mesh net using thick cord. 
         [0047]    In step  122  the user will cut the hook and loop strips to size and shape for attachment. 
         [0048]    In step  124  the user will attach the net to a stair railing or banister with the hook and loop strips; alternatively these could be cable ties. Even knotted string would suffice. 
         [0049]    In step  126  the user will tightly attach the bottom of the large mesh net to the existing stair carpet gripper to pull the net down to make it taut to increase the toddler&#39;s confidence in the net. 
         [0050]      FIG. 11  shows a partial net embodiment in application. The existing railing  10  is shown over the existing stairs  18  as in  FIG. 2 . But, in this case, the heavy netting of thick material and large mesh  30  does not reach all of the way to the steps but rather stops about 30-50% of the way down to the steps. Having the net go down as far as 20-60% of the way would also be suitable. The net is then pulled down by straps  130  and attached to stair edge grippers  32  and pulled up and attached to the banister  10  by stand-alone fasteners  34 . As before, attachments  32  and  34  are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces. Most importantly, this allows no toehold for toddlers to climb over the railing to face a more serious fall. 
         [0051]    This 30-50% of the typical railing height (36 inches by United States building code) gives a net height of 10.8-18 inches. None of this is anticipated by net barriers such as that of Langan who teaches a nominal range of 36-42 inches with a broad range of 26-36 inches (col 3:47-49). The 20-60% range for the net depth in the instant invention translates to a 7.2-21.6 inch depth. The resulting gap would be in the range of 14.4-28.8 inches. 
         [0052]      FIG. 12  shows an embodiment of a hybrid net embodiment in application. The existing railing  10  is shown over the existing stairs  18  as in  FIG. 2 . But, in this case, the heavy netting of thick material and large mesh  30  does not reach all of the way to the steps but rather stops about 30-50% of the way down to the steps. Having the net go down as far as 20-60% of the way would also be suitable. Below the large mesh net is a fine mesh net. The fine mesh net will prevent children from falling through the balusters as before. However, the fine net will not catch toes or shoes and thus will be less likely to allow tripping or climbing. Suitable mesh sizes for the fine mesh net are between 0.25 and 0.5 inches. But, a broader range of fine mesh sizes is also functional including 0.125 and 1.0 inch spacings. And, the horizontal and vertical spacings do not have to be equal. The figure shows the large mesh net connected directly to the fine mesh net but there could be a gap between them. The fine mesh net is then pulled down and attached to stair edge grippers  32 . The large mesh net is pulled up and attached to the banister  10  by stand-alone fasteners  34 . As before, attachments  32  and  34  are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces.  FIG. 13  shows the system using elements  136  and  138 . 
         [0053]      FIG. 14  shows an embodiment of the invention attached to a railing or banister  200 . In this embodiment, a mesh net  260  is shown having a first edge  263  and a second edge  265 . The first edge  263  is connected to the railing  200  via stand-alone fasteners (or connectors)  234 . In some embodiments the fasteners  234  are hook and loop style fasteners, for example Velcro®. Fasteners  234  can also comprise cable ties. As seen in  FIG. 14 , the mesh net  260  freely hangs below the railing  200  without the second edge  265  being engaged to the stairs or any other surface. In some embodiments, the mesh net  260  can extend all the way down to the stairs; alternatively, the mesh net  260  can extend only part way to the stairs, as discussed previously. Also previously discussed, the mesh net may extend 20-60% of the distance, d, shown in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 15  shows a further embodiment of the invention attached to a railing or banister  300 . A mesh net  360  is shown having a first portion  371  and a second portion  373 . The first portion  371  of the mesh net  360  has a first edge  363 . The second portion  373  of the mesh net  360  comprises a second edge  365 . In some embodiments, the first edge  363  is parallel to the second edge  365 . As shown, the second portion  373  of the mesh net  360  is engaged to the first portion  371  by any known method such as tying or strapping. Hook and loop fasteners or adhesive may also be used. Alternatively, the mesh net  360  may be constructed of a single piece of material with two sizes of mesh. The first edge  363  is connected to the railing  300  via stand-alone fasteners (or connectors)  334 . In some embodiments the fasteners  334  are hook and loop style fasteners. Or, the fasteners  334  can comprise cable ties. 
         [0055]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 15 , the first portion  371  comprises a plurality of first openings  381 . First openings  381  are between 0.75 inches and 3 inches in size. The second portion  373  of the mesh net  360  comprises a plurality of second openings  383 . Second openings are between 0.125 and 0.5 inches. In some embodiments the second openings  383  are square. In some embodiments the first and second openings  381 ,  383  are square. First and second openings  381 ,  383  can also be rectangular, circular, polygonal, elliptical, or any combination thereof. First openings  381  are arranged and configured to be grasped by a toddler, while second openings are configured to prevent a toddler from falling through balusters, where the stairway is open. Therefore, first openings  381  are generally smaller than second openings  383 .