Improvements in Baby-tenders.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 18th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 18th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 26th Apr., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Baby-tenders.
We MILO AMOS RICHARDSON and ROSELL LEWELLYN RICHARDSON both residing at
No. 403 West 126th Street in the City of New York, in the County and State of
New York, United States of America, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to that class of baby-tenders wherein a seat for the child is
flexibly suspended from a body ring which is carried on a light base or standard
provided with casters. Such devices are adapted to be pushed around the room by
the child in its efforts to walk.
The object of our invention is to provide a baby-tender wherein the child shall
have more opportunity for exercise and amusement than in those heretofore known,
and wherein the child will be protected from violent shocks resulting from collisions
of the baby-tender with objects about the room or other place where it is used, and
also to construct the baby-tender so that it will be lighter and more easily manipulated
by the child, while possessing a greater degree of safety than has been heretofore
attained.
To this end in carrying out our invention we construct the base of the baby-
tender with a horizontally projecting elastic guard for receiving the force of
collisions and for preventing the overturning of the device. Over this base we mount
a rigid body ring, and from this ring we suspend the seat for the child by means of
flexible elastic suspenders.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate our invention Figure 1 is a
perspective view of a baby-tender. Figure 2 is a vertical section thereof and
Figure 3 is a plan thereof.
Referring to these drawings let A represent the supporting base, B the body ring
and the seat for the child. The base A is constructed preferably of two lateral
rungs a, a connected together through the medium of a hoop or guard or guard-
ring D, which is secured to their outer ends. The ring D is constructed of light
elastic material and is arranged in close proximity to the floor, extending in a
horizontal plane around the base of the device. The body-ring B is preferably a
wooden ring having an aperture sufficiently large to freely admit the body of the
child. This ring B is rigidly secured to the base by means, preferably, of light
braces or legs b, b secured to the ring B and projecting downward therefrom diago-
nally and entering the rungs a, a of the base. The legs b, bare constructed to rigidly
connect the base and ring B, so that there can be no relative movement between
these two sections of the baby-tender.
A seat C for the child is suspended below the aperture in the body-ring B and is
connected to the ring B by means of flexible suspenders c, c (three being used by
preference). The suspenders c, care elastic and are preferably constructed so that
the height of the seat C relatively to the body ring B can be adjusted. This we
prefer to accomplish by constructing the suspenders c, c of springs d, d provided with
hooks at their lower extremities. Straps e, e are preferably secured to the seat C

page_text: and are hooked over the extremities of the springs d, d. By means of perforations
in the straps the height of the seat can be adjusted at will. Any other suitable con-
nection between the seat and the body-ring B which will flexibly and elastically
suspend the seat from the body-ring B may be used instead of the connection c, c
shown.
E is a shelf secured to the front of the body-ring B to be used by the child as a
table on which to place its toys.
The seat C may be constructed of any desired shape; but we prefer to construct it
with recesses, for the child's limbs and a central forwardly-projecting horn g to
prevent the child from escaping and slipping down on to the floor in front of the
seat. This construction of seat is well known. The body-ring B and seat Care
located excentrically of the base A, so that the centre of the ring is mounted at a
point considerably to the rear of the centre of the base. This is desirable, as the child
in using the baby-tender as a walker tends to propel it forward more rapidly than
in any other direction, and the child also leans forward over the body-ring B while
so propelling the device, so that a sudden stoppage of the baby-tender while the
child is leaning forward and propelling it rapidly ahead is more likely to overturn it
than would be the case were it propelled either sidewise or backward.
It is of great advantage that the seat C should be elastically connected to the body-
ring B, and the latter should be rigidly supported by the base. With this construction
the infant is enabled to jump himself up and down by simply pressing upon the rigid
body-ring and thereby lifting his weight off the seat C and permitting the latter to
rise, whereupon by letting go of the body-ring B he can throw his full weight on the
seat C, thereby depressing it. In this way the child can bounce himself up and down
at will.
As in devices heretofore constructed, the child can by pushing the seat C rear-
wardly bring his feet to the floor, or if desired he can place them on the forward
rung a of the base, using this rung as a foot rest.
In order to reduce the shocks resulting from collisions with other objects while
the baby-tender is being propelled, we construct the guard-ring D of light and highly
clastic material, so that as it collides with an object it will yield sufficiently to prevent
injury to the child. This ring D also serves to prevent the child from propelling the
baby-tender too closely to stoves and other articles of furniture from which it is
desirable to keep it.
We prefer to apply the usual casters for the baby-tender to the under sides of the
rungs a, a cf the base, and to place them somewhat inside of the guard-ring D, so
that they will be protected from injury in case of collision.
In placing a child in our improved baby-tender the child's body is lowered through
the aperture in the body-ring B until the child sits upon the seat C. The
connections c, c are then adjusted until the seat C is arranged at the proper height
relatively to the body ring B, whereupon the child may be left entirely to himself.
It will be understood that our invention can be modified in many respects without
departing from the essential features thereof, and that we do not limit ourselves to
the particular details of construction herein shown and described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what wo
claim is
=
1. In a baby-tender, the combination with a circular base of a seat carried thereby
and mounted excentrically thereon at a point back of the centre of the base, sub-
stantially as set forth.
2. In a baby-tender, the combination with the base of a body-ring rigidly carried
thereby, a seat suspended from said ring, and an elastic connection between said seat
and ring, whereby the seat may be moved independently of the ring, substantially
as set forth.
3. In a baby-tender, the combination with the base of a body-ring carried thereby,

page_text: a seat suspended from said ring, and an adjustable connection between said ring and
seat, whereby the latter can be adjusted relatively to the ring, substantially as set
forth.
4. A baby-tender consisting of a base constructed of an elastic ring, rungs secured
thereto and provided with casters, a body-ring supported by and rigidly connected
to the base by legs projecting from said rungs, a seat, and adjustable elastic suspenders
flexibly connected to the body-ring, and seat for supporting the latter, substantially
as set forth.
SML 1000
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.