1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to child containment devices, and more particularly to a mattress support and a support structure for same with features to attain various performance improvements of the mattress, a playard and/or a bassinet accessory for the playard.
2. Description of Related Art
Playards and bassinets are child containment devices that are known in the art. Bassinets are known to be provided for mounting on a playard with the bassinet sleeping surface elevated above the playard bottom panel. Such a bassinet can provide an elevated sleeping surface in a playard for infants. The higher elevation of the bassinet surface positions an infant closer to a parent or caregiver. This makes it easier for the person to reach and attend to an infant in the bassinet, pick the infant up from the bassinet, or place the infant in the bassinet.
Bassinet accessories designed for use on playards typically are meant for young infants that cannot yet roll over under their own power. Playards and bassinet accessories are often used as sleeping environments for young infants. A child sleeping in such a containment device may be left unsupervised for extended periods of time, which may exacerbate any preexisting problems with the equipment or structures. Problems may arise if the bassinet accessory and/or mattress support structure are not properly installed before placing an infant on the bassinet sleeping surface. The bassinet or mattress support structure may sometimes be assembled incorrectly or even without one or more of the support structures. This may render the sleeping surface non-flat or place the sleeping surface in an unlevel condition. Such an arrangement may increase the risk of breathing and/or other difficulties for the child.
Typical bassinet accessories have a fabric bassinet structure with a bottom panel and surrounding side walls. Many of these products utilize tubes that are slid through fabric tunnels at the tops of the side walls. The tubes connect to the playard top rails or corner posts to mount the bassinet accessory to the playard. A caregiver may mistakenly mount the bassinet accessory incorrectly by not attaching an end of a tube to the playard or by not even installing one of the tubes. Depending on the structure of the bassinet accessory, the structure may look normal to the caregiver when it is incorrectly installed.
A typical playard is folded up when not in use. The playard often folds up to a generally rectangular shape. The mattress is then wrapped around the folded up structure to create a rectangular box-like configuration that is easy to carry, transport, and stow away. On most playards, the bassinet accessory must be removed from the playard before the playard is folded up. The bassinet accessory and its support and mounting components must then be broken down, folded up, and stored or stowed, sometimes with the folded up playard and sometimes separately. The support structure components of the bassinet accessory are often separate from the bassinet soft goods. The components must then be managed separately from the bassinet soft goods as well. The components can become easily lost or misplaced, making it impossible to properly install the bassinet accessory.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds