Expandable room barrier for children and pets, and system of use

Abstract

A soft, foam panel in a trapezoidal prism shape, multiple units of which can form an adaptable and expandable security barrier for children or pets. The foam panels come in a variety of lengths, heights, and end configurations, and are designed to be stable as independent units laid out next to each other with adequate stability to prevent a child from pushing them over, but, optionally, capable of being made additionally stable by being attached to one another at their ends by hook and loop or similar means of attachment and, optionally, weighted at the bottom for additional stability. By adding or taking away panels, and changing their angle of attachment, an adult can effectively adapt the invention to barricade off sections of rooms with a variety of shapes and sizes. For sanitary purposes, the foam panels are covered with a cover which can be easily removed for washing.

1 . A device for creating an adjustable barrier to a child or a pet, comprising: 
 a foam panel made of soft, firm foam in a trapezoidal prism shape, with a thinner section at the top of the foam panel and a wider bottom portion of the foam panel, and,    a cover for the foam panel, where the cover is easily removable, through the use of zippers, snaps, and similar means of attachment, and made out of a fabric that is easily washable such that a user can sanitize the cover at his or her convenience, and,    where the bottom of the device is wide enough compared to its height such that a 40 pound child cannot push it over from the unit's standing position, and,    where the device can be put up, end to end, against other units of the device such that the series of units can create a barrier.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1 , where, the foam panels are made in a variety of different lengths, thereby allowing a user further flexibility in selecting foam panels of different lengths to accomplish his or her goal of effectively creating a barrier.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 1 , where, the foam panels are made in a variety of different heights, thereby allowing a user further flexibility in selecting foam panels of different lengths to effectively create a barrier depending upon the desired result, e.g., confining or excluding a child of a certain height or a pet with a certain jumping ability.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 1 , where, the foam panels are made in a variety of different heights, and in a variety of different lengths, thereby allowing a user further flexibility in selecting foam panels of different heights and different lengths to effectively create a barrier depending upon the desired result, e.g., confining or excluding a child of a certain height or weight, or a pet with a certain jumping ability.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 1 , where the foam panels are made with a variety of ends cut at angles other than 90 degrees to the sides, including ends cut at 30, 45, and 60 degrees, such that a user can create a “seamless” barrier by attaching foam panels with different end configurations to create bends in the barrier without leaving “thin” portions.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 1 , additionally comprising: a means of attachment located at the end portions of the cover of the foam panel where, the means of attachment allows a user to connect two or more foam panels together to form a barrier.  
   
   
       7 . The device of  claim 6 , where, the means of attachment comprises mated strips of hook and faster material affixed to the ends of the cover of each foam panel, such that when one foam panel is pushed against another, the hook portion from one panel connects with the loop portion of another panel.  
   
   
       8 . The device of  claim 6 , where, the means of attachment comprises mated strips of hook and fastener material, located on the top of the cover of each foam panel, where the fastener portion of is affixed along its entire length to the cover and the hook portion is rotably affixed at only one point, such as a rivet or bolt, such that when a user aligns a plurality of foam panels in an alignment other than a strictly linear alignment, the rotably affixed hook portion can “cross over” and attach to the loop portion affixed to the cover of the other foam panel, thereby creating a physical link between the foam panels.  
   
   
       9 . The device of  claim 6 , where, the means of attachment comprises both mated strips of hook and faster material affixed to the ends of the covers of each foam panel, such that when one foam panel is pushed against another, the hook portion from one unit connects with the loop portion of another unit, and mated strips of hook and fastener material, located on the top of the cover of each foam panel, where the fastener portion of is affixed along its entire length to the cover and the hook portion is rotably affixed at only one point, such as a rivet or bolt, such that when a user aligns a plurality of foam panels in an alignment other than a strictly linear alignment, the rotably affixed hook portion can “cross over” and attach to the loop portion affixed to the cover of the other foam panel, thereby creating a physical link between the foam panels  
   
   
       10 . The device of  claim 6 , where, the means of attachment is a series of snaps where the male snap and female snaps are affixed such that the foam panels can be attached in either a linear or non-linear arrangement and maintain their structural integrity as a barrier.  
   
   
       11 . The device of  claim 1 , additionally comprising a weight device located at the bottom portion of the foam panel, where, the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support, such that the adjustable barrier can be laid out in a linear or non-linear pattern by the user and will remain upright, and where the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support when a child, up to a 40 pound child puts his or her full weight against the foam, the adjustable barrier does not fall over.  
   
   
       12 . The weight device of  claim 11 , where, the weight device is a piece of metal, plastic, or wood embedded in the foam panel in the bottom portion of the foam panel.  
   
   
       13 . The weight device of  claim 12 , where, the weight device is encased in a protective cover of foam where the protective cover of foam has a density greater than that of the foam barrier but still sufficiently soft to cushion a fall against it from a child.  
   
   
       14 . The weight device of  claim 11 , where, the weight device is a hollow container into which a user can pour water to adjustably add weight to the foam panel depending on the degree of stability the user desires, where the hollow container comprises a hollow, plastic container with a length shorter than the length of the unit, a width narrower than the unit, and a height of approximately three inches, such that the hollow container, when filled, provides a stable weight in the bottom of the unit, and a spigot with a cap, where the spigot extends from inside the unit where it attaches to the hollow container outside of the unit where a user can pour water into the spigot by removing the cap, then, when finished adding a desired amount of water to the hollow container, replacing the cap to make the hollow container watertight.  
   
   
       15 . The device of  claim 14 , where, the hollow container is embedded into the foam panel at the bottom portion of the foam panel.  
   
   
       16 . The device of  claim 1 , where, the cover is made in a wide variety of colors and patterns, such that a user can easily exchange covers and buy new covers when desired.  
   
   
       17 . The cover of  claim 16 , where, the cover can be manufactured to display licensed cartoon characters popular with children.  
   
   
       18 . The cover of  claim 16 , where, the cover can be manufactured with animals or characters attractive to children where the animals or characters are not copyrighted or trademarked, or otherwise protected by intellectual property.  
   
   
       19 . A method of creating an adjustable barrier to confine or exclude a child or pet, comprising the steps of: 
 first, taking two or more units of the invention, where the unit comprises a piece of soft, firm foam in a trapezoidal prism shape, with    a thinner section at the top of the foam panel and a wider portion at the bottom of the foam panel,    a cover for the foam panel, where the cover is made out of a fabric that is easily washable such that a user can sanitize the cover at his or her convenience,    a means of attachment located at the ends of the foam panel, where, the means of attachment allows a user to connect two or more foam panels together to form a barrier, and, optionally,    a weight device attached to the bottom portion of the foam panel,    where, the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support, such that the adjustable barrier can be laid out in a linear or non-linear pattern by the user and will remain upright, and where the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support when a child, up to a 20 pound child puts his or her full weight against the foam, the adjustable barrier does not fall over,    second, attaching the two or more units to each other by the means of attachment, and,    third, arranging the series of attached units into a shape which effectively creates a barrier in the desired shape.    
   
   
       20 . An adjustable barrier to confine or exclude a child or pet, comprising: 
 two or more units consisting of foam panels, where the foam panels comprise: a piece of soft, firm foam in a trapezoidal prism shape, with a thinner section at the top of the foam panel and a wider portion at the bottom of the foam panel,    a cover for the foam panel, where the cover is made out of a fabric that is easily washable such that a user can sanitize the cover at his or her convenience,    a means of attachment located at the ends of the foam panel, where, the means of attachment allows a user to connect two or more foam panels together to form a barrier, and, optionally,    a weight device attached to the bottom portion of the foam panel,    where, the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support, such that the adjustable barrier can be laid out in a linear or non-linear pattern by the user and will remain upright, and where the weight device is sufficient to allow the adjustable barrier to remain upright without additional structural support members or other means of support when a child, up to a 20 pound child puts his or her full weight against the foam, the adjustable barrier does not fall over,    where, two or more foam panels are attached to each other by the means of attachment, and,    where, the desired shape of the barrier is achieved by arranging the series of attached foam panels into a shape which effectively creates a barrier in the desired shape.