Infant Stimulation Device for Chair

Abstract

The present invention is an infant stimulation device to be used by a caregiver sitting in a chair and cradling an infant against the caregiver's chest. It is comprised of several strips of fabric with different patterns and textures sewn together at their edges. It has narrowed ends that can fit between the arms or slats of a chair, and the narrowed ends are padded to provide lumbar support for the sitting caregiver. The different patterns and textures of the fabric are designed to stimulate the infant by providing visual and textural contrasts. This encourages the infant to lift and turn his head, and reach out with his hands, stimulating necessary motor development.

1 . An infant stimulation apparatus for a chair comprised of:
 a plurality of fabric strips sewn together along their edges to form a first panel and a second panel, each of said panels having an upper short edge, a lower short edge and two elongated side edges;   said first panel and said second panel each having an inner surface and an outer surface and each having an intermediate batting layer and an outer batting layer;   said first panel and said second panel each having an upper seam and a lower seam, wherein said upper seam is located seven to eight inches from said upper short edge, and said lower seam being located seven to eight inches from said lower short edge;   said first panel and said second panel being joined together by an outer seam that runs along the entire outer perimeter of said first panel and said second panel and intersect with said upper seam and said lower seam to form an upper chamber and a lower chamber;   said upper chamber and said lower chamber filled with stuffing; and   a plurality of infant-grasping components along at least two edges of said infant stimulation apparatus.   
     
     
         2 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  which further includes a total of between four and 20 fabric strips, each of said fabric strips having a quasi-unique pattern in the fabric. 
     
     
         3 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each of said first panel and second panel has an elongated octagonal shape. 
     
     
         4 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each of said first panel and second panel has at least one edge that is tapered. 
     
     
         5 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least two of said fabric strips are made of fabric having a quasi-unique pattern. 
     
     
         6 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least two of said fabric strips are made of quasi-unique textured fabric. 
     
     
         7 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least two of said plurality of fabric strips have one or more quasi-unique patterns in the fabric. 
     
     
         8 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said outer seam is comprised of double-stitching. 
     
     
         9 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the length of the top center axis is between 36 to 42 inches. 
     
     
         10 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said short edges is less than 24 inches wide so that the end of the apparatus fits within the arms of a chair. 
     
     
         11 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the said stuffing of said upper and lower chamber has a volume ranging between one-quarter to one-third of a cubic foot. 
     
     
         12 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the said stuffing of said upper and lower chamber is comprised of materials selected from a group of materials comprised of synthetic fibers, wool, and cotton. 
     
     
         13 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of infant-grasping components is made of textured fabric. 
     
     
         14 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said plurality of infant-grasping components are comprised of loop tabs whose dimensions ranges between two-thirds of an inch and 2 inches long, and between 1 to 2 inches wide. 
     
     
         15 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the dimensions of said plurality of fabric strips are uniform. 
     
     
         16 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the dimensions of said plurality of fabric strips are not uniform, with their width ranging between two and five inches and their length ranging between 24 and 40 inches. 
     
     
         17 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least two of said plurality of fabric strips have a pattern selected from the group consisting of a black and white pattern, a red and white pattern, a high-contrast dot pattern. 
     
     
         18 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of fabric strips is made of a fabric selected from the group consisting of textured fabric with raised contours, faux fur textured fabric, and carpet textured fabric. 
     
     
         19 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of fabric strips is made of textured fabric and is next to the fabric strip comprising the outermost edge of either said first or second panel. 
     
     
         20 . The infant stimulation apparatus of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of fabric strips has a high-contrast dot pattern.