FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to baby cots or cribs, hereinafter called cots.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Cots are widely used to permit the safe sleeping and play of infants and young children. They typically consist of two long side panels and two shorter end panels (head panel and foot panel), defining a quadrilateral enclosure and supporting a base at distance from a floor surface. A mattress is usually placed on the base to provide cushioning.

Cots are typically manufactured from wood, and in some instances include metal frames with textile inserts spanning the frame members. In many cases, one side of the cot can be slidably moved down to permit easy access into the enclosed area and to facilitate removal of toddlers. The height of upper edge of the side panels, usually provided by a top rail member, with respect to the base is generally adjustable. The height is selected so as to minimise the prospect of the child climbing over the side panels as the child grows. A correctly adjusted cot provides a safe and comfortable space for the child.

Infants and toddlers progressively gain teeth and, as is well known, this process is often accompanied by a degree of pain, production of large quantities of saliva, and a desire by the child to rub objects against their gums and nascent teeth. Objects such as teething rings and rusks are mostly used to relieve discomfort and pain, but the child rarely confines his/her attention to these, treating any suitable object in their environment as a 'teething opportunity'.

This creates a particular issue for cots. The top rails of side panels of the cot are often at a convenient height for use in soothing teething discomfort. However, gnawing and chewing by the infant, when accompanied by copious quantities of saliva, will progressively damage and disfigure the top rails of a cot, in particular of wooden cots.

It is known to mount plastic teething opportunity protectors onto the cot's top rail(s). These are channel like sections, either extruded or moulded which straddle and attach to the rail by a resilient force fit or similar mechanism. Aside from being somewhat unsightly, these often cause a degree of damage to the cot during removal and attachment. There are also potential concerns relating to phthalates, plasticisers and other additives in the plastic being ingested by the infant as the infant gnaws on the rail protector. Further, the rail protector defines a gap at the longitudinal edges where it interfaces the top rail, in which saliva, wood fragments, and other material may accumulate and be retained. This area cannot readily be cleaned. This is unhygienic, allowing for the spread of disease. It also creates a damp environment underneath the protector (by capillary action ) which is potentially damaging to the wood.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative approach to managing teething damage to cots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a broad form, the present invention provides a cot panel having a multi- piece top rail, with an exposed top rail section removably secured to a top rail carrier section in such manner that the exposed top rail section can be replaced in a simple way, for example if damaged by a teething infant.

Wood is often a desirable material for teething infants, because its texture. Properly treated, it is naturally anti-bacterial, non-allergenic and non-toxic. Accordingly, it is preferred for the exposed top rail section to be of wood, but not necessarily made from the same timber as other cot components which are not solely chosen for aesthetic reasons but in order to comply with relevant safety standards for cots. That is, the exposed top rail section could be made from a suitable timber type which is firm yet has a degree of resiliency to withstand splintering or similar failure mechanism upon being gnawed by an infant. Equally preferred, the exposed top rail section may be left in raw state, ie not varnished or painted, to prevent ingestion of paint or varnish chippings by a gnawing infant.

In contrast to known plastic top rail protectors which are provided separately and additional to a cot, and made to attach to the cot's top rail, the present invention provides a top rail which itself is preferably a two-component element (exposed and carrier rail sections) that otherwise provides the structural function which conventional top rails provide to cot side panels, but in which the components are removably fastened / fixed to one another to enable exchange of a damaged section so that the cot may be placed back into near new condition, despite any teething damage to the top rail.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cot having a two piece top rail on each of its side panels, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective assembly view of a side panel as used in the cot of Figure 1 , with the removable top rail element shown detached.

Figure 3 is a perspective assembled view of the side panel of Figure 2.

Figure 4A and 4B are respective cross-sectional views in the planes [A] and [B] of Figure 3. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to figure 1 , a wooden cot 10 is comprised of two identical (front and rear) side panels 12, identical head and foot panels 14 and a cot base 16 dimensioned, assembled and secured in known manner to one another to form a quadrilateral enclosure into which an infant can be placed and protected by the enclosing panels from falling out of the cot 10. The precise details of the cot's structural components and its lay out, but for matters noted below, are not critical to the present invention. Any conventional construction may be used, as would be well understood by those skilled in the art, to provide a cot suitable for infants / toddlers.

One of the side panels 12 of cot 10 is shown in more detail in figures 2 and

3. Referring to figure 3, side panel 12 comprises a wooden frame formed by an elongate two piece top rail 18 extending along the upper free edge of the panel 12, an elongate bottom rail 20 running parallel to top rail 18 and two side rails 22, 23, respectively located at opposite terminal ends of and extending perpendicular to top and bottom rails 18, 20. The frame rails 18, 20, 22 and 23 are secured to one another using known wood working connection techniques, eg tenon-mortise joints, glue, nails and/or bolts. Within this frame extend a plurality of parallel spaced panel slats 24 which are secured/fixed at their respective top and bottom rail ends in known manner in receptacle grooves (not shown) in the facing edges of the top and bottom rails 18, 20, thereby providing an infill barrier and also improving the overall rigidity of panel 12. The panel could be constructed with more or less slats, or with an alternative infill barrier, for example diagonally or vertical-horizontal criss-crossing slats, or even a suitable textile mesh.

As will be noted from Fig. 2 and 4A and 4B in particular also, two-piece top rail 18 is comprised of two equally long constituent sections, an upper-most or exposed section 18A and a carrier section 18B, extending parallel to one another to provide a complementarily assembled rail structure. Elongate carrier section 18B receives and secures the vertical filler slats 24 of panel 12 and is secured to end rails 22, 23, whereas exposed section 18A is itself only fastened/secured in removable manner to carrier section 18B, as noted below.

As can be seen in the cross-sectional views of figs. 4A and 4B, rail sections 18A and 18B define a mating interface along their facing longitudinal surfaces 19A and 19B, preferably provided by congruent or correspondingly shaped surfaces thereby to provide a shape (form) fitting interface that facilitates parallel oriented assembly of the sections 18A and 18B to one another. The interface can be provided in form of a rectangular tongued and grooved joint 25, the upper, exposed rail section 18A carrying the integral tongue 24 which is fittingly received in groove 26 provided in the lower, carrier rail section 18B. While it is possible to provide a simple butt-type joint between sections 18A and 18B, locating the sections to one another is facilitated by a tongue-groove interface 25. It will be appreciated that other cross-sectional shapes for the tongue-groove joint are envisioned too, as is the case with a joint incorporating a separate spline which is received in opposing grooves present in the facing surfaces of both the upper and lower rail sections. Relevantly, the joint type chosen is intended to provide increased resistance against lateral displacement of rail sections 18A and 18B in the joint plane, even when not fully secured to one another.

Upper exposed rail section 18A is secured and fixed in removable manner to the carrier rail section 18B by means of a plurality of spaced apart bolts 28 which are received in suitably sized through-holes 29 that extend across the thickness of carrier rail section 18B. Through-holes 29 are countersunk at 29A to accommodate the heads 28A of bolts 28 and so provide a surface-flush finish. Bolts 28 screw into corresponding internally-threaded axial dowels or sockets 30 (see fig. 4A) which are themselves received and fixed in sack-holes 31 machined in conforming spacing into the exposed rail section 18A. It will be noted that figure 2 only illustrates two of such fastener assemblies 28, and any suitable number of these may be provided at spacing intervals along the length of the rail sections 18A and 18B sufficient to prevent appearance of gaps at the interface of the rail sections and ensure the rail sections are securely fixed to one another when bolts 28 are tightened and prevent upward dislodgment of exposed rail section 18A from its carrier section 18B. In other words, fastener assemblies 28 provide a force fit between rail sections 18A and 18B that acts perpendicular to the length of the rail and the form fit provided by the tongue-groove joint.

One not illustrated simplified manner of fastening the rails 18A and 18B to one another uses simple, self tapering timber screws, although such is less preferred as self-cut threaded bores in softer timbers tend to strip.

As will be also noted from Figures 4A and 4B in particular, the opposite side faces 33 and 34 of rail sections 18A and 18B, which in assembled state would otherwise appear contiguous, are interrupted by grooves 32, 35 extending the length of top rail 18, each groove 32, 35 being defined by opposing bevels on the facing edge surfaces of both upper and lower rail sections 18A and 18B. Grooves 32, 35 not only provide an aesthetic pleasing appearance of a line running along the length of top rail 18, but are dimensioned (in depth and width) such as to allow ease of cleaning thereof and visually disguise the two-piece layout of top rail 18.

In use, it is anticipated that an infant will use upper rail section 18A of top rail 18 as a teething surface. Once this stage of the infant's development is completed, or at any desired time, upper rail section 18A may be removed by undoing bolts 28, and a replacement upper rail section 18A may be mounted. Thus, cot 10 can be returned to more or less original condition, with little difficulty, using a relatively simple and inexpensive replacement upper rail section 18A.

The mating surfaces at the interface of upper and lower rail sections 18A,

18B may themselves be coated with a very thin film of a suitable elastomeric material, or have other means for aiding in minimising ingress of saliva by capillary action into the joint between the rail sections. Wood fragments and other materials are prevented from accumulating near the interface as well.

The two piece top rail 18 of the present invention provides a way of devising cot panels that obviate the need for unsightly "add-on" top rail protectors, and which are prone to be damaged by these add-ons force fitting to its top rail.

It will be understood that the two-section top rail concept of this invention can be implemented in different forms. For example, the upper rail section 18A may be shaped, for example, to have a cross section with two depending portions on either side of the middle axis of the rail that extend down the sides of lower rail carrier 18B, so as to provide a skirted interface. Also, although upper and lower rail sections 18A and 18B are shown as equal lengths, the two pieces may have different lengths, shapes or sizes. These variations may also provide a way of reconfiguring the top rail 18 to impart modified visual appearances to the original cot 10.

But for the fasteners and metal fittings that are required to assemble the cot panels and base, and provide a displaceable side panel, major structural components of the cot 10, in particular the two piece top rail 18, are preferably manufactured from furniture quality wood. The rails in particular will be made from solid timber, and the specific timber type can be selected by the skilled person. Dressed pine, hard wood and similar will be preferred; timber less prone to splintering is preferred in particular for the exposed top rail section 18A which an infant may use as a teething soother.