Edge Protector Device

This invention relates generally to devices for protecting children and adults from serious injuries that might be occasioned by accidental contact with the sharp corners or edges of furniture.

The primary purpose of the instant invention is to provide an improved protective device of the indicated type having such universality that it can be inconspicuously mounted on all types of furniture to afford protection against straight edges, corners, and other types of accident prone design work found on furniture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved protective device of such configuration that the possibility of anyone falling against it suffering a serious or scarring injury either to the eye or any other parts of the body, is quite remote.

Other objects of the invention as well as the advantages of the device thereof will appear from the following description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating how the device of the invention may be mounted on a corner and edge of a piece of furniture;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the side of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through the center of the device as shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the other side of the device as shown in FIG. 2.

The protective device shown in the drawing is constituted of a moldable soft, supple and resilient material such as the thermoplastic resin polyvinylchloride so as to present no hazard to a person falling against it. Its special design protects children from harmful bumps and renders quite remote the likelihood of its penetrating the eye cavity of a person falling against. Its special design also enables the device of this invention to cover in addition to the usual furniture corners, the straight edges of furniture, as well as other different types of unusual shaped corners and edges.

The device is preferably injection molded to provide a unitary, one-piece article having a body composed of two integrally connected, angularly disposed, walls designated generally by the reference numerals 10 and 11. The two walls 10 and 11 are approximately 1/8 inch thick to assure the provision of sufficient of the rubber-like material in the device to produce the desired cushioning effect. At the juncture of the two walls, the inner faces thereof define an angle of at least 90.degree.. The outer surface 12 of the device along the line of juncture of such walls is rounded to minimize injury to the portion of a person's body that might accidently contact the same. In the use of the protection device the wall 10 thereof is attached to a flat surface of the article so that the line of juncture of the walls 10 and 11 overlies the corner or the straight edge for which the device is to provide protection and with the wall 11 of the device freely overlying the meeting edges of the furniture surfaces forming the corner, or the other surface of the furniture forming such straight edge being protected, both of which methods of attachment are illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

To enable such attachment of the wall 10, it has integrally molded to its inner face adjacent to the free end thereof, a plastic suction cup 13 configured to assure secure adhesion to any smooth, flat non-porous surface. The construction of the suction device is such that it is difficult for small children to remove the device once it has been attached to a piece of furniture. It will be noted from FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, that the closed end of the suction cup 13 is formed by a portion 14 of the inner face of the wall 10. The base of the suction cup is frusto-conically shaped, and such base as well as the outer portion of the cup taper gradually to a relatively thin outer edge. Also integrally molded to the inner face of the wall 10 between the suction cup 13 and the joint between the two walls 10 and 11, is a projecting rib 15 approximately 1/8 inch wide and 1/2 inch long. The rib 15 is disposed transversely to the length of the wall 10 and is in substantial parallelism to the joint between the walls 10 and 11. The height of the rib 15 is approximately 1/4 inch to enable its outer edge to contact the surface to which the suction cup 13 is adhered when the so secured wall 10 is in substantial parallelism with such surface. The wall 10 has further integrally molded thereto an inwardly projecting, substantially U-shaped, peripheral rib 16 extending around the entire length of the side and end free edges of such wall. It will be noted that at the outer free end of the wall 10, the rib 16 is semi-circularly-shaped and has a radius slightly less than that of the suction cup 13 so that it overlies in spaced relation approximately 180.degree. of the outer edge portion of the suction cup. The depth of the rib 16 from the inner surface of the plate 10 and the width thereof are each approximately 1/8 inch so that such rib has a substantially square cross-sectional area. The outer free edges of the wall 10 at their juncture with the outer side surfaces of the rib 16 are rounded to provide a smooth protective edge 17.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that when the wall or plate 10 of the device is adhered to a furniture surface by the vacuum cup 13, such vacuum cup and the transverse rib 15 coact to provide a cushioning action against the blows that the plate 10 will receive as a result of a person falling against it. The soft rubber-like constitution of the material of such plate and the exterior rounded edges 12 and 17 around the entire perimeter of such plate minimize the possibility of any injury to the part of the persons body striking such plate 10. If the blow to the plate 10 is a slanting one or of unusual severity, the rib 16 around the edge of such plate will exercise a further cushioning action to soften the effects of such types of blows. In this manner, the device can protect a person against even very awkward and severe falls against the furniture piece on which the device is mounted.

The wall or plate 11 of the device has a thickness similar to that of the plate 10, i.e., about 1/8 inch thick. The side edges of the plate 11 are provided with inwardly directed straight ribs 20,20 which form continuations of the legs of the substantially U-shaped rib 16 on the plate 10. The outer side edges of the plate 11 at their juncture with the outer side surfaces of the ribs 20,20 are rounded to provide smooth protective side edges on such plate. Located between and extending in parallelism with the ribs 20,20 are two spaced ribs 21,21 projecting inwardly from the inner surface of plate 11. The ribs 21,21 have a width and depth similar to those of the ribs 16 and 20 and extend from the free end of plate 11 to the joint between the two plates 10 and 11. The inner ends of the ribs 21,21 are integrally formed with the interior surface of the plate 10. The ribs 21,21 are equally spaced from the ribs 20,20, and are spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than the length of the transverse rib 15 so that the latter can readily fit therebetween when the two plates or walls 10,10 are folded inwardly about the joint connecting them together.

It will be noted from FIG. 1 of the drawings, that when the device of this invention is mounted on a piece of furniture to protect a corner thereof, it is positioned on such furniture piece so that the corner thereof will be between the ribs 21,21. With the device so arranged thereon, the plates thereof will protect a person falling on or against such corner and the ribs 21,21 will coact with the furniture corner to maintain the device properly mounted on the furniture piece during such impact. When the device however, is mounted to protect a person against injury by a straight edge of the furniture both ribs 21,21 will cooperate with the side ribs 20,20 to provide a cushioning action against forces tending to crush the plate 11 against the flat surface of the furniture covered thereby. While the ribs 21,21 as a result of their connection at their inner ends tend to maintain the two plates or walls in angular relation they do not prevent flexture of such walls relative to each other to accommodate the device to different types of furniture surfacing. Thus, the free plate is connected in hinged relation to the anchored plate when the device is secured to a piece of furniture.

It is believed that it will be apparent from the above description that the device of the present invention is possessed of a universality which renders it equally effective to afford protection against possible injury from both the corners, the straight edges and any other types of sharp borders that may be provided on a piece of furniture. If desired a series of such devices can be arranged in side-by-side relation to afford protection against a long sharp edged section of a piece of furniture. Preferably, the device of this invention is made in a crystal clear transparent form so that it will be relatively inconspicuous on the portion of the piece of furniture it is affording protection against.