BABY BATH

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a baby bath. In particular the invention is concerned with a baby bath produced from a plastics material.

For reasons of safety and convenience, babies are normally washed in small plastic baths rather than in conventional sized baths. A drawback of washing a baby in an existing plastic bath, of course, is that the baby will be seated in dirty water. This may cause an unhygienic situation which is specifically undesirable where a young baby with a very sensitive immune system is being bathed.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an alternative baby bath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a baby bath comprising a first water holding portion and a second water holding portion, the water holding portions being separated from one another to deter water held inside the first water holding portion from blending with water held inside the second water holding portion, the baby bath further including a baby support, for supporting the body of a baby, which is elevated above the first and the second water holding portions to prevent the head and trunk of the baby coming into contact with water held by the water holding portions.

Preferably the baby support slopes towards the second water holding portion to allow water which falls onto the baby support to flow under the influence of gravity to locate inside the second water holding portion.

More preferably the baby support comprises a base, two side supports and a front support.

Advantageously the baby support includes two leg grooves which are formed between the front support and the two side supports for allowing the legs of the baby to project outwardly from the baby bath.

Advantageously the baby support includes a neck support formation for supporting the neck of a baby.

Typically the baby support includes a fastener formation by which a bathing mat can be secured on the baby support.

In an embodiment of the invention the first and second water holding portions are separated by two dividers, the dividers each defining a soap holding cavity.

In an embodiment of the invention the baby bath is produced from polypropylene.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a baby bath arrangement comprising a baby bath and a bathing mat, wherein

the baby bath comprises a first water holding portion and a second water holding portion, the water holding portions being separated from one another to deter water held inside the first water holding portion from blending with water held inside the second water holding portion, a baby support, for supporting the body of a baby, which is elevated above the first and the second water holding portions to prevent the head and trunk of the baby coming into contact with water held in the water holding portions, the baby support also including a first fastener formation for securing a bathing mat to the baby support; and

- the bathing mat indudes a second fastener formation which can cooperate with the first fastener formation for securing the bathing mat to the baby support.

Preferably the bathing mat is produced from polyurethane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a baby bath arrangement in accordance with the invention, the baby bath arrangement comprising a baby bath and a bathing mat;

Figure 2 shows a front view of the baby bath arrangement;

Figure 3 shows a top view of the baby bath arrangement;

Figure 4 shows a bottom view of the baby bath arrangement;

Figure 5 shows a rear view of the baby bath arrangement;

Figure 6 shows a side view of the baby bath arrangement;

Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view at the line 7-7 in Figure 3; and

Figure 8 shows a cross-sectionai view at the line 8-8 in Figure 3.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTARTED EMBODIMENT

Figures 1 to 8 show a baby bath arrangement in accordance with the present invention, generally indicated with the reference numeral 10. The baby bath arrangement 10 comprises a baby bath 12 and a bathing mat 14.

The baby bath 12 is shaped as shown and comprises a first water holding portion 16 and a second water holding portion 18. The first and second water holding portions 16 and 18 are separated from one another by two dividers 20.1 and 20.2 to deter water which is held inside the first water holding portion 16 from blending with water held inside the second water holding portion 18. In this embodiment of the invention each of the dividers 20.1 and 20.2 define a soap holding cavity 22.1 and 22.2 in which baby soap can be stored when it is not required for washing a baby.

The baby bath 12 further includes a baby support 24 on which the body of a baby can be supported. It is important to point out that the baby support 24 is shaped in such a manner that it is elevated above the first and second water holding portions 16 and 18 as shown, such that the head and the truck of the baby will be prevented from coming into contact with the water held inside the water holding portions 16 and 18. The reason for this will become apparent from the description that follows below.

The baby support 24 comprises a base 26, two side supports 28.1 and 28.2 as well as a front support 30. The baby support 24 also includes two leg grooves 32.1 and 32.2 for allowing the legs of the baby resting on the baby support 24 to project outwardly from the baby bath 12.

The baby support 24 also includes a neck support formation 34, shaped as shown, for supporting the neck of the baby.

An important feature of the invention is that the baby support 24 is configured to slope towards the second water holding portion 18. The

reason for this arrangement will become apparent from the description that follows below.

The bathing mat 14 is complementally shaped to the shape of the baby support 24 and includes a head portion 36, a neck portion 38 and a trunk portion 40. In order to secure the bathing mat 14 in position, the base 26 of the baby bath 12 includes a first fastener formation 42, here provided in the form of a number of holes 44.1 , 44.2 and 44.3 which are spaced about the base 26 as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. The bathing mat 14 in turn includes a second fastener formation 46 which is complemental to the first fastener formation 42 to enable the fastener formations 42 and 46 to cooperate in securing the bathing mat 14 in position on the baby bath 12.

In this embodiment of the invention the second fastener formation 46 comprises a number of protrusions which can be located in the holes 44.1 , 44.2 and 44.3 of the first fastener formation 42. One of the protrusions, indicated with the reference numeral 48, is shown in Figure 7 of the drawings.

It is pointed out that the bathing mat 14 is removably secured to the baby bath 12, for example, to allow these components to be washed separately.

The functionality of the baby bath arrangement 10 of the invention can be illustrated by way of example. In order to wash a baby the first water holding portion 16 is filed with clean water. The baby is hereafter placed on the bathing mat 14 on the baby support 24. A user can now immerse a sponge in the clean water of the first water holding portion 16 and use the sponge to wash the baby. The used water that now drips from the sponge and the body of the baby is allowed to flow under the influence of gravity along the sloped baby support 24 to locate inside the second water holding portion 18.

Due to the fact that the first and second water holding portions 16 and 18 are separated, the dirty water of the second water holding portion 18 will

not be allowed to blend with the clean water of the first water holding portion 16. As a consequence the baby being washed will not remain in contact with dirty water for any great length of time.

The baby bath 12 of this embodiment is produced from polypropylene. The bathing mat 14 in turn is produced from polyurethane. The reason for electing polyurethane is that it will provide a comfortable feel to the baby and is also easy to clean. It will, of course, be appreciated that the baby bath 12 and bathing mat 14 need not be produced of the mentioned j materials and that various materials could be used.

A baby bath arrangement in accordance with the above description ■ addresses the problem highlighted in the background portion of the specification.