Flexible mat anchor and tether system and method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Young children, especially infants and toddlers, often drop and toss items while exploring, leading to germ exposure and distraction for caregivers, as they lack coordination to manage utensils and toys effectively.
Innovation Solution
A placemat and tether system that includes a flexible mat with suction cups and an elongated tether, allowing items to be securely anchored to a crossbar or structural member, preventing them from being thrown or dropped, thus minimizing germ exposure and maintaining a clean surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If items are placed within reach of young children, then children can explore and develop tactile functionality, but items are frequently dropped or tossed leading to germ exposure and caregiver distraction
Solution Approach 1:
The placemat serves as an intermediary surface between the child and the table, providing a designated exploration zone. The tether system acts as a mediator to secure items, preventing them from being dropped while still allowing child access. This resolves the contradiction by introducing intermediate elements that enable exploration while mitigating germ exposure risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether system applies preliminary restraint to items before they can be dropped or tossed. By securing items to the placemat via tethers, the system preemptively prevents the harmful action of items being thrown onto the floor, thus eliminating germ exposure risks while maintaining child exploration capabilities.
2Productivity
If toys and utensils are kept within reach of children, then children remain occupied and engaged, but caregivers experience constant distractions from retrieving dropped items
Solution Approach 1:
The placemat with tether system serves as an intermediary that keeps items within child reach while preventing them from being lost. The tether acts as a mediator that connects the item to the placemat, ensuring items remain accessible to the child but cannot be completely dropped or lost, thus reducing caregiver retrieval time while maintaining child occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether system performs preliminary securing of items before they can be dropped. By pre-attaching items to the placemat via tethers, the system eliminates the need for subsequent retrieval actions by caregivers, thus preventing time loss while keeping children occupied with accessible toys and utensils.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a placemat is used to provide a clean surface, then germ exposure is reduced, but items can still be dropped from the placemat onto the floor
Solution Approach 1:
The tether system introduces an intermediary connection between items and the placemat. This mediator prevents items from being completely dropped to the floor while still allowing them to be accessed by the child on the clean placemat surface, thus maintaining both germ protection and item retention reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether applies preliminary restraint to items on the placemat, preventing them from being dropped to the floor. This preemptive measure ensures that while the placemat provides a clean surface, items remain securely attached and cannot be lost, thus simultaneously achieving germ exposure reduction and reliable item retention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively keeps toys and utensils within reach, reducing germ exposure and caregiver distractions, while promoting a clean and safe environment for children to play and eat.
Implementation Method 1
affixing at least two of a plurality of suction cups to each other
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a method includes providing a flexible mat; wrapping the flexible mat around a crossbar of an infant or toddler seat; affixing at least two of a plurality of suction cups; providing a tether configured to secure an object; and coupling the tether to an anchor block by disposing an anchor terminus through an aperture, forming a compression fit. The flexible mat may have a mat body characterized by a front side, back side and thickness; and a plurality of anchors. Each anchor may include an anchor block having an aperture configured to receive a tether, and a suction cup. Each anchor may be disposed through the thickness, such that its anchor block is on the front side and its suction cup extends from the back side. The back side may be adjacent a surface of the crossbar. The method may include securing an object to the tether.