Convertible soothing infant seat

Abstract

A convertible soothing seat for an infant is provided. The convertible soothing seat can include a support frame and a seat portion pivotably connected to the support frame. The seat portion can actuate between a soothing configuration and a sleep-safe configuration, and can include a retractable harness. The retractable harness can cover a portion of the seat portion in a covering position when the seat portion is in the soothing configuration and can retract to a retracted position wherein the retractable harness does not cover the portion of the seat portion when the seat portion is in the sleep-safe configuration, and the retractable harness can retract in response to the actuation of the seat portion from the soothing configuration to the sleep-safe configuration.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A convertible soothing seat for an infant comprising,
 a support frame; and   a seat portion pivotably connected to the support frame, wherein the seat portion is configured to actuate between a soothing configuration and a sleep-safe configuration;   wherein the soothing seat comprises an actuator coupled to the seat portion and configured to actuate the seat portion between the soothing configuration and the sleep-safe configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion comprises a bottom support portion and a back rest portion pivotably coupled to one another such that the back rest portion is configured to rotate relative to the bottom support portion between a flat configuration and a bowed configuration. 
     
     
         3 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion comprises a support and a membrane stretched over the support. 
     
     
         4 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 3 , further comprising a support actuating element and a tensioner configured to tension the membrane in a flat configuration, wherein the membrane is held flat by the tensioner, wherein the tensioner is configured to release the membrane in a bowed configuration, wherein the membrane may conform to the shape of the support, wherein the support actuating element is configured to actuate the support between a first position in which the membrane is held flat by conforming to the support and a second position, the second position being further from the membrane than in the first position, in which the membrane may flex to a concave shape. 
     
     
         5 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 2 , wherein the seat portion is configured to transition from the bowed configuration to the flat configuration in response to the seat portion being actuated from the soothing configuration to the sleep-safe configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 2 , wherein the seat portion is configured to transition from the flat configuration to the bowed configuration in response to the seat portion being actuated from the sleep-safe configuration to the soothing configuration. 
     
     
         7 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion comprises a retractable harness configured to cover a portion of the seat portion in a covering position when the seat portion is in the soothing configuration and to retract to a retracted position wherein the retractable harness does not cover the portion of the seat portion when the seat portion is in the sleep-safe configuration, and wherein the retractable harness is configured to retract in response to the actuation of the seat portion from the soothing configuration to the sleep-safe configuration. 
     
     
         8 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein in the soothing configuration the seat portion is inclined, and in the sleep-safe configuration the seat portion is substantially horizontal with respect to the support frame. 
     
     
         9 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 7 , wherein the retractable harness is configured to actuate from the retracted position to the covered position in response to the actuation of the seat portion from the sleep-safe configuration to the soothing configuration. 
     
     
         10 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion further comprises at least one sidewall. 
     
     
         11 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion comprises a sidewall which extends about a circumference of the seat portion. 
     
     
         12 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 10 , wherein the sidewall is movable between a lowered position, and a raised position wherein the sidewall extends a greater distance above the seat portion than in the lowered position. 
     
     
         13 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 10 , wherein the sidewall comprises a rim and a sidesheet, and wherein the sidesheet is stowed in or under the rim such that the rim may contain or cover a portion of the sidesheet. 
     
     
         14 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion is lockable in one or both of the soothing configuration and the sleep-safe configuration such that when the seat portion is locked it is prevented from being manually actuated between the soothing configuration and the sleep-safe configuration. 
     
     
         15 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the actuator comprises one or more of an electric motor, a drive screw, a pneumatic actuator, or a hydraulic actuator. 
     
     
         16 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller coupled to the actuator and configured to control actuation of the seat portion between the soothing configuration and the sleep-safe configuration in response to an input. 
     
     
         17 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 16 , wherein the input comprises one or more of a monitoring condition of the seat portion from a camera, a movement sensor, a weight sensor, a microphone, and/or a temperature sensor, a time condition, or a user controlled input. 
     
     
         18 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein in the soothing configuration and the sleep-safe configuration the seat portion extends away from the support frame, and wherein the convertible soothing seat is further configured to be actuated to a storage and transport configuration in which the seat portion is collapsed with the support frame. 
     
     
         19 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat portion is configured to actuate between a soothing configuration and a sleep-safe configuration without removing the infant from the seat portion in use. 
     
     
         20 . The convertible soothing seat of  claim 1 , further comprising an electronic communication module wherein the electronic communication module is configured to communicate with a connected device such that the connected device is used to control operation of the convertible soothing seat.