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A mattress assembly structured for comfortable support of an infant, such as a prematurely born or newborn infant. The mattress assembly includes a base and a compressible material border disposed on the base in at least partially retaining and surrounding relation to a cushioning assembly. The cush

A mattress assembly structured for comfortable support of an infant, such as a prematurely born or newborn infant. The mattress assembly includes a base and a compressible material border disposed on the base in at least partially retaining and surrounding relation to a cushioning assembly. The cushioning assembly comprises a plurality of compartments containing a viscous material, such as silicone, collectively underlying and disposed in alignment with the placement area. A smoothing section is disposed and structured to prevent excessive sinking of the infant into the plurality of compartments. Damage to the infant's skin is prevented or reduced by the provision of a particulate section comprising a casing at least partially filled with a plurality of silicone microbeads, and a contact section formed of shear resistant material collectively defining outer portions of the mattress assembly and extending throughout the placement area on which the infant is intended to be disposed.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A mattress assembly structured for support of a newborn infant and for use in an infant care appliance, said mattress assembly comprising: a support section disposed to at least partially support a remaining portion of said mattress assembly on a support surface,said support section comprising at

1. A mattress assembly structured for support of a newborn infant and for use in an infant care appliance, said mattress assembly comprising: a support section disposed to at least partially support a remaining portion of said mattress assembly on a support surface,said support section comprising at least one portion comprising a viscous material and at least one other portion comprising a rigid material,a particulate section disposed in overlying relation to at least part of said support section,said particulate section comprising a casing formed of a flexible material and including a plurality of silicone beads loosely disposed therein in moveable relation to one another and structured and dimensioned to reduce frictional engagement between said mattress assembly and the sensitive skin of an infant,a placement area dimensioned and configured to correspond substantially to the size of an infant and defined along at least a portion of said particulate section,a contact section formed of a sufficiently shear resistant material disposed in overlying relation to at least said particulate section to minimize frictional engagement with and substantially eliminate damage to the sensitive skin of an infant placed thereon, andwherein each of said support section, said particulate section, said placement area, and said contact section comprise outer peripheries dimensioned to fit within an infant care appliance. 2. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said plurality of silicone beads are silicone microbeads. 3. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said viscous material is a silicone gel. 4. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said support section further comprises a base formed substantially of plastic. 5. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 4 wherein said support section further comprises a border disposed in overlying relation to said base and extending substantially along an outer periphery thereof. 6. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 5 wherein said support section further comprises a cushioning assembly disposed within said border and including a plurality of compartments, each of said compartments at least partially filled with a viscous material. 7. A mattress assembly structured for support of a newborn or premature infant and further structured for use in an infant care appliance, said mattress assembly comprising: a base disposed in underlying, supporting relation to a remainder of said mattress assembly,a border having an open interior portion and disposed in overlying relation to said base,a cushioning assembly disposed within said open interior portion and in overlying relation to said base and dimensioned and configured to accommodate an infant and at least partially comprising a viscous material,a smoothing section disposed in overlying relation to at least said cushioning assembly,said smoothing section formed of a flexible material having a predetermined resistance to compression so as to distribute pressure uniformly and thereby reduce sinking of the infant into said cushioning assembly,a particulate section disposed in overlying relation to said smoothing section and comprising a flexible case including a plurality of microbeads loosely disposed therein in moveable relation to one another,said plurality of microbeads dimensioned and structured to reduce frictional engagement between said mattress assembly and the sensitive skin of an infant,a contact section formed of a sufficiently shear resistant material to minimize frictional engagement with the sensitive skin of an infant placed thereon and disposed in overlying relation to at least said particulate section,said shear resistant material and said plurality of microbeads cooperatively disposed and structured to substantially eliminate damage to the sensitive skin of an infant, andwherein each of said base, said border, said cushioning assembly, said smoothing section, said particulate section, and said contact section comprise outer peripheries dimensioned to fit within an infant care appliance. 8. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 7 wherein said cushioning assembly is disposed entirely within said open interior portion. 9. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 7 wherein said cushioning assembly comprises a plurality of separate compartments. 10. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein each of said plurality of separate compartments is at least partially filled with viscous material. 11. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 10 wherein said viscous material comprises a silicone gel. 12. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein said plurality of compartments are disposed in adjacent relation to one another. 13. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 12 wherein each of said plurality of compartments is connected to an adjacent one of said plurality of compartments. 14. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 7 wherein said plurality of compartments extend between and terminate at opposite longitudinal sides of said border. 15. A mattress assembly structured for use in an infant care appliance to prevent skin damage in newborn and premature infants, said mattress assembly comprising: a base formed of a substantially rigid solid material and disposed in supporting relation to the remainder of said mattress assembly,a border disposed in overlying relation to said base and extending substantially along an outer periphery thereof, defining an open interior therein,a cushioning assembly disposed within said open interior of said border and dimensioned and configured to accommodate an infant and including a plurality of separate compartments, each of said compartments at least partially filled with a viscous material,a smoothing section comprising a flexible material and disposed in overlaying relation to at least said cushioning assembly to evenly disperse pressure of an infant,a particulate section comprising a plurality of silicone microbeads structured and disposed so as to reduce damage to the skin of the infant,a contact section comprising a sufficiently shear resistant material to minimize frictional engagement with the sensitive skin of an infant placed thereon and disposed in confronting relation to an infant disposed on said mattress assembly, andwherein each of said base, said border, said cushioning assembly, said smoothing section, said particulate section, and said contact section comprise outer peripheries dimensioned to fit within an infant care appliance. 16. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 15 wherein said viscous material comprises silicone gel. 17. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 15 wherein said base comprises a plastic material. 18. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 15 wherein said border comprises a compressible foam material. 19. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 15 further comprising an exteriorly exposed placement area disposed above and in substantially aligned relation to at least said cushioning assembly and dimensioned to accommodate an infant. 20. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 19 wherein said plurality of compartments include an elongate configuration collectively and are transversely oriented along a length of said placement area. 21. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 19 wherein said smoothing section is disposed in aligned relation to said placement area. 22. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 19 wherein said contact section is disposed throughout said placement section. 23. The mattress assembly as recited in claim 15 further comprising a cover assembly disposed in enclosing retaining relation to at least said base, said border, and said cushioning assembly and formed of a flexible at least partially cushioning material.