Infant mat

An automatically-opening infant mat that is movable between an open position and a closed position, the mat comprising:

• a water-resistant flexible material sized to have an infant placed on the material while the mat is in the open position, the material having a length and a width, the length being between about a length of an infant from the infant's heel to the infant's buttocks and about a height of the infant and the width being wider than but about a width of a torso of the infant to accommodate the infant lying on the infant's back on the mat with the mat in the open position, the material being configured to inhibit liquid and solid material from passing through the material;
• a resilient bias member coupled to the material and configured to bias the material to the open position and to be reversibly moved to the closed position;
• and
• a cushion coupled to the material and within a perimeter of the mat when the mat is in the open position and wherein the cushion comprises a temperature-sensitive material configured to change viscosity in response to change in temperature;
• wherein the material is coupled to and constrains the bias member about substantially an entire perimeter of the material when the mat is in the open position such that the mat is substantially planar with a height less than a back-to-front thickness of the infant.

An infant mat comprising:

• a flexible material sized to have an infant placed on the material while in an open position, and configured to be manipulated to a closed position having a smaller perimeter than the material while in the open position, the material having a length and a width, the length being about a height of an infant and the width being about a width of a torso of the infant to accommodate the infant lying on the infant's back on the mat with the mat in the open position, the material being configured to inhibit liquid and solid material from passing through the material;
• and
• expanding means coupled to the material for causing the material to expand to the open position in response to an absence of forces restraining the material from opening, the expanding means having at least one of a relatively flat cross-section along a length of the mat to roll and unroll to and from the closed position, respectively, and a relatively flat cross-section at corresponding portions of the length of the mat such that adjacent first portions of the expanding means can be folded into overlying relationships with themselves when in the-closed position;
• and
• cover means, coupled to and disposed over the material, for covering at least a portion of the material with a plurality of selectively-removable, overlying disposable surfaces on which to place the infant.

An infant mat comprising:

• a flexible material sized to have an infant placed on the material while in an open position, and configured to be manipulated to a closed position having a smaller perimeter than the material while in the open position, the material having a length and a width, the length being about a height of an infant and the width being about a width of a torso of the infant to accommodate the infant lying on the infant's back on the mat with the mat in the open position, the material being configured to inhibit liquid and solid material from passing through the material;
• expanding means coupled to the material for causing the material to expand to the open position in response to an absence of forces restraining the material from opening, the expanding means having at least one of a relatively flat cross-section along a length of the mat to roll and unroll to and from the closed position, respectively, and a relatively flat cross-section at corresponding portions of the length of the mat such that adjacent first portions of the expanding means can be folded into overlying relationships with themselves when in the-closed position;
• and
• a separator coupled to the expanding means to displace members of the expanding means to opposite sides of the mat when in the open position.

An automatically-opening infant mat that is movable between an open position and a closed position, the mat comprising:

• a water-resistant flexible material sized to have an infant placed upon the material, the material having a length and a width, the length being between about a length of an infant from the infant's head to the infant's buttocks and about a height of the infant and the width being about a width of a torso of the infant to accommodate the infant lying on the infant's back on the mat with the mat in the open position, the material being configured to inhibit liquid and solid material from passing through the material;
• a plurality of stacked disposable sheets removably coupled to the material and disposed to cover a portion of the material when the mat is in the open position;
• and
• a resilient bias member coupled to the material and configured to bias the material to an open position and to be reversibly moved to a closed position.