U.S. patent application number 10/046269 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-12 for folding joint for bed bottom of infant playyard.
Invention is credited to Cheng, Huang-Yi.
Application Number | 20020184705 10/046269 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21684497 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020184705 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cheng, Huang-Yi |
December 12, 2002 |
Folding joint for bed bottom of infant playyard
Abstract
A bed bottom folding joint for an infant playyard has a support
means located on the bed bottom. The support means includes one
pair of tension bar sets and a folding joint. The folding joint has
a pivotal connection seat to pivotally engage with the middle bars
of the tension bar set so that two tension bar sets may be
connected to form a support plane for the bed bottom. The folding
joint has a trough, which has an opening pointing downwards to
pivotally engage with the middle bars. A handle bar having a brake
element located at one end may be wedged between a gap formed
between the two middle bars to occupy the pivotal space located
therebetween, to prevent the middle bars from folding. The handle
bar may be turned to remove the brake element to free the pivotal
space and to allow the middle bars to fold toward each other. Hence
folding of the bed bottom structure may be simply controlled by
moving the handle bar. The handle bar may also be fastened to a
pulling band, which may be passed through the slits between the bed
bottom board and mattress to allow users to pull the bed from above
to indirectly trigger the handle bar for folding the bed bottom.
The pivotal connection seat of the folding joint may be extended to
make contact with the floor to support the weight of the bed
bottom.
Inventors: |
Cheng, Huang-Yi; (Chia-I
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Family ID: |
21684497 |
Appl. No.: |
10/046269 |
Filed: |
January 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/99.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47D 13/063
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/99.1 |
International
Class: |
A47D 007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 12, 2001 |
TW |
90209760 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A bed bottom folding joint for an infant playyard for pivotally
engaging bar elements located under a bed bottom of the infant
playyard, comprising: a pivotal connection seat having a trough
with an opening pointing downwards, the trough being pivotally
engaged with the bar elements; and a handle bar pivotally engaging
with the pivotal connection seat and being movable angularly
between a first position and a second position, and having one end
attached to a brake element such that the brake element is wedged
between the bar elements in the trough when the handle bar is moved
to the first position thereby to prevent the bar elements from
folding; and the brake element being moved away between the bar
elements when the handle bar is moved to the second position
thereby to allow the bar elements folding towards one another.
2. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 1, wherein the bar
elements have respectively one end attached to a bucking pad, the
bucking pads of the bar elements are spaced from each other at a
distance to allow the brake element wedging therebetween
smugly.
3. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 2, wherein the bucking pad
is formed by a block element which has a height greater than the
diameter of the bar element.
4. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 2, wherein the bucking pad
is made of engineering plastics.
5. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 2, wherein the bucking pad
is made of a metal block.
6. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 1, wherein the handle bar
has an annular opening to allow users to grasp the handle bar with
hands.
7. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 1, wherein the handle bar
is fastened to a pulling band which is passed through the bed
bottom to allow users pulling from above the infant playyard to
trigger the handle bar from the first position to the second
position for folding the bed bottom of the infant playyard.
8. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 1, wherein the brake
element is formed by bending the one end of the handle bar.
9. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 2, wherein the brake
element is formed by bending the handle bar and has a brake end
substantially matching a lower rim of the bucking pad.
10. The bed bottom folding joint of claim 1, wherein the pivotal
connection seat is extended to contact floor surface for supporting
bed bottom weight of the infant polyyard.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an infant playyard, and
particularly to an infant playyard that has a folding joint located
on its bed bottom.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] An infant playyard generally should have sufficient space to
allow an infant to play inside without feeling confined. As a large
bed frame takes too much space, modern designs mainly focus on
foldable playyards.
[0003] A foldable playyard basically has four walls and a bed
bottom. It utilizes joints to facilitate folding. The rails on the
four walls may be turned and folded in the middle to move closely
to the foot posts of the bed frame. These techniques are known in
the prior art. References can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,811,437
and 5,697,111.
[0004] However the known techniques generally have complex bed
bottom mechanisms. For instance, some have a central hub located on
the bed bottom to pivotally engage with six rods in a precise
manner. When there is a need for folding, the central hub may be
pulled upwards and the six rods may be pivotally turned to fold the
bed bottom.
[0005] The complex construction of the conventional techniques
often result in higher production costs. Defects and operational
problems also increase. The folding joints on the bed bottom
usually have complicated forms and make mold fabrication very
difficult. The pivotal axes of the rods are located very close to
one another and are difficult to assemble manually. All this
indicates that there is still room for improvement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary object of the invention is to provide a foldable
bed bottom structure for playyards that is simply constructed and
easy to assemble.
[0007] According to the invention, the bed bottom structure
includes a pair of tension bar sets and a folding joint. The
folding joint has a pivotal connection seat to pivotally engage
with a pair of middle bars of the tension bar set. The two tension
bar sets thus may be connected to form a support plane for the
bottom bed of the playyard. The folding joint has a trough with an
opening pointing downwards. The folding joint may be pivotally
engaged with the middle bars. A handle bar with a brake element
located at one end thereof may be wedged in a gap formed between
the two middle bars to fill the pivotal turning space in the gap so
that the bed bottom structure may be prevented from folding. When
pulling the handle bar, the brake element is moved away from the
gap to allow the middle bars to turn pivotally and make the bed
bottom structure returning to a folding condition. Hence by pulling
the handle bar, the bed bottom structure may be folded easily.
[0008] According to another embodiment of the invention, the handle
bar may be fastened to a pulling band, which may be passed through
the slits between the bed bottom board and the mattress. Users may
pull the pulling band from above the bed to move the handle bar to
indirectly fold the bed bottom.
[0009] Furthermore, the pivotal connection seat of the folding
joint may be extended downwards to make contact with the floor to
provide firm support for the bed bottom weight.
[0010] The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and
advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the
following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to
the accompanying drawings. The drawings are only to serve for
reference and illustrative purpose, and are not intended to limit
the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a foldable infant
playyard with a built-in foldable frame, as disclosed in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 4,811,437 and 5,697,111.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of the invention adopted
to a bed bottom of a foldable infant playyard, with a pair of
tension bar sets and a folding joint to form a support plane.
[0013] FIGS. 3A and 3B are fragmentary sectional views of the
pivotal engaging relationship between the folding joint and a
tension bar set, with the handle bar at the first position, and the
brake element wedged between the middle bars to prevent the bed
bottom from folding.
[0014] FIGS. 4A and 4B are fragmentary sectional views of the
pivotal engaging relationship between the folding joint and a
tension bar set, with the handle bar at the second position, and
the brake element moved away between the middle bars to allow the
bed bottom to fold.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a folding joint
and a tension bar set of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a perspective of another embodiment of a folding
joint of the invention, with an extended support section to make
contact with the floor for supporting the bed bottom weight.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Referring to FIG. 1, the invention aims to provide a
foldable bed bottom adaptable for an infant playyard. The bed
bottom structure of the invention is simply constructed and easy to
assemble.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 2, the bed bottom structure of the
invention includes a pair of tension bar sets 11 and a folding
joint. The tension bar sets 11 are pivotally engaged with side
rails of a bed frame 10. There are middle bars 30 in the center,
which have respectively an axis to the side rails of the bed frame
10.
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 3 through 5, the folding joint consists
of a pivotal connection seat 20 and a handle bar 21. The handle bar
21 has one end bent to form a brake element 22. The pivotal
connection seat 20 has a trough 26 with an opening pointing
downwards. The middle bars 30 are pivotally engaged with the
pivotal connection seat 20 in the trough 26. By means of the
pivotal connection seat 20, the middle bars 30 and the tension bar
sets 11 may be engaged to form a support plane for the bed bottom.
The handle bar 21 may be pivotally engaged with the pivotal
connection seat 20 in a first and second position. When the handle
bar 21 is set in the first position, as shown in FIG. 3, the brake
element 22 on the handle bar 21 is wedged in the trough 26 between
a gap formed by the two middle bars 30 such that the bed bottom is
not allowed to fold. Referring to FIG. 4, when the handle bar 21 is
moved and switched to the second position, the brake element 22 is
moved away from the gap between the two middle bars 30, and the bed
bottom may then be folded.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 3, in order to increase the bucking
stability of the middle bars 30 and pivotal connection seat 20, and
to enhance the braking effect, a bucking pad 31 may be mounted to
the free end of the middle bar 30 to increase the contact length
with the brake element 22. The bucking pad 31 may be made of a
block element with a height equal to or greater than the diameter
of the middle bar. To those skilled in the art, it is known that
the bucking pad 31 is for extending the vertical contact length and
may be integrally formed with the middle bar 30, or be made of
various metals or engineering plastics, then wedged in or bonded to
the end section of the middle bar 30.
[0021] In order to allow the middle bar 30 or bucking pad 31 to
pivotally turn about a pivotal axis 32 in the trough 26 smoothly
without interference, the trough 26 should have sufficient turning
space. However, it is also important to maintain the desired amount
of contact between the middle bar 30 and the pivotal connection
seat 20. Therefore two ends of the trough 26 may be respectively
formed with an extending flange 25. Thus, loading of the bed bottom
may be transferred through the flange 25 to the middle bars 30, and
through the pivotal axis 32 to the tension bar sets 11 to generate
a reaction force to support the loading. In practice, the bed
bottom is usually covered by a bed board and/or mattress.
[0022] The handle bar 21 may have an annular opening 24 for people
to grasp the handle bar 21. Another alternative is to fasten a
pulling band 40 to the handle bar 21, and pass the pulling band 40
through the bed bottom. When in use, users may pull the pulling
band 40 from above the bed to trigger the handle bar 21 and move
the brake element 22 away from the trough 26. The middle bars 30
(including the tension bar sets 11) may then be lifted to fold the
bed bottom.
[0023] The pivotal connection seat 20 may be made of high strength
materials such as metal to provide the required support for the
weight of the bed bottom. This also can be achieved by another
embodiment shown in FIG. 6. The bottom end of the pivotal
connection seat 20 may be extended to form a support section 27,
which can make contact with the floor to bear the weight of the bed
bottom.
[0024] While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been
set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the
disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments
thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the
appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not
depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *