U.S. patent application number 10/320156 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-11 for self-lock hub unit of lower frame of a foldable playyard.
Invention is credited to Yang, Kai-Ming.
Application Number | 20040045085 10/320156 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42738893 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040045085 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yang, Kai-Ming |
March 11, 2004 |
SELF-LOCK HUB UNIT OF LOWER FRAME OF A FOLDABLE PLAYYARD
Abstract
The present application provides a self-lock hub unit of the
lower frame of the playyard includes a body (10) having a plurality
of slots formed at a periphery thereof for receiving tube legs of
the playyard and a vertical cavity formed at the center thereof; an
actuating member (20) which is vertically movably received in the
cavity; two sliding engaging assemblies (30) movably mounted two
oppositely positioned tube legs respectively, each sliding engaging
assembly having a first member, a second member coupled to the
first member for movably coupling the first member to one of the
tube legs, and a biasing member disposed in the tube leg to bias
the first and second members toward an open end of the tube leg,
wherein the two oppositely positioned tube legs are rotatably
received in two radially opposite slots of the body respectively;
two locking means (16, 17) formed on the body at positions
corresponding to the sliding engaging assemblies respectively and
having a guiding portion (18, 18') and an engaging portion (19,
19'); and a strap (40) coupled to the actuating member, wherein the
actuating member, the sliding engaging assemblies, and locking
means are arranged such that while the tube legs are rotated from
vertical position to horizontal position, the second member of the
sliding engaging assembly will contact with and guided by the
guiding portion of the locking means to engage with the engaging
portion of the locking means and thereby locking the tube legs in
horizontal position with at least one portion of the first member
of the sliding engaging assembly protruding into the central
cavity; and while the actuating member is moved upward by pulling
the strap, the actuating member will engage with the at least one
portion of the first member that protruding into the cavity and
push the first member to cause the second member disengaging with
the engaging portion of the locking means.
Inventors: |
Yang, Kai-Ming; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Arlene J. Powers, Esq.
Samuels, Gauthier & Stevens LLP
Suite 3300
225 Franklin Street
Boston
MA
02110
US
|
Family ID: |
42738893 |
Appl. No.: |
10/320156 |
Filed: |
December 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/99.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 16/54024 20150115;
A47D 13/063 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
005/099.1 |
International
Class: |
A47D 013/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 10, 2002 |
CN |
02254280.9 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard comprising:
a body having a plurality of slots formed at a periphery thereof
for receiving tube legs of the playyard and a vertical cavity
formed at the center thereof; an actuating member which is
vertically movably received in the vertical cavity; two sliding
engaging assemblies movably mounted two oppositely positioned tube
legs respectively, each sliding engaging assembly having a first
member, a second member coupled to the first member for movably
coupling the first member to one of the tube legs, and a biasing
member disposed in the tube leg to bias the first and second
members toward an open end of the tube leg, wherein the two
oppositely positioned tube legs are rotatably received in two
radially opposite slots of the body respectively; two locking means
formed on the body at positions corresponding to the sliding
engaging assemblies respectively and having a guiding portion and
an engaging portion; and a strap coupled to the actuating member;
wherein the actuating member, the sliding engaging assemblies, and
locking means are arranged such that while the tube legs are
rotated from vertical position to horizontal position, the second
member of the sliding engaging assembly will contact with and
guided by the guiding portion of the locking means to engage with
the engaging portion of the locking means and thereby locking the
tube legs in horizontal position with at least one portion of the
first member of the sliding engaging assembly protruding into the
central cavity; and while the actuating member is moved upward by
pulling the strap, the actuating member will engage with the at
least one portion of the first member that protruding into the
cavity and push the first member to cause the second member
disengaging with the engaging portion of the locking means.
2. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 1, wherein the actuating member comprises a head portion,
a stem portion coupled to the head portion, a longitudinal opening
formed in the stem portion, and a rivet extending through the
opening and fixed to the body to thereby movably fixing the
actuating member in the cavity.
3. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 2, wherein the actuating member further comprises a spring
fixedly retained between a bottom of the opening and the rivet.
4. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 1, wherein the head portion includes a left inclined plane
and a right inclined plane and each respectively slanted downwardly
and outwardly from the head portion so that the head portion is
formed as an arrow shape.
5. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 1, wherein the biasing member of the sliding engaging
assembly is a spring disposed in the open end of the tube leg; the
first member is a slide which is disposed in the open end of the
tube leg and abut the spring; and the second member is a coupling
pin which extends through the slide and the openings of the tube
wall to thereby slidably coupling the slide to the tube leg,
wherein both ends of the coupling pin extend out of the tube wall a
distance and the slide is biased by the spring and protrudes out
the open end a distance.
6. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 5, wherein the slide has an inwardly slanted face formed
at the end protruding out the open end of the tube leg.
7. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 5, wherein each of the locking means comprises two locking
members are arranged such that the locking members are spaced apart
from each other a distance and the distance is sized to be larger
than an outer diameter of the tube leg to allow the open end of the
tube leg and the portion of the slide 34 that protruding out the
tube leg can pass therethrough.
8. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 7, wherein each of the locking member is shaped as a
reversed `L` and has a vertical portion and a horizontal portion,
wherein the horizontal portion has a lower face and an outwardly
slanted face formed at a free end thereof.
9. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 8, wherein the guiding portion of the locking means is the
outwardly slanted face of the horizontal portion, and the engaging
portion is the lower face of the horizontal portion.
10. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard comprising:
a body having a plurality of notches formed at a periphery thereof
for receiving tube legs of the playyard and a rectangular recess
formed at the center portion and defined by two opposite long-side
walls and two short-side walls; two guiding plates disposed at the
central portion of the recess and parallel with the short-side
walls, the guiding plates being arranged such that they are spaced
apart from each other so as to define a cavity therebetween; an
actuating member which is movably received in the cavity; two
sliding engaging assemblies movably mounted two oppositely
positioned tube legs respectively, each sliding engaging assembly
having a first member, a second member coupled to the first member
for movably coupling the first member to one of the tube legs, and
a biasing member disposed in the tube leg to bias the first and
second members toward an open end of the tube leg, wherein the two
oppositely positioned tube legs are rotatably received in two
radially opposite slots of the body respectively; two locking means
formed on the body at positions corresponding to the sliding
engaging assemblies respectively and having a guiding portion and
an engaging portion; and a strap coupled to the actuating member,
wherein the actuating member, the sliding engaging assemblies, and
locking means are arranged such that while the tube legs are
pivoted from a vertical position to a horizontal position, the
second member of the sliding engaging assembly will contact with
and guided by the guiding portion of the locking means to engage
with the engaging portion of the locking means and thereby locking
the tube legs in an erected position; and while the actuating
member is moved upward by pulling the strap, the actuating member
will push the second member to disengage with the engaging portion
of the locking means.
11. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 10, wherein a notch is formed at each of the short-side
walls at a position corresponding to one of the oppositely
positioned tube legs for receiving an open end of the tub leg.
12. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 10, wherein the locking means are horizontal portions
protruding outwardly from a top portion of sides at width direction
of each of the guiding plates, the horizontal portions are parallel
with and spaced apart from the long-side walls of the central
recess with a space defined therebetween, and have a lower edge and
an outwardly slanted face formed a free end thereof.
13. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 12, wherein the guiding portion of the locking means is
the outwardly slanted face of the horizontal portion of the guiding
plate, and the engaging portion of the locking means is the lower
edge of the horizontal portion of the guiding palte.
14. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 10, wherein the biasing member of the sliding engaging
assembly is a spring disposed in the open end of the tube leg; the
first member is a slide which is disposed in the open end of the
tube leg and abut the spring; and the second member is a coupling
pin which extends through the slide and the openings of the tube
wall to thereby slidably coupling the slide to the tube leg,
wherein both ends of the coupling pin extend out of the tube wall a
distance.
15. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 12, wherein the actuating member comprises an elongated
stem portion and two actuating plates transversally formed at sides
of the stem portion facing the long-side walls respectively and
arranged such that when the actuating member is received in the
cavity, the actuating plates will be received in the spaces between
the horizontal portions of the guiding plates and the long-side
walls.
16. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 15, wherein the stem portion is sized and shaped to be
movably received in the cavity, and has an elongated longitudinal
opening formed therein to thereby the actuating member may be
movably retained in the cavity by a rivet which extends through the
elongated opening of the stem portion and fixed to the body.
17. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 15, wherein an outwardly slanted face is formed at both
ends of each of the actuating plates.
18. A self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard as claimed
in claim 15, wherein the actuating member further comprising a
return spring disposed in the elongated opening of the stem portion
at a position between the rivet and a bottom of the opening.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to a foldable
playyard and more particularly, to an improved self-lock hub unit
of lower frame of a foldable playyard.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,037 has disclosed a lower frame
structure of a foldable playyard, which included a hub assembly. As
illustrated in FIG. 11, the hub assembly 10 included a
substantially hollow cylindrical body 110, four coupling portions
112a-d spaced apart from each other and non-axially extending
outwardly from the hub body for receiving hub legs, and locking
means rotatably coupled the hub body for operablely cooperating
with the coupling portions to lock the hub legs in an erected
position, wherein each of the coupling portions comprises a
reversed U-shaped cross-section, an elongated slot formed in both
side walls thereof, and an opening formed in a top wall
thereof.
[0003] The locking means included a bias spring 120 disposed in hub
body; a latch member 130 rotatably coupled to the hub body and
arranged such that it is biased toward a lock position by the bias
spring, wherein the latch member has two substantially L-shaped
arms formed at two substantially positions of a lower face of a
periphery portion thereof and each of the L-shaped arm has a
vertical portion and a horizontal portion which will be inserted
into the slots of corresponding coupling portion of the hub body as
the latch member is biased toward the lock position by the bias
spring to lock the hub legs in the erected position; and a knob 140
coupled to the latch member to turn the latch member toward an
unlock position such that the horizontal portion of the L-shaped
arm withdrawn from the slot and the hub legs may pivot from the
erected position to the collapsed position.
[0004] Although the hub assembly 10 disclosed in the
above-mentioned '037 is able to perform a locking/unlocking
function of the lower frame of the playyard, it is inconvenient to
perform the unlocking operation because it takes two steps to do
it, i.e., first turn the knob and then lift the hub assembly, and
thus may cause confusion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to
provide an improved self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a
foldable playyard, of which the locking/unlocking operation may be
performed in one step.
[0006] To achieve this and other advantages and according to the
purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described, the hub unit of the lower frame of the playyard includes
a body having a plurality of slots formed at a periphery thereof
for receiving tube legs of the playyard and a vertical cavity
formed at the center thereof; an actuating member which is
vertically movably received in the central cavity; two sliding
engaging assemblies movably mounted two oppositely positioned tube
legs respectively, each sliding engaging assembly having a first
member, a second member coupled to the first member for movably
coupling the first member to one of the tube legs, and a biasing
member disposed in the tube leg to bias the first and second
members toward an open end of the tube leg, wherein the two
oppositely positioned tube legs are rotatably received in two
radially opposite slots of the body respectively; two locking means
formed on the body at positions corresponding to the sliding
engaging assemblies respectively and having a guiding portion and
an engaging portion; and a strap coupled to the actuating member;
wherein the actuating member, the sliding engaging assemblies, and
locking means are arranged such that while the tube legs are
rotated from vertical position to horizontal position, the second
member of the sliding engaging assembly will contact with and
guided by the guiding portion of the locking means to engage with
the engaging portion of the locking means and thereby locking the
tube legs in horizontal position with at least one portion of the
first member of the sliding engaging assembly protruding into the
central cavity; and while the actuating member is moved upward by
pulling the strap, the actuating member will engage with the at
least one portion of the first member that protruding into the
cavity and push the first member to cause the second member
disengaging with the engaging portion of the locking means.
[0007] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a
self-lock hub unit of a lower frame of a playyard comprises a body
having a plurality of slots formed at a periphery thereof for
receiving tube legs of the playyard and a rectangular recess formed
at the center portion and defined by two opposite long-side walls
and two short-side walls; two guiding plates disposed at the
central portion of the recess and parallel with the short-side
walls, the guiding plates being arranged such that they are spaced
apart from each other so as to define a cavity therebetween; an
actuating member which is movably received in the cavity; two
sliding engaging assemblies movably mounted two oppositely
positioned tube legs respectively, each sliding engaging assembly
having a first member, a second member coupled to the first member
for movably coupling the first member to one of the tube legs, and
a biasing member disposed in the tube leg to bias the first and
second members toward an open end of the tube leg, wherein the two
oppositely positioned tube legs are rotatably received in two
radially opposite slots of the body respectively; two locking means
formed on the body at positions corresponding to the sliding
engaging assemblies respectively and having a guiding portion and
an engaging portion; and a strap coupled to the actuating member,
wherein the actuating member, the sliding engaging assemblies, and
locking means are arranged such that while the tube legs are
pivoted from a vertical position to a horizontal position, the
second member of the sliding engaging assembly will contact with
and guided by the guiding portion of the locking means to engage
with the engaging portion of the locking means and thereby locking
the tube legs in an erected position; and while the actuating
member is moved upward by pulling the strap, the actuating member
will push the second member to disengage with the engaging portion
of the locking means.
[0008] Additional features and advantages of the present invention
will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part
will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by
practice of the invention. The objectives and advantages of the
invention will be realized and attained by the structure
particularly pointed out in the written description and claims
hereof as well as the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and together with the description serve to explain
the principle of the invention. In the drawings,
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-lock hub unit
according to a first embodiment of the present application,
[0011] FIG. 2 is a partial sectional, exploded perspective view of
the self-lock hub unit according to the first embodiment of the
present application,
[0012] FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of self-lock hub unit
according to the first embodiment of the present application, which
illustrates the tube legs are in a locked state,
[0013] FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of self-lock hub unit
according to the first embodiment of the present application, which
illustrates the tube legs are in an un-locked state,
[0014] FIG. 5 is a partial sectional, exploded perspective view of
the self-lock hub unit according to the second embodiment of the
present application,
[0015] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the self-lock hub unit shown in
FIG. 5,
[0016] FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of the self-lock hub unit
shown in FIG. 5, which illustrates the tube legs are in a locked
state,
[0017] FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of the self-lock hub unit
shown in FIG. 5, which illustrates the tube legs are in an
un-locked state,
[0018] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating tube legs of the
playyard are collapsed while the hub unit of the present
application is in an un-locked state,
[0019] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating tube legs of the
playyard are erected while the hub unit of the present application
is in a locked state, and
[0020] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a prior
art hub assembly of lower frame of a foldable playyard.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Referring now to the drawings to explain the present
invention in detail. FIGS. 1-4 illustrated a self-lock hub unit
according to the first embodiment of the present application. As
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the self-lock hub unit 1 of a lower frame
of a playyard generally comprises a body 10 having a plurality of
slots 12 formed at a periphery thereof for receiving tube legs 60
of the playyard and a vertical cavity 14 formed at the center
thereof; an actuating member 20 which is vertical movably received
in the vertical cavity 14; two sliding engaging assemblies 30
movably mounted to two oppositely positioned tube legs 60
respectively at an open end of the tube legs and the two oppositely
positioned tube legs 60 being rotatably received in two radially
opposite slots 12 of the body respectively; and a strap 40 coupled
to the actuating member 20.
[0022] The tube legs 60 are pivotally coupled to the slots 12 of
the body 10 through pins 61. Each of the tube legs 60 has two
opposite elongated openings 62 formed in a tube wall thereof at
positions adjacent to the open end of the tube leg. Each of the
sliding engaging assemblies 30 includes a spring 32 disposed in the
tube leg 60 through the open end and abutting the pin 61, a slide
34 disposed in the tube leg 60, and a coupling pin 35 extending
through the elongated openings 62 and the slide 34 to slidably
couple the slide 34 to the tube leg 60 with both ends of the
coupling pin 35 extending out over the tube wall a distance. The
slide 34 will protrude out the open end of the tube leg 60 a
distance because of the biasing fore exerted thereon by the spring
32. The slide 34 is substantially a cylinder with an inwardly
slanted surface 36 formed at the end extending out of the tube leg
60.
[0023] The body 10 further comprises two locking assemblies formed
at positions corresponding to the two oppositely positioned tube
legs 60 respectively. Each of the two locking assemblies includes
two locking member, i.e., locking members 16, 16' and 17, 17',
wherein locking members 16, 17 are disposed at the top of two
opposite side walls of the vertical cavity 14 and locking members
16', 17' are disposed at positions opposite to corresponding
locking members 16, 17 with a space formed therebetween, as shown
in FIG. 1. The space between the locking members 16, 16' and 17,
17' is sized to be larger than an outer diameter of the tube leg 60
to allow the open end of the tube leg 60 and the portion of the
slide 34 that protrudes out the tube leg can pass it while the tube
leg 60 pivots about the pin 61. Each of the locking member 16, 16',
17, 17' is of a reversed `L` shape and has a vertical portion and a
horizontal portion. The horizontal portion has a bottom face 19 (or
19') and an outwardly inclined face 18 (or 18') formed at a free
end thereof. The locking members 16, 16' and 17, 17' are arranged
at positions such that when tube leg 60 pivots about the pin 61 and
causes the open end of the tube legs 60 together with the portion
of the slide 34 that protrudes out the tube leg to pass through the
space between the locking members, the portions of the coupling
pins 35 that extends out the tube wall will contact the inclined
surfaces 18, 18' of the locking members.
[0024] The actuating member 20 includes a head portion 21 and a
stem portion 22. The head portion 21 includes a left inclined face
23 and a right inclined face 24. Both inclined faces 23, 24 are
outwardly and downwardly slanted from the top of the head portion
21 to make the head portion 21 as an arrow shape. Stem portion 22
has an elongated longitudinal opening 25 formed therein. The
actuating member 20 is movably received in the vertical cavity 14
of the body 10 and coupled to the body 10 by extending a rivet 26
through the opening 25 and fixing it to cavity walls. Optionally,
the actuating member 20 may include a return spring (not shown)
which is retained in the opening 25 by fixing one end thereof to
the rivet 26 and abutting the other end to the bottom of the
opening 25.
[0025] While in use, tube legs 60 are lifted from a collapsed
position (as shown in FIG. 9) and the open ends thereof will pivot
about the pins 61 in a direction indicated by the arrows shown in
FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, when tube legs 60 pivot to
a position where the portions of the coupling pin 35 extending out
the tube wall contact the inclined surfaces 18, 18' of the locking
members, the coupling pin 35 will be pushed backward by the
inclined surfaces 18, 18' as the tube legs 60 continue to pivot
upward until the tube legs 60 reach a horizontal position where the
coupling pin 35 no longer contacts with the inclined surfaces 18,
18'. While the tube legs are pivoted to this horizontal position,
the slide 34 together with the coupling pin 35 will be pushed
forward by the spring 32 to a locked position where the portions of
the coupling pin 35 extending out the tube wall engage with the
bottom faces 19, 19' of locking members (see FIG. 2) to thereby
lock the tube legs 60 in an erected position, as shown in FIGS. 4
and 10. While at this locked position, at least one portion of the
slide 34 extends into the cavity 14.
[0026] When need to unlock tube legs, the strap 40 is pulled
upwardly to cause the actuating member 20 to move upward and the
inclined surfaces 23, 24 are caused to contact with the inwardly
slanted surface 36 of the slide 34. While the actuating member 20
continue moving upward, the slides 34 will be pushed further back
into the tub legs 60 by the inclined surfaces 23, 24. This backward
movement of the slide 34 will cause the coupling pin 35 to move
backward as well and the tube legs 60 will be unlocked when the
coupling pin 35 moves a distance that is greater than the length of
the bottom faces 19, 19' of the locking members. While pulling the
strap 40 further upward, the hub unit 1 and the entire lower frame
of the playyard may be lift up by the actuating member 20 and the
rivet 26, and then the unlocked tube legs 60 will pivot to the
collapsed position because of their own weights, as shown in FIG.
9.
[0027] Referring now to FIGS. 5-8 to explain a hub unit 100
according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] The hub unit 100 according to the second embodiment of the
present invention generally comprises a body 110 having a plurality
of notches 112 formed at a periphery thereof for receiving tube
legs 160 of the playyard; an actuating member 120 which is vertical
movably coupled to the body 110; two sliding engaging assemblies
130 movably mounted to two oppositely positioned tube legs 160
respectively at an open end of the tube legs and the two oppositely
positioned tube legs 160 being rotatably received in two radially
opposite slots 112 of the body respectively; and a strap 140
coupled to the actuating member 120.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, the body 110 comprises a rectangular
central recess 111 defined by two opposite long-side walls 1110,
1110' and two short-side walls 1112, 1112', wherein a notch 112 is
formed at each of the short-side walls at a position corresponding
to the oppositely positioned tube legs 160 for receiving an open
end of the tub leg. The body 110 further comprises guiding plates
113, 113 disposed at the center portion of the recess 111 and
arranged such that the guiding plates 113, 113 are spaced apart
from each other so as to define a cavity 114 therebetween and are
parallel with the short-side walls 1112, 1112'. Each of the guiding
plates 113, 113 comprises a horizontal portion 115, 115' protruding
outwardly from a top portion of sides at width direction. The
horizontal portions 115, 115' are parallel with and spaced apart
from the long-side wall 1110, 1110' of the recess 111, i.e., a
space 116, 116' is defined between the horizontal portions 115,
115' and the long-side wall 1110, 1110' of the recess 111. The
horizontal portions 115, 115' has a lower edge 119, 119' and an
outwardly slanted face 117, 117' formed a free end thereof.
[0030] The tube legs 160 are pivotally coupled to the notches 112
of the body through pins 161. Each of the tube legs 160 has two
opposite elongated openings 162 formed in a tube wall thereof at a
position adjacent to the open end of the tube leg. Each of the
sliding engaging assemblies 130 includes a spring 132 disposed in
the tube leg 160 through the open end and abutting the pin 161, a
slide 134 disposed in the tube leg 160, and a coupling pin 135
extending through the elongated openings 162 and the slide 134 to
slidably couple the slide 134 to the tube leg 160 with both ends of
the coupling pin 35 extending out the tube wall a distance.
[0031] The actuating member 120 comprises an elongated stem portion
122 and two actuating plate 123, 123' transversally formed at a top
of the stem portion 122. The stem portion 122 is sized and shaped
so that it can be movably received in the cavity 114. Stem portion
122 has an elongated longitudinal opening 124 formed therein. The
actuating member 120 is movably coupled to the body 110 by
extending a rivet 125 through the opening 124 and fixing it to
cavity walls. Actuating plate 123, 123' are formed at sides of the
stem portion 122 facing the long-side walls 1110, 1110'
respectively and arranged such that when the actuating member 120
is received in the cavity the actuating plates 123, 123' will be
received in the space 116, 116'. An outwardly slanted face 126,
126' is formed at free ends of each of the actuating plates 123,
123'. The actuating member 120 further includes a return spring
127, which is retained in the opening 124 by fixing one end thereof
to the rivet 125 and abutting the other end to the bottom of the
opening 124.
[0032] While in use, tube legs 160 are lifted from a collapsed
position (as shown in FIG. 9) and the open ends thereof will pivot
about the pins 161 in a direction indicated by the arrows shown in
FIG. 7. When tube legs 160 pivot to a position where the portions
of the coupling pin 135 extending out the tube wall contact the
inclined surfaces 117, 117' of the horizontal portion 115, 115',
the coupling pin 35 will be pushed backward by the inclined
surfaces 117, 117' as the tube legs 160 continue to pivot upward
until the tube legs 160 reach a horizontal position where the
coupling pin 135 no longer contacts with the inclined surfaces 117,
117'. While the tube legs 160 are pivoted to this horizontal
position, the slide 134 together with the coupling pin 35 will be
pushed forward by the spring 132 to a locked position where the
portions of the coupling pin 135 extending out the tube wall engage
with the lower edge 119, 119' of horizontal portion 115, 115' (see
FIG. 7) to thereby lock the tube legs 160 in a erected position, as
shown in FIGS. 7 and 10. While at this position, the actuating
member 120 is retained at the bottom of the cavity 114 because of
the spring force exerted by the return spring 127.
[0033] When need to unlock tube legs, the actuating member 120 is
caused to move upward by upwardly pulling the strap 140 and the
outwardly slanted faces 126, 126' of the actuating plates 123, 123'
are caused to contact with the portions of the coupling pin 135
extending out the tube wall. While the actuating member 120
continues to move upward, the portions of the coupling pin 135
engaging with the lower edge 119, 119' of horizontal portion 115,
115' will be pushed further back into the tub legs 160 by the
outwardly slanted faces 126, 126'. This backward movement of the
coupling pin 135 will cause the tube legs 160 to be unlocked when
the coupling pin 135 moves a distance that is greater than the
length of the lower edge 119, 119' of horizontal portion 115, 115'.
While pulling the strap 140 further upward, the hub unit 100 and
the entire lower frame of the playyard may be lift up by the
actuating member 120 and the rivet 125, and then the unlocked tube
legs 160 will pivot to the collapsed position as shown in FIG.
9.
[0034] This invention has been disclosed in terms of specific
embodiments. It will be apparent for people skilled in this art
that many modifications can be made to the disclosed structures
without departing from the invention. Therefore, it is the intent
of the appended claims to cover all such variations and
modifications as come within the true sprit and scope of this
invention.
* * * * *