U.S. patent application number 11/187277 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-25 for folding play yard.
This patent application is currently assigned to Baby Trend, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jeffrey L. Myer.
Application Number | 20070017025 11/187277 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37677696 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070017025 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Myer; Jeffrey L. |
January 25, 2007 |
Folding play yard
Abstract
A folding play yard which includes a generally horizontal upper
frame comprised of members including end sections pivotally
connected to latches for maintaining the end sections in horizontal
alignment when the play yard is deployed. A lower frame is
comprised of a vertically moveable central release mechanism and
diagonal braces extending from said release mechanism to lower ends
of vertical members. Lower side members each having end sections
connected to a central hinge may also be provided Vertical members
join the upper and lower frames. Latch release means such as cables
are connected to the latches and extend to anchors in the vertical
members, whereby upward movement of the release mechanism and ends
of the diagonal braces tightens the latch release means and
releases the latches for folding.
Inventors: |
Myer; Jeffrey L.;
(Lancaster, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROTH & GOLDMAN, P.A.
523 W. 6TH STREET
SUITE 707
LOS ANGELES
CA
90014
US
|
Assignee: |
Baby Trend, Inc.
Ontario
CA
91761
|
Family ID: |
37677696 |
Appl. No.: |
11/187277 |
Filed: |
July 22, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/99.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47D 7/002 20130101;
A47D 13/063 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
005/099.1 |
International
Class: |
A47D 7/00 20060101
A47D007/00; A47D 13/06 20060101 A47D013/06 |
Claims
1. A folding play yard comprising: a generally horizontal upper
frame comprised of upper side members, upper end members and upper
corner connectors to which said side members and said end members
are pivotally connected, each of said members including end
sections pivotally connected to a latch for maintaining said end
sections in horizontal alignment; a. generally horizontal lower
frame comprised of lower side members, said side members each
having end sections connected to a central hinge, a vertically
moveable central release mechanism and diagonal braces extending
from said lower side members to said central release mechanism;
vertically extending members joining ends of said lower side
members to said upper corner connectors; latch release means
connected to said latches, said latch release means extending from
said latches to moveable anchors carried by said vertically
extending members, whereby upward movement of said central release
mechanism pivots ends of said lower side members to move said
anchors to tension said latch release means and release said
latches.
2. The play yard of claim 1, wherein said latches each comprise: a
support which includes a pair of spaced sides and a top, said
sections each being connected to a support for movement about
spaced horizontal axes, said top engaging ends of said sections to
prevent substantial upward movement of said latch when said latch
is locked; said latch having levers mounted between said sides for
movement about spaced horizontal axes, first ends of said levers
being biased into engagement with said ends of said end sections
and a second end of one of said levers being connected to said
latch release means for pivoting at least one of said levers out of
engagement with said end sections to release said latch.
3. The play yard of claim 2, wherein said latch release means
extend along said end sections of said upper members, along said
upper corner connectors, and along said vertically extending
members to said anchors.
4. The play yard of claim 2, wherein said levers are engageable
with each other by a pin and slot connection such that pivotal
movement of one of said levers about its pivot axis in a first
direction caused by tensioning said latch release means causes the
other one of said levers to pivot in a second direction about its
pivot axis to release said latch.
5. The play yard of claim 4, further comprising at least one spring
biasing said first ends of said levers apart from each other.
6. The play yard of claim 5, wherein said spring is a compression
spring between said first ends of said levers.
7. The play yard of claim 1, wherein said vertically extending
members include feet to which said lower side members are pivotally
connected.
8. The play yard of claim 7, wherein said anchors comprise bosses
slidably mounted for vertical movement along guide tracks in said
feet, said end sections of said lower side members being pivotally
connected to said feet and engaging said bosses during pivotal
movement of said lower side members relative to said feet to
tension said latch release means to release said latches.
9. The play yard of claim 8, wherein said upper members and said
vertically extending members are tubular and said latch release
means extend from said latches through said end sections of said
upper members, through said upper corner connectors, and through
said vertically extending members to said bosses.
10. The play yard of claim 1, wherein said central hinges hold said
end sections of said lower side members in horizontal alignment,
said hinges being moveable upwardly during folding to permit
sections of lower side members on opposite sides of said hinges to
fold toward each other.
11. The play yard of claim 10, wherein said upper corner connectors
include springs affixing said end members and said side members to
said vertically extending members to bias said end members and said
side members downwardly for positioning alongside said vertically
extending members during folding.
12. The play yard of claim 1, wherein said upper frame is
rectangular.
13. The play yard of claim 1, wherein said release mechanism
comprises: attached diagonal connectors, said diagonal braces being
pivotally connected at inner ends to said diagonal connectors for
rotation relative to said release mechanism about spaced axes in a
generally horizontal plane, and a handle attached to said diagonal
connectors, said handle being upwardly moveable from said generally
horizontal plane to allow said diagonal braces to move out of said
horizontal plane for folding.
14. The play yard of claim 13, further comprising a vertically
extending shaft connected to and extending below said release
mechanism to provide a support leg.
15. A folding play yard comprising: a generally horizontal upper
frame comprised of upper side members, upper end members and upper
corner connectors to which said side members and said end members
are pivotally connected, each of said members including end
sections pivotally connected to a latch for maintaining said end
sections in horizontal alignment; a generally horizontal lower
frame comprised of: a vertically moveable central release mechanism
and diagonal braces extending from said release mechanism to lower
ends of vertically extending members; vertically extending members
joining ends of said diagonal braces to said upper corner
connectors; latch release means connected to said latches, said
latch release means extending from said latches to anchors, whereby
upward movement of said release mechanism and ends of said diagonal
braces attached to said release mechanism moves lower ends of said
vertically extending members toward said release mechanism for
folding; and wherein said anchors comprise bosses slidably mounted
for vertical movement along guide tracks in said vertically
extending members.
16. The play yard of claim 15, wherein said lower frame further
includes lower side members, said side members each having end
sections connected to a central hinge, said end sections of said
lower side members also being pivotally connected to said
vertically extending members and engaging said bosses during
pivotal movement of said lower side members relative to said
vertically extending members to move said bosses to tension said
latch release means and release said latches.
17. The play yard of claim 16, wherein said latches each comprise:
a support which includes a pair of spaced sides and a top, said
sections each being connected to a support for movement about
spaced horizontal axes, said top engaging ends of said sections to
prevent substantial upward movement of said latch when said latch
is locked; said latch having levers mounted between said sides for
movement about spaced horizontal axes, first ends of said levers
being biased into engagement with said ends of said end sections
and a second end of one of said levers being connected to said
latch release means for pivoting at least one of said levers out of
engagement with said end sections to release said latch.
18. The play yard of claim 17, wherein said latch release means
extend along said end sections of said upper members, along said
upper corner connectors, and along said vertically extending
members to said anchors.
19. The play yard of claim 17, wherein said levers are engageable
with each other by a pin and slot connection such that pivotal
movement of one of said levers about its pivot axis in a first
direction caused by tensioning said latch release means causes the
other one of said levers to pivot in a second direction about its
pivot axis to release said latch.
20. The play yard of claim 19, further comprising at least one
spring biasing said first ends of said levers apart from each
other.
21. The play yard of claim 20, wherein said spring is a compression
spring between said first ends of said levers.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS, IF ANY
[0001] None
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
[0002] The present invention relates generally to play yards for
confining infants, often called play pens; however, the teachings
herein, while made in the context of a play yard, may also be
applied to other similar structures such as beds and bassinets. The
term "play yard" is intended to encompass all such structures.
These structures generally include a lightweight frame and a soft
covering, usually of open mesh fabric so that an infant can be
viewed when in the play yard. The frame must be lightweight yet
sturdy and safe when it is in a deployed configuration for use as a
play yard and when it is in a folded or collapsed configuration for
convenient storage. The individual frame members may be
manufactured of metal, of high modulus fiber reinforced plastic
resin, wood or other similar materials and the individual frame
members may have any suitable cross sectional configuration such as
solid sections, tubing, channels or rails. As used herein, the
terms "vertical" and "horizontal" are approximate terms used for
convenience to indicate general directions including those slightly
off of true vertical and true horizontal.
[0003] It is highly desirable to be able to fold a play yard for
storage essentially by a one hand operation. Some play yards
require two hands to unlatch a latch which maintains separate
sections of the frame members in alignment when the frame is
deployed or to relatively rotate sections of the frame about an
axis on which they are generally aligned to unlock a hinge
connecting them so that the play yard can be folded for
storage.
[0004] One example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,437 issued Mar. 14, 1989
to Dillner et al. which discloses latches centrally positioned in
each of the top frame rails with which one hand must be
sequentially used to fold the top rails. In one embodiment, the
user must squeeze and move a latch release upwardly to allow the
end sections of the various top rails to pivot downwardly toward
the user's hand when releasing the latch. In another embodiment,
rotatable tubing sections must be grasped and turned to release the
latch. In each instance, numerous operations are required to
release all of the latches in the top rails.
OBJECT
[0005] An improved play yard frame structure is therefore desired
which may be collapsed for storage primarily by the use of one
operation.
SUMMARY
[0006] The folding play yard disclosed herein includes a generally
horizontal upper frame comprised of upper side members, upper end
members and upper corner connectors to which the side members and
said end members are pivotally connected. Each of the upper side
members and upper end members includes end sections pivotally
connected to a latch for maintaining the end sections in horizontal
alignment. The play yard also includes a generally horizontal lower
frame comprised of a vertically moveable central release mechanism
and diagonal braces extending from the central release mechanism to
vertically extending members. The lower frame may also include
lower side members each having end sections connected to a central
hinge. The play yard also includes vertically extending members
joining ends of the diagonal braces to the upper corner connectors
and latch release means connected to the latches. The latch release
means extends from the latches to moveable anchors carried by said
vertically extending members, whereby upward movement of the
central release mechanism causes movement of the anchors to tension
the latch release means and release the latches for folding.
[0007] The anchors may comprise bosses slidably mounted for
vertical movement along guide tracks in the vertically extending
members, the end sections of the lower side members being pivotally
connected to the vertically extending members and engaging the
bosses during pivotal movement of the lower side members relative
to the vertically extending members to tension the latch release
means to release the latches.
[0008] A presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now
be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, not to
scale.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the play yard in operative
position in which some parts and proportions have been exaggerated
for clarity.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the play yard of FIG. 1 in
partially folded position.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the play yard.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the play yard.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view, to an enlarged scale and
partly broken away, of an upper frame latch in its latched
position.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 5 showing the latch in its
unlatched position.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a view, partly broken away, of a foot showing a
lower frame side member in latched position.
[0016] FIG. 8 is a view, partly broken away, of a foot showing the
lower frame side member in unlatched position.
[0017] FIG. 9 is an upper perspective view of a central release
mechanism.
[0018] FIG. 10 is lower perspective view of the central release
mechanism.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0019] The perspective views of FIGS. 1 and 2 best illustrate a
folding play yard 10 which, when deployed as seen in FIG. 1, is
comprised of a generally horizontal rectangular upper frame 20
having upper side members 22, 24 and slightly upwardly bowed upper
end members 26, 28 which are joined together at upper corner
connectors 30, 32, 34, 36 to which the side members and end members
are pivotally connected. Although a play yard having rectangular
configuration with slightly bowed upper end members is shown in the
drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the upward
bowing of the end members is a purely non-essential aesthetic
choice and that the rectangular configuration shown and described
is a presently preferred embodiment. Play yard configurations other
than rectangular can be constructed using the teachings of this
disclosure. Latches 40, 42, 44, 46 are located at about the
midpoint of each of the upper side members 22, 24 and at the
midpoint of the upper end members 26, 28 to maintain the sections
of these upper frame members in generally horizontal alignment when
the play yard is in its fully deployed position.
[0020] The play yard also includes a generally horizontal lower
frame 50 which is comprised of a vertically movable central release
mechanism 60 pivotally connected to four diagonal braces 70, 72,
74, 76 which extend preferably from at or near the ends of the
vertically extending members to be described to the release
mechanism 60. The lower frame may also include a pair of lower side
members 52, 54 each having end sections connected to a central
hinge 56. The diagonal braces may comprise rigid structural shapes
such as tubes. Vertically extending members 80, 81, 82 and 83 are
rigidly attached at their upper ends to the corner connectors 30-36
and the diagonal braces 70-76 are pivotally connected, preferably
to the lower side members 52, 54 as shown in the drawings, which in
turn are pivotally connected to the vertically extending members
80-83 near their lower ends. Springs are provided at each corner
connector to bias the pivotally connected upper side members 22, 24
and upper end members 26, 28 downwardly in a direction parallel to
the associated vertically extending member 80-83 to assist in
folding the play yard to a compact configuration. The springs are
depicted for convenience in illustration in FIG. 1 as tension
springs 38; however, primarily for safety reasons, internally
concealed torsion springs, not shown, will ordinarily be used for
this purpose.
[0021] The latches 40-46 all being the same, only one (44) will be
described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Each latch is comprised
of an inverted U-shaped support 402 having spaced parallel sides
404, 406 joined to a generally horizontally extending top 408. The
support 402 is preferably fabricated of metal or any other suitably
rigid material. The two separate sections of an upper side member
24 are connected to the support on opposite sides of the support
402 by pins, axles or any other suitable connection for pivotal
movement about spaced horizontal axes A and B. Torsion springs, not
shown, are preferably connected to the end sections and to the
support 402 on the axes A and B to bias the end sections of the
supper side member in the directions indicated by the arrows to
assist in folding the play yard. It will be seen from FIG. 5 that
the top 408 of the support 402 engages the upper edge of the ends
of the sections of member 24 to prevent upward movement of the
latch when the latch is locked to maintain the play yard in the
deployed configuration. The latch 44 has a pair of levers 410, 412
mounted between the sides 404, 406 of the support 402 for pivotal
movement about spaced horizontal axes D, E. In the embodiment
shown, the upper first ends 414, 416 of the levers are spring
biased into engagement with the ends of the end sections of the
upper side member 24 of the frame to maintain the play yard in a
stable deployed configuration. A lower second end 418 of at least
one of the levers 412 is connected to one (94) of latch release
means 90-96 such as tension cables, cords, wires or straps, 90-96
for pivoting the lever 412 in a counter clockwise direction (as
seen in FIG. 5) about its axis D to move the upper first end 416 of
the lever 412 out of engagement with the end of the upper side
member 24 to release the latch. A compression spring 422 may be
deployed between the upper first ends 414 and 416 of the levers
410, 412 to provide the spring biasing of the upper first ends 414,
416 of the levers into engagement with the ends of the end sections
of the upper side or end members of the upper frame 20.
[0022] The levers are engageable with each other such that pivotal
movement of one (412) of the levers about its pivot axis (D) in a
first (counterclockwise in FIG. 5) direction caused by tensioning
the associated latch release means causes the other (410) one of
the levers to pivot in a second (clockwise) direction about its
pivot axis (E) to release said latch. Both of the levers include a
guide slot 426 which receives a pin 422 affixed to the other lever
such that movement of one of the levers about its pivot axis in a
first direction caused by tensioning the latch release means (94 in
FIG. 5) causes the other one of the levers to pivot in a second
opposite rotational direction about its pivot axis E to release the
latch unfolding the play yard. At least one cable guide 430 may be
provided extending between and supported by the spaced sides 404,
406 of the U-shaped support 402 for receiving the latch release
means 94 comprising a wire or cable and, optionally, a cable sheath
S (FIG. 6). A second cable guide 432 may also be provided as shown
and, optionally, additional compression springs 425, 427 may be
provided between the lower second ends 418, 420 of the levers and
the associated cable guide 430, 432 to bias the levers toward the
latched or locked position. FIG. 5 shows the lower springs 425 and
427 which have been omitted from FIG. 6 for comparison. Preferably,
three compression springs 422, 425 and 427 will be employed for
safety purposes; however, it is possible to construct a functional
latch with only the compression spring 422.
[0023] Turning now to FIG. 7, a support foot 85, 86, 87, 88 is
provided at the lower end of each of the vertically extending
members 80-84. End sections of the lower side members 52, 54 are
pivotally connected to the feet 85-88 for movement about horizontal
axes G. The manner of connection of the side members 52 to the feet
85 may take the form, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, of a horizontal
pin or axle which extends between spaced flanges provided on the
feet 85. The side members 52 may each have a plug 53 inserted into
the end, the plug having a latch lip 55. Anchors 100 for the latch
release means are provided in the form of slidably mounted bosses
850 which are mounted in the feet 85-88 for vertical movement along
guide tracks 852 formed in the feet 85-88. A fastener 102 is
affixed to the lower end of each latch release means 90 and engages
the lower surface of the boss 850. Tension on the latch release
means urges the boss 850 upwardly in the track 852 against a stop
in the form of the underside of the lip 55 at the end of the lower
side members 52. The end sections of the lower side members 52 are
maintained in generally horizontal alignment by the hinges 56 when
the play yard is in its deployed configuration. Cable guides 81,
similar to the cable guides 430, 432 described above, may be
fabricated in the feet 85 and sized appropriately to receive a
cable sheath S if provided.
[0024] The latch release means 90-96 are connected at their
respective upper ends to one of the latches 40-46 and extend from
the latches along the end sections of the upper members 22-28,
thence along the upper corner connectors 30-36 where the latch
release means are bent to extend downwardly along the vertically
extending members 80-84 to the anchors 100.
[0025] As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, to collapse and fold the play
yard from its deployed position to its storage position, the user
may simply use a single hand to pull upwardly on a grasping loop 62
or a handle which extends upwardly through an aperture in the floor
panel (not shown) of the play yard such that upward movement of the
release mechanism 60 and attached ends of the diagonal braces 70-76
pulls the end sections of the lower side members 52, 54 upwardly
and causes the vertically extending members 80-84 to move inwardly
toward the release mechanism 60. As the lower side members fold
upwardly at the hinges 56 the lips 55 downwardly move the bosses
850 to tension the latch release means 90-96 and essentially
simultaneously release each of the latches 40-46 permitting the end
sections of the upper side members 22, 24 and upper end members 26,
28 to move out of horizontal alignment for folding. The lower side
members 52, 54 assume a generally vertical orientation when the
play yard is collapsed for storage. The hinges 56 are designed to
prevent downward movement of the lower side members 52, 54 from a
generally horizontal alignment when the play yard is deployed.
Upward pulling of the loop 62 permits the play yard to fold to the
intermediate position shown in FIG. 2 and thence to a fully
collapsed configuration for convenient storage. The tension springs
38 assist in folding the play yard when desired.
[0026] In its preferred configuration, the central release
mechanism 60 comprises a handle shown in the form of a loop 62
affixed to a pair of attached diagonal connectors 63, 64 to which
is the diagonal braces 70, 72, 74, 76 are pivotally connected at
their inner ends for rotation about spaced axes in a horizontal
plane. The loop 62 is used to move the release mechanism upwardly
from the horizontal plane occupied by the diagonal braces when the
play yard is in a deployed configuration to allow the diagonal
braces 70, 72, 74, 76 to allow the play yard to be folded.
[0027] The release mechanism 60 also includes a vertically
extending shaft 66 which extends below the attached diagonal
connectors 63, 64 to provide a central support leg.
[0028] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the
frame is covered with fabric and padded at suitable locations with
the loop 62 of the release mechanism 60 being accessible from above
the bottom panel of the play yard.
[0029] Persons skilled in the art will readily appreciate that
various additional modifications can be made from the presently
preferred embodiment thus the scope of protection is intended to be
defined only by the appended claims. Reference numerals are
parenthetically provided in the claims for convenience and ease of
understanding the claims only and not by way of limitation.
* * * * *