1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mount assemblies for installing multiple accessories in an infant playpen.
2. Description of the Related Art
An infant playpen may be typically used in combination with diverse accessories that can facilitate care for the child, such as bassinets and changing stations. Because the infant playpen is almost entirely covered with a fabric material, the connections of the accessories with the frame of the infant playpen may be difficult to achieve. For example, the playpen frame may need to include specific attachment features used for fastening a bassinet and a changing station on the playpen frame. The conventional attachment features may result in a more complex construction for assembling the accessories with the playpen frame.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved design that can provide a mount assembly for installing multiple accessories with an infant playpen that is more convenient in use, and can address at least the foregoing issues.
The present application describes a set of accessories suitable for use in combination with an infant playpen, and a mount assembly for installing the accessories in an interior of the infant playpen. In one embodiment, the mount assembly includes a playpen frame, a support frame configured to provide support for a bassinet in an interior of the playpen frame, and a plurality of bar segments to provide support for a utility accessory positioned side-by-side relative to the bassinet. The playpen frame includes two first upper side rail assemblies opposite to each other, and a second upper side rail assembly connected with the two first upper side rail assemblies, each of the two first upper side rail assemblies respectively having a fixed wall. The support frame includes two connectors operable to respectively attach to and detach from the fixed walls, each of the two connectors being respectively formed to include a socket, and the two connectors being operable to attach to the fixed walls respectively near a middle of the two first upper side rail assemblies. The bar segments are mountable to the playpen frame, one of the bar segments once mounted to the playpen frame having at least an end portion resting in contact with the socket of one of the two connectors.
The application also describes a set of accessories installable in an infant playpen. The set of accessories includes a bassinet, a utility accessory, a support frame configured to provide support for the bassinet in an interior of a playpen frame, and two bar segments mountable to the playpen frame to provide support for the utility accessory. The support frame includes at least two connectors operable to attach to and detach from two opposite upper side rail assemblies of the playpen frame, each of the connectors being respectively formed to include a socket. The support frame and the bar segments are positionable to respectively receive a side-by-side placement of the bassinet and the utility accessory, the socket of each of the two connectors being configured to receive an end portion of one bar segment.
Each of the corner frame portions 110 can be formed by an upright tubular segment that has a lower end affixed with a foot member 118, and an upper end affixed with one corner joint 116. The foot members 118 can also be pivotally connected with distal ends of a linkage assembly 120 (better shown in
Each of the two upper side rail assemblies 112 can respectively include two tubular segments 126 (better shown in
Likewise, each of the two upper side rail assemblies 114 can be respectively formed by two tubular segments 132 pivotally connected with each other via a hinge 134 at a central location thereof. The hinge 134 can include an internal latch operable to lock the two tubular segments 132 in an unfolded state substantially aligned with each other. The hinge 134 can also include a release button 136 operable to unlock the internal latch for allowing folding of the two tubular segments 132. The ends of the two tubular segments 132 distant from the hinge 134 can be respectively affixed with two corner joints 116. The corner joints 116 can thereby respectively connect the two upper side rail assemblies 112 with the two upper side rail assemblies 114 forming the four sides of the playpen frame 102.
The enclosure 104 can include a plurality of sidewall panels 138 respectively connected with each other along edge portions corresponding to the corner frame portions 110. The sidewall panels 138 can be made of soft goods, such as a fabric material. The sidewall panels 138 can be stretched between the corner frame portions 110 to surround the interior space 106 of the infant playpen 100, and can have upper ends respectively secured with the upper side rail assemblies 112 and 114.
A changing platform 144 can be detachably assembled for sliding displacement along the rail segments 129 of the two upper side rail assemblies 112. In particular, the changing platform 144 can travel along the rail segments 129 past the hinges 128 for positional adjustment according to a caregiver's need.
In conjunction with
The bassinet 202 can be formed with an enclosed structure including a bottom 210, and a plurality of upright sidewalls 212 connected with the bottom 210 that surround an interior space of the bassinet 202 where a baby can be received.
The support frame 204 can include two tubular structures 216, a plurality of connectors 218 and 220 operable to attach the tubular structures 216 to the playpen frame 102, and one or more linkage 221 (shown with phantom lines) connecting the two tubular structures 216 with each other. Each of the tubular structures 216 can have a similar shape formed by one or more segments assembled together. For example, each tubular structure 216 can include two upright segments 222A and 222B, and a middle segment 222C extending between and connected with the upright segments 222A and 222B. The tubular structure 216 thus can have a profile similar to a U-shape.
The two tubular structures 216 can be respectively assembled along the two upper side rail assemblies 112 of the playpen frame 102. Each of the tubular structure 216 can have two upper ends 216A and 216B (i.e., corresponding to the upper ends of the upright segments 222A and 222B) respectively assembled with two connectors 218 and 220. The connector 218 can detachably fasten the upper end 216A of the tubular structure 216 to a fixed wall 224 of the upper side rail assembly 112 near a middle of the upper side rail assembly 112, whereas the connector 220 can detachably fasten the upper end 216B of the tubular structure 216 to the corner joint 116 near a corner of the playpen frame 102.
Referring to
With the aforementioned construction, the support frame 204 can be affixed with the playpen frame 102 at four attachment points, two first attachment points being implemented by the two connectors 218 on the two upper side rail assemblies 112, and two second attachments points being implemented by the two connectors 220 near two neighboring corners of the playpen frame 102. Once the support frame 204 is assembled with the playpen frame 102, the bassinet 202 can be installed on the middle segments 222C of the two tubular structures 216. Since the connectors 220 include flexible portions formed by the straps 254, some degree of displacement of the support frame 204 relative to the playpen frame 102 may be allowed about the attachment points of the connectors 220.
For installing the utility accessory 206, the bar segment 208 may be arranged perpendicular between the two upper side rail assemblies 112 so that the two opposite ends of the bar segment 208 respectively rest in contact with the respective sockets 232. The other bar segment 209 can be arranged parallel to the bar segment 208, the two opposite ends of the bar segment 209 being respectively received in pockets 258 (better shown in
In the aforementioned construction, the two connectors 218 of the support frame 204 for the bassinet 202 can be commonly used for receiving the ends of the bar segment 208 used to support the utility accessory 206. Accordingly, no additional connectors are required for the bar segment 208, and the amount of connectors required for attaching the support structures of the bassinet 202 and the utility accessory 206 to the playpen frame 102 can be reduced.
The tubular structure 316 can be formed by the assembly of multiple tubes and include two upright segments 322, and a middle segment 324 extending between and connected with the upright segments 322. The middle segment 324 can have a U-shape, and the two upright segments 322 can be downwardly connected with the middle segment 324 and terminate in upper ends respectively affixed with the two connectors 318.
Each of the connectors 318 may exemplary be similar in structure to the connector 218 previously described, and can be formed to include a socket 332. The strap assembly 320 can include one or more strap that can detachably fasten to a middle of the upper side rail assembly 114 between the two corner joints 116, e.g., at the hinge 134. For example, the strap assembly 320 can be downwardly connected with the middle segment 324 and upwardly connected with the upper side rail assembly 114, so that the support frame 304 is at least partially held in suspension from the playpen frame 102.
Once the support frame 304 is assembled with the two opposite upper side rail assemblies 112 and the upper side rail assembly 114, the bassinet 202 can be placed and rest on the middle segment 324. Moreover, the bar segment 208 can be arranged on the sockets 332 of the two connectors 318 perpendicular to the upper side rail assemblies 112, and the bar segment 209 can be assembled with the two corner joints 116. The utility accessory 206 then can be placed on the middle segment 324 side-by-side with respect to the bassinet 202.
The connector 418 can include a tongue 422, a loop 424 and a socket 426. In one embodiment, the connector 418, including the tongue 422, the loop 424 and the socket 426, may be formed in a single body by plastic molding. The tongue 422 can be arranged above the socket 426 and have a bent shape. The tongue 422 can engage through a slot 428 formed through a fixed wall 430 of the upper side rail assembly 112 so as to fasten the connector 418 to the upper side rail assembly 112. The fixed wall 430 can be exemplary formed as a downward extension of the rail segment 129 located near a middle of the upper side rail assembly 112. The loop 424 can be arranged below the socket 426, and the strap 414 can wrap through the loop 424 to attach the strap 414 with the connector 418.
The connector 420 can engage with one corner joint 116, and can include a loop through which the strap 416 can wrap to attach the strap 416 with the connector 420.
Once the support frame 404 is assembled with the playpen frame 102 in a suspended state substantially parallel to the upper side rail assemblies 112, the two frame segments 410 extend substantially parallel to a horizontal plane. The bassinet 202 then can be placed on the two frame segments 410. Moreover, two parallel bar segments 432 can be installed to support the utility accessory 206. Each bar segment 432 can be arranged so as to extend substantially parallel to and along one corresponding upper side rail assembly 112, a first end portion 432A of the bar segment 432 resting in contact with the socket 426, and a second end portion 432B of the bar segment 432 having an end connector 434 fastened to one corner joint 116. The utility accessory 206 (e.g., an organizer tray) then can be installed and supported on the two bar segments 432 side-by-side relative to the bassinet 202.
The first and second sidewalls 506 and 508 can be attached to one another via fastening straps 514 disposed adjacent to the four corners of the bassinet 502. The first and second sidewalls 506 and 508 can be thereby held in upright positions relative to the bottom board assembly 504 to surround the interior space of the bassinet 502.
The assembly of multiple panels as described previously can be variably configurable to form different structures, including a bassinet (as shown in
The two tray parts 604 can also be detached from each other and used separately. For example, each detached tray part 604 can fasten independently on the bassinet 202 as shown in
Advantages of the structures described herein include the ability to provide multiple accessories that can be used in combination with a playpen frame. The accessories can include a bassinet and a utility accessory, such as an organizer tray. The mount assembly used for installing the bassinet and the utility accessory with the playpen can include a support frame and a plurality of bar segments mountable to the playpen frame, the support frame being used to support the bassinet, and the bar segments being used to support the utility accessory. The support frame can include a plurality of connectors that can fasten to the playpen frame and also receive end portions of one or more bar segments. As a result, the number of connectors needed for installing the bar segments can be advantageously reduced, and the structure of the playpen frame can be simplified.
Realizations of the infant playpen and related accessories have been described in the context of particular embodiments. These embodiments are meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the inventions as defined in the claims that follow.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/848,642 filed on Jan. 8, 2013, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/855,383 filed on May 14, 2013, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Entry |
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Office Action of Chinese Patent Application No. 201410006919.1 dated Nov. 2, 2015. |
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20140191173 A1 | Jul 2014 | US |
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