BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a child motion apparatus, and especially relates to a child motion apparatus capable of providing reciprocating motion to child thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Child motion devices have become common household items for families with young children. They offer a safe, comfortable seating area for the child and the option of one or more soothing motions. Some common child motion devices include: pendulum swings, gliders, bouncers and rockers. One of the main drawbacks to swings is that they are generally built with large frames that are complicated to fold or disassemble. Bouncers, rockers and gliders are a more compact solution, but are limited in their motion capability and generally the infant sits near the ground.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the invention is to provide a child motion apparatus, which uses a motion mechanism for offering multiple soothing motions and uses a detachable seat assembly for easy transport of the child motion apparatus and additional use of the seat assembly.
A child motion apparatus of an embodiment according to the invention includes an apparatus base, a movable carrier, a seat mount, a motion mechanism, and a seat assembly. The movable carrier includes a platform and is movably disposed on the apparatus base along a sliding direction. The seat mount is rotatably connected to the platform about a rotation axis perpendicular to the sliding direction. The motion mechanism includes a sliding mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The sliding mechanism connects the platform and the apparatus base for sliding the platform relative to the apparatus base along the sliding direction. The rotating mechanism is disposed on the platform and connected to the seat mount for rotating the seat mount about the rotation axis. The seat assembly includes a seat frame and a connection support fixedly connected to the seat frame. The connection support is detachably connected to the seat mount. Thereby, the movable carrier can offer multiple soothing motions through the motion mechanism for the seat assembly. The seat assembly can be detached from the seat frame for easy transport of the child motion apparatus and also can be used independently, e.g. as a bouncer or a rocker.
A child motion apparatus of another embodiment according to the invention includes an apparatus base, a movable carrier, a seat mount, a motion mechanism, and a seat assembly. The movable carrier includes a platform and is movably disposed on the apparatus base along a sliding direction. The motion mechanism includes a sliding mechanism. The sliding mechanism connects the platform and the apparatus base for sliding the platform relative to the apparatus base along the sliding direction. The seat assembly includes a seat frame and a connection support fixedly connected to the seat frame. The connection support is detachably connected to the seat mount. Therein, the seat mount comprises a first engagement structure of a first non-circular structure profile. The connection support comprises a second engagement structure of a second non-circular structure profile. The first non-circular structure profile matches with the second non-circular structure profile. The connection support is detachably connected to the seat mount by engaging the second engagement structure with the first engagement structure in one of at least two orientations of the connection support relative to the seat mount. Similarly, the movable carrier also can offer multiple soothing motions through the motion mechanism for the seat assembly. The seat assembly can be detached from the seat frame for easy transport of the child motion apparatus and also can be used independently, e.g. as a bouncer or a rocker.
A child motion apparatus of another embodiment according to the invention includes an apparatus base, a carrier, a seat mount, a motion mechanism, and a seat assembly. The carrier includes a platform. The seat mount is rotatably connected to the platform about a rotation axis. The motion mechanism includes a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism is disposed on the platform and connected to the seat mount for rotating the seat mount about the rotation axis. The seat assembly includes a seat frame and a connection support fixedly connected to the seat frame. The connection support is detachably connected to the seat mount. Therein, the seat mount includes a first engagement structure of a first non-circular structure profile. The connection support includes a second engagement structure of a second non-circular structure profile. The first non-circular structure profile matches with the second non-circular structure profile. The connection support is detachably connected to the seat mount by engaging the second engagement structure with the first engagement structure in one of at least two orientations of the connection support relative to the seat mount. Similarly, the carrier also can offer multiple soothing motions through the motion mechanism for the seat assembly. The seat assembly can be detached from the seat frame for easy transport of the child motion apparatus and also can be used independently, e.g. as a bouncer or a rocker.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a child motion apparatus of an embodiment according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assembly of a seat assembly and a seat mount of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the child motion apparatus with the seat assembly attached to the seat mount in another orientation.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus base of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 1 having a sectional supporting structure.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a motion mechanism of the child motion apparatus in a bottom view of the apparatus base of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is another schematic diagram for illustrating the motion mechanism of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 5 in a similar view to FIG. 5; therein, some fixing frames for fixing components of the motion mechanism are not shown.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a rotational angle range of the seat mount of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a sliding displacement range of the seat mount of the child motion apparatus in FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the seat assembly is used independently.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the child motion apparatus is provided with another seat assembly having a rocking supporting frame.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a sliding mechanism and a rotating mechanism for the child motion apparatus according to another embodiment in a top view of the apparatus base of the child motion apparatus.
FIG. 12 is another schematic diagram for illustrating the sliding mechanism and the rotating mechanism in FIG. 11 in a bottom view of the apparatus base of the child motion apparatus.
FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a first link part of the sliding mechanism in FIG. 11 in a similar view to FIG. 11.
FIG. 14 is an exploded view of a first link part of the rotating mechanism in FIG. 11 in a similar view to FIG. 11.
FIG. 15 is a substitute transmission mechanism for the sliding mechanism in FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5. A child motion apparatus 1 of an embodiment according to the invention includes an apparatus base 10, a movable carrier 12, a seat mount 14, a motion mechanism 16, and a seat assembly 18. The movable carrier 12 includes a platform 122 and is movably disposed on the apparatus base 10 along a sliding direction D1. The seat mount 14 is rotatably connected to the platform 122 about a rotation axis 14a (indicated by a chained line). The rotation axis 14a is perpendicular to the sliding direction D1. The motion mechanism 16 includes a sliding mechanism 162 and a rotating mechanism 164. The sliding mechanism 162 is connected to the platform 122 and the apparatus base 10 for sliding the platform 122 relative to the apparatus base 10 along the sliding direction D1. The rotating mechanism 164 is disposed on the platform 122 and connected to the seat mount 14 for rotating the seat mount 14 about the rotation axis 14a. The seat assembly 18 includes a seat frame 182 and a connection support 184 fixedly connected to the seat frame 182. The connection support 184 is detachably connected to the seat mount 14. Thereby, by use of the motion mechanism 16, the seat assembly 18 can slide along the sliding direction D1 or/and rotate about rotation axis 14a, so as to offer various motions for the child sitting thereon. Nevertheless, our invention is not limited by the motion mechanism 16 including both sliding mechanism 162 and rotating mechanism 164. The motion mechanism can only have either the sliding mechanism or the rotating mechanism.
In the embodiment, the apparatus base 10 includes a base body 102 and a supporting structure 104 connected to the base body 102. The apparatus base 10 is supported through the supporting structure 104, e.g. on the ground. The movable carrier 12, the sliding mechanism 162, and the rotating mechanism 164 are disposed in the base body 102. The seat mount 14 is exposed out of the top of the apparatus base 10 (e.g. a through slot formed on an upper casing of the base body 102 for the seat mount 14 passing through from the interior of the base body 102). The connection support 184 is attached to the seat mount 14 from top of the seat mount 14. In addition, in the embodiment, the seat frame 182 can be used to support an infant carrier or a child car seat thereon. In practice, the seat assembly 18 also can be provided with a carrier of fabric connected to the seat frame 182 so that a child can directly lie thereon.
Furthermore, the seat mount 14 includes a first engagement structure 142 of a first non-circular structure profile relative to the rotation axis 14a. The connection support 184 comprises a second engagement structure 1842 of a second non-circular structure profile. The first non-circular structure profile matches with the second non-circular structure profile, but they are not limited to the same profile in practice. The connection support 184 is detachably connected to the seat mount 14 by engaging the second engagement structure 1842 with the first engagement structure 142. In the embodiment, the first non-circular structure profile and the second non-circular structure profile are the same and are a “+” shaped profile, so the connection support 184 can be detachably connected to the seat mount 14 in one of four orientations of the connection support 184 relative to the seat mount 14; that is, the seat assembly 18 can be oriented in four orientations relative to the seat mount 14. For example, the seat mount 14 is oriented forward as shown in FIG. 1 and oriented sideward as shown in FIG. 3; if needed, the seat mount 14 also can be oriented backward. Furthermore, in practice, the quantity of available orientations for the connection support 184 (or the seat assembly 18) attached to the seat mount 14 depends on the engagement structure profiles. For sample, when the first non-circular structure profile and the second non-circular structure profile are octagonal, the connection support 184 has eight orientations to be attached to the seat mount 14. In the embodiment, the first engagement structure 142 is a protrusive structure while the second engagement structure 1842 is a recessed structure (more explicitly a through hole); in practice, the engagement structures 142 and 1842 can be exchanged.
Please also refer to FIG. 4. In the embodiment, the supporting structure 104 is a sectional structure and includes supporting feet 1042 and expanding leg 1044. The supporting feet 1042 are fixed on the base body 102. The expanding leg 1044 has a hole 1044a, of which the inner diameter is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the end portion of the supporting foot 1042, so that the expanding leg 1044 can sleeve on the end portion of the supporting foot 1042. The expanding legs 1044 are detachably connected to the supporting feet 1042 by inserting the supporting feet 1042 into the holes 1044a. Thereby, the base body 102 can be supported in different heights. As shown by FIG. 1, the base body 102 is supported in a higher altitude with the expanding legs 1044 attached to the supporting feet 1042. In practice, the base body 102 can be supported in a lower altitude without the expanding legs 1044, which can be understood easily by FIG. 4. In addition, the supporting foot 1042 has a rubber pad 1042a fixed at its end. The outer size of the rubber pad 1042a is also smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 1044a. When the expanding leg 1044 is attached to the supporting foot 1042, the rubber pad 1042a is also located in the hole 1044a.
Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. In the embodiment, the platform 122 (that is not shown in FIG. 6 and is shown with a lower casing thereof removed in FIG. 5 for exposing the motion mechanism 16) is slidable along the sliding direction D1 relative to the apparatus base 10 through two slide rails 106 fixed on the apparatus base 10 (or the base body 102). The movable carrier 12 also includes rollers 124a and 124b connected to the platform 122. The platform 122 is disposed between the slide rails 106 and the rollers 124a and 124b engage with the slide rails 106, so that the platform 122 is stably and reliably movable relative to the apparatus base 10. The seat mount 14 is pivotally connected to the platform 122 (e.g. through a shaft). The sliding mechanism 162 includes a first link part 1622 and a second link part 1624, which are pivotally connected to the platform 122 and the apparatus base 10 (or the base body 102) respectively and are pivotally connected with each other. When any one of the first link part 1622, the second link part 1624, and the platform 122 moves, the others will be kinematically driven to move accordingly. Therefore, the first link part 1622, the second link part 1624, the platform 122, and the apparatus base 10 show a four-bar linkage.
In the embodiment, a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) of the second link part 1624 is larger than a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) of the first link part 1622. The first link part 1622 is a gear wheel. The sliding mechanism 162 includes a first motor 1626 and a gear set 1628. The gear set 1628 is kinematically connected to the first motor 1626 and the gearwheel (or the first link part 1622). Therefore, when the first motor 1626 is powered to drive the gear set 1628, the gear wheel is driven by the gear set 1628 to drive the second link part 1624 to rotate (or sway) so that the platform 122 reciprocates along the sliding direction D1 relative to the apparatus base 10. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the first motor 1626 drives the gear set 1628 through a transmission belt 1630. The gear set 1628 includes a worm screw 16282 and a worm gear 16284 meshing with the worm screw 16282. The worm screw 16282 is kinematically connected to the first motor 1626 through the transmission belt 1630. Therein, the worm screw 16282 is provided with a pulley at one end thereof. The first motor 1626 is provided with a pulley on its output shaft. The transmission belt 1630 is looped over the pulleys for transferring motion therebetween. The worm gear 16284 is kinematically connected to the gear wheel (or the first link part 1622) through a gear meshing. In the embodiment, the worm gear 16284 is fixed connected to another gear meshing with the gear wheel. In addition, in the embodiment, the kinematic engagement of the first motor 1626 with the gear set 1628 is based on the transmission belt 1630, so a slip between the transmission belt 1630 and the pulleys is allowable in practice, which can protect the first motor 1626 from being overheated when it is hard to slide the platform 122, e.g. in a case that the first motor 1626 is overloaded.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the rotating mechanism 164 includes a first link part 1642, a second link part 1644, and a third link part 1646. The first link part 1642 is pivotally connected to the platform 122. The second link part 1644 is pivotally connected to the first link part 1642. The third link part 1646 is pivotally connected to the second link part 1644 and fixedly connected to the seat mount 14. When any one of the first link part 1642, the second link part 1644, and the third link part 1646 moves, the others will be kinematically driven to move accordingly. Therefore, the first link part 1642, the second link part 1644, the third link part 1646, and the platform 122 also show a four-bar linkage.
In the embodiment, a length sum of a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) of the third link part 1646 and a distance (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) between the rotation axis 14a and a position where the first link part 1642 is pivotally connected to the platform 122 is larger than a length sum of a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) of the first link part 1642 and a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 5) of the second link part 1644; a length sum of the link length of the second link part 1644 and the link length of the third link part 1646 is larger than a length sum of the link length of the first link part 1642 and the distance. The first link part 1642 is a gear wheel. The rotating mechanism 164 also includes a second motor 1648 and a gear set 1650. The gear set 1650 is kinematically connected to the second motor 1648 and the gear wheel (or the first link part 1642). Therefore, when the second motor 1648 is powered to drive the gear set 1650, the gear wheel is driven by the gear set 1650 to drive the second link part 1644 to drive the third link part 1646 to rotate (or sway) so that the seat mount 14 rotationally reciprocates about the rotation axis 14a relative to the platform 122. Similar to the sliding mechanism 162, the second motor 1648 drives the gear set 1650 through a transmission belt 1652. The gear set 1650 includes a worm screw 16502 and a worm gear 16504 meshing with the worm screw 16502. The worm screw 16502 is kinematically connected to the second motor 1648 through the transmission belt 1652 looped over pulleys of the worm screw 16502 and the second motor 1648. The worm gear 16504 is kinematically connected to the gear wheel (or the first link part 1642) through a gear meshing. For other descriptions about the second motor 1648 and the gear set 1650, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first motor 1626 and the gear set 1628 of the sliding mechanism 162, which will not be repeated. Similarly, the kinematic engagement of the second motor 1648 with the gear set 1650 through the transmission belt 1652 can protect the second motor 1648 from being overheated when it is hard to slide the platform 122, e.g. in a case that the second motor 1648 is overloaded.
In the embodiment, the motion mechanism 16 comprises a controller and a control panel 168 electrically connected to the controller (e.g. by wires). The electrical connection and other electrical connections that will be described in the following are not shown in the figures; however, they could be easily practiced by a person skilled in this field, e.g. just by wires or cables, and will not be described in addition. The control panel 168 is integrated into the apparatus base 10 in structure. The controller can be but not limited to be disposed on the control panel 168. The first motor 1626 of the sliding mechanism 162 and the second motor 1648 of the rotating mechanism 164 are electrically connected to the controller, so that the controller can control the operation of the first and second motors 1626 and 1648. In practice, the controller can be realized by a circuit board module (e.g. including a circuit board and a processor, a memory, at least one connection interfaces, and other required electronic components which are disposed on the circuit board). When the controller receives an input operation by a user through the control panel 168, the controller, according to the input operation, controls the first motor 1626 of the sliding mechanism 162 to drive the platform 122 to slide relative to the apparatus base 10 along the sliding direction D1 or/and the second motor 1648 of the rotating mechanism 164 to drive the seat mount 14 to rotate about the rotation axis 14a (i.e. the seat assembly 18 rotates together with the seat mount 14).
In the embodiment, the control panel 168 includes two motion knobs 1682a and 1682b, which are electrically connected to the controller and through which the controller receives the input operation. The motion knobs 1682a and 1682b respectively and independently control the rotating speed of the first motor 1626 of the sliding mechanism 162 and the rotating speed of the second motor 1648 of the rotating mechanism 164. In other words, the motion knob 1682a allows the user to adjust the speed of sliding reciprocation of the seat mount 14 (or the seat assembly 18); the motion knob 1682b allows the user to adjust the speed of rotating reciprocation of the seat mount 14 (or the seat assembly 18). Therefore the child motion apparatus can create different modes of motion through manipulating the motion knobs 1682a and 1682b on the control panel 168.
Furthermore, the child motion apparatus 1 includes a speaker (not shown in the figures) disposed on the apparatus base 10 (or in the base body 102) and electrically connected to the controller. The control panel 168 includes two volume buttons 1684a and 1684b, a music button 1686, and an imitative noise button 1688, which are electrically connected to the controller and through which the controller receives the input operation. The music button 1686 allows the user to turn on or turn off the speaker for music. For example, the controller controls the speaker to play music (e.g. pre-stored in the memory of the controller) when the music button 1686 is pressed; the controller controls the speaker to stop playing music when the music button 1686 is presses again. The imitative noise button 1688 allows the user to turn on or turn off the speaker for an imitative noise, e.g. like the noise a baby can hear in a uterus, which can soothe a child sitting on the seat assembly 18. For example, the controller controls the speaker to play the imitative noise (e.g. pre-stored in the memory of the controller) when the imitative noise button 1688 is pressed, and to stop playing when the imitative noise button 1688 is pressed again. The volume buttons 1684a and 1684b allow the user to adjust an output volume of the speaker by pressing one of the two volume buttons. For example, the controller to adjust the output volume of the speaker up or down when the volume button 1684a or the volume button 1684b is pressed respectively.
In the embodiment, in practice, the child motion apparatus 1 can offer a sway motion through the seat mount 14 within a maximum rotational angle, e.g. 40 degrees (e.g. rotationally reciprocating about the rotation axis 14a from 20 degrees left to 20 degrees right relative to the sliding direction D1), as shown by FIG. 7, and also offer a sliding motion through the seat mount 14 within a maximum sliding displacement, e.g. 3 inches (e.g. linearly reciprocating along the sliding direction D1 within 3 inches), as shown by FIG. 8.
In addition, as shown by FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the seat assembly 18 includes a bouncing supporting frame 186 connected to the seat frame 182. As shown in FIG. 9, the bouncing supporting frame 186 has two bottom portions 1862 arching toward the seat frame 182, two connection arms 1864 bending and extending from the two bottom portions 1862 respectively and connected to the seat frame 182, and a connection portion 1866 connecting the two bottom portions 1862. In the embodiment, the arched angle of the bottom portion 1862 is about 20 degrees. When the seat assembly 18 is detached from the seat mount 14, the seat assembly 18 can be supported on the ground or a floor through the two bottom portions 1862 of the bouncing supporting frame 186 whereby the seat assembly 18 is able to bounce relative to the ground or the floor. Therein, a room S1 exists between the bent-upward bottom portion 1862 and the ground, which is convenient for the user to hold the two bottom portions 1862 without being clamped, as shown by FIG. 9. The connection arms 1864 can offer a bounce function for the seat frame 182; that is, the seat assembly 18 now can be used as a bouncer. When the seat assembly 18 is attached to the seat mount 14 through the connection support 184, the bouncing supporting frame 186 hangs free, so that the bouncing supporting frame 186 will not interfere with the motion of the seat assembly 18 driven by the motion mechanism 16 and the bounce function is not functional.
Furthermore, in practice, the seat assembly 18 can be replaced with a seat assembly 19 which can be used as a rocker when detached from the seat mount 14, as shown by FIG. 10. The seat assembly 19 is similar to the seat assembly 18 in engaging with the seat mount 14. For other descriptions about the seat assembly 19, please refer to the relevant descriptions about the components of the seat assembly 18 in the same names. In the embodiment, the seat assembly 19 includes a seat frame 192, a connection support 194 fixedly connected to the seat frame 192, and a rocking supporting frame 196 fixedly connected to the connection support 194. The seat assembly 19 is detachably connected to the seat mount 14 through the connection support 194 by engaging an engagement structure 1942 with the first engagement structure 142. The rocking supporting frame 196 has two bottom portions 1962 bending toward the seat frame 192, i.e. the bottom portion 1962 shows a curved structure with an upward opening. In the embodiment, the two bottom portions 1962 are provided by a looped structure. When the seat assembly 19 is detached from the seat mount 14, the seat assembly 19 is supported on a floor through the two bottom portions 1962 of the rocking supporting frame 196 whereby the seat assembly 19 is able to rock relative to the floor. The rocking supporting frame 196 can offer a rocker function for the seat frame 192; that is, the seat assembly 19 now can be used as a rocker. When the seat assembly 19 is attached to the seat mount 14 through the connection support 194, the rocking supporting frame 196 is fixedly connected to the seat mount 14 through the connection support 194, so that the rocking supporting frame 196 will not interfere with the motion of the seat assembly 19 driven by the motion mechanism 16 and the rocker function is not functional.
In the above child motion apparatus 1, the motion mechanism 16 is illustrated by the sliding mechanism 162 and the rotating mechanism 164; however, the invention is not limited thereto. Please refer to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. A sliding mechanism 362 is used for sliding the platform 122 of the movable carrier 12 relative to the apparatus base 10 along the sliding direction D1; a rotating mechanism 364 is used for rotating the seat mount 14 about the rotation axis 14a. Therein, the movable carrier 12 and the seat mount 14 in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are slightly different in structure to the movable carrier 12 and the seat mount 14 in the above other figures; however, their operational method are the same, so the movable carrier 12 and the seat mount 14 in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 still use the same notations for their components for simplification. As shown by FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the sliding mechanism 362 includes a first link part 3622 and a second link part 3624, which are pivotally connected to the platform 122 and the apparatus base 10 (or the base body 102) respectively and are pivotally connected with each other. When any one of the first link part 3622, the second link part 3624, and the platform 122 moves, the others will be kinematically driven to move accordingly. Therefore, the first link part 3622, the second link part 3624, the platform 122, and the apparatus base 10 show a four-bar linkage.
In the embodiment, a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) of the second link part 3624 is larger than a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) of the first link part 3622. The first link part 3622 is a gear wheel. The sliding mechanism 362 also includes a first motor 3626 and a gear set 3628. The gear set 3628 is kinematically connected to the first motor 3626 and the gear wheel (or the first link part 3622). Therefore, when the first motor 3626 is powered to drive the gear set 3628, the gear wheel is driven by the gear set 3628 to drive the second link part 3624 to rotate (or sway) so that the platform 122 reciprocates along the sliding direction D1 relative to the apparatus base 10. In the embodiment, the gear set 3628 can be a reduction gear set that may include a plurality spur gears arranged to mesh with each other. The gear set 3628 directly meshes with the output shaft of the first motor 3626 and the first link part 3622. The practical details for the gear set 3628 (and the engagement thereof with the first motor 3626) can be easily practiced by a person skilled in this field, which will not be described in addition.
Please also refer to FIG. 13. In the embodiment, the first link part 3622 (i.e. the gear wheel) is not a simple gear wheel. The gear wheel includes a wheel body 36222 and an intermediate part 36224 which are rotatable about the same rotation axis relative to the platform 122; that is, the wheel body 36222 and the intermediate part 36224 has the same rotation axis (i.e. the axis by which the first link part 3622 is pivotally connected to the platform 122). The wheel body 36222 has outer teeth 36222a and inner teeth 36222b. The intermediate part 36224 has a paw 36224a resiliently engaged with the inner teeth 36222b. The gear set 3628 is kinematically connected to the gear wheel through the outer teeth 36222a of the wheel body 36222. The second link part 3624 is pivotally connected to the gear wheel through the intermediate part 36224. When a force transferred between the paw 36224a and the inner teeth 36222b exceeds a threshold, the paw 36224a slips relative to the inner teeth 36222b (i.e. the paw 36224a moves from one tooth to another of the inner teeth 36222b), which can protect the first motor 3626 from being overheated when it is hard to slide the platform 122, e.g. in a case that a child sitting on the seat assembly 18 is overweight so that the first motor 3626 is overloaded. In addition, in the embodiment, the intermediate part 36224 has two of the paw 36224a in fact, which can enhance the stability and reliability of transferring force between the intermediate part 36224 and the wheel body 36222.
Please refer to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. The rotating mechanism 364 includes a first link part 3642, a second link part 3644, and a third link part 3646. The first link part 3642 is pivotally connected to the platform 122. The second link part 3644 is pivotally connected to the first link part 3642. The third link part 3646 is pivotally connected to the second link part 3644 and fixedly connected to the seat mount 14. When any one of the first link part 3642, the second link part 3644, and the third link part 3646 moves, the others will be kinematically driven to move accordingly. Therefore, the first link part 3642, the second link part 3644, the third link part 3646, and the platform 122 also show a four-bar linkage.
In the embodiment, a length sum of a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) of the third link part 3646 and a distance (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) between the rotation axis 14a and a position where the first link part 3642 is pivotally connected to the platform 122 is larger than a length sum of a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) of the first link part 3642 and a link length (indicated by a bold line in FIG. 11) of the second link part 3644; a length sum of the link length of the second link part 3644 and the link length of the third link part 3646 is larger than a length sum of the link length of the first link part 3642 and the distance. The first link part 3642 is a gear wheel. The rotating mechanism 364 also includes a second motor 3648 and a gear set 3650. The gear set 3650 is kinematically connected to the second motor 3648 and the gear wheel (or the first link part 3642). Therefore, when the second motor 3648 is powered to drive the gear set 3650, the gear wheel is driven by the gear set 3650 to drive the second link part 3644 to drive the third link part 3646 to rotate (or sway) so that the seat mount 14 rotationally reciprocates about the rotation axis 14a relative to the platform 122. Similar to the sliding mechanism 362, the gear set 3650 can be a reduction gear set that may include a plurality spur gears arranged to mesh with each other. The gear set 3650 directly meshes with the output shaft of the second motor 3648 and the first link part 3642. The practical details for the gear set 3650 (and the engagement thereof with the second motor 3648) can be easily practiced by a person skilled in this field, which will not be described in addition.
Please also refer to FIG. 14. In the embodiment, the first link part 3642 (i.e. the gear wheel) is not a simple gear wheel. The gear wheel includes a wheel body 36422 and an intermediate part 36424 which are rotatable about the same rotation axis relative to the platform 122; that is, the wheel body 36422 and the intermediate part 36424 has the same rotation axis (i.e. the axis by which the first link part 3642 is pivotally connected to the platform 122). The wheel body 36422 has outer teeth 36422a and inner teeth 36422b. The intermediate part 36424 has a paw 36424a resiliently engaged with the inner teeth 36422b. The gear set 3650 is kinematically connected to the gear wheel through the outer teeth 36422a of the wheel body 36422. The second link part 3644 is pivotally connected to the gear wheel through the intermediate part 36424. When a force transferred between the paw 36424a and the inner teeth 36422b exceeds a threshold, the paw 36424a slips relative to the inner teeth 36422b (i.e. the paw 36424a moves from one tooth to another of the inner teeth 36422b), which can protect the second motor 3648 from being overheated when it is hard to slide the platform 122, e.g. in a case that a child sitting on the seat assembly 18 is overweight so that the second motor 3648 is overloaded. In addition, in the embodiment, the intermediate part 36424 has two of the paw 36424a in fact, which can enhance the stability and reliability of transferring force between the intermediate part 36424 and the wheel body 36422.
In addition, in practice, the gear sets 3628 and 3650 can be practiced by other kinds of reduction gear sets, e.g. by a worm drive. For example, the sliding mechanism 362 can be replaced with a transmission mechanism as shown by FIG. 15. Therein, the worm screw of the worm drive 3628′ is directly fixed on the output shaft of the first motor 3626′, the worm gear of the worm drive 3628′ directly meshes with the gear wheel 3622′, and the link part 3624′ is pivotally connected to the gear wheel 3622′ (or exactly the intermediate part thereof). Therefore, the gear wheel 3622′ (or exactly a gear combination) is equivalent to the first link part 3622 (or the assembly of the wheel body 36222 and the intermediate part 36224). The link part 3624′ is equivalent to the second link part 3624. The first motor 3626′ is equivalent to the first motor 3626. The worm drive 3628′ is equivalent to the gear set 3628. Furthermore, the rotating mechanism 364 can be replaced with a similar transmission mechanism like the above shown by FIG. 15. In addition, the sliding mechanism 162 and the rotating mechanism 164 also can be replaced with a transmission mechanism in a similar way to the above.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Patent Grant
9968204
