Patent Application
20200352352
The present invention relates generally to child enclosures, and more particularly to a collapsible playard.
Formerly known as “playpens,” playards generally provide a safe space for a baby or toddler to play when one needs kid-free time to cook dinner, get ready for work, or take a bathroom break. Generally rectangular and made from mesh, playards sit directly on or slightly elevated off the floor and are typically designed for easy transport.
The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In one aspect, the invention features a system including a support frame of a foldable playard, bassinet fabrics attached to the support frame of the playard, and a hub system attached to the support frame and configured to enable the attached bassinet fabrics to fold with the foldable playard.
In another aspect, the invention features a system including a support frame of a foldable playard, bassinet fabrics attached to the support frame of the playard, and a hub system attached to the support frame and configured to enable the attached bassinet fabrics to fold with the foldable playard the hub system including a central hub and a metal rods attached to an outer diameter of the central hub.
In still another aspect, the invention features a method including providing a playard, and enabling a support frame and bassinet fabrics to fold with the playard.
These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of aspects as claimed.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
The subject innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.
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Each of the tube pairs 21, 22 are joined at their top ends and their bottom ends to neighboring, i.e., adjacent, tube pair top and bottom ends by top and bottom knuckle linkages or knuckle hinges, 24 and 25 respectively. Knuckle linkages 24 and 25 are composed of two tube receptacles 26 and 27, joined with at least one hinge that enables the knuckles to pivot vertically, which allows the tube pairs 21, 22 to pivot vertically to a substantially vertical orientation which collapses the horizontal floor of the playard 10 for storing. The hinge is composed of a pair of connected tongue and groove casings 28, 29 and the tongues are formed with aligned holes 31. The two casings are secured to each other a rivet pin 32 that extends through the aligned holes. The top and bottom knuckle linkages are further composed of two tube receiving sockets 26, 27, which are formed and positioned to receive the ends of tubes 21, 22. Receiving sockets 26, 27 are each formed with rivet openings 33 that receive rivets 36. This secures the ends of the tubes to their receiving sockets. Positioned between receiving sockets 26, 27 and casings 28, 29 are a pair of dog legged shaped spacers 30, 31, one on each side of casings 28, 29 and disposed between the pivot joint and each of the tube receiving sockets, creating a knuckle linkage having a substantially parabolic aspect. Spacer hole 34 are provided in spacers 30, 31 to secure the knuckle linkages to the rail webbing as will be described below. Preferably, the knuckle linkages are composed of rigid plastic, although alternative materials may be used.
Most previous playards and playpens have non-removable fabrics. And for these previous playards and playpens that do have removable fabrics, removal requires a user to unzip sections of the fabric to release the fabrics from a top frame. In contrast, fabric enclosure 40 is removably mounted on the frame 20. More specifically, as described below, the fabric enclosure 40 is held in place on top by canopy/changer plugs while webbing support straps on an underside of the fabrics enclosure 40 are controlled by webbing slide that are snapped onto a bottom of a lower knuckle.
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To operate the canopy fold, the user pulls and twists the handle/strap 920. This pulls the release cable to dis-engage the release pins out of the hinged clips thus allowing the clip to hinge. With the handle/strap still pulled and twisted, the user pushes the canopy down to invert the structure into the canopy toward the floor.
To set-up the canopy, the user grab the handle/strap 920 and lifts the canopy out of the playard. Once the canopy is under tension from support structure it pops into place, and the two opposite sides with the release pins engage back into the hinged knuckles to lock out the canopy.
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In addition, the playard frame 1400 meets government standards for bassinets and incline sleep products. More specifically, the playard frame 1400 meets ASTM F2194-16′1 (Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bassinets and Cradles) and ASTM F3118-17a (Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Inclined Sleep Products).
ASTM F2194-16′1 covers products primarily intended to provide sleeping accommodations for an infant up to approximately 5 months in age or when the child begins to push up on hands and knees, whichever comes first.
ASTM F3118-17a covers a free standing product with an inclined sleep surface primarily intended and marketed to provide sleeping accommodations for an infant up to 5 months old or when the infant begins to roll over or pull up on sides, whichever comes first. It also covers a smaller product intended for newborns up to 3 months old or when newborn begins to wiggle out of position or turn over in the product or weighs more than 15 lb (6.8 kg), whichever comes first. It also covers infant and newborn inclined sleep product accessories, which are attached to, or supported by, another product with the same age or abilities, or both, as the free standing products. If the inclined sleep product can be converted into a product for which another ASTM standard consumer safety specification exists, the product shall meet the applicable requirements of that standard.
The playard frame 1400 includes four metal rods 1410, 1420, 1430, 1440 attached to a central hub 1450 tangentially to an outer diameter of the central hub 1450. The metal rods 1410, 1420, 1430, 1440 are free to fold downward pivoting around an axis. The playard frame 1400 is permanently attached to an underside of the bassinet fabrics by a series of fabric channels that support the metal rods. The bassinet fabrics are connected to the main fabrics of the playard using a series of sewn-in clips that clip over a sewn in webbing detail on the inside of the main fabrics.
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Each of the mounting knuckles 1640, 1642, 1644, 1646 have a flexible snap detail 1700 on one side that snaps over a detail 1720 in a corner knuckle 1730 of the playard and a post 1740 going downward that helps with alignment. Once aligned, a user presses down on knuckle 1730 and a tab 1800 snaps over the detail 1720 to lock napper/changer 1600 to the frame of the playard.
It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the present invention except as limited by the scope of the appended claims.
