Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure and prior art relates to gating assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new gating assembly for sequestering and entertaining a child.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a gate that is configured to selectively couple to opposing elements of a structure that define an opening, such as jambs of a door, to selectively retain a child within a portion of the structure. At least one entertainment module is coupled to the gate. The at least one entertainment module is configured to entertain the child who is retained in the portion of the structure.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A housing 20 is pivotally coupled to a respective second bar 16. The housing 20 defines an interior space 22 and is substantially rectangularly box shaped. The housing 20 is configured to be pivoted to selectively close the opening to selectively retain the child within the portion of the structure.
At least one entertainment module 24 is coupled to the gate 12. The at least one entertainment module 24 is configured to entertain the child who is retained in the portion of the structure. In one embodiment, the at least one entertainment module 24 is reversibly couplable to the gate 12. The at least one entertainment module 24 is positioned on a first face 26 of the housing 20.
In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one entertainment module 24 comprises a mirror 28. The mirror 28 is nonplanar so that an image which is reflected from the mirror 28 is distorted.
In another embodiment of the invention, the at least one entertainment module 24 comprises an audio module 30 that is configured to broadcast music to the child. In one embodiment, the audio module 30 comprises at least one first battery 32 and a music player 34 that are coupled to the housing 20. The at least one first battery 32 and the music player 34 are positioned in the interior space 22. The music player 34 is operationally coupled to the at least one first battery 32. A speaker 36 is coupled to the first face 26 of the housing 20. The speaker 36 is operationally coupled to the music player 34. The speaker 36 is configured to broadcast the music to the child. A controller 38 is coupled to the first face 26 of the housing 20. The controller 38 is operationally coupled to the music player 34. The controller 38 is configured to issue commands, such as a volume control command and a selection command, to the music player 34. In another embodiment, the controller 38 comprises a set of three toggle bars 40.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the at least one entertainment module 24 comprises at least one second battery 42 that is coupled to the housing 20 and is positioned in the interior space 22. A tablet 44 is coupled to the first face 26 of the housing 20. The tablet 44 is operationally coupled to the at least one second battery 42. The tablet 44 is touch-enabled so that the tablet 44 is configured to display shapes that are traced on the tablet 44 by the child.
In still yet another embodiment of the invention, the at least one entertainment module 24 comprises at least one screen 46 is coupled to the first face 26 of the housing 20. The at least one screen 46 is operationally coupled to the at least one first battery 32. The at least one screen 46 is configured to selectively display an image, such as a letter and a number, to be viewed by the child. In one embodiment, the at least one screen 46 comprises a set of four displays 48. The set of four displays 48 is operationally coupled to the speaker 36. The set of four displays 48 is touch-enabled. A respective display 48 is configured to display a respective image and to be touched by the child to compel the speaker 36 to broadcast a word that corresponds to the respective image.
A coupler 50 is coupled to an upper corner 66 of the housing 20. The coupler 50 is configured to selectively couple to a respective second bar 16. The coupler 50 is positioned to couple to the respective second bar 16 to secure the housing 20. The gate 12 is configured to close the opening. In one embodiment, the coupler 50 comprises a latch 52.
Each of a plurality of connectors 54 is coupled to a respective second bar 16. The connectors 54 are configured to selectively couple to the opposing elements of the structure, such as the jambs of the door, to couple the gate 12 to the structure. In one embodiment, the plurality of connectors 54 comprises four connectors 54 that are positioned two-apiece on each second bar 16. In another embodiment, each connector 54 comprises a channel 56 and a bolt 58. The channel 56 is positioned in the second bar 16 and is threaded. The bolt 58 is complementary to and is positioned in the channel 56. The bolt 58 is configured to be rotated to be extended from the channel 56 so that a head 60 of the bolt 58 is frictionally coupled to a respective element of the structure to couple the gate 12 to the structure.
A plurality of slots 62 is positioned through a second face 64 of the housing 20. The slots 62 are configured to vent the interior space 22. In one embodiment, the plurality of slots 62 comprises four slots 62 that are positioned proximate to the tablet 44 and four slots 62 that are positioned proximate to the at least one screen 46.
In use, each bolt 58 is configured to be rotated to be extended from an associated channel 56. The head 60 of the bolt 58 is frictionally coupled to the respective element of the structure to couple the gate 12 to the structure. The housing 20 is configured to be pivoted to selectively close the opening. The latch 52 is positioned to couple to the respective second bar 16 to secure the housing 20 to selectively retain the child within the portion of the structure. The image that is reflected from the mirror 28 is distorted. The speaker 36 is configured to broadcast the music to the child. The controller 38 is configured to issue the commands, such as the volume control command and the selection command, to the music player 34. The tablet 44 is configured to display the shapes that are traced on the tablet 44 by the child. The respective display 48 is configured to display the respective image and to be touched by the child to compel the speaker 36 to broadcast the word that corresponds to the respective image.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4664640 | Shindo et al. | May 1987 | A |
4973286 | Davison | Nov 1990 | A |
D370942 | Arad et al. | Jun 1996 | S |
5709582 | O'Donnell | Jan 1998 | A |
6711854 | Andersen | Mar 2004 | B1 |
7178792 | Monahan | Feb 2007 | B2 |
8381334 | Ballard | Feb 2013 | B2 |
8607503 | Ivie | Dec 2013 | B2 |
9267323 | Whooley | Feb 2016 | B2 |
9415323 | Austern | Aug 2016 | B2 |
9713776 | Leung | Jul 2017 | B1 |
9985676 | Fathollahi | May 2018 | B2 |
20070084332 | Blaszczyk | Apr 2007 | A1 |
20120325881 | White | Dec 2012 | A1 |
20150097349 | Johnson | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20150105608 | Lipoma | Apr 2015 | A1 |
20160096116 | Dunn | Apr 2016 | A1 |
20160230449 | Robertson-Sharma | Aug 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190145168 A1 | May 2019 | US |