This application claims priority of Chinese application no. 200620129739.3, filed on Aug. 10, 2006.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a baby crib, more particularly to a foldable baby crib.
2. Description of the Related Art
Foldable baby cribs are known in the art. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,474,472 and 4,573,224, there are disclosed foldable baby cribs that can be collapsed by moving frame components toward each other to fold the baby crib in a single dimension. Furthermore, while U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0166316 A1 and EP 0295761 B1 disclose foldable baby cribs having components that can be collapsed toward a center of the baby crib, more than one folding action and/or force-exerting point are needed. There is thus a need to provide a foldable baby crib that can be conveniently folded and that occupies a relatively small amount of space when folded.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a foldable baby crib that can be folded via a single-handed folding action and that occupies a relatively small amount of space when folded.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable baby crib that comprises a bottom frame unit, a plurality of lateral frame units, a plurality of upper pivot connectors, and a plurality of lower pivot connectors.
Each of the lateral frame units includes: a pivot connection seat; a pair of support rods, each of which has a top rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat, and an opposite lower rod end; and a pair of top rods, each of which has an inner rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat, and an opposite outer rod end.
Each of the upper pivot connectors interconnects pivotally the outer rod ends of the top rods of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units.
Each of the lower pivot connectors interconnects pivotally the lower rod ends of the support rods of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units, and is connected pivotally to the bottom frame unit.
The bottom frame unit is operable to convert the foldable baby crib between an expanded state, where the bottom frame unit and the lateral frame units cooperate to define a crib space, and a folded state, where the bottom frame unit and the lateral frame units are collapsed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable baby crib that comprises a plurality of lateral frame units, a plurality of upper pivot connectors, a plurality of lower pivot connectors, and an actuator.
Each of the lateral frame units includes: a pivot connection seat; a pair of support rods, each of which has a top rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat, and an opposite lower rod end; a pair of top rods, each of which has an inner rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat, and an opposite outer rod end; a rod connector; and a pair of bottom rods, each of which has an inner rod end and an opposite outer rod end. The inner rod ends of the bottom rods are pivoted to the rod connector.
Each of the upper pivot connectors interconnects pivotally the outer rod ends of the top rods of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units.
Each of the lower pivot connectors interconnects pivotally the lower rod ends of the support rods of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units, and the outer rod ends of the bottom rods of the adjacent pair of the lateral frame units.
The actuator includes a plurality of connecting sections, each of which has an inner end and an opposite outer end connected to the rod connector of a respective one of the lateral frame units.
The actuator is operable by pulling at the inner ends of the connecting sections to convert the foldable baby crib from an expanded state, where the lateral frame units cooperate to define a crib space, to a folded state, where the lateral frame units are collapsed toward each other.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a baby crib is convertible between an expanded state and a folded state, and comprises a plurality of lateral frame units, each forming a side of the baby crib when the baby crib is in the expanded state. Each lateral frame unit includes a pivot connection seat, a pair of support rods, each of which has a top rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat, and an opposite lower rod end, and a pair of top rods, each of which has an inner rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat and an opposite outer rod end. The support rods of each lateral frame unit form an inverted V-shaped configuration when the baby crib is in the expanded state. The lower rod ends of the support rods of each lateral frame unit are close to each other, and the top rods of each lateral frame unit are pivoted relative to the pivot connection seat when the baby crib is converted from the expanded state to the folded state.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
Each of the lateral frame units 11 includes an elongate pivot connection seat 21, a pair of support rods 23, a pair of top rods 22, and a folding member 3. Each of the support rods 23 has a top rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat 21, and an opposite lower rod end. Each of the top rods 22 has an inner rod end and an opposite outer rod end. As best shown in
Each of the upper pivot connectors 12 interconnects pivotally the outer rod ends of the top rods 22 of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units 11.
Each of the lower pivot connectors 13 interconnects pivotally the lower rod ends of the support rods 23 of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units 11.
The bottom frame unit 14 includes a hub 141, and four connecting sections 142 in the form of rods. Each connecting section 142 has an inner end connected pivotally to the hub 141, and an opposite outer end. Each of the lower pivot connectors 13 is further connected pivotally to the outer end of a respective one of the connecting sections 142.
As best shown in
Referring to
As shown in
Referring back to
Preferably, the hub 141 of the bottom frame unit 14 is provided with a locking mechanism 15 for locking the connecting sections 142 to the hub 141 when the baby crib 1 is in the expanded state. Thus, when it is desired to fold the baby crib 1, a switch (not shown) of the locking mechanism 15 is operated to unlock the connecting sections 142 from the hub 141 and permit upward lifting movement of the hub 141 for converting the baby crib 1 to the folded state.
When converting the baby crib 1 to the folded state, movement of the support rods 23 connected to the same pivot connection seat 21 close together results in downward sliding movement of the movable parts 312′ on the support rods 23, in folding of the connecting links 313′ toward each other, and in downward folding movement of the top rods 22 via the coupling links 311′.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the pivot connection seats 411 of the opposing pair of the lateral frame units 41 having the longer top rods 412 and the longer support rods 413 are each formed with a pair of horizontal slots 410. The top rod end of each of the support rods 413 in the opposing pair of the lateral frame units 41 is pivoted to the pivot connection seat 411 by a respective pivot pin 414 extending through and movable in a respective one of the slots 410. The connection as such permits the top rods 412 and the support rods 413 of all of the lateral frame units 41 to be disposed close to each other when the baby crib 4 is in the folded state in spite of the non-uniform lengths of the top rods 412 and the support rods 413 of the lateral frame units 41.
Referring to
Referring to
In this embodiment, each lateral frame unit 61 includes a pivot connection seat 611, a pair of support rods 613, a pair of top rods 612, and a folding member 614. Each support rod 613 has a top rod end pivoted to the pivot connection seat 611, and an opposite lower rod end. Each top rod 612 has an inner rod end and an opposite outer rod end. The inner rod ends of the top rods 612 are pivoted to the pivot connection seat 611 at outer sides of the support rods 613, respectively. In this embodiment, the folding member 614 includes a coupling part 615 pivoted to the top rods 612, and a pair of movable parts 616, each of which is connected pivotally to the coupling part 615 and is mounted slidingly on a respective one of the support rods 613. Each upper pivot connector 63 interconnects pivotally the outer rod ends of the top rods 612 of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units 61. Each lower pivot connector 64 interconnects pivotally the lower rod ends of the support rods 613 of an adjacent pair of the lateral frame units 61.
Since the lateral frame units 61 are similar to those of the first preferred embodiment in construction, further details of the same are omitted herein for the sake of brevity. It should be noted that the folding member 614 of this embodiment may also be modified to take the form of the folding member 3′ or 3″ shown in
Unlike the previous embodiments, a rod connector 618 and a pair of bottom rods 617 are further included in the lateral frame unit 61 of this embodiment. Each of the bottom rods 617 has an inner rod end and an opposite outer rod end. The inner rod ends of the bottom rods 617 are pivoted to the rod connector 618. Each lower pivot connector 64 further interconnects pivotally the outer rod ends of the bottom rods 617 of the adjacent pair of the lateral frame units 61. Preferably, the outer rod ends of the bottom rods 617 are pivoted the lower pivot connectors 64 at rear sides of the lower rod ends of the support rods 613.
In this embodiment, the actuator 62 includes four connecting sections 622, each of which has an inner end and an opposite outer end connected to the rod connector 618 of a respective one of the lateral frame units 61, and a pull member 621 connected to the inner ends of the connecting sections 622. In this embodiment, each of the connecting sections 622 takes the form of a fabric strip, and the pull member 621 is in the form of a pull ring. In practice, the connecting sections 622 may be in the form of rods in other embodiments of this invention.
When the baby crib 6 is in the expanded state, the support rods 613 of each of the lateral frame units 61 form an inverted V-shaped configuration, the top rods 612 of the lateral frame units 61 cooperate to form an upper looped frame, and the bottom rods 617 of the lateral frame units 61 cooperate to form a lower looped frame.
To convert the baby crib 6 to the folded state, the pull member 621 is pulled upward, thereby moving the rod connectors 618 upward via the connecting sections 622. This results in folding of the bottom rods 617 of each of the lateral frame units 61 toward each other and in movement of the lower pivot connectors 64 and the lower rod ends of the support rods 613 toward each other. As the distance between adjacent ones of the lower pivot connectors 64 decreases, the angle between the support rods 613 connected to the same pivot connection seat 611 is reduced, thereby resulting in downward sliding movement of the movable parts 616 of the folding member 614 on the support rods 613 and in downward folding movement of the top rods 612 of the lateral frame units 61 relative to the respective pivot connection seat 611 via the coupling part 615.
As shown in
It has thus been shown that the foldable baby crib 1, 4, 5, 6 of this invention can be easily folded through a single-handed lifting action on the hub 141 or pull member 621. Moreover, since the rod components of the lateral frame units 11, 41, 51, 61 are simultaneously collapsed toward each other such that they are parallel to each other and are close to each other upon folding, the foldable baby crib 1, 4, 5, 6 of this invention has a relatively small size when in the folded state to save space and facilitate storage and transport.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006 2 0129739 | Aug 2006 | CN | national |
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