Claims
- 1. A foldable playyard comprising:
- a lower frame assembly comprising a hub having a vertical axis and a plurality of hub legs, one end portion of each of said hub legs pivotally coupled to said hub;
- an upper frame assembly comprising a plurality of side rail units, each comprising a pair of rails and a medial rail connecting member pivotally connected to an end portion of each of said pair of rails, said medial rail connecting member enabling said pair of rails to be collapsible from a substantially in-line configuration to a substantially V-shaped configuration;
- a plurality of corner legs for interconnecting said upper and lower frame assemblies, wherein said hub includes a handle unit disposed on a first side of the hub and rotatable about the axis, and a movable locking member to prevent at least one of said hub legs from pivoting relative to the hub disposed on a second side of the hub opposite to the first side and wherein the locking member is rotated about the axis by the handle unit to a position adjacent at least one of the end portions of the hub legs.
- 2. A foldable playyard according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of upper connecting members and a corresponding number of lower connecting members, each of said upper connecting members is connected to an upper end portion of one of said corner legs and each of said lower connecting members is connected to a lower end portion of one of said corner legs, wherein end portions of said rails are pivotally coupled to the upper connecting members and end portions of said hub legs are pivotally coupled to the lower connecting members.
- 3. A foldable playyard according to claim 2, wherein said lower frame assembly further comprises a pair of stabilizer legs pivotally coupled to said hub, said stabilizer legs being collapsible from a substantially co-planar spread configuration to a non-coplanar compact substantially parallel configuration.
- 4. A foldable playyard according to claim 1, wherein said hub includes a hub body to which said hub legs are pivotally coupled, said locking member being rotatably coupled to said hub body.
- 5. A foldable playyard according to claim 4, wherein said locking member includes a plurality of outwardly extending blocking members, said blocking members being rotatable relative to said hub body to position each of said blocking members adjacent and opposite one of the end portions of said hub legs connected to said hub body to prevent said hub legs from pivoting relative to said hub.
- 6. A foldable playyard according to claim 5, wherein said handle unit includes a base member and a semicircular handle coupled thereto.
- 7. A foldable playyard according to claim 5, wherein said hub body includes a first side and a second side opposite said first side, said second side having a plurality of recesses dimensioned to accommodate the end portions of said hub legs such that said hub legs can be collapsible from a substantially co-planar spread configuration wherein said hub legs diverge outwardly from said hub to a compact non-coplanar configuration where said hub legs can be positioned substantially parallel, wherein said handle unit is positioned adjacent said first side and said blocking members are positioned adjacent said second side, wherein each of said blocking members is positionable opposite one of said recesses.
- 8. A foldable playyard according to claim 7, wherein said hub further comprises a support member attached to said locking member for supporting said hub and said hub legs.
- 9. A foldable playyard according to claim 7, wherein the spring device operatively coupled between said locking member and said hub biases said blocking members in a locking position where said blocking members are positioned opposite said recesses.
- 10. A foldable playyard according to claim 9, wherein said hub body includes an opening through which said handle unit is operatively connected to said locking member.
- 11. A foldable playyard according to claim 10, wherein said locking member is pivotally coupled to said hub body about a first axis, said handle unit comprising a base member operatively connected to said locking member and a handle pivotally connected to said base member about a second axis, wherein rotation of said handle about said first axis causes said base member and said blocking members to rotate.
- 12. A foldable playyard according to claim 11, wherein said second axis is substantially perpendicular to said first axis.
- 13. A foldable playyard according to claim 1, wherein said hub further includes a rotation prevention mechanism operatively coupled to said hub and said locking member is rotatably coupled to said hub, and wherein said rotation prevention mechanism selectively prevents said locking member from rotating between the locking position and the release position.
- 14. A foldable playyard according to claim 13, further including a lock coupling mechanism disposed to said locking member, wherein said rotation prevention mechanism engages said lock coupling mechanism, wherein rotation of said lock coupling mechanism disengages said rotation prevention mechanism to permit rotation of said locking member.
- 15. A foldable playyard according to claim 14, wherein said lock coupling mechanism comprises a locking member driver and a cam member rotatably coupled to said driver such that said cam member is rotatable relative to said driver for a predetermined degree, said driver being coupled to said locking member, wherein said driver engages said rotation prevention mechanism to prevent said locking member from rotating.
- 16. A foldable playyard according to claim 13, wherein said rotation preventing mechanism is rotatably coupled to said hub and includes a driver engaging portion, a cam engaging portion and a biasing spring for biasing said driver engaging portion to engage said driver.
- 17. A foldable playyard according to claim 16, wherein said cam member engages said cam engaging portion to disengage said driver engaging portion from said driver upon rotation of said cam member to said predetermined degree to enable said driver to rotate.
- 18. A foldable playyard according to claim 17, wherein said hub further includes a biasing spring for biasing said cam member away from said cam engaging portion.
- 19. A hub for connecting one end portion of each of a plurality of hub legs of a lower frame assembly of a playyard, comprising:
- a hub body, having a vertical axis for pivotally coupling to said one end portion of each of said hub legs;
- a handle unit disposed on a first side of said hub body and rotatable about the axis; and
- a locking member movably coupled to and disposed on a second side of said hub body opposite the first side, said locking member is rotated about the axis by said handle unit to a position adjacent at least one of the end portions of said hub legs, wherein said at least one of the end portions is positioned between said hub body and said locking member to prevent the hub leg from pivoting relative to said hub body.
- 20. A hub according to claim 19, wherein said locking member is rotatably coupled to said hub body.
- 21. A hub according to claim 20, wherein said locking member includes a plurality of outwardly extending blocking members, said blocking members being rotatable in unison relative to said hub body to position each of said blocking member adjacent one of the end portions of said hub legs connecting to said hub body to prevent said hub legs from pivoting relative to said hub body.
- 22. A hub according to claim 21, further comprising a support member attached to said locking member and extending substantially perpendicularly to said blocking members.
- 23. A hub according to claim 21, wherein said handle unit includes a base member and a semicircular handle coupled thereto.
- 24. A hub according to claim 23, wherein said hub body includes a first side and a second side opposite said first side, said second side having a plurality of recesses dimensioned to accommodate the end portions of said hub legs such that said hub legs can be collapsible from a substantially co-planar spread configuration wherein said hub legs diverge outwardly from said hub to a compact non-coplanar configuration where said hub legs can be positioned substantially parallel, wherein said handle unit is positioned adjacent said first side and said blocking members are positioned adjacent said second side, wherein each of said blocking members is positionable opposite one of said recesses.
- 25. A hub according to claim 24, wherein the spring device coupling said locking member to said hub body biases said blocking members in said locking position where said blocking members are positioned opposite said recesses.
- 26. A hub according to claim 25, wherein said hub body includes an opening through which said handle unit is connected to said locking member.
- 27. A hub according to claim 26, wherein said handle unit comprises a base member operatively connected to said locking member and a handle pivotally connected to said base member.
- 28. A hub according to claim 27, wherein said locking member is pivotally coupled to said hub body about a first axis and said handle pivotally connected to said base member about a second axis, wherein rotation of said handle about said first axis causes said base member and said blocking members to rotate about said first axis.
- 29. A hub according to claim 28, wherein said second axis is substantially perpendicular to said first axis.
- 30. A hub according to claim 19, further including a rotation prevention mechanism operatively coupled to said hub body and said locking member to selectively prevent said locking member from moving between the locking position and the release position.
- 31. A hub according to claim 30, further including a lock coupling mechanism disposed to said locking member, wherein said rotation prevention mechanism engages said lock coupling mechanism, wherein rotation of said lock coupling mechanism disengages said rotation prevention mechanism to permit said locking member to move between the locking position and the release position.
- 32. A hub according to claim 31, wherein said lock coupling mechanism comprises a locking member driver and a cam member rotatably coupled to said driver such that said cam member is rotatable relative to said driver for a predetermined degree, said driver being coupled to said locking member and wherein said driver engages said rotation prevention mechanism to prevent said locking member from moving between the locking position and the release position.
- 33. A hub according to claim 32, wherein said rotation preventing mechanism is rotatably coupled to said hub body and includes a driver engaging portion, a cam engaging portion and a biasing spring for biasing said driver engaging portion to engage said driver.
- 34. A hub according to claim 33, wherein said cam member engages said cam engaging portion to disengage said driver engaging portion from said driver upon rotation of said cam member to said predetermined degree to enable said driver to rotate.
- 35. A hub according to claim 34, further including a biasing spring for biasing said cam member away from said cam engaging portion.
- 36. A hub for connecting one end portion of each of a plurality of hub legs of a lower frame assembly of a playyard, comprising:
- a hub body, having a vertical axis, for pivotally coupling to said one end portion of each of said hub legs;
- a handle member disposed on a first side of the hub body and rotatable about the axis;
- a locking member coupled to said hub body and disposed on a second side of the hub body opposite the first side, said locking member is rotated about the axis between a locking position wherein said locking member is positioned adjacent at least one of the end portions of said hub legs, wherein said at least one of the end portions is positioned between said hub body and said locking member to prevent the hub leg from pivoting relative to said hub body, and a release position; and
- a motion prevention mechanism rotatably disposed on the hub body and operatively connected to the locking member, wherein the motion prevention mechanism is rotatable between a first position where the locking member is prevented from moving between the locking position and the release position, and a second position where the locking member is movable between the locking position and the release position.
- 37. The hub according to claim 36, further including a lock coupling mechanism disposed on said locking member, wherein said motion prevention mechanism engages said lock coupling mechanism to selectively prevent the locking member from moving between the locking position and the release position, wherein rotation of at least a portion of said lock coupling mechanism disengages said motion prevention mechanism to permit movement of said locking member.
- 38. The hub according to claim 37, wherein said lock coupling mechanism comprises a locking member driver and a cam member rotatably coupled to said driver such that said cam member is rotatable relative to said driver for a predetermined degree, said driver being coupled to said locking member and wherein said driver engages said motion prevention mechanism to prevent said locking member from moving between the locking position and the release position.
- 39. The hub according to claim 36 further comprising a spring device operatively coupling the locking member to the hub to bias the locking member toward the locking position.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/336,209, filed Nov. 4, 1994, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
43051 |
Jul 1910 |
ATX |
2 361 846 |
Mar 1978 |
FRX |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
336209 |
Nov 1994 |
|