This invention relates to a motorized infant swing.
Infant child swings provide entertainment for children too small to operate a normal swing. Although early swings used mechanical motors to drive the child, modern infant swings use an electrocmechanical motor assembly. There are several design concerns for swing design. First, a swing must be stable and safe. Second, the swing should have maximum battery life. Third, a child should be comfortable and entertained in the swing. Fourth, the swing should be able to be easily packed and stored.
The swing described herein addresses all of these design concerns. An infant swing comprises a seat with a padded seating area for an infant and a seat frame that supports said padded seating area, the seat frame comprising at least two upwardly extending arms. The swing also comprises two pivot housings rotatably connected to the at least two upwardly extending arms; a support frame that extends upwardly from a substantially planar surface, the support frame engaging the pivot housings and allowing the seat to rotate freely about the pivot housings; and at least two feet in contact with the substantially planar surface, engaging the frame, and extending outside an outer perimeter of the frame.
The frame 14 has two pair of front and rear spaced apart members 18, 19 (one member 19 being obscured from view. Preferably, the spaced apart members 18, 19 are curved and comprised of legs, two parallel and generally vertical, curved legs 20, 21 (the cutaway in
With reference to
With reference to
The seat frame comprises at least one (although two are shown) upwardly extending arms 60. The seat frame includes a leg member 62 and a back member 64 shown with the padding removed in
The members 62, 64 are each rotatably connected to the upwardly extending arms 60, such that the seat can be folded onto itself for storage, or reclined for comfort. Reclining the seat about pins 61 is possible by adjusting strap 63 that is connected to the padded seat cover 52. The seat back portion 58 cannot extend beyond a certain incline due to stops 67 positioned on the upwardly extending arms 60. Further, the stops do not prevent rotation in the path of reclination because the stops 67 have rounded out portions 67a that allow for rotation of the back and seat portions.
Folding for storage is best accomplished with the U-shaped members 18, 19 removed from the housings 30, 31, and the seat folded on itself as shown in
As shown in
In operation, the motor 202, which is preferably battery operated by batteries contained within the battery housing 203, turns a spinning worm gear 204. Screws 204a and bracket 204b hold the motor 202 within its shaped housing 205 formed on the interior wall 30a of the pivot housing 30.
The spinning worm gear 204 meshingly engages and turns a toothed gear 206 in the direction indicated by arrow A. A C-clip 206a connects the toothed gear 206 to a gear seat pin 206b having a groove 206c thereon that engages the clip 206a about which the gear 206 can freely rotate. The toothed gear 206 includes a rod 208 mounted to a seat 209, displaced from the center of gear 206, by means of a screw 207. The rod 208 moves within a slot 210 (embodiment shown in
The stud plate 215 shares the axis of rotation with the seat, but rotates freely with respect to the arm plate 212, and also turns the shaft 102. Turning the shaft 102 moves the upwardly extending arms 60, which in turn moves the seat through its synchronous arc.
The embodiments shown in
The embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
External buttons 250 on the pivot housing 30 containing the motor operate the motor 202. The buttons activate the motor and adjust its speed, which in turn adjusts the speed of the seat 12 along the synchronous arc.
Buttons 250 on the housing also activate a sound system that can play music or sounds to entertain or soothe a child. The sound system is run by the circuit board 230 and the sound is generated through a speaker 232. Buttons and/or dials 250 turn the system on, make adjustments in volume, change the station, and/or change the sound generated.
A decorative display 70 mounts on the upwardly extending arm 60 to entertain the child. Such a display 70 could be removable if the child did not like it, or could have a mobile type toy attached thereto that swings with the motion of the seat along its synchronous arc.
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20060030415 A1 | Feb 2006 | US |