Patent Grant
7344428
This invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism. More specifically, this invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism that may be used for providing motion to a child toy, such as a mobile, on a child containment structure, such as child swing.
Child containment structures, such as a child swing, are known to be equipped with a mobile with toys attached for the enjoyment of the child using the swing. Typically, the mobile is attached to some portion of the swing and hangs down toward the child seating area. For example, one swing provides a non-motorized mobile in which forward motion of the swing can impart motion to the mobile.
One aspect of the invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism for use with a child containment structure. The motion conversion member comprises: a first member configured to be arranged relative to the child containment structure to undergo motion in a first angular direction and in a second angular direction opposite to the first angular direction; and a second member including a rotation device that is rotatable about a rotation axis, the first and second members configured in combination to convert motion about the angular motion axis to motion of the rotation device about the rotation axis when the first member moves both in the first angular direction and in the second angular direction.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a child entertainment structure. The child entertainment structure comprises: a child entertainment structure comprising a support adapted to undergo motion in a first angular direction and a second angular direction opposite to the first angular direction; and a motion conversion mechanism. The motion conversion mechanism comprises: a first member attached to the support; and a second member including a rotation device that is rotatable about a rotation axis, the first and second members configured in combination to convert motion about the angular motion axis to motion of the rotation device about the rotation axis when the support moves both in the first angular direction and in the second angular direction.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism for use with a child containment structure. The motion conversion mechanism comprises: a first member configured to be arranged relative to the child containment structure to undergo motion in a first angular direction and in a second angular direction opposite to the first angular direction; a second member including a primary rotation device that is rotatable about a primary rotation axis, the first and second members configured in combination to convert motion about the angular motion axis to motion of the primary rotation device about the primary rotation axis when the first member moves in at least one of the first angular direction and the second angular direction; and an auxiliary rotation device having an auxiliary rotation axis different from the primary rotation axis, the rotational motion imparted to the primary rotation device being such as to drive the auxiliary rotation device about the auxiliary rotation axis, the auxiliary rotation axis being different from the primary rotation axis.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism for use with a child containment structure. The motion conversion member comprises: a first member configured to be arranged relative to the child containment structure to undergo motion in a first angular direction and in a second angular direction opposite to the first angular direction; and a second member including a rotation device that is rotatable about a rotation axis, the first and second members configured in combination to convert motion about the angular motion axis to motion of the rotation device about the rotation axis when the first member moves in at least one of the first angular direction and in the second angular direction. The first member comprises: a first member housing configured to be attached to the support; at least one pawl; and at least one ratchet configured to engage with the at least one pawl.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. An effort has been made to use the same reference numbers throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The motion conversion mechanism 100 beneficially accomplishes the motion conversion without using batteries or motion. Additionally, the cost of the mechanism can be low due to the simple construction and minimal number of parts required.
The child containment structure may include a child support surface, such as the front/upper surface of the seat 20. A toy, such as mobile 30, may be a component of, or attached to, the motion conversion mechanism 100 so that the motion conversion mechanism 100 imparts motion to the toy. In the illustrated embodiment, a child seated in the seat 20 of the swing 10 may interact with one or more of a number of decorative objects 32 of the toy mobile 30.
The swing 10 generally includes a frame 12, which can include front legs, back legs, and housings 14, one of which can include a motor mechanism to drive the swing. The swing may include a seat 20 and a swing seat support. In the illustrated embodiment, the swing seat support includes one or more seat hanger arms 18 coupled to the frame 10 at hubs 13. The seat 20 includes a seat back 20a and a seat bottom 20b and may have a tray 21 attached to the seat. The seat 20 may also be provided with decorative and comfort-providing materials, such as a seat cushion mounted over the front surface of the seat back 20a and the seat bottom 20b. The seat back 20a may be configured to move between an upright position and several reclined positions relative to the seat bottom 20b. An actuator apparatus can be provided to facilitate movement of the seat back towards and away from the seat bottom 20b. The actuator apparatus allows the angle between the seat bottom 20b and seat back 20a to be adjusted as desired.
A mechanism support arm 40 can be attached to the swing 10 to support the motion conversion mechanism 100. When the swing seat 20 is in motion, the support arm 40 along with the motion conversion mechanism 100 moves back and forth with the swing seat 20 in angular motion about an angular motion axis. The mechanism support arm 40 may be attached to any of the moving components of the swing 10, including the hanger arms 18, the hubs 13, or the seat 20. Alternatively, the motion conversion mechanism 100 may be attached directly to any of the moving components of the swing 10 including the hanger arms 18, the hubs 13, or the seat 20, without a mechanism support arm 40.
During the swing motion, the swing seat 20 and the motion conversion mechanism 100 move back and forth alternately in a first angular direction along arrow A (in a forward direction) and in a second angular direction along arrow B (in a backward direction) opposite to the first angular direction. The motion of the swing seat 20 and the motion conversion mechanism 100 is about an angular motion axis. In the case of the swing 10, the angular motion axis is the axis through the hubs 13 about which the hubs 13 rotate. Thus, for the swing 10 shown in
The operation of the motion conversion mechanism 100 will now be explained with reference to
The motion conversion mechanism 100 includes a first member 120 and a second member 140, where the first member 120 is attached to the support 50.
The second member 140 includes a rotation device 150. The rotation device 150 is rotatable about a rotation axis 152. In combination, the first member 120 and the second member 140 are configured to convert motion about the angular motion axis 52 to motion of the rotation device 150 about the rotation axis 152 when the first member 120 moves in at least one of the first angular direction and in the second angular direction. Preferably, the first member 120 and the second member 140 are configured to convert motion about the angular motion axis 52 to motion of the rotation device 150 about the rotation axis 152 both when the support 50 moves in the first angular direction and in the second angular direction so that the conversion of motion is continuous.
During the motion of the first member 120 about its angular motion axis, the gravitational force on the rotation device 150 will tend to orient the rotational device 150 so that it points to the ground much like a plumb bob does. Thus, the angular orientation of the rotation device 150, and second member 140 in general, relative to the ground remains constant. In this regard, the rotation device 150 may have sufficient weight of its own, or it may require the weight of an attached object, such as a mobile for example, to orient the rotation device 150 so that it points to the ground. As the rotational device 150 orients itself toward the ground during the angular motion of the first member 120, the angular displacement of the second member 140 relative to the first member 120 changes, and second member 140 interacts with first member 120 so that the rotation device 150 is driven to be rotated.
The first member housing 310 can be attached to a support via an attachment mechanism 312 so that the angular motion of the support is imparted to the first member housing 310 during motion of the support.
The gears 340a, 340b are coupled to the respective ratchets 330a, 330b and engage with the second member gear 370. The gears 340a, 340b may be integral with the respective ratchets 330a, 330b, for example as shown in
The gear ratio between the second member gear 370 and the gears 340a, 340b controls the angular speed of the rotation device 150, which is, in Figures and 4, the rotation axle 380. The angular speed of the rotation device 150 will be the angular speed of the gears 340a, 340b times the gear ratio. Thus, the angular speed of the rotation device 150 can be controlled by selecting an appropriate gear ratio. The gear ratio may be 2:1, for example, or some other value.
Both the gears 340a, 340b and the ratchets 330a, 330b are rotationally coupled to the axle 345 so that they may rotate about the axle 345 when such rotation is not prevented by the pawls 320a, 320b. In turn, the axle 345 is fixed to the first member housing 310.
The pawls 320a, 320b are attached to the first member housing 310, such as by being rotationally coupled to the first member housing 310, or such that the pawls 320a, 320b flex relative to the first member housing 310. The pawls 320a, 320b engage with the respective ratchets 330a, 330b by contacting teeth 335 of the ratchets 330a and 330b. The pawls 320a, 320b may have two symmetrical teeth 325 to engage contacting teeth 335 of the ratchets 330a and 330b as shown in
Each ratchet and pawl combination, 330a and 320a or 330b and 320b, is arranged such that in one rotation direction of the ratchet, the pawl engages the ratchet to prevent rotation of the ratchet, while in the opposite rotation direction, the pawl ratchets over the ratchet and allows rotation. Preferably, the gears 340a, 340b and second member gear 370 and ratchet and pawl combinations are arranged such that for angular displacement of the second member gear 370 in one direction about the axle 345 (direction C or D in
The second member housing 360 is pivotably connected to the first member housing 310. For example, the second member housing 360 may have through holes 362 through which passes the axle 345 of the first member 120 passes. In this case the second member housing 360 pivots about the axle 345. Thus, the second member housing 360, and the second member 140 in general, may change its angular orientation relative to the first member 120.
As the support (not shown in
As the rotation axle 380 orients itself toward the ground under the influence of gravitational force, the second member gear 370 is pushed against the gears 340a and 340b, and exerts a rotational force on the gears 340a and 340b that would tend to rotate the gears 340a and 340b about the axle 345 in opposite directions. As mentioned above, the gears and the ratchet and pawl combinations are preferably arranged such that, for angular displacement of the second member gear 370 in one direction about the axle 345 (direction C or D in
Further, because there is always one of the ratchet pawl combinations where the ratchet will be fixed, the rotation conversion mechanism 100 converts the angular motion associated with the first member 120 into rotational motion of rotation device 150 both when the angular motion of the first member 120 is in the first angular direction and when the angular motion of the first member 120 is in the second angular direction opposite to the first. In other words, there will always be one of the gears, 340a or 340b, that acts to impart a rotational force on the second member gear 370 to drive the rotation of the rotational device 150 regardless of whether the first member 120 is moving in the first angular direction or in the second angular direction. In this way, conversion of the angular motion to rotational motion of the rotation device 150 is continuous.
The rotation axis 152 (See
The rotation mechanism 100 may be rotated about a vertical axis to adjust the rotation speed of the rotation device 150. The rotation speed will be greatest when the axle 345 is parallel to the angular motion axis and least when the axle 345 is rotated in the same plane of the angular motion axis to be perpendicular to the angular motion axis. In this regard, the attachment mechanism 312 may be rotated relative to the first member housing 310 to adjust the direction of the axle 345. The spring 315 of the attachment mechanism 312 keeps the first member housing 310 coupled to the attachment mechanism 312, while still allowing for rotation of the attachment mechanism 312 relative to the first member housing 310.
As an alternative, the ratchet and pawl combinations may be arranged such that for one rotational direction of the second member gear 370, the pawls 320a and 320b each prevent rotation of the respective ratchets 330a and 330b, while for the opposite rotational direction, the pawls 320a and 320b each allow rotation of the ratchets 330a and 330b. In this case, the motion conversion mechanism 100 will convert the angular motion associated with the first member 120 into rotational motion of rotation device 150 only when the angular motion of the first member 120 is one of the first and second directions, but not for both the first and second directions.
As another alternative, the motion conversion mechanism 100 may include only a single pawl, ratchet and gear coupled to the ratchet. In this case also, the motion conversion mechanism 100 will convert the angular motion associated with the first member 120 into rotational motion of rotation device 150 only when the angular motion of the first member 120 is one of the first and second directions, but not for both the first and second directions.
The rotation conversion mechanism 100 may also include a torque limiting clutch as best seen in
The first member housing 610 in this embodiment is configured to be rotationally coupled to the support 55, while the pawls 620a and 620b are configured to be fixedly attached to the support 55. In this embodiment, the pawls 620a and 620b each comprise a curved spring finger that may engage with one of the teeth of its respective ratchet 630a and 630b. The pawls 620a and 620b are arranged within their respective ratchets 630a and 630b, as shown in
In a similar fashion to the embodiment of
Alternatively, the gear and ratchet and pawl combinations may be arranged such that for one rotational direction of the second member gear 670, the pawls 620a and 620b each prevent rotation of the respective ratchets 630a and 630b, while for the opposite rotational direction the pawls 620a and 620b each allow rotation of the ratchets 630a and 630b. As another alternative, the motion conversion mechanism 100 of
The first member housing 910 in this embodiment is configured to be rotationally coupled to the support 55. The pawl 920b is configured to be attached to the support 55, while the pawl 920a is attached to the first member housing 910. The rotation axis of the ratchet 930 is coincident with the rotation axis of the rotation device 150.
In this embodiment, preferably the pawls 920a and 920b can be arranged relative to the ratchet 930 such that pawl 920a prevents rotation of the ratchet 930 for rotation in one direction, while for the opposite rotational direction the pawl 920b prevents rotation of the ratchet 930. The rotation conversion mechanism 100 in this embodiment converts the angular motion associated with the first member 120 into rotational motion of rotation device 150 only when the angular motion of the first member 120 is in a first direction or when the angular motion of the first member 120 is in a second direction opposite to the first, but not for both directions.
Alternatively, the pawls 920a and 920b may be arranged relative to the ratchet 930 such that both pawls 920a and 920b prevent rotation of the ratchet 930 for rotation in one direction, while for the opposite rotational direction both pawls 920a and 920b allow rotation of the ratchet 930. As another alternative, the motion conversion mechanism 100 of
The housing 1110 has a slot 1115 through which the rotation axle 1180 extends. The rotation axle 1180 can slide relative to the slot 1115 as the support moves along the first angular direction and the second angular direction. The ratchets 1130a and 1130b and gears 1140a and 1140b are rotationally coupled to the axles 1145a and 1145b, respectively. The second member support 1160 has arms 1162a and 1162b that are rotationally coupled to the axles 1145a and 1145b, respectively. The second member support 1160 supports the second member gear 1170 and rotation axle 1180, and allows the second member gear 1170 and rotation axle 1180 to rotate relative to the second member support 1160. The embodiments of
The auxiliary rotation device 160 includes an auxiliary rotation axle 1280 and an auxiliary hook 1290. The auxiliary hook 1290 is configured to attach to a toy, for example.
The motion conversion mechanism 100 in this embodiment includes an auxiliary gear 1270 that engages with the gears 340a and 340b. The rotation of the gears 340a and 340b drive the rotation of the auxiliary gear 1270. In turn, the rotation of the auxiliary gear 1270 drives the rotation of the auxiliary rotation device 160, which is attached to the auxiliary gear 1270.
When the angular motion of the first member 120 is converted to the rotational motion of the primary rotation device (rotation device 150 including rotation axle 380 and an hook 390), the gears 340a and 340b are driven to rotate, which in turn drive the auxiliary gear 1270 and cause the auxiliary rotation device 160 to rotate. As shown in
All of the embodiments of
The housings of the above embodiments of the motion conversion mechanism 100 may be made of a transparent or translucent material, if desired, so that the inner workings of the motion conversion mechanism 100 may be viewed by a user.
The embodiments above have been described with respect to child containment structure that is a swing. The motion conversion mechanism 100, however, is applicable to a number of other applications of a child containment structure where a support of the structure and the first member 120 can undergo motion in a first angular direction and a second angular direction about an angular motion axis to provide play value to a child in the child entertainment apparatus 5.
As explained above, the motion conversion mechanism 100 can be employed with any child containment structure that undergoes angular motion, such as a swing 10, to convert the angular motion of the child containment structure to motion of a toy coupled to the motion conversion mechanism 100. The motion conversion mechanism 100 can be attached directly to the child containment structure, in which case the child containment structure itself provides a support for the motion conversion mechanism 100. Alternatively, the motion conversion mechanism 100 can be attached to a support that extends between the child containment structure and the motion conversion mechanism 100. The motion conversion mechanism 100 can convert motion both when the child containment structure moves in a first angular direction, for example, forward swinging motion of a child swing, and in a second opposite angular direction, for example, rearward swinging motion of a child swing. Possible child containment structures of this type can include a swing, bouncer, a rocking bassinet, a rocking chair, and a rockable infant carrier (usually associated with a child vehicle seat).
The motion conversion mechanism 100 also can be attached to a fixed child containment structure, such as a crib, via a support that moves relative to the fixed child containment structure so that angular motion of the support can be converted to motion of a toy coupled to the motion conversion mechanism 100. Possible child containment structures of this type can include cribs, play yards, convertible and forward facing child car seats, high chairs, booster seats, and strollers.
Further, where the child containment structure may comprise a bassinet with a child support surface to support a child, or a rocking chair with a rocking chair seat as a child support surface. In both these applications the rocking motion, which may impart angular motion to the first member such that the angular motion axis is not fixed, could be converted into angular rotation motion using the motion conversion mechanism as described above.
In another example, the child containment structure could be a play yard with an angularly oscillating member attached. The motion conversion mechanism could be attached to the angularly oscillating member. In this case the child support surface of the play yard would not move in angular motion.
The preferred embodiments have been set forth herein for the purpose of illustration. This description, however, should not be deemed to be a limitation on the scope of the invention. Various modifications, adaptations, and alternatives may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the claimed inventive concept. The true scope and spirit of the invention are indicated by the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/560,966, filed Apr. 12, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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