Patent Application
20140044472
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pivot joint for locking a baby carrier in an in-use configuration, especially to a pivot joint capable of retaining in a release condition when being unlocked the baby carrier from the in-use configuration,
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of traditional baby carriers such as baby stroller, high chair, bouncer and rock chair are foldable by using a pivot joint to lock two support member thereof in an in-use configuration, and releasable to a foldable condition for converting the baby carrier into a compact configuration for easy transport and storage.
The pivot joint is unlocked by manipulating a release actuator to pull a latch element against a spring biasing force. When user's hand left the release actuator, the latch element would lock the pivot joint immediately and automatically due to the biasing force of the spring. This would disturb the folding operation of baby carriers.
For improving the pivot joint and avoiding the unwanted automatic locking after a user manipulated the release actuator, the present invention provides a pivot joint for locking the baby carrier in an in-use configuration and capable of converting the baby carrier into a foldable condition by unlocking the pivot joint.
The pivot joint according to the present invention includes a first pivot part, a second pivot part, a locking mechanism, a release mechanism and a retaining mechanism. The first pivot part and the second pivot part are pivot with each other by a shaft and connected between a first support member and a second support member of the baby carrier.
The locking mechanism comprises a latch element operatively mounted inside the first pivot part and can be driven to a latched position to engage with the second pivot part and a released position to disengage from the second pivot part. The release mechanism is associated with the latch element for moving the latch element from the latched position to the released position.
The retaining mechanism is mounted inside the first pivot part for engaging and retaining the latch element in the released position. By this way, would prevent the moving of the latch element from disturbing the folding operation of the baby carriers.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrated embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
Referring to
The pivot joint 2 of the present embodiment includes a first pivot part 22, a second pivot part 26, a locking mechanism 3, a release mechanism 4 and a retaining mechanism 5.
The first pivot part 22 has one end connected with the first support member 11. For instance, the first pivot part 22 may include a first extension 23 formed integrally with a first plate 24 and featured by having a through slot 20 formed within the first plate 24 for slidably mounting the latch element 32 therein, and a cavity 25 extended from one side of the through slot 20 for installing the retaining mechanism 5.
The second pivot part 26 has one end connected with the second support member 12, and another end pivoted with the first pivot part 22. The second pivot part 26 of this embodiment includes a second extension 27 formed integrally with two second plates 28 for pivoting the first plate 24 therebetween by a shaft 21, and formed a slot 31 for engaging with the latch element 32 when the latch element 32 is moved to the latched position 34 so as to lock the baby carrier 10 in the in-use configuration 100.
The retaining mechanism 5 is mounted inside the first pivot part 22 for engaging and retaining the latch element 32 in the released position 35. Referring to
The locking mechanism 3 comprises a latch element 32 operatively mounted inside the first pivot part 22. Referring to
The latch element 32 is formed with an engagable portion 52 for engaging with the ball 51 of the retaining mechanism 5. The ball 51 is engaged with the engagable portion 52 for retaining the latch element 32 in the released position 35 as shown in
The release mechanism 4 is associated with the latch element 32 for moving the latch element 32 from the latched position 34 to the released position 35.
Referring to
The remote release actuator 41 is operatively mounted on the first support member 11 and associated with the latch element 32. The associating element 42 is connected between the remote release actuator 41 and the latch element 32 and capable of driving the latch element 32 from the latched position 34 to the released position 35 by operation of the remote release actuator 41.
The remote release actuator 41 is a slidable element movable alone the first support member 11. For instance, the remote release actuator 41 may be embodied as a single or two bushings slidably mounted on the first support member 11 and associated with two latch elements 32 which mounted on both sides of the baby carrier 10 via two associating elements 42 respectively.
When user's hand left the release actuator after being operated the remote release actuator 41, the retaining mechanism 5 would retain the latch element 32 in the released position 35 automatically. This would prevent the biasing of the resilient element 33 on the latch element 32 from disturbing the folding operation of the baby carriers.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications are possible that will achieve the same goals by substantially the same system, device or method, and where those systems, devices or methods still fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201220398312.9 | Aug 2012 | CN | national |
