Patent Application
20240206646
The present invention is directed to a child's play yard and, more particularly, a child's play yard that is easy to open and easy to close into a compact arrangement when not in use.
Foldable play yards, playyards, playpens, portable cribs, and crib devices (herein collectively referred to as “play yard(s)”) are well known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,437 for a “Foldable Playyard” to Dillner et al. The foldable device disclosed therein is light enough to be carried and, when collapsed, is a fairly convenient compact package. One major problem with such devices, though, is that they are difficult to handle because they are cumbersome to open and unwieldy to fold with clumsy operating mechanisms. Usually there is a need to pull up on a central lower mechanism and a need to unlatch upper rails when closing existing play yards. Additionally, many play yards currently and historically on the market suffered from severe racking during opening. To open most play yards, the user unpackaged the play yard and stood it upright on the four corner posts. The user then had to push down on a central hub to force the play yard into the open position. However, until the play yard was fully opened and secured, the entire structure would wobble or sway severely or rack side-to-side, making it difficult to control, manage and open traditional play yard structures.
Additionally, many known play yard designs require complex interconnections of linkages, cables and/or gear assemblies to obtain the desired qualities of easy operation and compact folding. However, such designs are often expensive to manufacture and require significant calibration during assembly to ensure that the play yards fold correctly. Additionally, the large number of pieces contributes to a heavier play yard that cannot be opened and closed or carried easily. Many play yards that are currently on the market employ a series of steps that the user must go through to open or close the play yard and, frequently, at least one of those steps is not intuitive. This suggests a market need for a lightweight, intuitive, easy to open and easy to close play yard.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,756,727 and 8,458,829 for a “Foldable Child Enclosure” to Thorne et al. are examples of play yards that can be more expensive to manufacture, require significantly more calibration during manufacture and assembly to ensure that the play yards open and close correctly, and require a larger number of pieces, which contributes to their being heavier play yards. The designs of the '727 and '829 inventions require that the posts remain almost rigid and substantially parallel to a vertical axis to create a tension within the structure that is necessary to open the play yard and to maintain the stability of the play yard both when it is opening and when it is fully open. The structure of those play yards requires a larger number of parts to achieve that stability and tension. In particular, the '727 and '829 inventions (and related inventions) utilize upper and lower leg assemblies that attach between corner posts and a central hub and form a parallelogram that acts to hold the corner posts in substantially vertical position—that is, where the deviation from vertical is no more than five-degrees (5°).
In contrast, the present invention utilizes a novel cam actuator assembly and mechanical control assembly in place of the upper and lower assemblies of the prior art. The cam actuator assembly operates to prevent the corner posts from collapsing during the opening and closing of the play yard and allows the corner posts to tilt or flex inward and/or outward during opening and closing. The cam actuator assembly interacts with a central hub and, with respect to each corner post, includes: (i) a base strut (or lower arm) that pivotably attaches at the outer end of the strut to a corresponding corner post and that also pivotably attaches at the inner end of the strut to a central hub, (ii) a strut cam rod (or push rod) associated with and oriented along the side of the base strut, with the inner end of each strut cam rod slidably mounted within a straight cam slot in the inner end of the base strut and a corresponding arc-shaped cam slot in the central hub, and the outer end of the strut cam rod slidably mounted within an arc-shaped cam slot in the outer end of the base strut and a corresponding arc-shaped cam slot in the lower end of the corresponding corner post; and (iii) an actuator rod (or pull rod) oriented along the same corner post. The actuator rod has a lower end that is slidably mounted within the cam slot in the outer end of the associated base strut and the corresponding cam slot in the lower end of the associated corner post and the upper end of the actuator rod is pivotably attached to a transfer link that is pivotably attached to an upper rail assembly. The present invention also includes a number of novel cam paths and specified angles and connections that, together, enable a simpler, lighter, and/or less expensive to manufacture play yard. The structure and mechanisms used to achieve this operation and motion in the present invention require significantly fewer parts than the prior art structures. The play yard structures in the '727 and '829 patents use almost three times as many parts than the current invention, which again results in structures that are more costly to manufacture and weigh more than the current invention.
Another drawback of many play yards that are currently on the market is that the top, bottom, and side rails are made of metal tubes (usually welded steel or extruded aluminum), which are heavier and more expensive to manufacture than the corner posts and lower arms of the current invention. The top play yards on the market today range in weight from 18.1 lbs. to 35 lbs., with an average weight of 25 lbs. These various drawbacks to the play yards that are currently on the market create a need for a play yard that is simple and intuitive to open and close and is lightweight and robust while also being easy to operate and efficient to manufacture. The play yard and structures described in this application can be manufactured to be roughly four to six pounds lighter than play yards that are currently on the market and are simpler and more intuitive to operate.
However, inventing a lighter play yard is no simple feat because the various components still need to satisfy the regulatory requirements for play yards. For example, a current United States regulation describes the static load requirement for the floor of a play yard as follows: “Place the [6″×6″ ] wood blocks 6+/−½″ apart. Place a 50-lb weight on one wood block and a 301b weight on the other wood block. Maintain for 60 seconds. Perform the test in those locations deemed to be the weakest or the most likely to fail.” See ASTM Standards Section 8.12.2.1.
The blocks are placed on the mattress of the play yard and the mattress is supported by the lower arms. The two weights can be placed in such a manner that the full load of the combined weights rests on the center of the lower arm. The lower arm is supported by the hub at one end and the corner post at the other. This creates the following beam loading situation, which engineers call a “Simply Loaded Beam”:
In the case of a play yard with a lower arm that is approximately 24-inches, the load required by the compliance specification, W, is 80 lbs. Given that the load is in the middle of the lower arm (the worst location for it), the reaction force at A and B are both 40 lbs. The applied bending moment at the cross section at W is 40 ft lbs. To determine the stress on a beam, one must also know the beam's area moment of inertia, I. The typical rectangular beam formula for I is: I=(b×d{circumflex over ( )}3)/12 where b is the beam width and d is the beam height.
The maximum stress for a rectangular beam is given by:
The maximum stress is reduced by increasing the height of the beam to the cubed power whereas increasing the width only reduces the stress proportionally. Therefore, if one was to cut the width in half but double the height, the total amount of material stays the same but your stress is reduced by a factor of 4. The present invention (as described more fully herein) is configured to capitalize to utilize these laws through a novel structural design that enables the use of sheet metal for various play yard components while satisfying the current regulations on play yards. All existing play yards meet these regulations by using welded steel or extruded aluminum tube-like structures, which meet the strength requirements but are significantly heavier and more limiting in the design of play yards.
In sum, the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of existing play yards by providing a play yard that (i) is lightweight, (ii) is easy to open, (iii) does not have side walls and corner posts that collapse during the opening and closing of the play yard, and (iv) is less expensive to manufacture when compared to similar products currently on the market. The present invention overcomes these deficiencies through the use of novel cam actuator assemblies and/or novel mechanical control assemblies.
One embodiment of the present invention is a mechanical control assembly for use with an opening and closing foldable structure having open and closed positions and comprising a frame having a plurality of corner posts, each corner post having a top and a bottom, and a plurality of upper arms which arms connect the tops of adjacent corner posts. The mechanical control assembly comprises: (1) a hub centrally located near a bottom of the foldable structure in an open position and near a top of the foldable structure in a closed position, the hub having a plurality of hub slots; (2) a plurality of lower arms each lower arm having a hub end with a lower arm hub slot and a post end with a lower arm post slot, with each lower arm connected at the lower arm post end to the bottom of one of the corner posts and at the lower arm hub end to the hub; (3) a plurality of push rods, each push rod having a push rod corner end and a push rod hub end, wherein each push rod is adjacent to a corresponding lower arm and is slidably connected at the push rod hub end to the lower arm hub slot in the corresponding lower arm hub end, with the lower arm hub slot as illustrated in
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a mechanical control assembly for use with an opening and closing foldable structure having open and closed positions and comprising a frame having a plurality of corner posts, each corner post having a top and a bottom, and a plurality of upper arms which arms connect the tops of adjacent corner posts. This mechanical control assembly comprises: (1) a hub centrally located near a bottom of the foldable structure in an open position and near a top of the foldable structure in a closed position, the hub having a plurality of hub slots; (2) a plurality of lower arms each lower arm having a hub end with a lower arm hub slot and a post end with a lower arm post slot, with each lower arm connected at the lower arm post end to the bottom of one of the corner posts and at the lower arm hub end to the hub; (3) a plurality of push rods, each push rod having a push rod corner end and a push rod hub end, wherein each push rod is adjacent to a corresponding lower arm and is slidably connected at the push rod hub end to the lower arm hub slot in the corresponding lower arm hub end, wherein the push rod corner end is slidably connected to the lower arm post slot in the corresponding lower arm post end; and (4) a plurality of pull rods, each pull rod having an upper end and a lower end, wherein each pull rod lower end is slidably connected to the lower arm post slot and each pull rod upper end is pivotably attached to either at least one corresponding upper arm or at least one corresponding transfer link, each transfer link having a transfer link upper end and a transfer link lower end, wherein each transfer link lower end is pivotably attached to the upper end of a corresponding pull rod and each transfer link upper end is pivotably attached to at least one corresponding upper arm. For this embodiment, each lower arm hub end and the corresponding push rod hub end also are slidably connected to one of the corresponding hub slots, and wherein each lower arm post end and the corresponding pull rod lower end are slidably mounted to a corner post mount slot in the corresponding corner post bottom. Additionally, the foldable structure is enabled from a closed to an open position by exerting a downward push force on the hub, which downward push force pushes each lower arm and corresponding push rod outward against each corresponding corner post forcing the corner posts to an orientation that is beyond substantially parallel to vertical until each lower arm and corresponding push rod pull each pull rod downward until the upper arms each have a substantially horizontal position.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a foot for a play yard having a plurality of corner posts, with each corner post having a top and a bottom, and the foot connects to or near the bottom of a corner post and is operable to rest on a floor surface. This foot comprises: a bottom surface of the foot that faces the floor surface; a wheel that engages only during the opening and closing of the foldable structure, which wheel protrudes through the bottom surface; and a non-slip rest located on the bottom surface. Another embodiment of the present invention is a lower arm for a foldable structure comprising at least one piece of sheet metal bent to form a beam structure, wherein the beam is configured to have a height, a width, and a sheet metal thickness sufficient to satisfy any force requirements that are applicable to the foldable structure.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a corner post for a folder structure comprising at least one piece of sheet metal bent to form a hollow tube having a tube width and a sheet metal thickness sufficient to satisfy any force requirements that are applicable to the foldable structure.
For the purpose of facilitating understanding of the invention, the accompanying drawings and descriptions illustrate preferred embodiments thereof, from which the invention, various embodiments of its structures, construction and method of operation and many advantages may be understood and appreciated. The accompanying drawings are hereby incorporated by reference.
The following describes example embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. This invention, however, may be embodied in many different ways and the description provided herein should not be construed as limiting in any way. Among other things, the following invention may be embodied as systems, methods or devices. The following detailed descriptions should not be taken in a limiting sense. The accompanying drawings are hereby incorporated by reference.
In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one. In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive “or” such that “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated. Furthermore, all publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference(s) should be considered supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is to be understood that embodiments of the disclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “certain embodiments,” “various embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.
For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”, “longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as it is oriented in the figures. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It also is to be understood that the specific devices, methods, and processes illustrated in the attached drawings and described in this specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.
As used herein, the terms “pivot” and “pivot point”, when used as nouns (and “pivotably” when used as an adjective) mean a structural and functional connection between at least two components which allows at least partial rotation of the at least two components relative to one another. For example, a pivot between a rod and a strut means a physical connection between the rod and the strut that permits at least partial rotation of the rod relative to the strut, and vice versa. The pivot may include a hole in one or both of the rod and the strut, and an axial member extending through the hole(s) to constrain the rod and the strut to each other about a rotational axis. The axial member may include a pin, bolt, screw, bearing, bushing, wheel, or combination thereof to facilitate rotation of the first and second links relative to each other. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that there are numerous structures and mechanisms that can be used to create pivot points between two or more elements to achieve the structural goals of the present invention and all such structures and mechanism as included within the scope of this application.
The terms “cam slot” and “cam path” are used interchangeably herein to mean the path that a cam roller follows within a cam slot as a play yard opens and closes. A cam slot is designed and configured to allow for the movement of a cam roller within the slot (or the movement of the slot around the roller) such that the cam roller is following a cam path created by the design and configuration of a cam slot.
The materials described hereinafter as making up the various elements of the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable materials that would perform the same or a similar function as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the example embodiments. Such other materials not described herein can include, but are not limited to, materials that are developed after the time of the development of the invention, for example.
While the disclosure has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Thus, it is intended that this application covers modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
The present invention is directed to a child's play yard 1, as shown in
By comparison, and as discussed below, the embodiment shown in
The play yard 1 of the various embodiments of the present invention can be comprised of three or more sides, as shown in
As shown in
The corner posts 20 of one embodiment of the present invention may be comprised of a rigid material, such as metal, which is formed to present flat projecting edges 23 at various angles depending upon the shape of the play yard 1, including at a substantially 90-degree angle at the upper end 21 of each corner post 20. Each flat projecting edge 23 at the upper end 21 of each corner post 20 provides a pivotable point of connection for the upper rail assemblies 30. The following is a description of the connection of one upper rail 32 to one side of one corner post 20 at the upper end 21 of the corner post 20. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that this connection may be duplicated on the other flat projecting edges 23 of the corner post 20 at the upper corner 21 and then on both flat projecting edges 23 of all corner posts 20.
The present invention utilizes a central hub 80 to drive the opening of the play yard 1, and portions of the central hub 80 are shown in detail in
In one embodiment of the present invention, and unlike other play yards that maintain a rigid and substantially vertical orientation of the corner posts, the upper ends 21 of the corner posts 20 can tilt or flex inwards and outwards during the opening and closing of the play yard 1 (as shown in
When the play yard 1 is fully opened, the position of each actuator rod 52 and each cam actuator assembly 50 is locked by resting cam wheels 74B in corresponding extensions 76 in the cam slot 70 located at the lower end 22 of each corner post 20. Cam slot extensions 76 are shown in
The play yard 1 closes in a reverse operation. First, the central hub 80 is pulled upward, which pulls cam wheels 74B out of extensions 76 and then draws the corner posts 20 inward as well, while the upper rail assemblies 30 collapses downward. The cam actuator assemblies 50 operate to keep the corner posts 20 from collapsing during this process.
Most prior art play yards require a lock to keep the play yards in the closed position, particularly when the play yard is being moved or stored. The present invention play yard 1 can be secured in the closed position by a lock. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that many of the variety of lock mechanisms that are on the market could be adapted to be used with the present invention. However, the present invention play yard 1 can also be locked using a corner post locking mechanism that is located in the upper corners of the corner posts 20 and can be released through use of pull tab.
In the open position of one embodiment of the present invention, the upper rails 32 will have at least a 4-inch gap to prevent any part of a child's body from getting crushed between the upper rails 32 if the play yard 1 would unexpectedly close with a child in it. This gap is accomplished via the upper joint members 34, which should be at least 4 inches in length.
Play yards that are on the market today are some of the most complex mechanical consumer products. For one popular model, there are twenty-one independent structural subassemblies each with multiple pivot connections totaling twenty-four interconnected pivoting joints. Industrial robots by comparison have six subassemblies, six joints, and they have the advantage of having a motor control each joint. The goal of the mechanical control assembly and system 200 of certain embodiments of the present invention is, in the absence of motors for control, to provide a low cost means of coordinating the joints and pivot points so the play yard 1 moves between the two states, closed and open, in a controlled manner that is easy for users to manipulate. For discussion purposes, the phrase “mechanical control assembly 200” includes both a mechanical control assembly and a mechanical control system. The mechanical control assembly 200 is the combination and interconnection of the necessary parts, slots, and cutouts described and shown herein in to control the movement of a foldable structure 1000. The system is the use of all of the identified parts, slots and cutouts to manipulate the physics and movement of parts of a foldable structure 1000 to open and close the foldable structure 1000.
Various embodiments of a mechanical control assembly 200 are described herein within the context of various non-limiting embodiments of the play yard 1. However, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art, that these embodiments of a mechanical control assembly 200 can be used with any foldable structure 1000 that is comprised of basic components that are structurally and/or functionally equivalent to the play yard 1 components described in the various embodiments of the present invention.
For the following discussion one embodiment of a mechanical control assembly 200 for a basic play yard 1 structure is illustrated in
Push Angle. In a standard play yard with no mechanical control system, there is nothing to lift the upper arms as the user tries to open the play yard by pushing down on the standard hub. In these standard play yards, the upper arms and corner posts simply fall to the floor when not in a fully opened position. Various embodiments of the play yard mechanical control assembly 200 lift the upper arms 210 while the play yard is being opened and then secure the upper arms 210 in a horizontal state when play yard 1 is fully opened. The energy for this lifting work in a play yard 1 that incorporates an embodiment of the mechanical control assembly 200 is delivered by the user who exerts force over a distance as they push down on the hub 240, as shown in
One embodiment of the present invention is a mechanical control assembly 200 for use with an opening and closing foldable structure 1000 having open and closed positions and, wherein the foldable structure 1000 comprises a frame 205 having a plurality of corner posts 220, each corner post 220 having a top 221 and a bottom 222, and a plurality of upper arms 210 each of which arms 210 connect (directly or indirectly) to the tops 221 of adjacent corner posts 220. The mechanical control assembly 200 comprises a hub centrally located near a bottom 1020 of the foldable structure 1000 in an open position and near a top 1010 of the foldable structure 1000 in a closed position. The hub 240 has a plurality of hub slots 242, one for each lower arm 260. A plurality of lower arms 260, each lower arm 260 having a hub end 261 with a lower arm hub slot 264 and a post end 262 with a lower arm post slot 266, connect at each lower arm post end 262 to the bottom 222 of one of the corner posts 220 and at each lower arm hub end 261 to the hub 240 at the hub slot 240. Additionally, a plurality of push rods 280, with each push rod 280 having a push rod corner end 282 and a push rod hub end 281, are each adjacent to a corresponding lower arm 260 and are each slidably connected at the push rod hub end 281 to the lower arm hub slot 264 in the corresponding lower arm hub end 261 (with the lower arm hub slot 264 as illustrated in
In some embodiments of the present invention, mechanical control assembly 200 includes a sub-mechanical system 290 (one embodiment of which is shown in
More specifically, one embodiment of the mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention, as illustrated in
As the user pushes down on the hub 240, the hub 240 translates but does not rotate. Each lower arm 260, however, does rotate, from near vertical to near horizontal. As the user pushes down on the hub 240, the lower arm 260 rotates, and the top of the hub slot 242 presses down on the cam roller 243 and forces the cam roller 243 down the lower arm hub slot 264. Ideally the top of the hub slot 242 pushes directly down the path of the lower arm hub slot 264 so that all the force pushes in the direction of travel. Conversely, if the hub slot 264 pushes 90-degrees off from the direction of travel, then none of the force will go in the direction of travel, and the sub-mechanical system 290 will jam.
Some embodiments of the present invention are designed to avoid the expense of bearings in hub cam roller 243 and the corner post cam roller 226. These embodiments can be configured to either have bushings or to be solid fixed cylinders attached to each pushrod 280. For these embodiments of a play yard mechanical control assembly 200 to overcome the friction created the hub slot 242 and the lower arm hub slot 264 must be designed such that the direction of force is within approximately 45-degrees of alignment with the direction of travel, see FIG. 50 at angle α. For greater angles, too much force is lost generating friction with the slot edges to supply to play yard 1 with enough force to lift its arms 210.
These force requirements are not necessary during the entire opening process. When the user starts to open the play yard 1, the user may pull the tops 221 of the posts 220 apart instead of initially pushing down on the hub 240. At the end of the opening process, the user has significant leverage because most of the user's weight can be easily transferred to the top of the hub 240 when it is low or closer to the ground or floor 2000. Thus, these force requirements only apply during the middle portion of the opening process (as shown generally in
Control When Posts Are Not Parallel. As mentioned in the Background of the Invention section, many existing play yard technologies require that the corner posts remain substantially parallel to a vertical axis during opening and closing. The opening and closing mechanisms of the prior art play yards are designed to maintain this positioning of the corner posts to counter the natural tendency for the posts to sway significantly side-to-side during opening and closing (racking). The designs of the prior art play yards require that the corner posts remain almost rigid and substantially parallel to a vertical axis to create a tension within those structures that is necessary to open the play yards and to maintain the stability of the play yards both when they are opening and when fully open. The structure of those play yards requires a larger number of parts to achieve that stability and tension, which contributes to the higher manufacturing expense and final product weight compared to the present invention. As an example, the '727 and '829 inventions (and related inventions) mentioned in the Background section utilize upper and lower leg assemblies that attach between corner posts and a central hub and form a parallelogram that acts to hold the corner posts in substantially vertical position—that is, where the deviation of the angle of the corner posts from vertical is no more than five-degrees (5°).
In contrast, the present invention utilizes various embodiments of a novel mechanical control assembly and/or system 200 in place of the upper and lower assemblies of the prior art. This assembly 200 operates to prevent the corner posts 220 from collapsing during the opening and closing of the play yard 1 and allows the corner posts 220 to tilt or flex inward and/or outward on a controlled basis during opening and closing. The mechanical control assembly 200 interacts with a central hub 240, each corner post 220, the lower arms 260, the push rods 280, the pull rods 310, and several cam slots, cutouts, and pivot points to transfer the opening and closing forces applied by the user to the play yard frame 205 in the manner described herein to create a tension and stability in the frame 205 during the opening and closing of the play yard 1—and that allows the corner posts 220 to flex beyond being substantially parallel to a vertical axis. The structure and mechanisms used to achieve this operation and motion in the present invention require significantly fewer parts than the prior art structures. Embodiments of the present invention mechanical control assembly and system 200 can be configured to work with corner posts 220 that, in some embodiments, are between about 6-degrees and more than about 12-degrees from vertical, which, in a highly calibrated structure like a play yard 1, is significantly beyond substantially parallel. On other embodiments, this range expands to between about 6-degrees and more than about 12-degrees from vertical, as shown generally in
Solution to the User Pressing Tops Together When Closing. Product misuse is extremely common with play yards. In the case of most play yards, users may try to force the play yard either open or closed by manipulating the corner posts instead of by pushing the down on the hub down or by pulling the hub. Play yards should be designed to continue to operate properly after such misuse.
When closing a play yard 1 that incorporates certain embodiments of the mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention, it is easy for the user to partially close the play yard 1 by pulling up on the hub 240, then gathering the post tops 221 together to force the assembly 200 to the folded or closed state. If the feet 400 or post bottoms 224 are on carpet when this occurs and are prevented from moving towards the center or hub 240 by the carpet, then the cam path control systems 200 and 290 are forced into an unintended state. Furthermore, the user has significant leverage. This leverage occurs because, when a user is pressing the tops 221 of the posts 220 towards each other, there is a pivotal attachment axis near the bottom of each post 220 where the post 220 is attached to a lower arm 260 and a place about 3-inches from that pivot where the corner post cam roller 226 is held within the slots 225 and 266. As such, when the user pushes the post tops 221 together, the user has a 10:1 mechanical advantage because of the ratio between an approximate 30-inch arm and the 3-inch distance of the corner post cam roller 226 from the pivot location. As described below, certain embodiments of the play yard mechanical control assembly 200 allows the pushrod 280 to find a neutral position when this occurs to avoid system 200 failure.
To address this problem, in certain embodiments of the play yard mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention, there are enlarged widths and other adaptive areas to the various cam slots illustrated in
There is an enlarged width 242A in the hub cam slot 242 creates a shape of slot 242 that allows the movement of cam roller 243 to occur without bending the metal around slot 242. This is shown in more detail in
Similarly, in certain embodiments of the present invention play yard mechanical control assembly 200, there are adaptive areas, including enlarged widths, such as in the upper terminal end 225A of the corner post mount slot 225 (see
Wedge to Achieve Rigid Final Open Position. Any play yard must reach a rigid open state such that there is no looseness to the device that could allow a child to attempt to break or exit the safe space of the play yard. For play yards that incorporate the mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention, this lack of looseness is achieved by configuring the play yard structure 1 so that the upper arms 210 are prevented from rotating up above horizontal. There are many ways to accomplish this known in the field. In one embodiment of the present invention mechanical control assembly 200, pull rods 310 pull down the back of the upper arms 210, near where the upper arms 210 meet the corner post tops 221, thereby forcing the upper arms 210 up until they 210 reach a predesignated stopping point. In this embodiment, a tension level of at least 50-pounds must pull the pull rods 310 down so that the middle arm structure 38, which has a 13:1 leverage advantage over the pull rod 310 attachment point behind the upper arms 210, pulls sufficiently hard to stiffen the upper arms 210 and resist any attempt to pull upper arms 210 down. The middle arm structure 38 (labelled in
When the play yard 1 is nearly open, the posts 220 are not yet vertical because the lower arms 260 are still extending outwards while the hub 240 goes down. As the posts 220 approach vertical, the angle of joint 230 with respect to the upper arms 210 increases (see FIG. 54 at angle F). As a result, the pull rods 310 must continue to pull down as the play yard 1 approaches a fully open state. To achieve this result, the angle R of the path in the cam slot 266, that is the cam path, for this last about 5-degrees of change of angle R for the lower arms 260 must be between about 1- and 5-degrees, as shown in
This aspect of this embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
Anti-Racking CAM Path. In one embodiment of the play yard mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention, the cam paths embodied by the lower arm post slots 266 are configured to avoid racking in the play yard 1. Racking is where the corner posts of a play yard all sway in essentially the same direction. Traditional play yard designs tend to rack because gravity pulls the corner posts down to the ground. The same is true for corner posts twisting about the central vertical axis of the play yard which is really a 3-D extension of “racking”. The two dimensions on the left (A and B) in
More specifically, one embodiment of a mechanical control assembly 200 has a lower arm post slot as illustrated in
Spread of the Bottom of the Corner Posts. To begin opening the play yard 1 of the present invention in one embodiment, the user pulls two opposing corner posts 220 apart. This can be facilitated in one embodiment by attaching optional straps or similar pull structures to two opposing corner posts 220 for the user to hold onto while pulling. These straps can be conveniently located on the tops 221 of the posts 220. If there were no cam linkage system (or equivalent mechanism) the only part of the posts 220 that would move apart would be the tops 221 because only tops 221 are being pulled. Similarly, the bottoms 222 of the posts 220 would stay stuck to the floor 2000 near the hub 240 where they are located when the play yard 1 is in the closed position. Additionally, if only the post tops 221 are moved, the user would not be able to push the hub 240 down after spreading the post tops 221 because the lower arms 260 would still be pointing substantially toward the ground or floor 2000 and would generate no side forces to spread apart the lower arms 260.
The mechanical control assembly 200 controls the position and tilt of each corner post 220 as opening occurs through the positioning of each pushrod 280 at the hub 240 (each pushrod 280 having a hub end 281 and a corner end 282). This positioning controls the pushrod corner end 282 to create the proper position and tilt between the corner post mount slot 225 and the lower diagonal arm post slot 266. This configuration is illustrated in
The positioning of the corner post mount slot 225 and the lower arm post slot 266 is configured such that the lower arm-post joint 270 is less than about 15-degrees to vertical when the corner post tops 221 are about 30-inches or more apart so that the second stage of opening, pushing the hub 240 down, works properly (see generally
Play yard feet can be designed to serve a variety of purposes. Ideally, a play yard foot stabilizes an open play yard so that it resists sliding, facilitates the movement of an empty play yard from one location to another, and facilitates the opening and closing of the play yard. Users prefer having wheels on the bottom of the play yard to enable the play yard to roll or be easily moved. Additionally, the mechanical control system 200, which is responsible for guiding the joint movements in the play yard during opening and closing, requires that the feet travel diagonally outwards when the play yard is opening and closing. Therefore, there is a need for a novel play yard foot that facilitates these goals. Specifically, current play yards do not have the control system 200 of the present invention and, instead, are simply a collection of many tubes loosely connected by pivots. The existing play yards do not have a controlled diagonal movement. Without this controlled movement, wheels on the feet of a traditional play yard can guide the feet on a path that is not diagonal and thereby interfere with opening and closing operation of the play yard by, for example, bending the post 220 sideways towards each other or otherwise breaking the frame 205.
Certain embodiments of the present invention includes a novel play yard foot 400 that accomplishes these three goals. One embodiment of a foot 400 for a play yard according to the present invention is configured for use with a play yard 1 having a plurality of corner posts 220, with each corner post 220 having a top 221 and a bottom 222, whereby foot 400 connects at or near to the bottom 222 of the corner post 220 and is operable to rest on a floor surface 2000. One embodiment of foot 400 (shown in
The various embodiments of feet 400 enhance the movement of the various foldable structures 1000 described herein. First, there is a non-slip rest 450 (preferably made of rubber) that protrudes downward when the play yard 1 is fully opened and that prevents the play yard 1 from easily sliding on the floor 2000 when in use. The non-slip rest 450 also can be configured to protect wood or other flooring material that could be scratched by a plastic, metal or other sharp foot material. As shown in
The three features of play yard feet 400 are able to operate, without interfering with each other, by taking advantage of different tilt angles of the corner posts 220. Specifically, in one embodiment, when the corner posts 220 are vertical in the open state, the rests 450 are approximately 0.08″ below all other features at bottom surface 470 of the play yard foot 400, including the in-line wheels 410 bottom surface 470 of the play yard foot 400 and the diagonal wheel 420. The third system, i.e., the diagonal wheels 420, which guide the corner posts 220 outboard diagonally, touch the ground or floor surface 2000 below the other two systems when the corner posts 220 are tilted outboard greater than about 8-degrees during opening.
To achieve these functional three features in one play yard foot 400, each foot 400 is configured according to the following principles and parameters in one preferred embodiment, which are illustrated in
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the various embodiments of play yards 1 of the present invention can be made from a variety of materials. Currently, many prior art play yards use metal tubing for at least the upper arms, corner posts and side rails. Those tubes are then compressed into the corners. Many existing play yards are made from standard welded steel or extruded aluminum tubes for their construction. This results in wall thickness that is too high and gives the overall play yard additional weight that can make it difficult for some users to carry, move, open or close traditional play yards.
Building upon the discussion of play yard regulations and the laws of physics detailed in the Background section, the concept of “moment of inertia” states that tube bending and buckling strength is always proportional to the radius squared. To determine the stress on a beam, such as the lower arm 260, one needs to know a beam's moment of inertia, I. The typical rectangular beam formula for I is:
where b is the beam width and d is the beam height.
Again, the maximum stress for a rectangular beam is given by:
Maximum stress is reduced by increasing the height of the beam to the cubed power where increasing the width only reduces the stress proportionally. As such, if one cuts the width in half, but doubles the height, the total amount of material stays the same but stress is reduced by a factor of 4.
When the beam is hollow as in the case of a play yard's lower arm 260, the formula is more complex, but it is still dependent on the height of the beam cubed. The same logic applies, that is, increasing the height is far more impactful on reducing stress than width or wall thickness.
When applying this insight to lower arms 260 in play yards (of the present invention or of other structures beyond the present invention's play yard 1), which must support vertical loads according to the compliance standard for play yards, the result is that the height of beam should be increased as possible, because this gives a benefit that follows the cubed power in the principles of physics discussed above. If one reduces the wall thickness by two but increases the beam height by two there is a roughly 4-times increase in load carrying capacity with the same amount of material. Certain embodiments of the present invention utilizes these principles to enable construction of novel sheet metal lower arms 260 and corner posts 220 that satisfy safety requirements while being constructed from relatively thin sheet metal and in a manner that is not used by any traditional play yards.
For example, there are practical limits to the incorporation of these principles of physics, such as space constraints in material thicknesses that are commonly available. However, certain embodiments of the present invention is configured to maximize the application of these principles to the structure of a traditional play yard. One embodiment of the present invention is a lower arm 260 that is configured in the shape of an approximately 2-inch high beam (see
Because the process of extruding aluminum is only effective down to a minimum of 0.050″ thickness, it is not possible to make the traditional tubes from a standard extrusion process and achieve such lightweight structures. With steel tubes, the most practical method of making tubes is through welding, which also yields a minimum thickness greater than the 0.015-inches of one embodiment of the present invention. Certain embodiments of the present invention solves these manufacturing limitations through a novel configuration that utilizes two separate pieces of sheet metal that are “C” shaped 500 and interlock to form a structural component. The two separate pieces of sheet metal are joined with rivets 510 or another attachment mechanism 510 that securely joins the two “C” shaped pieces of sheet metal 500 (see
Instead of using metal tubes, one embodiment of the present invention is a play yard of a multitude of designs, structures, or configurations, wherein at least some of the parts are made from sheet metal. More specifically, all or some of the following parts and others outlined in this application or in traditional play yards can be constructed from sheet metal, including but not limited to the corner posts 220 (shown in cross-section in
In one embodiment of the present invention, the flat metal pieces can be made from stamped steel and all pieces are cut with about a 2-mm or 3-mm clearance (other clearances may be acceptable depending on the manufacturing process) on all parts for flashing, which may occur during the stamping of the steel in production. The clearance can be varied depending on the manufacturing needs.
For certain of the embodiments of a play yard 1 made of sheet metal according to the present invention, the play yard parts are constructed from sheet metal “tubes” that are made from two pieces of bent sheet metal with two facing “C” cross-sections 500 and are attached together by rivets 510 or other similar attachment means create a tube-like structure (see
There are other advantages to constructing play yards from sheet metal tubes. First, the sheet metal tubes can have a larger diameter, which facilitates the construction and housing of mechanical parts of the play yard inside the tubes. Second, the sheet metal is significantly easier to stamp and create slots as cutouts in than extruded tubes would be. This advantage is particularly important to the inventions described in this application, which utilize a number of slots and/or cutouts for functionality. Finally, the stamping of slots can occur as part of the process of stamping for rivet holes and other functions instead of adding any other steps to production. If required for a play yard design, additional support easily can be added to certain areas of the play yard, such as around the articulation points (e.g. cam paths). However, this support can be localized and, therefore, will add little weight and cost to the play yard.
In order to prevent the thinner metal from buckling under pressure, one embodiment of the present invention enclose certain of the flat metal pieces within interlocking plastic cases 120.
Some of the embodiments of the play yard 1 and mechanical control assembly 200 of the present invention are used herein as one example of how to configure the parts of many different play yards out of sheet metal. The mechanical control assembly 200 can be configured such that each corner post 220 is formed from at least one piece of sheet metal formed to provide an outer frame and inner conduit for one of the pull rods 310. See
Another embodiment of the present invention is a mechanical control assembly 200, wherein each lower arm 260 is formed from at least one piece of sheet metal bent to provide an outer frame and inner conduit for one of the push rods 280.
One embodiment of a lower arm 260 for a foldable structure 1000 made from sheet metal according to the present invention comprises the use of at least one piece of sheet metal bent to form a beam structure. The beam structure of this embodiment is configured to have a height, a width, and a sheet metal thickness sufficient to satisfy any force requirements that are applicable to the foldable structure 1000. Certain embodiments of a sheet metal lower arm 260 are constructed from two pieces of sheet metal and a plurality of attachment mechanisms 510 sufficient to attach the two pieces of sheet metal to one another to create a hollow beam. For some embodiments, the individual pieces of sheet metal can approximate a “C” shape. In other embodiments, one of them can be a “C” shape and the other can approximate a “W” shape. In one embodiment of a sheet metal lower arm 260, the height of the beam is approximately 2-inches, the width of the beam is approximately 0.4-inch, and the thickness of the sheet metal is approximately 0.015-inches.
Similarly, certain embodiments of the present invention encompasses a variety of embodiments of corner posts 220 constructed from bent sheet metal. One embodiment of a sheet metal corner posts 220 comprises at least one piece of sheet metal bent to form a hollow tube having a tube width and a sheet metal thickness sufficient to satisfy any force requirements that are applicable to the foldable structure. Another embodiment comprises two pieces of sheet metal, each of which is bent to create the hollow tube when the two pieces are attached to one another and a plurality of attachment mechanisms 510 sufficient to secure the two pieces of sheet metal to one another. In some embodiments of the present invention, the attachment mechanisms 510 are rivets, but it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that there are numerous ways to securely attach multiple pieces of sheet metal to one another and all such mechanisms 510 are included within the scope of the present invention.
In embodiments of mechanical control assembly 200 or play yard 1 that are constructed from sheet metal, the corner post mount slots 225 and the hub slots 242 can be yoked or configured to have a double-walled structure as shown in
While the sheet metal construction described above is provided in terms of a play yard 1, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the same design principles can be applied to analogous parts of any foldable structure 1000 of similar construction.
It also should be noted that mechanical control assembly 200 works with play yards 1 and foldable structures 1000 of a wide variety of sizes and shapes. The various cam and slots and associated cam roller paths disclosed herein and shown in the accompanying figures are not required to have set dimensions but can be scaled up or down to accommodate the size of the overall structure 1000 and the size and shape of the component parts of that structure 1000. It is the shapes, proportions, angles, and interrelated movements of the individual parts that accomplish the goals of some of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the current inventions should not be limited to cam slots of specific sizes shown in the accompanying figures.
While not shown in the Figures, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the sidewalls and floor of the play yard 1 may be made of fabric, mesh, or any similarly pliable materials that are appropriate for children's play yards.
While the disclosure has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover all modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Among other things, the following invention may be embodied as methods or devices. The detailed descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention should not be taken in a limiting sense.
This application is a Continuation-in-Part application claiming priority to U.S. Divisional application Ser. No. 18/107,645 filed on Feb. 9, 2023, which claims priority to Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 16/904,061, filed Jun. 17, 2020 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,589,686 B2 on Feb. 28, 2023, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/862,195, filed Jun. 17, 2019, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Second, this application is a Continuation-in-Part patent application claiming priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 18/135,267, filed on Apr. 17, 2023, which claims priority to PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US2021/055353, filed on Oct. 18, 2021, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/092,548, filed on Oct. 16, 2020, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62862195 | Jun 2019 | US | |
| 63092548 | Oct 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16904061 | Jun 2020 | US |
| Child | 18107645 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18107645 | Feb 2023 | US |
| Child | 18599887 | US | |
| Parent | 18135267 | Apr 2023 | US |
| Child | 18599887 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/US2021/055353 | Oct 2021 | WO |
| Child | 18135267 | US |
