Patent Application
20080111413
The present invention relates to a movably suspended child receiving seat wherein the motion of the suspended child receiving seat can be converted between a traditional swinging motion a gliding motion. More particularly, conversion between the traditional swinging motion and the gliding motion is accomplished by relocating the upper ends of the pairs of seat suspension arms from a separated relationship to a substantially axially aligned relationship.
Young children have a need to be physically stimulated. Gentle rocking in a parent's arms is one of the most basic parental stimulations. In order to provide relief to a parent from continuous holding and rocking of a child, some child receiving devices simulate the rocking motion of a parent's arms. Child receiving devices such as gliders and swings generally include a seat portion for receiving a child, seat suspension arms having lower ends attached to the child receiving seat for suspending the seat above a supporting surface and a support frame for pivotally supporting the upper ends of the seat suspension arms and the seat above the supporting surface.
The seat portion of a child swing provides different movement characteristics than the seat of a gliders. Movement characteristic differences are evident from the connection between the seat suspension arm upper ends and the support frame. For example, child swings generally provide a pivotal (arcuate) movement to child seat. The, the child in the swing seat experiences an arcuate swinging motion (with the seat suspension arms suspending the seat from a single pivot axis). On the other hand, gliders provide a translational (front-to-back quasi-linear translation) movement to the child seat. This quasi-linear translation is produced because the upper ends of the pairs of seat suspension arms suspend the seat from two linearly spaced pivot axes, one near the front of the glider and one near the rear of the glider. Because the swings and gliders provide different seat motions they also provide different riding experiences. As a result some users prefer one over the other or prefer both, but at different times.
There is therefore a need to develop a child seat that can provide both a gliding motion experience as well as a swinging motion experience. Furthermore, there is a need to develop a child seat that can be easily reconfigured between a glider movement mode and a swing movement mode.
Generally, the present invention illustrates a reconfigurable child receiving swing/glider device including a seat portion for receiving a child, seat suspension arms pivotally connected to the seat at their lower ends for swingingly and/or glidingly suspending the seat and a support frame, the upper ends of the seat suspension arms being pivotally connected to the support frame for supporting the seat suspension arms and the seat above a supporting surface. Generally, the lower end of the two front seat suspensions arms are pivotally attached to opposite sides of the front of the seat and the lower portion of the two rear seat suspension arms are pivotally attached to opposite sides of the rear of the seat. The upper ends of the front seat suspension arms define a forward pivot axis passing through the forward pivotal connections of the support frame. Similarly, the upper ends of the rear seat suspension arms define a rear pivot axis passing through the rear pivotal connections of the support frame. The lower ends of the front and rear sear suspension arms also define lower forward and rear pivot axes respectively.
The method of converting the child seat between a swing device and glider device is accomplished by adjusting the distance between the upper forward pivot axis and the upper rear pivot axis. In other words, when the upper forward pivot axis and the upper rear pivot axis are substantially co-axial, the device behaves like a swing (providing a traditional arcuate swinging motion to the child seat). On the other hand, when there is a significant linear distance between the upper forward pivot axis and the upper rear pivot axis, the swing/glider device behaves as a glider (providing a front-to-back, quasi-linear, translational movement to the child seat). The present invention discloses a unique swing/glider device capable of adjusting the distance between the upper forward pivot axis and the upper rear pivot axis to easily convert the swing/glider device between a swing configuration and a glider configuration.
Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elements throughout this disclosure.
In accordance with the present invention, a reconfigurable swing/glider device is disclosed.
Regarding the forward seat suspension arms 120A, 120B, the suspension guides 140A, 140B include a slots 510A, 510B within which the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B are guidable toward and away from the respective upper rear pivot connectors 135A, 135B of the rear seat suspension arms 130A, 130B. The slots 510A, 510B each further include foward lock notches 515A, 515B and rear lock notches 520A, 520B.
To arrange the swing/glider device 100 of the present invention into the glider mode, the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B mare moveable within the slots 510A, 510B until they become locked into forward lock notches 515A, 515B in a spaced relationship. When the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B are locked in the forward lock notches 515A, 515B the swing/glider device 100 is configured in the glider configuration.
The swing/glider device 100 of the present invention can also be rearranged into the swing configuration by adjusting the front seat suspension arms 120A, 120B. To reconfigure the swing/glider into swing mode, the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B are translated within slots 510A, 510B toward the rear of the slots to rear lock notches 520A, 520B. When the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B become locked into the rear lock notches 520A, 520B, the swing/glider 100 is in swing mode. In other words, when the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B are locked into the rear lock notches 520A, 520B, the upper front pivot axis is substantially coaxial with the upper rear pivot axis and the swing/glider device is in a swing mode (providing a traditional arcuate swinging motion to the child seat).
Reconfiguration from swing mode to glider mode or vise versa, therefore, simply requires a user (e.g., in the case of swing to glider) to lift the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B from the rear lock notches 520A, 520B into the slots 510A, 510B and then slide them forward down into the front lock notches 515A, 515B. When the upper front pivot connectors 125A, 125B are locked into the front lock notches 515A, 515B, the swing/glider device 100 is configured as a four bar linkage that behaves like a glider (providing a front-to-back, quasi-linear, translational movement to the child seat).
Regarding the rear seat suspension arms 130A, 130B, the suspension guides 140A, 140B permanently engage the upper rear pivot connectors 135A, 135B to prevent them form translating, while allowing them to pivot about a fixed horizontal axis. In an embodiment of the present invention wherein the movement of the device 100 is motorized, force (torque) from the motor (not shown) is applied to the upper rear pivot connectors 135A, 135B to cause back-and- forth motion of the seat portion 110 and suspended arms 120A, 120B, 130A, 130B.
Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. For example, it is to be understood that terms such as “left”, “right” “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “side”, “height”, “length”, “width”, “upper”, “lower”, “interior”, “exterior”, “inner”, “outer” and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration.
Moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art may find it obvious to make modifications to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the foregoing disclosure while remaining within the scope of the basic inventive concept. For example, the invention can be composed of as few as one front and one rear suspension arm or can have two or more front and two or more rear suspension arms.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/798,291, entitled “RECONFIGURABLE SWING/GLIDER DEVICE” and filed May 8, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60798291 | May 2006 | US |
