Patent Application
20070096460
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sleeve assembly, more particularly to a sleeve assembly free of a riveting appearance. The invention also relates to a rocking chair incorporating the sleeve assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a sleeve is mounted around a tube and is fastened to the tube at a predetermined position by riveting. However, appearance integrality will be destroyed by the rivet connection. Additionally, the sleeve fastened to the tube by riveting cannot be rotated relative to the tube. Therefore, the application of the conventional sleeve is limited.
The object of the present invention is to provide a sleeve assembly which can overcome the aforesaid shortcomings of the prior art.
In one aspect of this invention, a sleeve assembly is adapted to be mounted on a tube having a front through hole and a rear through hole spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the tube. The sleeve assembly includes a tubular body, a limiting member, and a positioning pin. The tubular body is adapted to be disposed around the tube to cover the front and rear through holes, and includes a front end proximate to the front through hole, a rear end proximate to the rear through hole, and an inner peripheral wall extending between the front end and the rear end and having a limiting recess proximate to the rear end, and a positioning recess proximate to and opening at the front end. The limiting member is adapted to be disposed in the tube, and includes a limiting piece extending outwardly through the rear through hole of the tube and projecting resiliently into the limiting recess. The positioning pin is adapted to be inserted in the front through hole of the tube, and projects into the positioning recess. The tubular body is rotatable, but is immobile in the longitudinal direction.
In another aspect of this invention, a rocking chair includes a chair frame and a sleeve assembly. The chair frame includes a bottom rocker. The bottom rocker includes a pair of tubes, each of which has a front through hole and a rear through hole spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the tubes. The sleeve assembly is used for preventing the bottom rocker from rocking, and includes a tubular body, a wedge part, a limiting member, and a positioning pin. The tubular body is disposed around one of the tubes to cover the front and rear through holes, and includes a front end proximate to the front through hole, a rear end proximate to the rear through hole, and an inner peripheral wall extending between the front end and the rear end and having a limiting recess proximate to the rear end, and a positioning recess proximate to and opening at the front end. The wedge part projects outwardly from the tubular body. The limiting member is disposed in said one of the tubes, and includes a limiting piece extending outwardly through the rear through hole of said one of the tubes and projecting resiliently into the limiting recess. The positioning pin is inserted in the front through hole of said one of the tubes, and projects into the positioning recess. The tubular body is rotatable between a first position in which the wedge part is located at a level higher than or equal to said one of the tubes so as to permit the bottom rocker to rock, and a second position in which the wedge part is located at a level lower than said one of the tubes so as to prevent the bottom rocker from rocking.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIGS. 4 to 8 are views showing consecutive steps of installing the preferred embodiment on a tube of the rocking chair;
Referring to
Each sleeve assembly 2 includes a sleeve member 5, a limiting member 3, and a positioning pin 4.
The sleeve member 5 includes a tubular body 51 and a wedge part 52. The tubular body 51 is disposed around the respective tube 111 to cover the front and rear through holes 112,113, and includes a front end 512 proximate to the front through hole 112, a rear end 513 proximate to the rear through hole 113, and an inner peripheral wall 511 extending between the front end 512 and the rear end 513 and having a limiting recess 502 proximate to the rear end 513 and a first positioning recess 503 proximate to and opening at the front end 512. The limiting recess 502 opens at the rear end 513 of the tubular body 51. The wedge part 52 projects outwardly from the tubular body 51. The tubular body 51 further includes a second positioning recess 505 proximate to the front end 512 and spaced apart angularly from the first positioning recess 503, a sliding recess 504 formed between the first and second positioning recesses 503,505 and spaced apart angularly from the first and second positioning recesses 503,505, and two rib portions 506, one of which protrudes between the first positioning recess 503 and the sliding recess 504, and the other one of which protrudes between the second positioning recess 505 and the sliding recess 504. The distance between the limiting recess 502 and the first positioning recess 503 (or the second positioning recess 505) is substantially equal to that between the front through hole 112 and the rear through hole 113 of the corresponding one of the tubes 111.
The limiting member 3 is disposed in the corresponding one of the tubes 111, and includes a resilient bent plate 31 disposed inside the corresponding one of the tubes 111, and a limiting piece 32 extending outwardly from the resilient bent plate 31 and through the rear through hole 113 of the corresponding one of the tubes 111 and projecting resiliently into the limiting recess 502. The resilient bent plate 31 includes a flat plate portion 311, an urging plate portion 313, and a resilient intermediate portion 312 interconnecting the flat plate portion 311 and the urging plate portion 313. The limiting piece 32 extends from the flat plate portion 311 of the resilient bent plate 31. The limiting recess 502 of the tubular body 51 is elongated in an angular direction, and the limiting piece 32 is movable circumferentially in the limiting recess 502.
The positioning pin 4 is inserted in the front through hole 112 of the corresponding one of the tubes 111, and projects into the first positioning recess 503. The positioning pin 4 includes a head portion 41 positioned in the first positioning recess 503, and a shank portion 42 extending from the head portion 41 into the front through hole 112 of the corresponding one of the tubes 111. The rib portions 506 and the sliding recess 504 are slidable over the positioning pin 4 when the tubular body 51 is rotated relative to the corresponding one of the tubes 111.
Referring to
The sleeve member 5 is sleeved on the corresponding one of the tubes 111 in a manner that the wedge part 52 is kept in a substantially horizontal level and that the limiting recess 502 is opposite to the front and rear through holes 112,113. When the rear end 513 of the tubular body 51 of the sleeve member 5 reaches the limiting piece 32, the limiting piece 32 is pushed into the corresponding one of the tubes 111 so that the sleeve member 5 can continue to move along the corresponding one of the tubes 111 and that the limiting piece 32 abuts against the inner peripheral wall 511 of the tubular body 51. When the sleeve member 5 is moved along the corresponding one of the tubes 111 until the front through hole 112 is exposed, the sleeve member 5 is rotated relative to the corresponding one of the tubes 111 so that the wedge part 52 of the sleeve member 5 is at a substantially vertical position. At this time, the first positioning recess 503 corresponds to the front through hole 112 of the corresponding one of the tubes 111, best shown in
Referring to
Since the head portion 41 of the positioning pin 4 and the limiting piece 32 are limited in the first positioning recess 503 and the limiting recess 502, respectively, the sleeve assembly 2 can not move relative to the corresponding one of the tubes 111 in the longitudinal direction (X). Furthermore, at this time, the sleeve member 5 is at a position in which the wedge part 52 of the sleeve member 5 is located at a level lower than the corresponding one of the tubes 111 so as to prevent the bottom rocker 11 from rocking.
Referring to
As shown in
In view of the aforesaid, the sleeve assembly 2 of this invention is free of a riveting appearance. Therefore, appearance integrality can be ensured for the sleeve assembly 2 of this invention.
It should be noted that, in addition to the rocking chair, the sleeve assembly 2 of this invention can also be used on other baby products such as strollers, cribs, carry-cots, bassinets, frame carriers, etc. Furthermore, the sleeve assembly 2 of this invention can have patterns or logos thereon.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
