1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stroller, and more particularly to a stroller that has a brake device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
The object of this invention is to provide a stroller that includes a control cable, which can be operated easily by hand to prevent wheel rotation of the stroller.
According to this invention, a stroller comprises:
a stroller frame with a leg rod;
a wheel unit mounted to a lower end of the leg rod and including an axle and a first wheel disposed on and rotatable about the axle, the first wheel being formed with a plurality of retaining grooves that are arranged along a circumferential direction thereof; and
a brake device including
a control cable having a controlling end and a pulling end, the pulling end being fastened to the driving seat, the controlling end being disposed on the stroller frame and being operable to move the driving seat between the braking position and the non-braking position, and
a first swing member disposed rotatably on the wheel seat and including a first swing arm connected to the driving seat of the reciprocating mechanism such that movement of the driving seat relative to the wheel seat results in rotation of the first swing member relative to the wheel seat, and a second swing arm rotatable between an engagement position, where the driving seat is disposed at the braking position and where the second swing arm engages one of the retaining grooves in the first wheel so as to prevent rotation of the first wheel, and a disengagement position, where the driving seat is disposed at the non-braking position and where the second swing arm is removed from the first wheel so as to allow for the rotation of the first wheel.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
The stroller frame 21 is formed with two leg rods 211. The rear wheel units 22 are mounted respectively to lower ends of the leg rods 211. Each of the rear wheel units 22 includes a pair of first and second wheels 221 and an axle 222 interconnecting the first and second wheels 221. The first and second wheels 221 are rotatable about the axle 222. Each of the first and second wheels 221 includes a fixed tube 223 sleeved on the axle 222, and a plurality of angularly equidistant projecting rods 224 extending radially and outwardly from the fixed tube 223. The projecting rods 224 define a plurality of retaining grooves 225, which are arranged along a circumferential direction of a corresponding one of the first and second wheels 221.
The brake device 20 includes a wheel seat 3, a reciprocating mechanism 4, a control cable unit 5, a first swing member 6, a second swing member 6′ and a cover 7.
The wheel seat 3 supports a corresponding one of the rear wheel units 22 on the corresponding leg rod 211, and includes a socket portion 31 for receiving a lower end of the corresponding leg rod 211, a guiding portion 32, two fixed parallel guiding plates 33 defining a guide path 34 therebetween, a first bearing portion 35, a second bearing portion 35′ and an axle tube portion 36. The axle 222 extends through the axle tube portion 36. The guiding portion 32 has an upright guide hole 321 and an upright cable hole 322 that are formed therethrough, as shown in
The reciprocating mechanism 4 includes a driving seat 42 movable on the wheel seat 3 between a braking position shown in
The control cable unit 5 includes a sleeve 51 disposed within the cable hole 322 of the wheel seat 3, and a control cable 52 extending through the sleeve 51. The control cable 52 has a pulling end 521 fastened to the top plate portion 422 of the driving seat 42, and a controlling end 522. The controlling end 522 is disposed on the stroller frame 21. For example, the controlling end 522 is mounted on a handle (not shown) of the stroller 2. The controlling end 522 can be operated to pull the driving seat 42 upwardly against the biasing action of the resilient member 43 to the braking position.
The first and second swing members 6, 6′ are disposed respectively and rotatably on the first and second bearing portions 35, 35′, and are rotatable about a horizontal rotating axis 60 that is perpendicular to the axle 222. Each of the first and second swing members 6, 6′ includes a rotating shaft portion 61, a first swing arm 62 extending perpendicularly from an end of the rotating shaft portion 61, and a second swing arm 63 extending perpendicularly from an opposite end of the rotating shaft portion 61. The rotating shaft portions 61 are journalled respectively within the holes 351 in the first and second bearing portions 35, 35′. Each of the first swing arms 62 has a slide slot 621 (see
The cover 7 is disposed on the wheel seat 3 for covering the reciprocating mechanism 4 and the first and second swing members 6, 6′. The cover 7 has two side walls 71 and a rear wall 72. The axle 222 extends through holes 711 in the side walls 71.
Referring to
Referring to
As such, to change the brake device 20 between the braking state and the non-braking state, it is only necessary to operate a controller (not shown) on the stroller frame 21 with one hand. This is a convenient operation. Since the specific structure of the controller is known in the art and is not pertinent to the claimed invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4116464 | Haley | Sep 1978 | A |
4567964 | Kassai | Feb 1986 | A |
5713585 | Curtis et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
7059452 | Chen | Jun 2006 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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20106098 | Sep 2001 | DE |
2011702 | Feb 1990 | ES |
2648101 | Dec 1990 | FR |
59877 | Dec 1947 | GB |
2093540 | Sep 1982 | GB |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060175783 A1 | Aug 2006 | US |