Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6830254
-
Patent Number
6,830,254
-
Date Filed
Monday, February 3, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, December 14, 200419 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 280 474
- 280 4738
- 280 642
- 280 643
- 280 647
- 280 650
- 280 658
- 297 35412
- 297 366
- 297 367
- 297 368
- 297 369
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A stroller includes a seat frame, a backrest with a supporting frame pivoted to the seat frame, and a positioning unit including a positioning seat formed with a first engaging member, a second engaging member mounted movably on the supporting frame and movable between engaging and disengaging positions, and an urging member for urging the second engaging member to move to the engaging position. The second engaging member presses downwardly against the first engaging member by urging action of the urging member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stroller, more particularly to a stroller with an adjustable backrest.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1
to
3
illustrate a conventional stroller
1
that includes a leg unit with front and rear legs
111
,
112
, a seat frame
113
pivoted to the front and rear legs
111
,
112
, a backrest
12
with left and right supporting rods
121
pivoted to the seat frame
113
, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit includes a pair of engaging pins
131
and a pair of positioning seats
13
, each of which is pivoted to a respective one of the rear legs
112
, and each of which is formed with a plurality of engaging grooves
135
. Each of the engaging pins
131
projects from a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
121
to engage releasably a selected one of the engaging grooves
135
in a respective one of the positioning seats
13
. Each of the positioning seats
13
is rotatable upwardly and downwardly between an engaging position, in which the respective engaging pin
131
engages the selected one of the engaging grooves
135
, and a disengaging position, in which the respective engaging pin
131
disengages from the selected one of the engaging grooves
135
. A releasing member
14
includes a pair of pushing members
146
, each of which is mounted slidably on a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
121
, and each of which-contacts a bottom side of a respective one of the positioning seats
13
, a pair of urging members
145
, each of which is mounted in a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
121
above a respective one of the pushing members
146
and each of which is connected to the respective one of the pushing members
146
, and a handle
141
with a string
143
connected to the pushing members
146
in such a manner that pulling of the handle
141
results in upward movement of the pushing members
146
against urging action of the urging members
145
, which, in turn, results in upward movement of the positioning seats
13
to the disengaging position, thereby permitting adjustment of the backrest
12
to a desired position. Each positioning seat
13
is restored to the engaging position by virtue of gravity upon being released from the pulling action of the handle
141
.
The conventional stroller
1
is disadvantageous in that, since each positioning seat
13
is simply laid on the respective engaging pin
131
at the engaging position by gravity, the same tends to disengage undesirably from the respective engaging pin
131
. Moreover, a longer travelling distance of the handle
141
and a greater pulling force are required to adjust the position of the backrest
12
when the latter is disposed at a lower position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a stroller that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the present invention, a stroller comprises: a leg unit; a seat frame mounted on the leg unit; a backrest including a supporting frame that is pivoted to the seat frame so as to permit rotation of the supporting frame about a first axis; and a positioning unit including an elongated positioning seat with a rear end pivoted to the leg unit so as to permit rotation of the positioning seat about a second axis that is parallel to the first axis, and a front end section opposite to the rear end and connected movably to the supporting frame. The positioning unit further includes a first engaging member formed on the positioning seat, a second engaging member mounted movably on the supporting frame and disposed above the first engaging member, and an urging member. The second engaging member is movable upwardly and downwardly on the supporting frame between an engaging position, in which the second engaging member engages the first engaging member, and a disengaging position, in which the second engaging member disengages from the first engaging member. The urging member urges the second engaging member to press downwardly against the first engaging member when the second engaging member is positioned at the engaging position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 1
is a fragmentary perspective view of a conventional stroller;
FIG. 2
is a fragmentary front view of a backrest and a positioning unit of the conventional stroller of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a fragmentary side view to illustrate how the positioning unit of
FIG. 2
is moved from an engaging position to a disengaging position;
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of a stroller embodying this invention;
FIG. 5
is a side view of the stroller of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 6
is a fragmentary partly exploded perspective view of the stroller of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 7
is a fragmentary side view to illustrate how a positioning unit functions to position a backrest of the stroller of
FIG. 4
;
FIGS. 8 and 9
are fragmentary sectional views to illustrate how a releasing member functions to permit release of the backrest from the positioning unit of
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 10
is a fragmentary side view to illustrate how the backrest is adjusted to a desired position relative to a seat frame of the stroller of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 11
is a side view of the stroller of
FIG. 4
in a folded state; and
FIG. 12
is a fragmentary side view to illustrate how an engaging member of the positioning unit of
FIG. 7
is moved between engaging and disengaging positions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 4
to
11
illustrate a stroller embodying this invention. The stroller includes: a leg unit
2
with front and rear legs
21
,
25
and a plurality of wheels
26
; a seat frame
27
mounted pivotally on the front and rear legs
21
,
25
of the leg unit
2
; a backrest
3
including a supporting frame
30
that is pivoted to the seat frame
27
so as to permit rotation of the supporting frame
30
about a first axis; and a positioning unit
4
including an elongated positioning seat
42
with a rear end pivoted to the leg unit
2
so as to permit rotation of the positioning seat
42
about a second axis that is parallel to the first axis, and a front end section opposite to the rear end and connected movably to the supporting frame
30
. The positioning unit
4
further includes a first engaging member
61
(see
FIG. 7
) formed on the positioning seat
42
, a second engaging member
62
mounted movably on the supporting frame
30
and disposed above the first engaging member
61
, and an urging member
63
(see FIG.
8
). The second engaging member
62
is movable upwardly and downwardly on the supporting frame
30
between an engaging position (indicated in solid lines in FIG.
12
), in which the second engaging member
62
engages the first engaging member
61
, and a disengaging position (indicated in broken lines in FIG.
12
), in which the second engaging member
62
disengages from the first engaging member
61
. The urging member
63
urges the second engaging member
62
to press downwardly against the first engaging member
61
when the second engaging member
62
is positioned at the engaging position.
The positioning seat
42
includes elongated left and right seat rods
421
, each of which has a rear end pivoted to a respective one of the rear legs
25
of the leg unit
2
through a pivot pin
43
, and a front end section that is formed with an elongated first slot
425
. The supporting frame
30
includes a pair of hollow left and right supporting rods
31
, each of which is pivoted to the seat frame
27
through a pivot pin
32
and extends upwardly therefrom. The positioning unit
4
further includes a pair of connecting pins
411
, each of which projects from a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
31
and into the first slot
425
in the front end section of a respective one of the left and right seat rods
421
so as to permit simultaneous rotation of the supporting frame
30
about the first axis and rotation of the positioning seat
42
about the second axis in order to adjust position of the backrest
3
with respect to the seat frame
27
.
The first engaging member
61
includes a pair of engaging plates
422
, each of which is mounted on a respective one of the left and right seat rods
421
and each of which is formed with a plurality of engaging grooves
427
. The second engaging member
62
includes a pair of engaging pins
46
, each of which projects from a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
31
to engage a selected one of the engaging grooves
427
and to press downwardly against a respective one of the engaging plates
422
by urging action of the urging member
63
when the second engaging member
62
is positioned at the engaging position.
Each of the left and right supporting rods
31
is formed with an elongated second slot
313
. Each of the engaging pins
46
extends respectively through the second slots
313
in the left and right supporting rods
31
. The urging member
63
includes a pair of coil springs
45
, each of which is mounted in a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
31
above the engaging pins
46
, and each of which is fixed to the respective one of the left and right supporting rods
31
through a fastening pin
47
. A releasing member
5
includes a pair of connecting blocks
44
, each of which is mounted movably in a respective one of the left and right supporting rods
31
between a respective one of the engaging pins
46
and a respective one of the coil springs
45
, each of which is connected to the respective one of the engaging pins
46
, and each of which abuts against the respective one of the coil springs
45
. The releasing member
5
further includes a string
54
that is connected to the engaging pins
46
and that is operable to pull upwardly the engaging pins
46
against urging action of the coil springs
45
so as to permit upward movement of the second engaging member
62
to the disengaging position.
The backrest
3
further includes a linkage unit
33
that extends between and that is pivoted to the left and right supporting rods
31
and that includes a pair of pivoted first links
332
and a pair of pivoted second links
333
which are respectively pivoted to the first links
332
so as to permit folding of the backrest
3
(see FIG.
11
).
A bracket
51
is formed with a pair of arcuate slots
514
, and is mounted on a back side of the linkage unit
33
(see
FIG. 6
) through a pair of positioning pins
55
that extend from the linkage unit
33
through the arcuate slots
514
so as to permit folding of the linkage unit
33
. An operating lever
53
is pivoted to the bracket
51
through a pivot pin
57
so as to be rotatable about a third axis which is parallel to the first and second axes, and is connected to the string
54
in such a manner that rotation of the operating lever
53
in a direction away from the bracket
51
results in upward pulling of the second engaging member
62
to the disengaging position.
Since the first engaging member
61
is pressed by the second engaging member
62
by urging action of the urging member
63
, the aforesaid tendency of undesired disengagement between the first and second engaging members can be eliminated. Moreover, arrangement of the first and second engaging members
61
,
62
and the positioning seat
42
is capable of eliminating the aforesaid drawbacks with respective to the longer travelling distance and the greater pulling force required by the conventional stroller.
With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited only as recited in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A stroller comprising:a leg unit; a seat frame mounted on said leg unit; a backrest including a supporting frame that is pivoted to said seat frame so as to permit rotation of said supporting frame about a first axis; and a positioning unit including an elongated positioning seat with a rear end pivoted to said leg unit so as to permit rotation of said positioning seat about a second axis that is parallel to said first axis, and a front end section opposite to said rear end and said front end section connected movably to said supporting frame, said positioning unit further including a first engaging member formed on said positioning seat, a second engaging member mounted movably on said supporting frame and disposed above said first engaging member, and an urging member, said second engaging member being movable upwardly and downwardly on said supporting frame between an engaging position, in which said second engaging member engages said first engaging member, and a disengaging position, in which said second engaging member disengages from said first engaging member, said urging member urging said second engaging member to press downwardly against said first engaging member when said second engaging member is positioned at said engaging position.
- 2. The stroller of claim 1, wherein said positioning seat includes elongated left and right seat rods, each of which has a rear end pivoted to said leg unit, and a front end section that is formed with an elongated first slot, said supporting frame including a pair of hollow left and right supporting rods, each of which is pivoted to said seat frame and extends upwardly therefrom, said positioning unit further including a pair of connecting pins, each of which projects from a respective one of said left and right supporting rods and into said first slot in said front end section of a respective one of said left and right seat rods so as to permit simultaneous rotation of said supporting frame about said first axis and rotation of said positioning seat about said second axis in order to adjust position of said backrest with respect to said seat frame.
- 3. The stroller of claim 2, wherein said first engaging member includes a pair of engaging plates, each of which is mounted on a respective one of said left and right seat rods and each of which is formed with a plurality of engaging grooves, said second engaging member including a pair of engaging pins, each of which projects from a respective one of said left and right supporting rods to engage a selected one of said engaging grooves and to press downwardly against a respective one of said engaging plates by urging action of said urging member when said second engaging member is positioned at said engaging position.
- 4. The stroller of claim 3, wherein each of said left and right supporting rods is formed with an elongated second slot, each of said engaging pins extending respectively through said second slots in said left and right supporting rods, said urging member including a pair of coil springs that are respectively mounted in said left and right supporting rods above said engaging pins, said stroller further comprising a releasing member that includes a pair of connecting blocks, each of which is mounted movably in a respective one of said left and right supporting rods between a respective one of said engaging pins and a respective one of said coil springs, each of which is connected to the respective one of said engaging pins, and each of which abuts against the respective one of said coil springs, said releasing member further including a string that is connected to said engaging pins and that is operable to pull upwardly said engaging pins against urging action of said coil springs so as to permit upward movement of said second engaging member to said disengaging position.
- 5. The stroller of claim 4, wherein said backrest further includes a linkage unit that extends between and that is pivoted to said left and right supporting rods and that includes a pair of pivoted first links and a pair of pivoted second links which are respectively pivoted to said first links so as to permit folding of said backrest.
- 6. The stroller of claim 5, further comprising a bracket mounted on said linkage unit, and an operating lever that is pivoted to said bracket so as to be rotatable about a third axis which is parallel to said first and second axes, and that is connected to said string in such a manner that rotation of said operating lever in a direction away from said bracket results in upward pulling of said second engaging member to said disengaging position.
US Referenced Citations (9)