Patent Application
20230228288
The disclosure relates to a tray assembly, and more particularly to a tray assembly for a baby walker.
Each mounting structure 12 includes two latching slots 120 (only one is shown in
Each toy 13 has a main body 131 and two engagement blocks 132 disposed around the main body 131 and diametrically opposite to each other.
Through the engagement blocks 132 and the latching slots 120, the toys 13 can be assembled to or disassembled from the mounting structures 12. However, because the mounting structures 12 protrude upward from the annular tray 11, when the toys 13 are removed from the mounting structures 12, the mounting structures 12 protruding from the annular tray 11 are not beneficial for aesthetic appearance of the annular tray 11 and for placement of other things thereon. Especially, the latching slots which are uncovered are exposed to dust and dirty substances.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a tray assembly that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, a tray assembly includes a base body, and a mounting unit. The base body has a top surface. The mounting unit includes a socket member, a resilient member, and a top cover.
The socket member extends downwardly from the top base surface and defines a socket hole having a top opening that opens at the top base surface.
The resilient member is disposed in the socket hole.
The top cover is movably disposed in the socket hole above the resilient member. The top cover is movable upward and downward to switch between a first position and a second position.
In the first position, the top cover covers the top opening and is limited from moving downward.
In the second position, the top cover is movable downward from the first position, and the resilient member is pressed and stores energy for returning the top cover to the first position.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
The base body 2 is substantially in the form of an annular plate shape and has a central hole 21 for receiving a baby, and a top base surface 22 annularly surrounding the central hole 21.
As shown in
The socket member 8 extends downwardly from the top base surface 22 and defines a socket hole (S1) having a top opening (S11) that opens at the top base surface 22. The socket member 8 has a socket wall 80 extending downwardly from the top base surface 22 and surrounding the socket hole (S1), and two angularly spaced-apart engagement slots 85 indented from the socket wall 80. The socket wall 80 has a first annular support face 82, a first tubular wall portion 81, four angularly spaced latching holes 86, a second tubular wall portion 83, a second annular support face 84, and a plurality of angularly spaced-apart stop members 87.
The first annular support face 82 is disposed below the top opening S11 and faces upward.
The first tubular wall portion 81 extends downward from the top opening (S11) to the first annular support face 82.
The engagement slots 85 are formed in the first tubular wall portion 81 and diametrically opposite to each other. Each engagement slot 85 has a first slot portion 851 indented downwardly from and opening at the top base surface 22, and a second slot portion 852 communicating with and extending angularly from the first slot portion 851. The second slot portion 852 has a top boundary side adjacent to the top base surface 22, a bottom boundary side adjacent to the first annular support face 82, and a distal boundary side angularly opposite to the first slot portion 851.
The latching holes 86 are angularly spaced 90 degrees apart from each other. Each latching hole 86 is disposed below the top base surface 22 and extends through the first annular support face 82 and the first tubular wall portion 81 and thus resembles an L-shape. Two of the latching holes 86 is wider in width than the other two of the latching holes 86 respectively disposed in and communicating the first slot portions 851 of the engagement slots 85.
The second tubular wall portion 83 extends downwardly from an inner periphery of the first annular support face 82.
The second annular support face 84 faces upwardly and extends radially and inwardly from a bottom end of the second tubular wall portion 83.
The stop members 87 are disposed between the first and second annular support faces 82, 84 and protrudes radially and inwardly from the second tubular wall portion 83. In this embodiment, the stop members 87 are equidistantly spaced apart from each other. As shown in
The rotary operating member 9 is disposed in the socket hole (S1) and rotatable relative to the socket member 8 and the top cover 7 (details of the top cover 7 will be described hereinafter). The rotary operating member 9 has a seat portion 91, a knob portion 92, and an upward hollow extension 93.
As shown in
The knob portion 92 projects downwardly from the seat portion 91 to extend outward from the socket hole (S1) for manual manipulation.
The upward hollow extension 93 extends upwardly from the seat portion 91. In this embodiment, the upward hollow extension 93 is tubular and has an outer surface formed with a plurality of angularly spaced limiting blocks 94. Each of the limiting blocks 94 has a top abutting portion 941, a steep side 942 extending downwardly from an end of the top abutting portion 941, and an inclined portion 943 inclined downwardly from the other end of the top abutting portion 942. As shown in
The resilient member 6 is disposed in the socket hole (S1). In this embodiment, the resilient member 6 is disposed in and surrounded by the upward hollow extension 93. A bottom end of the resilient member 6 is supported by the spring seat members 931, and an upper end of the resilient member 6 abuts the top cover 7. When being pressed downward by the top cover 7, the resilient member 6 stores energy for pushing the top cover 7 to move upward.
Referring to
The cover portion 71 is substantially in the form of a round plate. The cover portion 71 is movable within the first tubular wall portion 81 above the first annular support face 82 and is seated on the first annular support face 82 when the top cover 7 is moved downward.
The downward hollow extension 72 projects downward from the cover portion 71 to overlap with the upward hollow extension 93 of the operating member 9. In this embodiment, the upward hollow extension 93 is inserted into the downward hollow extension 72. The downward and upward hollow extensions 72, 93 are movable relative to each other in a telescopic manner. The resilient member 6 is disposed within the upward and downward hollow extensions 93, 72. The downward hollow extension 72 is tubular and has a bottom surface 720 opposite to the cover portion 71, a plurality of angularly spaced indentations 721 indenting from the bottom surface 720, and a plurality of nonindented parts 722 each formed between two adjacent ones of the indentations 721. The limiting blocks 94 are situated below the bottom surface 720 of the downward hollow extension 72. Each indentation 721 of the top cover 7 conforms in shape with one of the limiting blocks 94 so that the limiting blocks 94 can be respectively and complementarily received in the indentations 721. The top abutting portion 941 of each of the limiting blocks 94 is abuttable against one of the nonindented parts 722 of the downward hollow extension 72.
The latching legs 73 extend downwardly from an outer periphery of the cover portion 71 and are angularly spaced apart around the downward hollow extension 72. The latching legs 73 are respectively extendable into the latching holes 86 and have barbs engageable with the latching holes 86 to prevent detachment of the latching legs 73 in an upward direction from the latching holes 86. The latching legs 73 are movable upward or downward in the latching holes 86.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the stop members 87 of the socket wall 80 protrude adjacent to the seat portion 91 to limit a rotation angle of the seat portion 91 so that the knob portion 92 can be limitedly rotated back or forth to switch the rotary operating member 9 to the first or second rotated position. In the first position of the top cover 7, a top surface of the cover portion 71 is flush with the top base surface 22 of the base body 2. In the second position of the top cover 7, the accessory member 4 can be removably engaged into the socket hole (S1) above the top cover 7 so that the top cover 7 is pressed downward, the cover portion 71 is lower than the top base surface 22, and the limiting blocks 94 of the rotary operating member 9 are respectively received in the indentations 721 of the top cover 7.
Referring to
Referring back to
When the top cover 7 switches to the second position by rotation of the rotary member 9 to the second rotated position, the accessory member 4 is allowed to be installed to the mounting unit 3. After the accessory member 4 is removed from the mounting unit 3, the top cover 7 covers the top opening (S11) and does not protrude outward from the top base surface 22, thereby solving the problem encountered by the prior art.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure 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.
