Lift Off Child Swing with Recline and Swivel

• US 20080020854A1
• Filed: 07/16/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Company Limited
• Inventors: Tuckey, Peter R., Gillett, Sharon A., Hartenstine, Curtis M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,152,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 472/118
• CPC Class Codes: A47D 1/10 capable of being suspended from, or attached to, tables or other articles
• CPC Class Codes: A47D 13/105 pivotally mounted in a frame

Abstract

An infant swing has a base member supported by hanger members for reciprocal movement. A seat that can be utilized in other applications is detachably mounted on and latched to the base member, which is formed with a swivel mechanism that allows the seat to be selectively positioned in a back-and-forth swing configuration or a sideways swing configuration. The swivel mechanism utilizes a triangular guide that engages an elliptical retainer to cause a lateral shift in the center of gravity of the seat when re-positioned. The base member also incorporates a recline mechanism that can be actuated with one hand. The recline actuation mechanism uses a self-centering push bar that is formed with protrusions engaged with slotted channels to lock the seat in a selected recline position. The push bar is operable to either transverse direction to release the protrusions from the slotted channels for selecting the new recline position.

Claims

1. A child swing comprising:

a frame assembly operable to induce a reciprocal movement relative to said frame assembly;

a seat assembly including a hanger apparatus connected to said frame assembly so as to be operable to move in a reciprocal manner relative to said frame assembly, said seat assembly including;

a base member assembly mounted on a distal end of said hanger apparatus;

a seat carrier detachably mountable on said base member assembly for reciprocal movement with said base member assembly and said hanger apparatus; and

a recline mechanism housed within said base member assembly to permit said seat carrier to be placed into a selected recline position.

2. The child swing of claim 1 wherein said base member assembly includes a base shell secured to said hanger apparatus and a top plate movably mounted on said base shell, said top plate being engaged with said seat carrier and being movable relative to said base shell to place said seat carrier in said selected recline position.

3. The child swing of claim 2 wherein said recline mechanism includes a transversely oriented recline actuator handle that projects out of said base member assembly, said recline actuator handle being spring biased to a recline locking position.

4. The child swing of claim 3 wherein said recline actuation handle includes a center chamber receiving a center post formed in said top plate, said center chamber having a pair of biasing springs positioned on opposing sides of said center post to bias said recline actuation handle into a central position, said recline actuator handle being linearly movable to either side of said central position.

5. The child swing of claim 3 wherein said recline actuator handle is mounted on said top plate and further includes at least one protrusion extending downwardly into engagement with a locking apparatus on said base shell, said recline actuator handle being linearly movable to either side of a central position to affect the release of said at least one protrusion from said locking apparatus.

6. The child swing of claim 5 wherein said locking apparatus includes:

a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending passageways;

a plurality of blocks spaced longitudinally between said passageways; and

a plurality transverse grooves extending respectively between adjacent said blocks and interconnecting said passageways, said protrusions being selectively located within one of said transverse grooves to place said seat carrier in said selected recline position when said recline actuation handle is in said central position, said protrusions being in one of said passageways when said recline actuation handle is moved to either side of said central position.

7. The child swing of claim 1 further comprising a swivel mechanism housed within said base member assembly to permit said seat carrier to be oriented in a selected swing configuration.

8. The child swing of claim 7 wherein said base member assembly includes a base shell secured to said hanger apparatus and a top plate movably mounted on said base shell, said top plate being engaged with said seat carrier and being movable relative to said base shell to place said seat carrier in a selected recline position, said base shell including an upper part connected to said top plate to be movable therewith about a generally horizontal plane and a lower part connected to said upper part through a connector hub permitting rotation of said upper part relative to said lower part.

9. The child swing of claim 7 wherein said swivel mechanism comprises:

an elliptically shaped retainer ring formed on said lower part; and

a triangular follower apparatus formed on said upper part, said triangular follower apparatus affecting lateral movement of said seat carrier when said follower apparatus follows said elliptically shaped retainer ring in conjunction with the rotation of said seat carrier into a different swing configuration.

10. The child swing of claim 9 wherein said triangular follower apparatus comprises a trio a contact points arranged in a triangular configuration in engagement with said elliptically shaped retainer ring.

11. The child swing of claim 9 wherein said connector hub is positioned within an oval-shaped socket on said lower part of said base shell, said connector hub moving laterally within said socket when said seat carrier is moved from one swing configuration to another swing configuration.

12. A child swing having a frame assembly operable to induce a reciprocal movement into a seat assembly for movement relative to said frame assembly, comprising:

said seat assembly including a seat member supported on a base member assembly having an upper part connected to said seat member, so that said seat member is movable with said upper part, and a lower part connected to said upper part in a manner to permit rotational movement of said upper part and said connected seat member relative to said lower part; and

a swivel mechanism disposed between said upper and lower parts of said base member assembly, said swivel member being selectively operable to position said seat member in a back-and-forth swing configuration and in a sideways swing configuration, said swivel mechanism being operable to cause said seat member to shift laterally when rotated between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

13. The child swing of claim 12 wherein said swivel mechanism comprises:

an elliptically shaped retainer ring formed on said lower part; and

a triangular follower apparatus formed on said upper part, said triangular follower apparatus affecting said lateral movement of said seat member when said follower apparatus follows said elliptically shaped retainer ring in conjunction with the rotation of said seat member between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

14. The child swing of claim 13 wherein said triangular follower apparatus comprises a trio a contact points arranged in a triangular configuration in engagement with said elliptically shaped retainer ring.

15. The child swing of claim 12 wherein said lower part is connected to said upper part through a connector hub positioned within an oval-shaped socket on an underside surface of said lower part of said base shell, said connector hub moving laterally within said socket when said seat member is moved between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

16. The child swing of claim 12 further comprising:

a recline mechanism housed within said base member assembly to permit said seat member to be placed into a selected recline position.

17. The child swing of claim 16 wherein said seat member is supported on said upper part for movement along an arcuate interface defining a track along which the seat member can move relative to said upper part, said recline mechanism controlling the movement of said seat member along said arcuate track.

18. The child swing of claim 17 wherein said base member assembly further includes a top plate on which said seat member is mounted, said top plate being movable along said arcuate track to affect a positioning of said seat member in a selected reclined position, said recline mechanism including a transversely oriented recline actuator handle that projects out of said top plate, said recline actuator handle being spring biased to a central position and being linearly movable to either side of said central position.

19. The child swing of claim 18 wherein said recline actuation handle includes:

a center chamber operable to receive a center post formed on said top plate, said center chamber housing a pair of biasing springs on opposing sides of said center post to bias said recline actuation handle into said central position; and

a pair of laterally spaced protrusions extending downwardly into engagement with a locking apparatus, the movement of said recline actuator handle to either side of said central position affecting the release of said protrusions from said locking apparatus.

20. A child swing having a frame assembly operable to induce a reciprocal movement into a seat assembly for movement relative to said frame assembly, comprising:

said seat assembly including a seat member supported on a base member assembly having a top plate connected to said seat member and a base shell meeting said top plate along an arcuate interface defining an arcuate track along which the top plate and connected seat member can move relative to said base shell; and

a recline mechanism housed within said base member assembly to control the movement of said top plate relative to said base shell along said arcuate track.

21. The child swing of claim 20 wherein said recline mechanism includes a transversely oriented recline actuator handle that projects out of said top plate, said recline actuator handle being spring biased to a recline locking position.

22. The child swing of claim 21 wherein said recline actuation handle is linearly movable to either side of a central position and includes:

a center chamber operable to receive a center post formed on said top plate, said center chamber housing a pair of biasing springs on opposing sides of said center post to bias said recline actuation handle into said central position; and

a pair of laterally spaced protrusions extending downwardly into engagement with a locking apparatus on said base shell, the movement of said recline actuator handle to either side of said central position affecting the release of said protrusions from said locking apparatus.

23. The child swing of claim 22 wherein said locking apparatus includes:

a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending passageways;

a plurality of blocks spaced longitudinally between said passageways; and

a transverse groove extending between adjacent said blocks and interconnecting said passageways, said protrusions being located within said transverse grooves when said recline actuation handle is in said central position, said protrusions being in one of said passageways when said recline actuation handle is moved to either side of said central position.

24. The child swing of claim 21 wherein said base shell includes an upper part connected to said top plate to permit rotational movement therewith in a horizontal plane, and a lower part connected to said upper part to permit said rotational movement relative to said lower part, said child swing further comprising:

a swivel mechanism disposed between said upper and lower parts of said base shell, said swivel member being selectively operable to position said seat member in a back-and-forth swing configuration and in a sideways swing configuration, said swivel mechanism being operable to cause said seat member to shift laterally when rotated between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

25. The child swing of claim 24 wherein said swivel mechanism comprises:

an elliptically shaped retainer ring formed on said lower part; and

a trio a contact points arranged in a triangular configuration in engagement with said elliptically shaped retainer ring to define a triangular follower apparatus causing said lateral movement of said seat member when said follower apparatus follows said elliptically shaped retainer ring in conjunction with the rotation of said seat member.

26. The child swing of claim 24 wherein said top plate is formed with an upwardly extending mounting protrusion, said seat member being formed with a mounting structure including a receptacle configured to receive said mounting protrusion, said mounting protrusion including a spring-loaded latch member positioned to engage a latch opening in said mounting structure, said seat member incorporating a latch actuation mechanism selectively operable to affect a retraction of said latch member from said latch opening and allow said seat member to be lifted vertically off of said base member assembly.

27. A child swing having a frame assembly operable to induce a reciprocal movement into a seat assembly for movement relative to said frame assembly, comprising:

said seat assembly including a seat member supported on a base member; and

a swivel mechanism disposed between said seat member and said base member and being selectively operable to position said seat member in a back-and-forth swing configuration and in a sideways swing configuration, said swivel mechanism being operable to cause said seat member to shift laterally when rotated between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

28. The child swing of claim 27 wherein said swivel mechanism comprises:

an elliptical retainer ring formed on said base member; and

a triangular follower apparatus connected to said seat member for rotational movement therewith, said triangular follower apparatus affecting said lateral movement of said seat member when said follower apparatus follows said elliptical retainer ring in conjunction with the rotation of said seat member between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.

29. The child swing of claim 28 wherein said triangular follower apparatus comprises a trio a contact points arranged in a triangular configuration in engagement with said elliptical retainer ring.

30. The child swing of claim 28 wherein said base member includes an upper part connected to said seat member for rotational movement therewith and a lower part connected to said upper part in a manner to permit rotational movement of said upper part and said connected seat member relative to said lower part, said triangular follower apparatus being formed on said upper part.

31. The child swing of claim 30 wherein said lower part is connected to said upper part through a connector hub positioned within an oval-shaped socket on an underside surface of said lower part of said base shell, said connector hub moving laterally within said socket when said seat member is moved between said back-and-forth swing configuration and said sideways swing configuration.