Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02590449 2009-08-18
INFANT SWING SEAT
This invention deals generally with infant seats and more specifically
with an infant seat that has a reduced size for shipping and mechanisms that
permit simplified reclining of the seat.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Infant swings are used extensively by caregivers to sooth and comfort
babies. They are basically a seat that securely holds and positions the baby
within
a frame that supports the seat and allows it to move in a swinging front to
back or
side to side motion relative to the baby.
The seat structures themselves have been constructed in many
different ways, including a simple wire frame with a fabric sling and a now
common
plastic shell with fabric pads. Some seats have a construction for reclining
that
varies the angle between the seat bottom and seat back, however, most seats
provide the recline feature by tilting back the entire seat. In such an
arrangement,
the angle between the seat bottom and seat back does not change as the seat
assembly is reclined, but the angles of both the seat boftom and the seat back
relative to the floor are changed.
Many prior art shell type seats pivot the seat for reclining at the
junction of the seat bottom and seat back, and they use a support wire and
slotted
stops to hold the seat upright or in several degrees of tilt. That is, the
support wire
is held by and pivoted from the swing hanger support rods, and a horizontal
section
of the wire is held within downward opening hook-like fixtures on the outside
of the
seat back. This arrangement has proven to be both cost effective and
structurally
sound, but it results in a recline system that is not visible from the front
of the seat.
Therefore, it requires the caregiver to use two hands while standing behind
the
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swing or reach around the seat in order to adjust the seat angle. Typically,
one
hand is needed to support the seat while the other hand repositions the
support
wire.
Another problem with the shelf type seats is their substantial shipping
size. Prior art plastic shell seats are big and bulky causing the shipping
size of
even the disassembled infant swing to be rather large.
It would be very beneficial to have an infant seat that provides a
simple operation for changing the recline position, while also minimizing the
tendency of a seat occupied by a child to tilt over backwards when the angle
of
recline is being changed. Another beneficial improvement would be a structure
permitting grasping handles on both sides of the seat to rotate the entire
seat to the
desired position. Furthermore, substantial economic benefit could be derived
from
a shell type seat design that would reduce the shipping size of the seat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided an infant seat formed
with a fixed angle between a seat bottom and a seat back and with two
generally
perpendicularly extending side walls joined to and extending between the seat
bottom and the seat back, comprising:
a base segment shaped as a ring, including parts of the seat bottom,
seat back, and the two side walls, and with a larger access opening at an
outer
edge of the ring and a smaller junction opening at an inner edge of the ring;
a distinct junction segment shaped as a concave structure with an
exposed perimetrical edge and forming the confluence of the seat bottom the
seat
back and the two side walls, with the exposed edge of the junction segment
shaped
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to be mated with the inner edge of the ring of the base segment at a junction
line to
form a continuous basket shape.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention described
hereinafter thus reduces the size of the seat for shipping by constructing it
in two
mating parts. The complete seat includes a seat bottom connected to a seat
back
in a fixed angle and two side walls that all meet to form a basket-like
support for the
infant, and it is the depth of this "basket" that makes the seat bulky. The
seat of
the preferred embodiment is built with a base segment shaped as a ring that
includes parts of the seat bottom, seat back, and the two side walls. The base
segment has a larger access opening at one edge of the ring and a smaller
junction
opening at the other edge of the ring. The second part of the seat is a
junction
segment shaped as a concave structure with an exposed edge and forming the
confluence of the seat bottom, the seat back, and the two sides. The exposed
edge of the junction section mates with the junction opening of the base
segment at
a junction line to form a complete basket shape.
The preferred embodiment reduces the bulk by permitting the bottom
of the basket, along with a portion of all the sides around the basket bottom,
to be
shipped within the rest of the basket and to be moved and locked into place
for
use. Both the junction segment and the base segment of the structure include
parts of the seat bottorn, seat back, and both sides. Therefore, the
structural rigidity
of both segments is maintained because they both have continuous structure all
the way around. Furthermore, the junction section has the added strength of
the
surface joining the seat bottom, seat back, and sides, and the base segment
has a
front leg rest and a rolled edge around the large access opening that
contribute to
the rigidity of that segment.
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The two segments of the preferred embodiment are held together by
a hinge in the seat back and interlocking tabs and slots around the curved
junction
line between them. Several of the tabs have catches formed into them that lock
the
tabs into their matching slots so that the junction segment can not
inadvertently be
separated from the base segment. The asymmetrical shapes of the segments also
make it impossible for them to be improperly assembled. For the safety and
comfort of the infant within the seat it is advisable to construct the
junction segment
with the tabs and the base segment with the slots, thus assuring that the tabs
do
not protrude into the space occupied by the infant.
The safety of the infant within the seat is also a consideration in the
design of the reclining mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the
invention.
Rather than tilt the seat around an axis at the junction of the seat bottom
and the
seat back, the preferred embodiment uses pivot fixtures attached on the seat
side
walls, and the pivot fixtures are located significantly above the junction of
the seat
bottom and the seat back. This places the pivot points very close to the
center of
gravity of the infant occupying the seat and greatly facilitates the ease of
reclining
the child, because the child is nearly balanced on the recline axis. The
design
therefore reduces the tendency of the seat to tilt over backwards while a
caregiver
is adjusting the recline angle of the seat.
Another safety feature is a mechanism that allows the caregiver to
grasp the pivot control mechanism with two hands and directly rotate the seat
with
the pivot control thereby maintaining a firm grasp on the seat. This mechanism
permits the caregiver to completely control the seat and assure that the seat
and
the infant do not move too far. In the preferred embodiment, the recline angle
is
controlled by dials located on the pivot fixtures of the seat. The caregiver
needs
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only to push the dials in toward the seat to disengage the seat from a fixed
outer
housing attached to the swing frame and to then turn the dials, which are
still
attached to the seat, to set the seat at a desired angle. Releasing the dials,
which
are spring operated, locks the seat into the angle which has been selected.
An alternate embodiment is a one hand operated recline angle
control that uses a wire support sliding within slots on the backside of the
seat
back. The several positions of reclining are determined by a locking fixture
that has
spaced indentations interacting with the wire support. The locking fixture is
released by the caregiver's hand while also holding the top of the seat back.
Releasing the locking fixture with the same hand that is holding the seat back
releases the wire support from the locking fixture so that the caregiver can
adjust
the seat's angle while safely holding the seat back.
The arrangement described thereby solves several problems that
have plagued swing seats. It provides a seat design that reduces the shipping
size
of the seat thus yielding reduced shipping costs, and it furnishes recline
angle
adjustment mechanisms that permit a caregiver to safely adjust the recline
angle
while maintaining control of the seat to assure that the infant within the
seat is not
displaced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the invention
showing an infant seat assembled from two mating segments.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the junction segment of the infant seat of FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the base segment of the infant seat of FIG. 1.
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FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the
invention showing an infant seat with a flexible support strap.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the alternate embodiment of the infant
seat of FIG. 4 with the flexible support strap pushed back within the infant
seat.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an infant seat with the dial recline
angle adjustment assembly of the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment
of the dial recline angle adjustment assembly of FIG. 6.
FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment
of the dial recline angle adjustment assembly from the opposite side shown in
FIG.
7A.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a one
hand operated recline angle adjustment assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG, 1 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the invention
showing infant seat 10 assembled from two mating segments, junction segment 12
and base segment 14. Infant seat 10 is built with base segment 14 shaped as a
ring that includes parts of the seat bottom 18, seat back 20, and two side
walls 22.
Base segment 14 has a larger access opening at outer edge 26 of the ring and a
smaller junction opening at the inner edge of the ring. The second part of the
seat
is junction segment 12 shaped as a concave structure with an exposed edge and
forming the confluence of seat bottom 18, seat back 20, and side walls 22. The
exposed edge of junction section 12 mates with the inner opening of base
segment
14 at junction line 23 to form a continuous basket shape.
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Junction segment 12 is held within base segment 14 by hinge 16,
hinge pin 17, and locking tabs 28 and 30. Together junction segment 12 and
base
segment 14 completely form seat bottom 18, seat back 20, and side walls 22
(only
one of which is seen in FIG. 1). Leg support 24 and rolied outer edge 26, both
of
which add structural strength to base section 14, are also shown in FIG. 1.
Infant seat 10 is shipped from the manufacturer with junction segment
12 attached to base segment 14 only at hinge 16. To reduce the shipping size,
junction segment 12 in pivoted up into base segment 14 as indicated by arrows
A
and B when packaged. Assembly requires only that junction segment 12 be
pivoted down from within base segment in the opposite direction from arrows A
and
B, and locking tabs 28 and 30 be inserted into their matching slots within
base
section 14.
FIG. 2 is a top view of junction segment 12 of infant seat 10 of FIG. 1,
and it should be appreciated that in this view junction segment 12 is a
concave
surface, a dish shape with center portion 32 more remote than exposed edge 34.
Exposed edge 34 is shaped to match with inner edge of 35 of base section 14
(FIG. 3). Seat bottom 18, seat back 20, and sidewalls 22 all merge within
junction
segment 12 and are indicated to facilitate orientation with FIG. 1. Hinge
fixtures 36
are formed on junction segment 12 to capture hinge pin 17 of hinge 16 (FIG.
1),
which is also captured by complementary hinge fixtures on base segment 14.
Front locking tabs 28 and side locking tabs 30 insert into matching tab slots
44 and
46 in base segment 14 (FIG. 3) to lock junction segment 12 within base segment
14. Locking tabs 28 and 30 can be constructed with conventional arrowhead type
ends so that once inserted and snapped into their matching slots, the tabs
will not
inadvertently move out.
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FIG. 3 is a top view of base segment 14 of infant seat 10 of FIG. 1.
As with junction segment 12 of FIG. 2, in this view base segment 14 is also a
concave surface, a dish shape, but it has center hole 40 with inner edge 35
into
which exposed edge 34 of junction segment 12 fits when the two segments are
assembled together. Seat bottom 18, seat back 20, and sidewalls 22 are
indicated
to facilitate orientation with FIG. 1. Hinge fixtures 42 are formed on base
segment
14 to capture hinge pin 17 of hinge 16 (FIG. 1). Hinge pin 17 is also captured
by
complementary hinge fixtures 36 on junction segment 12, and together they form
hinge 16 of FIG. 1. Front locking tabs 28 and side locking tabs 30 of junction
segment 12 insert into matching tab slots 44 and 46 of base segment 14 to lock
junction segment 12 within base segment 14. Other features such as slots and
holes are visible on both junction segment 12 and base segment 14, but they
are
not pertinent to the present invention. Such other features are typically
present to
hold padding and safety belts.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the
invention showing infant seat 50 with a flexible support strap 52 in place,
and FIG.
is a perspective view of the same infant seat 50 of FIG. 4 showing support
strap
52 pushed back within infant seat 50. FIG. 4 shows infant seat 50 as it looks
when
in use, with support strap 52 forming the junction between seat bottom 51 and
seat
back 53, however, for clarity no accessories or reclining mechanisms are shown
in
FIG. 4. Infant seat 50 has a side profile very similar to assembled infant
seat 10 of
FIG. 1, so that, as shown in FIG. 4 it has the classic problem of a large
depth
dimension that requires expensive packaging and shipping.
However, infant seat 50 is formed without the conventional full
junction segment as shown in FIGS. I and 2. Instead, the junction region, the
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region which is closest to the confluence of the seat bottom, seat back, and
sides,
is constructed with flexible support strap 52 and open holes 54 on both sides
of
support strap 52. Furthermore, support 52 can be constructed of flexible
plastic
with reduced thickness at regions 49, 55, and 57 to form flexible hinges of
thin solid
material. This is the same type of plastic that is conventionally used for
plastic
hinges, and it has exceptional strength and long life.
Such a plastic hinges and the structure of strap 52 make it possible to
store strap 52 within infant seat 50 for shipping by simply pushing strap 52
back
into the enclosed volume of infant seat 50 as shown in FIG. 5. Then, when
putt'ing
infant seat 50 into service it is only necessary to push strap 52 outward and
it
moves into the position shown in FIG. 4. This simple structure makes it
possible to
reduce the depth of infant seat 50 for shipping, and provides substantial
economies
in packaging and shipment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of infant seat 10 with one of two recline
adjustment assemblies 56 of the preferred embodiment. The second adjustment
assembly 56 is on the opposite side of seat 10. Adjustment assembly 56 permits
a
caregiver to simply push both dials 58 in toward infant seat 10, which
disengages
infant seat 10 from outer housings 60 that are permanently attached to support
tube 62. The caregiver can then rotate seat 10 with dials 58 to a desired
position
relative to support tube 62. Releasing dials 58, which are spring operated,
locks
the seat into the recline angle which has been selected but maintains the
interconnection between seat 10 and dials 58.
The location of adjustment assemblies 56 in the preferred
embodiment of the invention also improves the safety of the infant within seat
10.
Rather than pivot the seat unstably around an axis at junction 64 of the seat
bottom
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and the seat back as in the prior art, the preferred embodiment locates
adjustment
assembly 56 and a similarly located pivot fixture (not shown) on the other
side of
infant seat 10 above junction 64 by a distance of at least 2 inches above seat
bottom 18 (FIG. 1) and one inch inward from set back 20 (FIG. 2). This places
the
pivot points at or very close to the center of gravity of the infant occupying
the seat
and greatly reduces the tendency of infant seat 10 to tilt over backwards
while a
caregiver is adjusting the recline angle of the seat.
FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment
of one_recline adjustment assembly 56 from the same direction as seen in FIG.
6,
and FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view of recline adjustment assembly 56
from the opposite side that is shown in FIG. 7A. The explanation which follows
is
best understood by referring to both FIGS. 7A and 7B.
Outer housing 60 is permanently attached to support tube 62 of the
swing frame and is therefore fixed in place relative to the floor or ground
(not
shown) upon which support tube 62 rests. Inner housing 67 is attached to and
pivots with infant seat 10. Outer housing 60 includes stationary ring gear 61
with
inner facing teeth, and inner housing 67 includes pivot ring gear 65 which is
identical to ring gear 61. Control gear 68 is located between stationary gear
61 and
pivot gear 65, and includes axial hole 70 that fits over and rotates around
spindle
72 on inner housing 67. When adjustment assembly 56 is fully assembled,
control
gear 68 engages within stationary gear 61 and partially within pivot gear 65,
and is
held within stationary gear 61 by compression spring 74. This position of
control
gear 68 locks stationary ring gear 61 and pivot gear 65 together into the same
rotational position and thereby locks inner housing 67 and seat 10 into a
fixed
position relative to outer housing 60 and support bar 62.
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It is the function of dial 58 to temporarily unlock pivot gear 65 from
stationary gear 61 and to implement the rotation of seat 10 around axis 76
which is
common to all the parts. For this purpose, dial 58 is rigidly connected to
control
gear 68 by screws 78 that pass through holes 81 in dial 58 and holes 82 in
outer
housing 60 and screw into sleeves 84 on control gear 68. Dial 58 can then be
pushed toward seat 10 and pushes control gear 68 farther into inner housing 67
and out of contact with stationary gear 61 that is within outer housing 60.
This
frees up inner housing 67 and seat 10 for movement but maintains the
connection
with dial 58, so that seat 10 moves in the direction in which dial 58 is
rotated.
When dial 58 is released, spring 74 pushes control gear 68 back into outer
housing
60 and locks seat 10 in the new position into which it has been rotated.
This simple operation of recline adjustment assembly 56 permits the
caregiver to adjust the angle of recline of seat 10 by simply releasing the
recline
mechanism and rotating the mechanism and the seat with both hands. The seat
rotates easily because it is at approximately the center of gravity of the
seat
whether the seat is or is not occupied. Recline seat adjustment assembly 56
can
also be installed on only one side of seat 10, but using assemblies 56 on both
sides
of seat 10 provides more stability.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of one
hand operated recline control assembly 86 which is located on outside back
surface 88 of seat 10. Recline control assembly 86 captures and locks wire
support 90 which slides within slots 92 formed on the back surface 88 of seat
10.
Slots 92 are oriented in a vertical plane, and wire support 90 is attached to
support
tubes 62 by insertion into holes 94 within which wire support 90 is free to
pivot.
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Wire support 90 therefore supports seat 10 at different recline angles
depending
upon the position of wire support 90 within slots 92.
The several recline positions of seat 10 are determined by locking
fixture 96 that has spaced indentations 98 to capture wire support 90 at
different
angular positions. In operation, top 100 of locking fixture 96 is grasped by
the
caregiver's hand while simultaneously holding top 102 of seat back 88.
Squeezing
top 100 of locking fixture 96 toward top 102 of seat back 88 pivots locking
fixture 96
on pivot points 104 and releases wire support 90 from within whichever
indentation
98 is capturing it. The caregiver can then adjust the angle of seat 10 while
safely
holding top 102 of the seat. Upon the release of top 100 of locking fixture 96
a
spring (not shown) between locking fixture 96 and back surface 88 of seat 10
pivots
locking fixture 96 into position against the seat's back surface to lock
support wire
90 into the appropriate indentation.
Recline control assembly 86 thereby furnishes multiple angles for
reclining seat 10 while always maintaining control of seat 10 during the
adjustment
procedure and freeing up the caregiver's other hand to assure the safety of
the
infant within the seat.
The present invention provides several solutions to problems that
have plagued swing seats. It provides seat designs that reduce the shipping
size
of the seat thus yielding reduced shipping costs, and it furnishes recline
angle
adjustment mechanisms that permit a caregiver to safely adjust the recline
angle
while maintaining full control of the seat to assure that the infant within
the seat is
not displaced.
It is to be understood that the form of this invention as shown is
merely a preferred embodiment. Various changes may be made in the function
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and arrangement of parts; equivalent means may be substituted for those
illustrated and described; and certain features may be used independently from
others without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined
in the
following claims.
For example, the specific shapes of seat 10, junction segment 12 and
base segment 14 can be changed, and the locations of hinge 16 and locking tabs
28 could be interchanged or more or different types of locking tabs could be
installed at other locations. Furthermore, recline control assembly 86 can be
constructed to use actions other than a squeezing motion.
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