Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SWING ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a swing assembly, more
particularly to a swing assembly that has a seat which
a user can lie down or recline on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to Fig. 1, a conventional swing assembly
1 comprises a main support frame 11, a swing frame unit
12 hung on the main support frame 11 through left and
right hanging assemblies 13, and a seat unit 14 mounted
on and connected to the swing frame unit 12. The seat
unit 14 has a seat frame 141, and a backrest frame 142
that is pivotable relative to the seat frame 141 between
a horizontal position (see Fig. 1) and an inclining
position (not shown). In the inclining position, the
backrest frame 142 and the seat frame 141 define
therebetweenananglethatisapproximately90 , so that
the user' s back can rest on the backrest frame 142 in
an inclining manner relative to the seat frame 141. In
the horizontal position, the backrest frame 142 and the
seat frame 141 are horizontally aligned, so that the
user can lie flatly on the swing assembly 1.
Although the conventional swing assembly 1 can
achieve its intended purpose, the user cannot recline
on the seat frame 141 and the backrest frame 142, so
that use of the conventional swing assembly 1 is limited.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is
to provide a swing assembly that can be used in a number
of ways.
According to this invention, a swing assembly
comprises a main support frame and a swing unit. The
mainsupportframeincludesleftandrightuprightframes,
and a top frame connected to top ends of the left and
right upright frames. The swing unit includes a swing
chair, and left and right hanging assemblies connected
to the swing chair and hung on the top frame. The swing
chair includes a seat. The seat has left and right seat
portions connected to each other and extending
respectively to the left and right hanging assemblies.
One of the left and right seat portions is pivotal
relative to the other one of the left and right seat
portions to move between a substantially horizontal
position and an inclining position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent in the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment with reference
to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional swing
assembly;
Fig. 2 is a partly exploded perspective view of a
swing assembly according to the preferred embodiment
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of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the
preferred embodiment;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary schematic side view of the
preferred embodiment;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged schematic side view of an
adjustable reclining mechanism of the preferred
embodiment;
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating
an engaging pin engaged to a selected one of inclined
teeth; and
Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a guide piece of the
adjustable reclining mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Figs. 2 to 7, a swing assembly according
to the preferred embodiment of the present invention
is shown to comprise a main support frame 2, a swing
unit 3, and a roof assembly S.
The main support frame 2 includes left and right
upright frames 21, and a top frame 22 connected to top
ends of the left and right upright frames 21.
The swing unit 3 includes a swing chair 30, and left
and right hanging assemblies 32 connected to the swing
chair 30 and hung on the top frame 22 between the left
and right upright frames 21. The swing chair 30 includes
a rectangular bottom support 311, left and right
substantially inverted-U shaped armrest rods 312, and
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a seat 31. The bottom support 311 has spaced-apart front
and rear bars 3111, a left bar 3112 connected between
left ends of the front and rear bars 3111, and a right
bar 3113 connected between right ends of the front and
rear bars 3111. The armrest rods 312 are connected
respectively to the left and right bars 3112, 3113 in
a known manner.
Each of the left and right hanging assemblies 32 has
a retaining ring 321 sleeved on the top frame 22, an
S-shaped hook 322 hooked on the retaining ring 321, and
two hanging rods 323 having top ends hung on the hook
322 and bottom ends connected respectively to front and
rear ends of the corresponding armrest rod 312.
The seat 31 has front and rear seat sections 6, 7
respectively disposed at front and rear sides of the
swing chair 30 and supported by the bottom support 311.
The rear seat section 7 is pivotal relative to the front
seatsect.ion6tomovebetweenasubstantially horizontal
position, where the rear seat section 7 is pivoted
downwardly so as to align horizontally with the front
seat section 6, and an inclining position, where the
rear seat section 7 is pivoted upwardly and forwardly
so as to incline with respect to the front seat section
6 to serve as a rear backrest.
Since the front and rear seat sections 6, 7 have
similar constructions, only the front seat section 6
will be described hereinafter. The front seat section
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6 has left and right seat portions 62, 61 connected to
each other and extending respectively to the left and
right hanging assemblies 32. The left seat portion 62
is pivotal relative to the right seat portion 61 to move
5 between a substantially horizontal position, where the
left seat portion 62 is aligned horizontally with the
right seat portion 61, and an inclining position, where
the left seat portion 62 is inclined with respect to
the right seat portion 61 so as to serve as a reclining
left backrest. The front seat section 6 further has a
fixed frame portion 611 and a movable frame portion 621.
The fixed frame portion 611 has longitudinal front and
rear rods 6111, 6112, a left transverse rod 6113
connected between left ends of the front and rear rods
6111, 6112, a right transverse rod 6114 connected between
right ends of the front and rear rods 6111, 6112, and
spaced-apart left and right cross rods 6115, 6116
connected between the front and rear rods 6111, 6112.
The right seat portion 61 is fixed to the fixed frame
portion 611, and includes a plurality of spaced-apart
longitudinal resilient straps 614 connected between the
right transverse rod 6114 and the left cross rod 6115
and passing over the right cross rod 6116. The right
seat portion 61 is thus supported on the front and rear
rods 6111, 6112, the left and right transverse rods 6113,
6114, and the left and right cross rods 6115, 6116. The
movable frame portion 621 is connected movably to the
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fixed frame portion 611, and is pivotal leftward and
rightward relative to the fixed frame portion 611. The
movable frame portion 621 has a U-shaped rod provided
with front and rear arm sections 6211, 6212, and two
pivot rods 613 connecting pivotally and respectively
the front and rear arms sections 6211, 6212 to the front
and rear rods 6111, 6112. The pivot rods 613 extend
inwardly and respectively from the front and rear rods
6111, 6112 adjacent to the left cross rod 6115, so that
the front and rear arm sections 6211, 6212 are disposed
between the front and rear rods 6111, 6112. The left
seat portion 62 is fixed to the movable frame portion
621, and includes a plurality of spaced-apart
transversal resilient straps 622 connected to and
disposed between the left and right arm sections 6211,
6212 of the U-shaped rod 621. The user can lie flatly
on the front seat section 6 when the left seat portion
62 is pivoted downwardly and leftwardly so as to be
disposed in the horizontal position, as shown in Fig.
2, and can recline on the front seat section 6 when the
left seat portion 62 is pivoted upwardlyandrightwardly
relative to the right seat portion 61 so as to be disposed
in the irlclined position, as best shown in Fig. 3.
The roof assembly 5 is installed on top of the main
support frame 2. Since the roof assembly 5 is not a main
aspect of thepresent invention, a detailed description
of the same is dispensed herewith for the sake of brevity.
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The swing assembly of the present invention further
comprises an adjustable reclining mechanism 4 to adjust
an inclination angle of the left seat portion 62 relative
to the right seat portion 61. In this embodiment, four
adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are employed. Two of
the adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are disposed
respectively on the front and rear sides of the front
seat section 6, while the other two of the adjustable
reclining mechanisms 4 are disposed respectively on the
front and rear sides of the rear seat section 7. Since
the operation and structure of each of the adjustable
reclining mechanisms 4 are similar, only one of the
adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 that is disposed on
the front side of the front seat section 6 will be
described hereinafter.
With reference to Figs. 3 to 7, the adjustable
reclining mechanism 4 includes a main rod 41 pivoted
to an inner face of the front rod 6111 in proximity to
the left rod 6113, and a slide 42 connected
telescopically to the main rod 41 and pivoted to an outer
face of the left arm section 6211 of the U-shaped rod
621. The main rod 41 is formed as a hollow rod having
two parallel walls 411 provided respectively with a
longitudinal extending slide hole 414, a plurality of
spaced-apart inclined teeth 412 extending into the slide
hole 414, and a plurality of recesses 415 each formed
between two adjacent ones of the inclined teeth 412 and
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communicating spatially with the slide hole 414. The
slide 42 has a longitudinally extending plate 421
inserted slidably between the two parallel walls 411,
and a pawl member 422 connected movably to the plate
421 and having a transverse engaging pin 423 to engage
releasably a selected one of the inclined teeth 412.
The pawl member 422 is placed within an aperture 420
in the plate 421, and is provided with a hook end 426
inserted movably into a notch 425 adjacent to the
aperture420, thereby connecting movably the pawl member
422 to the plate 421 . A guide piece 43 is disposed slidably
between the plate 421 and one of the walls 411, and has
a guide hole 431 with a small left-end hole section 4311
and a large right-end hole section 4312. The engaging
pin 423 extends into the guide hole 431 with two opposite
ends thereof received respectively in the slide holes
414 of the walls 411. A biasing spring 424 is disposed
between the walls 411, and has one end abutting against
a top face of the pawl member 422, so that the engaging
pin 423 is urged to move to the selected inclined tooth
412.
With reference to Fig. 5, when the plate 421 is pulled
rightwardly from the main rod 41, the plate 421 moves
the guide piece 43 and the pawl member 422 therealong,
and the engaging pin 423 is situated in the large-end
hole section 4312 of the guide hole 431. As the engaging
pin 423 slides over the inclined teeth 412, the biasing
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spring 424 is compressed (see Fig. 5) . When the engaging
pin 423 falls into one of the recesses 415 (see Fig.
6) , the biasing spring 424 -?xpands, thereby retaining
the engaging pin 423 within the corresponding recess
415. The left seat portion 62 is therefore fixed to a
desired inclination angle :relative to the right seat
portion 61.
If the plate 421 is to be moved leftward, the plate
421 must be slid rightward first so as to move to the
rightmost end of the slide hole 414. The pawl member
422 and the guide piece 43 are thus moved along with
the engaging pin 423, and the engaging pin 423 is moved
to the left-end hole section 4311 of the guide hole 431.
In this state, the plate 421 can be pushed leftward.
Since the adjustable rec=_ining mechanism 4 is known,
any other suitable adjustable reclining mechanism may
be employed to adjust the inclination angle of the left
seat portion 62 relative to the right seat portion 61.
Hence, the adjustable reclining mechanism 4 should not
be limited to the disclosed embodiment.
In use, with reference to Fig. 2, when an included
angle between the front and rear seat sections 6, 7 is
approximately 90 , the user can sit on the front seat
section 6 with his/her back resting on the rear seat
section 7, and can then swing the swing unit 3 forwardly
and rearwardly. When the rear seat section 7 is pivoted
rearwardly and downwardly so as to be disposed in the
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horizontal position, the user can lie flatly either on
the front or rear seat section 6, 7. When lying flatly
on either one of the front or rear seat section 6, 7,
the user may lie such that his/her head and back rest
5 on the left seat portion 62 and his/her feet rest on
the right seat portion 61. When the user wishes to recline
on the left seat portion 62 of either one of the front
or rear seat section 6, 7, the left seat section 62 is
pivoted rightwardly relative to the right seat portion
10 61 and is adjusted to a desired inclination angle through
the respective adjustable reclining mechanisms 4.
It is worth mentioning that the present invention
may be installed with a retaining mechanism (not shown)
between the main support frame 2 and the swing unit 3
to arrest movement of the swing unit 3 relative to the
main support frame 2, so that safety is enhanced during
use of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described in
connection with what is considered the most practical
and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this
invention 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.
