Patent ID: 11897534
Assignee: GRACO CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 15:
16. A method of folding a wagon-style stroller from an operable configuration to a folded configuration, the method comprising:
providing a stroller configured to be adjusted from the operable configuration to the folded configuration, the stroller comprising a handle and a group of one or more tubes, the group of one or more tubes comprising:
a forward upper tube,
a rear upper tube,
a forward leg tube,
a rear leg tube, and
at least one hub having a slidable release grip, wherein the hub comprises a central axle and a first group of one or more plates, the first group of one or more plates comprising:
a forward upper tube plate coupled to the forward upper tube,
a first connecting pillar coupled to the forward upper tube plate and extending in a direction orthogonal to the forward upper tube plate,
a rear upper tube plate coupled to the rear upper tube, the rear upper tube plate comprising a first pass-through channel, wherein the rear upper tube plate is positioned adjacent to the forward upper tube plate and the first connecting pillar extends through the first pass-through channel,
a second connecting pillar coupled to the rear upper tube plate and extending in a direction orthogonal to the rear upper tube plate and parallel to the first connecting pillar,
a hub spacer plate comprising a second pass-through channel and a third pass-through channel, wherein the hub spacer plate is positioned adjacent to the rear upper tube plate opposite the forward upper tube plate, the first connecting pillar extends through the second pass-through channel, and the second connecting pillar extends through the third pass-through channel,
a forward leg tube plate coupled to the forward leg tube, the forward leg tube plate comprising a first connecting channel and a fourth pass-through channel, wherein the forward leg tube plate is positioned adjacent to the hub spacer plate opposite the rear upper tube plate, the first connecting pillar extends through the first connecting channel, the second connecting pillar extends through the fourth pass-through channel, and the first connecting channel is shorter than the fourth pass-through channel,
a rear leg tube plate coupled to the rear leg tube, the rear leg tube plate comprising a second connecting channel and a fifth pass-through channel, wherein the rear leg tube plate is positioned adjacent to the forward leg tube plate opposite the hub spacer plate, the first connecting pillar extends through the fifth pass-through channel, the second connecting pillar extends through the second connecting channel, and the second connecting channel is shorter than the fifth pass-through channel,
a keep unlock plate positioned adjacent to the rear leg tube plate opposite the forward leg tube plate, the keep unlock plate comprising a sixth pass-through channel and a first securing channel, wherein the first connecting pillar extends through the sixth pass-through channel and the second connecting pillar is fixedly coupled to the first securing channel, and
a locking means comprising a locking spring mechanism coupled to the central axle and a locking pin shuttle coupled to the slidable release grip;

wherein when the stroller is in the operable configuration and when the slidable release grip is actuated, the forward upper tube rotates from its respective initial position about the hub towards the forward leg tube, the forward leg tube rotates from its respective initial position about the hub towards the rear leg tube, the rear upper tube rotates from its respective initial position about the hub towards the rear leg tube, and the rear leg tube rotates from its respective initial position about the hub towards the forward leg tube,
manually actuating, by a first hand of a user, the slidable release grip to release the forward upper tube, rear upper tube, forward leg tube, and rear leg tube from the operable configuration; and
folding the forward upper tube, rear upper tube, forward leg tube, and rear leg tube, wherein the stroller is in a folded configuration.