Abstract:
This invention involves a set of exclusive methods of folding mechanisms for means of collapsing and opening a baby stroller. The methods aims for the compact ability, ease of use, versatility and easy manufacturing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to methods of a folding mechanism on a baby stroller to conveniently collapse a baby stroller and more particularly, is directed to baby strollers that fold with a single hand operation. 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of Related Art 
         [0004]    In recent years, several inventions have been developed in an attempt to produce an easy method of collapsing a stroller. One particular prior art worth mentioning is a collapsible baby stroller by Sutherland et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,431) involving a folding mechanism that uses two knife blade followers to engage the spring loaded piston in an unfolded position. With this present invention followers are not necessary therefore reducing extra parts to be made. This will reduce manufacturing cost and time. This invention relates to the folding mechanism of a collapsible baby stroller, having a set of mesh gears, protrusion bar, receptor, locking tabs and a locking mechanism. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention is a series of methods of a folding mechanism on a baby stroller, which improve the ease of folding a baby stroller and lessen the bulkiness of the stroller for storage. The invention of the folding mechanism involves two gear components moving simultaneously in opposite directions to guide the movement of the folding mechanism. The two gear components are further connected to the two main parts of the stroller—the front wheel(s) and the handle bar(s), by means of extensions. One gear component is connected to the extension to the front wheel(s), the other is connected to the extension to the handle bar(s). The invention further includes a protrusion bar and locking tabs respectively on each extension to halt the movement of the two gear components until the locking mechanism is disengaged. In addition, a stopper of the locking mechanism is added to constrain the movements of both gear components. The locking mechanism is further connected to the extension of the rear wheels. When the locking mechanism is disengaged, the protrusion bar slides into the slot of a receptor found along the adjacent gear component. The protrusion bar continues its smooth passage entering and exiting the slot of the receptor as the stroller continues to fold until the front wheel and handle bar extensions are parallel to each other. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an exemplary implementation of a baby stroller embodying the present invention shown in an unfolded state. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the stroller frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the stroller frame of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the stroller frame of  FIG. 3  shown in fully folded state. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged fragmentary view of the gear component with receptor and gear locking tabs. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged fragmentary view of the gear component with protrusion bar. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the gear component with receptor and gear locking tabs. 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the gear component with protrusion bar. 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged fragmentary view of the folding mechanism of present invention with its outer housing removed and in an unfolded state. 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  is an exploded view corresponding to  FIG. 9  of the folding mechanism. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
       [0016]    The stroller frame is made up of three sections: front wheel support  2 , push handle support  4 , and rear wheel support  3  (See  FIG. 2 ). The left and right front wheels are mounted to the end of the front wheel support  2 . The stroller push handle  5  is mounted to the left and right of the push handle support  4  and the left and right of rear wheels are mounted to end of the rear wheel support  3 . These sections are hinged by a folding mechanism  6  (See  FIG. 1 ) placed on both sides of the stroller. The stroller, in the unfolded position depicted in  FIG. 3 , has the front wheel support  2  and push handle support  4  aligned in a straight line. Conversely, the stroller in the folded position is depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0017]    The folding mechanism  6  consists of two outer casing  10   a ,  10   b , two gear components  25 ,  26  and a locking system  80  (See  FIG. 10 ). Both gear components  25 ,  26  are mounted on pivots of the folding mechanism  6 . The gears simultaneously guide the movements of the front wheel support  2  and push handle support  4 , so both move toward the rear wheel support  3  during folding, or both move away from the rear wheel support  3  for unfolding. 
         [0018]    Unlike traditional mesh gears, the gear components have been modified whereby the gear component  25  has a protrusion bar  90  (See  FIG. 6 ), while gear component  26  has a receptor  91  (See  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0019]    The protrusion bar  90  is positioned within gear component  25  (See  FIG. 8 ). The protrusion bar  90  further extends to become the push handle support  4 . The protrusion bar  90  of gear component  25  is a separate entity. The protrusion bar  90  is an elongated structure, with its height greater than the teeth of the gear component  25 . Since the height of protrusion bar  90  is larger than the rest of the gear teeth of gear component  25 , the protrusion bar  90  is overtly projected out from the gear component  25 . 
         [0020]    Since the protrusion bar  90  is overtly projected out from the gear component  25 , it will impede the movement of the gear components  25 ,  26 , and will not allow the folding mechanism to function properly. The receptor  91  (See  FIG. 5 ) of gear component  26  is therefore designed explicitly to allow the protrusion bar  90  to pass through during the motion of the gear components  25 ,  26 . The protrusion bar  90  glides in and out of the receptor  91 , which is found in the gear component  26 , as the two gear components  25 ,  26  are in motion during the folding and unfolding process of the stroller. The receptor  91  of gear component  26  is a separate entity. 
         [0021]    The receptor  91  is positioned within gear component  26  (See  FIG. 7 ). The receptor  91  further extends to become the front wheel support  4 . On both sides of receptor  91  are the gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b . The gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b  are larger than the rest of the gear teeth of gear component  26 . The protrusion bar  90  and receptor  91  can be of any size, shape, and any material such as plastic, and metal, or the combination of both. The receptor  91  and gear component  26  can be made into one piece. The protrusion bar  90  and gear component  25  can also be made into one piece. 
         [0022]    The receptor  91  has a hollow section that can be a groove or a slot to allow the passing through of protrusion bar  90  during gear movement. The depth and width of the receptor  91  is designed to provide a good fit with protrusion bar  90 . The receptor  91  and protrusion bar  90  can be positioned at any location on each gear component  25 ,  26  respectively for smooth engagement during gear movement. 
         [0023]    The locking system  80  consists of a spring loaded piston  12  connected to a stopper  14  at one end. The stopper  14  can be made of a lug, a bar, or a tab; and is positioned in order to constrain the movements of both gear components  25 ,  26 . 
         [0024]    When folding, the stopper  14  on the locking system  80  is retracted away from the protrusion bar  90 , thereby freeing both gear components  25 ,  26  to rotate with the influence of force gravity pulling and collapsing of the front wheel support  2  and push handle support  4 . In the diagram depicted in  FIG. 2 , each push handle support  4  that is connected to the push handle  5  rotates counterclockwise at the axis of the folding mechanism  6 , while each front wheel support  2  connected to the left and right the front wheels rotates clockwise at the axis of the folding mechanism  6 . Within the folding mechanism  6 , the gear components  25 ,  26  move simultaneously while sequence of teeth on the each gear rotate in the opposite circular direction. As this movement proceeds, the protrusion bar  90  passes through the receptor  91  smoothly, allowing the stroller to continue folding. Thus, the final result is a folded stroller depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0025]    The stroller, in the unfolded position depicted in  FIG. 3 , has the front wheel support  2  and posh handle support  4  aligned in a straight line. During the unfolding process, each extension of the gear components  25 ,  26  moves away from, each other. With sequence of teeth on each the gear components  25 ,  26  rotates in the opposite direction and the protrusion bar  90  passes through the receptor  91  smoothly, once again, now in the opposite direction, until the movements of the gears are halted by the end of the sequencing of the gear teeth. At this moment, the stopper  14 , with the release of the loaded tension in the locking system  80 , falls in between the protrusion bar  90  and the gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b  of receptor  91 , halting the rotation of the gear components  25 ,  26  from reversing their rotation to fold. As an example in  FIG. 9 , the stopper  14  falls between the protrusion bar  90  and gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b  halting the rotation of the gear components  25 ,  26 . The remaining tension from in the locking system  80  maintains the stoppers  14  in contact with the protrusion bar  90  and gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b  preventing the front wheel support  2  and push handle support  4  from folding. It is to be noted that the gear locking tabs  17   a ,  17   b  and gear component  26  can be made in one piece. 
         [0026]    The retraction of locking system  80  can be achieved by lifting up the pull bar or lever  19 . The lever  19  is connected to the locking system via pin  18  (See  FIG. 10 ). The position of the lever  19  can be extended away from the locking system  80  to be in closer proximity to the stroller user by using means such as cable wires on Socking system  80  and levers  19  to control the locking operation. The stroller will fold only when both levers  19  on each side of the stroller, are lifted up simultaneously. This can be achieved by connecting both levers  19  on each side of the stroller with a handle strap.