High chair tray attachment mechanism

An attachment mechanism for use with a tray having an adjustable swinging bracket secured on the underside thereof and removably secured to one arm comprising a bracket secured to the underside of the tray in juxtaposition with the other arm and having depending legs forming a recess for the arm, a plate secured within the bracket and spring biased against said legs and having a pin extending into an aperture in said arm whereby said latch and said tray may be gripped with one hand so as to overcome said bias and remove said pin from said aperture.

This invention relates generally to attachment mechanisms for high chair 
trays and more specifically to an attachment mechanism designed for use 
with a swivel type connection which allows the tray to be maintained on 
the high chair but in a position adjacent the side of the chair when it is 
not in use. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The attachment mechanism of the present invention is designed for use with 
a swivel type of connection used with high chairs, one example of such 
mechanism being shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,163 entitled "Adjustable 
Swinging Tray For High Chairs," issued Jan. 4, 1972. In that particular 
configuration, there is provided a tray having a detachable snap 
connection with respect to one arm and a removable and adjustable swivel 
connecting the tray to the other arm so that the tray is swingable in a 
compound manner on arcs having axes generally parallel to the arm to which 
it is secured and also on a axis at right angles thereto. 
This type of mechanism is used in conjunction with other types of 
structures such as desks and the like wherein the same compound swinging 
mechanism allows the particular surface to be effectively stored adjacent 
the side of the chair and still ready for use when desired. 
One of the problems arising when using this device with a tray for a high 
chair is that the mechanisms which have been used on the opposite side of 
the swivel require that the user have both hands free in order to release 
the tray from that side so that it may be lifted and swung into an 
inoperative position. This is the situation in connection with the 
above-identified patent. In that patent there is provided a latch which is 
released by pulling on a small button, and then lifting the tray while the 
button is held in its retracted position. without some extreme 
manipulation, this requires that both hands be used. 
However, it has been determined that in many instances, when the person who 
is to manipulate the tray of the high chair wishes to place the tray in 
the operative position, that person quite often is holding a baby or small 
child in one arm and has only the use of one hand. This situation also 
exists when the baby is to be removed from the high chair and is held in 
position with one hand while the tray is being removed. Accordingly, it is 
an object of this invention to provide a swivel type tray for attachment 
to a high chair wherein the tray may be released from the arm opposite the 
swivel and easily lifted and rotated with one hand while the other hand is 
effectively immobilized. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a relatively simple 
latching mechanism which is spring biased into a lock position, but may be 
easily released from the lock positioned by exerting a force counter to 
the biased with only one hand. 
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the 
following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is designed for use in combination with the arms of a 
high chair, a tray, an a swivel mounted on the other side of said tray for 
removably securing the tray to one of said arms. The mechanism of the 
invention is used as a connection to one arm of the tray and is mounted to 
the underside of the tray. A bracket means is mounted on the underside of 
the tray in juxaposition with said arm and includes depending legs which 
extend downwardly from the bracket so as to form a recess for accepting 
the arm. The arm has at least one aperture through the outer wall, and a 
plate is rotatably mounted on the under side of said tray adjacent to the 
depending legs. Spring means rotatably bias the plate against the 
depending legs of the bracket and the arm of the chair. A pin extends from 
the plate and is of a dimension to mate with the aperture. A flange 
extends outwardly from said plate toward the outer edge of the tray so 
that movement of the flange, by placing the thumb. on the top of the tray 
and exerting pressure with the fingers on the flange, results in the 
release of the bias pressure created by the spring, and removal of the pin 
from the aperture. While the tray is thus being gripped it may be lifted 
and rotated so as to place the tray alongside the edge of the chair 
adjacent the swivel mechanism. 
DETAILED DECRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Turning now to FIG. 1 there is shown therein arms 11 and 13 of a standard 
type chair (not shown). As is the usual custom, the two arms and bight 
section 15 form a U-shaped member which extends about the chair itself and 
forwardly thereof. FIG. 1 shows the under side of the tray wherein an 
adjustable swivel bracket 17, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,632,163, is mounted to the tray 18 and is mated with a selected one of 
the apertures 19 in arm 11 by means of a spring pressed finger-retractable 
latch button 21. Since this particular swivel mechanism is not part of the 
present invention, reference is made to the above-identified patent for 
details of such a mechanism. However, it is apparent that depression of 
the spring pressed finger-retractable latch button 21 releases the tray so 
that it may be removed from arm 11. 
The mechanism of the present invention will be discussed in detail in 
connection with FIGS. 1 through 4. It will be seen that bracket 24 of 
spring biased rotatable latch 23 is mounted on the underside of the tray 
by means such as screws or the like (not shown). Bracket 24 has subtending 
therefrom legs 27 and 28 which form a channel 35 within which leg 13 may 
rest as indicated in FIG. 2. It should be noted that, in the present 
construction, the bracket itself consists of two sets of legs spaced at a 
fixed distance as is evident from FIG. 4. 
A plate 25 is mounted between the two sets of legs on pivot pin 26 so that 
it is rotatable clockwise and counterclockwise as indicated. A pin 37 is 
secured to the plate by means such as riveting so as to be secured 
therein. Pin 37 is of a dimension such that it may pass through the 
aperture 39 in the arm. In order to provide adjustment relative to the 
back of the chair, the same number of apertures are in arm 13 as are in 
arm 11 so as to maintain the tray evenly positioned on the chair. A coil 
spring 41 is mounted about the pin 26 and terminates at one end in a 
finger 43 which bears against a lip 44 on plate 25. This spring biases the 
plate in a clockwise direction so as to maintain pin 37 within aperture 
39. 
The above described construction where the axis of the pin is at 
substantially right angles to the axis of the arm and parallel to said 
tray provides a secure position latching mechanism. A flange 40 extends 
outwardly from plate 25 and is preferably angled as shown in the drawings. 
With the structure described above, it is obvious that the latching 
mechanism associated with arm 13 may be released by moving flange 40 in an 
upward direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. This can be easily 
accomplished as shown in FIG. 5 by merely placing a thumb on top of the 
tray and grasping the flange 40 with the fingers and squeezing. This 
overcomes the bias of spring 41 and removes the pin 37 from aperture 39. 
While still maintaining the grip on the tray, it may be lifted so as to 
rotate it about the axis of arm 11 and then rotate it parallel to the axis 
of the arm so that the tray may be maintained in position alongside the 
chair. These two rotating motions are indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6. A 
figure of a mother and a baby are illustrated in FIG. 6 to indicate the 
ease with which the mechanism may be operated while still carrying a small 
child. 
It is to be understood that the above description and drawings are 
exemplary only, and the invention is to be limited only by the scope of 
the following claims.