# Patent

## Title
Combination toy chest and play station

## Abstract

A combination toy chest and play station includes a toy chest defining an interior space, a lid hingedly connected to toy chest for enclosing the interior space, and a table hingedly connected to the toy chest. The table is pivotable about the toy chest between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present invention is a continuation-in-part of, was first described in, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/942,692, filed Feb. 21, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to furniture and, more particularly, to a combination furniture including a storage chest and a play station.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Anyone who has or had young children realizes what a constant battle it is to keep their toys put away and neat when not in use. Various storage methods such as closets, shelving units, and toy boxes are commonly used, but most often the parent or care giver is the one that ends up using them. Even if the children are successfully taught to use such storage methods, these methods suffer from drawbacks.
First, most of these methods do not offer any means to keep the stored toys free from dirt and dust when they are not being used. Secondly, small toys in the bottom of the toy box seldom get played with. Third, most storage methods provide no means to store or use objects such as paper, pencils, coloring books, crayons, or the like. Finally, and perhaps most important, none of these storage methods are fun to use, thus constant nagging is necessary to encourage children to use them, and put away their toys on their own.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which toys can be stored when not in use, without the disadvantages as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventor has recognized the aforementioned inherent problems and lack in the art and observed that there is a need for a means to keep toys clean and organized, but is also fun to use, thus encouraging a child to use it. The development of the present invention, which will be described in greater detail herein, substantially departs from conventional solutions to fulfill this need.
In one embodiment, the disclosed combination toy chest and play station includes a toy chest defining an interior space, a lid hingedly connected to toy chest for enclosing the interior space, and a table hingedly connected to the toy chest. The table is pivotable about the toy chest between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation.
In another embodiment, the disclosed combination toy chest and play station includes a toy chest including a front side wall, a rear side wall, a right side wall, a left side wall, a floor and an open top. The toy chest defines an interior space. The combination toy chest and play station further includes a lid hingedly connected to the rear side wall for covering the open top and enclosing the interior space. The combination toy chest and play station further includes a rotary platform operatively connected to the floor. The combination toy chest and play station further includes a table hingedly connected to the rear side wall. The table is pivotable about the rear side wall between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation. The toy chest is rotatably relative to the rotary platform.
Furthermore, the described features and advantages of the disclosure may be combined in various manners and embodiments as one skilled in the relevant art will recognize. The disclosure can be practiced without one (1) or more of the features and advantages described in a particular embodiment.
Further advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages and features of the present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a combination toy chest and play station, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the combination toy chest and play station taken along section line A-A of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3a is a perspective view of a latch of the combination toy chest and play station, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3b is a sectional view of latch and lamp/actuator assembly of the combination toy chest and play station taken along section line B-B of FIG. 3a, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of table recess and rotary platform of the combination toy chest and play station, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and,
FIG. 5 is an electrical block diagram of the lamp/actuator assembly of the combination toy chest and play station, according to one embodiment of the present invention.



DESCRIPTIVE KEY


    
    
        10 combination toy chest and play station
        20 toy chest
        21a side wall
        21b floor
        22 lid
        23a clasp
        23b lid hinge
        24 rotary platform assembly
        25 interior space
        28 anchoring device
        29 foot
        40 table
        41 table recess
        42 table leg
        43 rod hinge
        44 chair
        46 first storage compartment
        47a storage compartment recess
        47b storage compartment hinge
        48 second storage compartment
        50 leg brace
        51 leg bracket
        60 platform
        62 annular protrusion
        63 annular cavity
        64 ball bearing
        66 ball bearing groove
        68 wear plate
        70 strut assembly
        71a first mounting joint
        71b second mounting joint
        72 fastener
        80 lamp/actuator assembly
        81 latch cavity
        82 lens
        83 housing
        84a switch
        84b lamp
        85 battery
        90 actuator rod
        92 latch arm
        93a pivot pin
        93b anchor pin
        94 latch hook
        96 return spring
    
    


DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In accordance with the invention, the best mode is presented in terms of a one or more of the disclosed embodiments, herein depicted within FIGS. 1 through 5. However, the disclosure is not limited to a single described embodiment and a person skilled in the art will appreciate that many other embodiments are possible without deviating from the basic concept of the disclosure and that any such work around will also fall under its scope.
Further, those skilled in the art will recognize that other styles and configurations can be incorporated into the teachings of the present disclosure, and that the example configurations shown and described herein are for the purpose of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation.
As used herein, the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1), as well as a plurality of, the referenced items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. are used as labels to describe various elements, features, and/or components, and are not intended to impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the referenced items, unless other indicated. For example, such terms may be used to distinguish one (1) element from another element.
As used herein, relative terms such as “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “top”, “bottom”, “below”, “above”, “upper”, “lower”, “horizontal”, or “vertical” are used to describe a relationship of one (1) element, feature and/or region to another element, feature and/or region as illustrated in the figures.
Referring generally to FIGS. 1-5, disclosing example embodiments of the disclosed combination toy chest and play station (herein described as the “apparatus”) 10, where like reference numerals represent similar or like parts. The apparatus 10 includes a toy storage receptacle and activity center for children, which includes a deployable table 40 and a chair 44. The apparatus 10 includes a spring-loaded lid 22 to store and keep toys clean, while providing a neat appearance.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the disclosed apparatus 10 includes a primarily cylindrical or polyhedron-shaped plastic toy chest 20. The toy chest 20 includes side walls 21a. For example, the side walls 21a include a first (e.g., front) side wall, a second (e.g., rear) side wall, a third (e.g., left) side wall, and a fourth (e.g., right) side wall. The toy chest 20 includes a hollow interior space 25 (FIG. 2) defined by the side walls 21a capable of containing a plurality of toys and other items. The toy chest 20 is envisioned to be made of a hollow or solid plastic construction and be approximately three (3) feet in both width and height dimensions.
The toy chest 20 includes a rotary platform assembly 24 to allow rotation of the toy chest 20 to access all sides regardless of placement within a room.
The toy chest 20 includes an anchoring device 28 (FIG. 1) mounted along a bottom edge portion of a side wall 21a. The anchoring device 28 includes a folding member that may be deployed downwardly against a subjacent floor surface, as desired, to stabilize and arrest the rotary motion of the toy chest 20 about the rotary platform assembly 24. The anchoring device 28 is envisioned to include a foot 29. The foot 29 includes a rubber tip, for example, being similar to a door stop.
The top of the toy chest 20 is open. The spring-loaded lid 22 is hingedly connected to the toy chest 20 and swings upwardly (e.g., in the direction of directional arrow in FIG. 2) when released via an upward force applied by at least one spring-loaded strut 70 attached to lid 22 and side wall 21a. As an example construction, the spring-loaded strut 70 is attached to lid 22 and side wall 21a via respective integral first mounting eyelet 71a and second mounting eyelet 71b (FIG. 2). The first mounting eyelet 71a and second mounting eyelet 71b (identified collectively herein as eyelets 71a, 71b) are integral to opposing ends of the strut 70. As an example construction, the eyelets 71a, 71b are rotatingly connected to the lid 22 and side wall 21a using corresponding fasteners 72 such as shoulder bolts, screws, or the like. The strut 70 is envisioned to be a commercially-available linear rod-and-tube device (e.g., similar to those used upon automotive lift gates) and gas-charged and/or containing an internal compression spring.
The lid 22 includes an integral clasp 23a (FIG. 2) that protrudes downwardly from a forward perimeter edge. The lid 22 includes a lid hinge 23b along an opposite rearward perimeter edge. The lid 22 may be released to swing upwardly, via the strut 70, by pressing a lens 82 of a lamp/actuator assembly 80 located subjacent (e.g., near and below) to the clasp 23a. As one (1) example construction, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lid 22 includes a dome-shaped; however, the lid 22 may include other molded forms and/or shapes including, but not limited to, animal shapes, geometric shapes, alphanumeric shapes, and the like.
The lamp/actuator assembly 80 also acts as a light fixture to provide local illumination via internal switch 84a and lamp 84b (FIGS. 3b and 5).
At least one (1) side wall 21a of the toy chest 20 provides for flush-mounted storage of the fold-down table 40 and at least one toy chest (e.g., first) storage compartment 46 via respective table recess 41 and storage compartment recess 47a (FIG. 2).
The first storage compartment 46 includes a rectangular box-like structure that pivots outwardly about a lower edge from the correspondingly shaped storage compartment recess 47a. The first storage compartment 46 is rotatingly attached to the side wall 21a via an axial storage compartment hinge 47b. The first storage compartment 46 provides a means for holding and storing small objects such as small toys, crayons, coloring books, and the like.
The fold down table 40 folds out from a flush-mounted position and includes a pair of pivotingly connected supporting legs 42 that fold out and lock in place via respective folding leg braces 50 (FIG. 4).
The apparatus 10 also provides a separate child's chair 44 preferably having a unitary plastic molded form, or equivalent construction, envisioned to have a padded upper surface and a chair (e.g., second) storage compartment 48 integrally-molded into a seatback. The second storage compartment 48 hinges upward in a similar fashion as the previously described first storage compartment 46.
The apparatus 10 allows a child to use the table 40 and chair 44 to perform various craft activities, coloring, or the like. When finished with play, the table legs 42 may be folded up and the table 44 folded downwardly into the table recess 41. The table 44 is envisioned to be retained within the table recess 41 via a friction fit or integrally-molded interfering features. The toys and accessories are returned to the first 46 and second 48 storage compartments, and the first storage compartment 46 closed for a neat and organized appearance. It is envisioned that the chair 44 may remain outside the toy chest 20 or be stored within, as desired.
The toy chest 20, lid 22, and chair 44 are envisioned to be made of a hollow or solid plastic construction utilizing common plastic molding processes such as blow molding, thermoforming, injection-molding, or equivalent methods, and envisioned to be introduced in various attractive colors and patterns.
Referring to FIG. 3a, the strut 70 provides a force to motion the lid 22 upwardly upon being released from the closed position (FIG. 2). The lid 22 is retained in a closed position via engagement of a “U”-shaped clasp 23a of the lid 22 with a correspondingly positioned latch hook 94 of the side wall 21a. 
Referring to FIG. 3b, releasing the lid 22 is accomplished by pressing upon the dome-shaped lens 82 of the lamp/actuator assembly 80. The lens 82 is located along an outer surface of the side wall 21a, which when pressed upon by a user, disengages the latch hook 94 from the clasp 23a. 
The lamp/actuator assembly 80 includes an integral actuator rod 90 that protrudes horizontally inward and is in mechanical communication with a latch arm 92 at an intermediate location via a pivot pin 93a. As one (1) example construction, the latch arm 92 is contained discreetly within the side wall 21a via a latch cavity 81 that extends vertically within the side wall 21a. The latch arm 92 includes the latch hook 94 at an upper end and is pivotingly attached at a lower end via an anchor pin 93b. As the actuator rod 90 is motioned inwardly in response to pushing on the lens 82, the pivot pin 93a acts upon and motions the latch arm 92 rearwardly, causing the latch hook 94 to disengage from the clasp 23a. The latch arm 92 is reset via a return spring 96 that motions the latch arm 92 forwardly upon release of the lens 82.
The lamp/actuator assembly 80 functions as a manually activated illumination means. The lamp/actuator assembly 80 includes a translucent plastic lens 82 that is slidingly contained within a housing 83, which further contains a switch 84a, a lamp 84b, and a battery 85. The lens 82 is in mechanical communication with the switch 84a, which completes an electrical circuit to provide power from the battery 85 to the lamp 84b. The lamp 84b is located within the lens 82. When pressed, the lamp 84b causes the translucent lens 82 to glow and provide local illumination.
Referring to FIG. 4, the apparatus 10 includes the table recess 41, for example, along the rear side wall 21a, which provides discreet “flush” storage of the table 40 when not in use. The table recess 41 includes a rod hinge 43 that passes through one (1) end of the table 40 and extends laterally across the table recess 41. The rod hinge 43 is anchored in opposing inner side surfaces of the side wall 21a defining the table recess 41. The table 40 includes the pair of folding legs 42 that are pivotingly attached to leg brackets 51 of the table 40 and lockable in the deployed position via respective folding leg braces 50, for example, in a manner similar to that of a card table.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the apparatus 10 provides a means to rotate the toy chest 20 via the rotary platform assembly 24. The rotary platform assembly 24 includes a platform 60 located below the floor 21b of the toy chest 20. As one (1) example construction, the platform 60 has a similar perimeter size and shape as the floor 21b. The platform 60 includes an integrally-molded annular protrusion 62 (FIG. 4) having a “T”-shaped cross-section. The annular protrusion 62 includes an integral circular metal ball bearing groove 66 along a top surface having a cup-shaped cross-section so as to retain a plurality of ball bearings 64 in a captivating manner.
Referring to FIG. 4, the annular protrusion 62 extends upwardly in an interlocking manner into a correspondingly shaped annular cavity 63a formed within the floor 21b of the toy chest 20. The annular cavity 63a includes a metal wear plate 68 along a top inner surface against which the ball bearings 64 within the annular protrusion 62 bear the weight of the toy chest 20. The ball bearings 64 roll freely between the ball bearing groove 66 and the wear plate 68 to provide smooth rotary motioning of the toy chest 20 relative to the platform 60, thereby allowing access to all sides of the toy chest 20, regardless of placement in a room.
Referring to FIG. 5, the lamp switch 84a provides current from a rechargeable or disposable battery 85 to the lamp 84b. The switch 84a is preferably an alternating on-off device and the lamp 84b is preferably a light-emitting-diode (LED) or equivalent current illumination technology.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that other styles and configurations of the disclosed apparatus 10 can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present disclosure, and only particular example embodiments and configurations have been shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope.
The example embodiment of the disclosed apparatus 10 can be utilized by the user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. After initial purchase or acquisition of the apparatus 10, it would be installed and utilized as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
One (1) embodiment of the disclosed method for installing and preparing the apparatus 10 for use may be achieved by performing the following steps: 1). procuring a model of the apparatus 10 having a desired size, color, and shape; placing the apparatus 10 at a desired location; 2). rotating the toy chest 20 upon the rotary platform assembly 24 until obtaining a desired orientation; 3). deploying the anchoring device 28 downwardly until the foot 29 contacts a floor surface to secure the position of the apparatus 10; 4). loading small objects such as small toys, crayons, coloring books, and the like into the first storage compartment 46 by pivoting the first storage compartment 46 outwardly from the storage compartment recess 47a, and additional items into the second storage compartment 48 located upon a seatback of the chair 44, as desired; 5). raising the lid 22 to load toys and other items into the toy chest 20 by pressing upon the lens 82 of the lamp/actuator assembly 80 to release the clasp 23a from the latch hook 94 allowing the lid 22 to automatically raise via the force of the strut 70; 6). loading toys and other items into the toy chest 20 for subsequent playing; 7). closing the lid 22 by pulling downward until engaging the clasp 23a and latch hook 94; and, 8). activating the illuminating function of the lamp/actuator assembly 80, if desired, by pressing upon the lens 82.
One (1) embodiment of the disclosed method for utilizing the table 40 of the apparatus 10 for various craft activities may be achieved by performing the following steps: 1). deploying the table 40 by lifting upwardly upon a bottom edge of the table 40 until horizontal; 2). deploying the legs 42 by rotating downwardly and locking the legs 42 in position using the leg braces 50; 3). accessing small objects such as small toys, crayons, coloring books, and the like within the first storage compartment 46 by pivoting the first storage compartment 46 outwardly; 4). accessing additional items for use within the second storage compartment 48 of the chair 44 as desired; 5). positioning the child onto the chair 44 with respect to the table 40; and, 6). allowing the child to occupy the seat 44 and utilize the table 40 to enjoy various craft activities.
One (1) embodiment of the disclosed method for accessing the contents of the interior space 25 of the toy chest 20 may be achieved by performing the following steps: 1). raising the lid 22 by pressing upon the lens 82 of the lamp/actuator assembly 80 to automatically raise the lid 22; 2). accessing and removing wanted toys and other items within the toy chest 20 for playing; and, 3). closing the lid 22 to keep the contents clean by pulling downward until engaging the clasp 23a and latch hook 94.
The foregoing descriptions of example embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit to the precise forms disclosed and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain principles and practical application to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

## Claims

1. A combination toy chest and play station comprising:
a toy chest comprising a front side wall, a rear side wall, a right side wall, a left side wall, a floor and an open top, said toy chest defining an interior space, wherein said front side wall comprises an internal latch cavity and a latch arm disposed within said latch cavity, said latch arm comprises an upper end comprising a latch hook and a lower end pivotally connected to said front side wall;
a lid hingedly connected to said rear side wall for covering said open top and enclosing said interior space, wherein said lid comprises a U-shaped clasp protruding downwardly from a front perimeter edge, and wherein said claps is received by said latch cavity and releasably engages said latch hook to retain said lid in a closed position;
a spring-loaded strut interconnected between said rear side wall and said lid, wherein said spring-loaded strut biases said lid in an open position;
a rotary platform operatively connected to said floor; and,
a table hingedly connected to said rear side wall;
wherein said table is pivotable about said rear side wall between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation; and,
wherein said toy chest is rotatably relative to said rotary platform.

2. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 1, further comprising an actuator assembly, said actuator assembly comprising:
a housing connected to said front side wall;
a push-button lens movably connected within said housing;
an actuator rod extending from said lens into said latch cavity and pivotally connected to said latch arm; and,
a return spring operatively connected to said actuator rod for biasing said lens to an outward position relative to said housing;
wherein actuation of said lens to an inward position relative to said housing pivots said latch arm and disengages said latch hook from said clasp.

3. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 2, wherein said actuator assembly further comprises a lamp assembly, said lamp assembly comprising:
a lamp housed within said lens;
a battery disposed within said housing; and,
a switch in mechanical communication with said lens and electrical communication between said battery and said lamp;
wherein actuation of said lens to said inward position relative to said housing actuates said switch for energizing said lamp.

4. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 1, wherein said rotary platform comprises:
a platform located below said floor; and,
an annular protrusion extending upwardly from said platform;
wherein said floor comprises an annular cavity; and,
wherein said annular protrusion is mateably engaged within said annular cavity.

5. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 4, wherein:
said annular protrusion comprises an upper end comprising a T-shaped cross-sectional shape and a lower end;
said annular cavity comprises a T-shaped cross-sectional shape sized to slidingly receive said upper end of said annular protrusion; and,
said annular cavity rides along said annular protrusion when said toy chest rotates relative to said platform.

6. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 5, wherein:
said annular protrusion comprises a ball bearing groove disposed in said upper end and ball bearings disposed within said ball bearing groove;
said annular cavity comprises a wear plate connected within said annular cavity and in contact with said ball bearings; and,
said wear plate rides along said ball bearings when said toy chest rotates relative to said platform.

7. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 1, further comprising a storage compartment pivotally connected to said rear side wall between a vertical orientation and a non-vertical orientation.

8. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 7, wherein said rear side wall comprises a storage compartment recess configured to receive said storage compartment when in said vertical orientation.

9. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 1, wherein said rear side wall comprises a table recess configured to receive said table when in said vertical orientation.

10. The combination toy chest and play station of claim 1, further comprising an anchoring device pivotally connected to said rear side wall for preventing rotation of said toy chest relative to said rotary platform.