Abstract:
An attachment apparatus provides a quick connection of the hanger tubes for a child&#39;s swing seat assembly to the pivot member of a drive mechanism powering the reciproal movement of the seat assembly. The shape of the mating attachment members, including a rounded upper portion and linear side portions, provides an intuitive and effective mounting apparatus for a swing seat assembly that can be accomplished simply by sliding the hanger tubes over or into the mating receptacles. A quick disconnect device engages automatically and provides a secure connection between the hanger tube and the receptacle. Removal of the seat assembly requires only a release of the quick disconnect device and a lifting of the seat assembly from the frame apparatus. In one embodiment the linear side portions are angled into a wedge-shape to ensure proper seating and driving connection to transmit torque to the hanger tubes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,462, filed on Nov. 29, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a frame for an infant swing and, more particularly, to a hanger mount structure that provides convenient utilization while ensuring that the electric motor is operable to transmit torque to the hanger members to affect reciprocal movement thereof. 
     Baby swings are used extensively by infant caregivers to soothe and to comfort the children. An infant swing consists primarily of a seat that securely holds the infant in a position elevated off the floor and a frame apparatus that supports the seat and allows the seat to move in a reciprocal manner, typically in a forward and rearward direction though some infant seats provide a side to side swinging motion. 
     The first infant swings consisted of a seat suspended from a frame that was formed with a support structure that extended over top of the infant and was supported by transversely opposed support legs that hold the overhead support structure in the elevated position. This overhead support structure restricted access to the child positioned in the seat as the support structure presented a physical barrier directly above the child. Such an infant swing can be seen in U.S. Design Patent No. D345,777, issued on Apr. 4, 1994, to Daniel Pinch, et al. Not only is the overhead support structure a barrier to accessing the child in the swing from above the child, but the support structure also presented a barrier to viewing the infant. 
     As a solution to the barrier presented by the overhead support structure, the “open top” infant swing was developed. As can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,033, issued to Louis Kohus and James Mariol on Apr. 18, 1989, the overhead structural support has been eliminated to provide an open access to the child in the seat from above. However, the child can be capable of grasping either of the transversely opposing support legs, particularly as the child is swinging back and forth between the support legs. Contact between the swinging child and one of the support legs can result in injury to the child. Furthermore, the child can potentially grab one of the support legs and pull his or herself forwardly to become dislodged from the seat, particularly if the child has not been properly secured within the seat by a safety harness. 
     The aforementioned open top infant swing evolved in a manner to eliminate the frame structure, i.e. the support legs, positioned forwardly of the swinging seat to provide an “open side” swing frame configuration for an infant swing. Such an open side infant swing can be found in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,033, issued to Kohus and Mariol on Apr. 18, 1989. In the Kohus and Mariol patent, the infant swing is provided with both an open top and an open side structural configuration to provide the capability of viewing and accessing the child within the seat from substantially any position forwardly of the seat. 
     The swinging motion of most baby swings commercially available is similar to that of a pendulum that pivots from above and to the sides of the seat. Although this swinging motion can be maintained by a mechanical spring-operated swing mechanism, the swinging motion in most modern infant swings is maintained, typically, by a small electric motor located adjacent one of the seat pivots supported by the frame structure. The power for this electric motor is typically an array of dry cell batteries located within the same plastic housing as the electric motor. Examples of battery operated motors to affect the swinging motion of the infant seat from a frame support can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,113, issued to Daniel Mitchell, et al on Jun. 11, 1996, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,545, issued to Daniel Pinch, et al on Nov. 10, 1998. 
     Most current commercial infant swings utilize an assembly that involves inserting a hanger tube into a receptacle, which is incorporated as an integral part of the pivot member for the swing. A mechanical fastener, such as a screw, bolt and nut, or spring-loaded button, is then used to retain the hanger tube in the receptacle. Such an attachment apparatus requires that the consumer verify that the fasteners are correctly installed during assembly, which is often difficult due to strategic alignment of holes in the hanger tube with corresponding holes in the receptacle. Proper installation of such attachment devices is essential as the swing seat can come loose from the pivot member and fall. Disassembly of the swing seat from the frame assembly can also present a burdensome operation as these fasteners must be removed and stored so that the fasteners can be reused later when the swing is re-assembled. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mounting apparatus for the seat assembly of a child swing that can provide an intuitive and effective operation in assembly and disassembly of the swing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a hanger mount attachment apparatus for an infant swing that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. 
     It is a feature of this invention that the hanger tubes are formed with a mating configuration to the configuration of the receptacle on the swing pivot member. 
     It is another feature of this invention that the mating configurations of the hanger tube and the frame supported receptacle are formed with a rounded top portion and a wedge-shaped shape. 
     It is an advantage of this invention that the mated hanger tube and frame mounted receptacle are effective in transmitting torque from the pivot member connected to the electric motor powering the reciprocal movement of the seat assembly. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that the configurations of the hanger tube and the frame-mounted receptacle incorporate a mating quick disconnect device to allow the selectively detachable connection of the hanger tubes to the frame-mounted receptacle. 
     It is another advantage of this invention that the mounting of the hanger tubes onto the frame-mounted receptacle is intuitive to the consumer and easily utilized. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that the hanger tubes are mounted to the frame assembly simply by sliding the hanger tubes onto the pivot member receptacle to affect a secure attachment thereof. 
     It is yet another advantage of this invention that no fastener is required to affect a secure connection of the hanger tubes to the driven mechanism of the swing seat motor. 
     It is still another feature of this invention that the wedge shape of the attachment configurations provide a positive stop with respect to the interengagement of the hanger tubes and the frame-mounted receptacle. 
     It is still another object of this invention to provide a mounting apparatus for the connection of the hanger tubes of a swing seat assembly onto the pivot member of a reciprocal drive mechanism for swinging the seat assembly, which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing an attachment apparatus for establishing a quick connection of the hanger tubes for a child&#39;s swing seat assembly to the pivot member of a drive mechanism powering the reciprocal movement of the seat assembly. The shape of the mating attachment members, including a rounded upper portion and linear side portions, provides an intuitive and effective mounting apparatus for a swing seat assembly that can be accomplished simply by sliding the hanger tubes over or into the mating receptacles. A quick disconnect device engages automatically and provides a secure connection between the hanger tube and the receptacle. Removal of the seat assembly requires only a release of the quick disconnect device and a lifting of the seat assembly from the frame apparatus. In one embodiment the linear side portions are angled into a wedge-shape to ensure proper seating and driving connection to transmit torque to the hanger tubes. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of an infant swing having a frame apparatus incorporating the principles of the instant invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the infant swing depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a right side elevational view of the infant swing shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a left side elevational view of the infant swing shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a left, front perspective view of the infant swing shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 5A  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a frame member corresponding to either of the front or rear legs to depict the oval-shaped cross-sectional configuration of the frame member; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the major components of the infant swing disassembled to convert the infant swing into a more compact transport or storage configuration; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of a first embodiment of a male attachment member on a hanger tube; 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view of a first embodiment of a female attachment receptacle mounted on the pivot member of a drive motor supported in the hanger housing at the elevated distal end of one of the rear legs of the frame assembly; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional detail view of the quick disconnect apparatus incorporated into the first embodiment of the attachment members depicted in  FIGS. 7 and 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view of a second embodiment of a male attachment member forming a receptacle on the pivot member of a drive motor supported in the hanger housing at the elevated distal end of one of the rear legs of the frame assembly; and 
         FIG. 11  is an enlarged perspective view of a second embodiment of a female attachment member formed on the end of a hanger tube for engagement with the male member depicted in  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, an infant swing having a frame apparatus incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The infant swing  10 , as can best be seen in  FIG. 6 , includes as the major components thereof a frame assembly  12 , including a pair of transversely spaced rear legs  15  and a corresponding pair of front legs  17 , and a seat assembly  20  suspended from the frame assembly  12  for a fore-and-aft swinging movement. The seat assembly  20  is formed of a molded seat member  22  and a pair of transversely spaced hangers  25  that are connected to corresponding hanger housings  27 ,  28  positioned at the cantilevered ends of the rear legs  15 , as will be described in greater detail below. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-6 , the frame assembly  12  is formed with a pair of transversely opposing rear legs  15  that extend upwardly and forwardly front a rearward support position with a curvature thereof being concave facing downwardly and forwardly. The rear legs  15  terminate at upper hanger housings  27 ,  28  at the elevated distal ends thereof. One of the hanger housings  28  is formed to encompass an electric motor  29  that is operable to move the seat assembly  20  in a reciprocal manner in a fore-and-aft direction. The curvature of the rear legs  15  provide an aesthetically pleasing shape that positions the hanger housings  27 ,  28  at an elevated, cantilevered position with no structure immediately below the hanger housings  27 ,  28 . 
     A corresponding pair of curved front legs  17  is positioned forwardly of the rear legs  15  in fore-and-aft alignment therewith to extend rearwardly and upwardly from a front support position to intersect with the corresponding rear legs  17  at a central point thereof. Each of the rear legs  15  has mounted thereon at the central point thereof a mounting housing  18 ,  30  for the connection of the corresponding front leg  17  by a quick connect mechanism  19  that enables the front legs  17  to be detachably connected to the rear legs  17 . The curvature of the front legs  17  is concave upwardly and forwardly so that the front legs  17  also do not provide any substantial structure beneath the hanger housings  27 ,  28 . The mating curvatures of the rear legs  15  and the front legs  17  establish an open side configuration of the frame assembly  12  with respect to access to a seat assembly  20  hanging from the hanger housings  27 ,  28 . 
     The front legs  17  are interconnected by a molded front cross brace  14 , which preferably has a curved configuration to correlate with the curved front and rear legs  17 ,  15 , and provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Similarly, the transversely opposing rear legs  15  are also interconnected by a rear cross brace member  13  to provide a stable support for the suspended seat assembly  20  to resist the forces associated with the fore-and-aft swinging of an infant positioned in the seat assembly  20 . The curvature of the molded front cross brace  14  eliminates the conventional tubular structural member that is positioned between the front legs. The rearwardly curved shape enables the caregiver to approach the seat assembly  20  for insertion or removal of the child from the seat member  22  without interfering with or tripping over the front cross brace found on conventional infant swings. 
     The seat assembly  20  includes a molded seat member  22  that is more particularly described in co-pending and commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/283,449, filed on Nov. 18, 2005, by Robert E. Haut, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The seat member  22  provides a support structure in which an infant can be placed and secured within the seat member  22  by conventional safety restraints (not shown) and permitted to reciprocally swing in a fore-and-aft direction. The seat member  22  is supported from the hanger housings  27 ,  28  by curved hangers  25  that connect with the seat member  22  and present a concave shape in a forward direction. As a result, the curvature of the hangers  25  contributes to the structure-free configuration beneath the hanger housings  27 ,  28 , in addition to the mating curvatures of the front and rear legs  17 ,  15 , to establish the open side configuration for access to the seat member  22 . 
     As is best seen in  FIG. 5A , the structural members forming the front and rear legs  17 ,  15  are formed from an oval-shaped tubular member, preferably tubular aluminum that has been rolled into the oval shape shown in  FIG. 8  that provides a longer dimension in a direction parallel with the swinging movement of the seat assembly  12 , depicted by the arrow  38 , than in the direction perpendicular to the swinging movement of the seat assembly  12 , represented by arrow  39 . This oval-shaped cross-sectional configuration of the structural frame members provides a frame that is stronger in the resistance of the swinging motion than a frame having the same amount of material but formed in a conventional round cross-sectional configuration. 
     The transversely spaced hanger housings  27 ,  28  without any structural member interconnecting the upper distal ends of the rear legs  17  provides an open top configuration for the frame assembly  12 , while the curved rear and front legs  15 ,  17 , along with the curved hangers  25 , provide an open side configuration for the frame assembly  12 . Accordingly, the caregiver can access the child positioned in the seat member  22  from above, from in front, or from the side of the seat assembly  20  without interference from the frame assembly  12 . These mating, curved shapes forming the frame assembly  12  establish an improved access, physically and visually, to the seat assembly  20  and any child positioned therein. 
     The assembly of the seat assembly  20  onto the frame apparatus  12  is accomplished through the use of hanger mounts  40 , including a male attachment end  42  on the end of the hanger tube  25  and a female receptacle  47  attached to the pivot member  32  associated with the electric motor  29  extending outwardly through the hanger housing  28  to affect a reciprocal fore-and-aft motion to the seat assembly  20 . The male attachment member  42  is formed with a rounded upper portion  43  and tapered side portions  44  to form a wedge-shaped configuration. Similarly, the female receptacle  47  is formed in a mating configuration to receive the male attachment end  42  within the formed slot  48 . The tapered shape of the attachment components  42 ,  47  provide a positive engagement between the two components  42 ,  47  and effectively transfer torque from the drive motor  29  through the pivot member  32  into the hanger tube  25  to cause the fore-and-aft reciprocal movement of the seat assembly  20 . 
     Preferably, a quick detach retention member  45  is preferably incorporated into the hanger mounts  40  to retain the male attachment end  42  within the female receptacle  45 . The quick detach retention member  45  can take one of many forms, such as the ball  45  that is received within the attachment end  42 , as is best depicted in  FIG. 9 . The ball  45  can be loosely received within a retention housing in the attachment end  42 . When the hinged actuation lever  46  is pressed into the retention housing the geometry is such that the ball  45  is fixed into a protruding position with respect to the face of the attachment end. The protruding ball  45  is then engagable with a groove  49  formed in the female receptacle  47  to retain the male attachment end  42  within the slot  48  of the receptacle  47 . A disconnection of the hanger tube  25  from the frame assembly  12  requires only that the actuation lever  46  be lifted so that the ball  45  is free to retract into the retention housing and release from the groove  49 . One skilled in the art will recognize that other forms of retention devices would be equally applicable, including a spring-loaded retention ball  45  that retains the components  42 ,  47  together with the force exerted by the spring (not shown). 
     A second preferable form of the hanger mounts  50  can best be seen in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . The male receptacle  52  is affixed to the pivot member  32  extending through the hanger housing  28  from the electric motor  29 . As with the first embodiment of the hanger mounts  40  described above, the male receptacle  52  is formed with a rounded upper portion  58  to facilitate the interconnection of the attachment end  55  with the receptacle  52 . Also similar to the first embodiment of the hanger mounts  40  described above, the receptacle  52  is formed with linear side portions  59  that facilitate the transmission of torque from the drive motor  29  to the hanger tubes  25  to affect the reciprocal rocking motion for the swing seat assembly  20 . The female attachment end  55  on the end of the hanger tube  25  is formed with a pocket that is sized and configured to receive in a geometrically mating relationship with the receptacle  52  such that the attachment end  55  can simply be slipped over the top of the male receptacle  52  to affect engagement therebetween. 
     The preferred form of the retention member is a retention clip  53  formed at the bottom portion of the male receptacle  52  so that the retention clip  53  will engage the receiver  56  formed on the bottom portion of the attachment end  55  and affect a locking engagement therebetween. Disengagement of the seat assembly  20  from the receptacle  52  can be affected by first grasping the attachment ends  55  and flexing the retention clip receiver  56  to separate the retention clip  53  from the receiver  56 . The attachment ends  55  can then be slid upwardly off the corresponding receptacles  52  and pulled away from the frame assembly  12 . 
     The above descriptions of the first and second embodiments  40 ,  50  of the hanger mounts reflect the drive side of the frame assembly  12 . Typically, the two hanger housings  27 ,  28  are arranged that one of the hanger housings  28  has the drive motor  29  positioned therein, while the other hanger housing  27  is a “dummy” housing supporting only a pivot member (not shown) to permit the reciprocal movement of the seat assembly  20 . The opposing “dummy” hanger housing  27  is configured essentially identically to the motor housing  28  except that the pivot member (not shown) is not driven. 
     It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.