Abstract:
A composite frame includes a frame body including two support units, two lower connecting rods, two suspending units and an upper connecting rod that are removably connectable together so that the constructed frame body is structurally stable, while assembly and disassembly of the same are manually operable and convenient to allow for effective storage and cost reduction in terms of packaging and delivery.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to a frame, more particularly to a composite frame. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In daily life, a frame structure is needed for various purposes, such as for doing laundry, performing pull-up exercise, hanging a swing or a hammock, etc. Conventionally, such kind of frames has a fixed structure and cannot be disassembled for storage, such as the swing frame disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M241110, which is generally fixed to a specific spot once installed, and which requires multiple tools and consumes much time and labor to disassemble, making it rather inconvenient. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a composite frame that is easy to assemble and that can be easily stowed away. 
         [0006]    According to the present invention, there is provided a composite frame that includes a frame body. The frame body includes two support units, two lower connecting rods, two suspending units and an upper connecting rod. 
         [0007]    The support units are spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, and each includes an upright rod, two leg rods, two fastening members and a limiting member. 
         [0008]    The upright rod extends in a vertical direction transverse to the left-right direction. The two leg rods are spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction transverse to the left-right direction and the vertical direction. Each of the leg rods is pivotably connected to the upright rod, is pivotable relative to an imaginary plane defined by the upright rods of the support units, and has a coupling section that extends in the left-right direction. The fastening members are respectively coupled to the upright rod and one of the leg rods, while the limiting member is pivotably connected to the other one of the leg rods and is operable to be pivoted relative to said other one of the leg rods to cross the upright rod and said one of the leg rods so as to be stopped by the fastening members. Each of the fastening members is operable to urge the limiting member to abut against the respective one of the upright rod and said one of the leg rods. 
         [0009]    The lower connecting rods of the frame body are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and extend in the left-right direction. Each of the lower connecting rods has two ends that are sleevingly and respectively connectable with the coupling sections of a corresponding opposite pair of the leg rods of the support units, where the leg rods in the opposite pair are opposite to each other in the left-right direction. 
         [0010]    The suspending units are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and each has a first end that is sleevingly connectable with a top portion of the upright rod of a corresponding one of the support units and a second end that is distal from the first end. 
         [0011]    The upper connecting rod also has two opposite ends, each of which is sleevingly connectable with the second end of a corresponding one of the suspending units. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is an assembled perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a composite frame according to the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a fragmentary and partly-exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a fragmentary and partly-sectional side view from the left for illustrating one of two support units of the preferred embodiment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a top sectional view of the support units; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a side view from the left for illustrating the preferred embodiment in a folded state. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of a composite frame according to the present invention is shown to be placed on the ground (not shown), and comprises a frame body  3  and a swing body  8  removably and hangingly mounted on the frame body  3 . 
         [0019]    The frame body  3  includes two support units  4  spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, two suspending units  5  spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction and respectively and sleevingly connectable with the support units  4 , two lower connecting rods  6  spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction that is transverse to the left-right direction, extending in the left-right direction and sleevingly connectable between the support units  4 , and an upper connecting rod  7  extending in the left-right direction and sleevingly connectable between the suspending units  5 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , since the composite frame is a structure of left-right symmetry, the following description will generally refer only to the left pair of the support and suspending units  4 ,  5  for the sake of simplicity and convenience of illustration. 
         [0020]    Each of the support units  4  includes an upright rod  41 , two leg rods  42  spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, two fastening members  43 , and a limiting member  44 . Each of the leg rods  42  is pivotably connected to the upright rod  41 , and is pivotable relative to an imaginary plane defined by the upright rods  41  of the support units  4  between a support position (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) and a stored position (as shown in  FIG. 5 ). The fastening members  43  are respectively coupled to the upright rod  41  and one of the leg rods  42  (i.e., the rear one of the leg rods  42  in this embodiment, referred to hereinafter as the rear leg rod  42   a ). The limiting member  44  is pivotably connected to the other of the leg rods  42  (i.e., the front one of the leg rods  42  in this embodiment, referred to hereinafter as the front leg rod  42   b ), and is operable to be pivoted downwardly relative to the front leg rod  42   b  to cross the upright rod  41  and the rear leg rod  42   a  so as to contact, abut against and be stopped by the fastening members  43  when the leg rods  42  are disposed at the support position. 
         [0021]    Specifically, each of the leg rods  42  has a pivot connecting section  421  pivotably mounted to the upright rod  41  and having a length greater than that of the upright rod  41 . The pivot connecting section  421  extends in a vertical direction transverse to the left-right direction and the front-rear direction, and is substantially parallel to the upright rod  41  when the leg rod  42  is disposed at the stored position, and forms an angle with the upright rod  41  when the leg rod  42  is disposed at the support position. The pivot connecting sections  421  of the two leg rods  42  cooperatively form an inverse V shape when the leg rods  42  are disposed at the support position so that the composite frame may be supported on the ground. Each of the leg rods  42  further has a coupling section  422  connected transversely to the pivot connecting section  421  and extending in the left-right direction towards the other one of the support units  4 . The limiting member  44  is formed in a bottom edge thereof with two notches  441  that are spaced apart from each other. When stopped by the fastening members  43  after being pivoted downwardly to cross the upright rod  41  and the rear leg rod  42   a , the limiting member  44  extends in the front-rear direction, and the fastening members  43  are respectively received in the notches  441 . 
         [0022]    Specifically, each of the fastening members  43  includes a stem  431  that extends through the respective one of the upright rod  41  and the rear leg rod  42   a , and a head  432  that is connected to the stem  431 . The stem  431  is receivable in the respective one of the notches  441  for limiting pivotal movement of the limiting member  44  relative to the front leg rod  42   b , and the head  432  is operable to urge the limiting member  44  to abut against the respective one of the upright rod  41  and the rear leg rod  42   a  such that the head  432  cooperates with the respective one of the upright rod  41  and the rear leg rod  42   a  to clamp the limiting member  44  in a sandwiching manner. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , each of the suspending units  5  has a first end that is sleevingly connectable with a top portion of the upright rod  41  of the respective one of the support units  4  and a second end that is distal from the first end. With further reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , in this embodiment, each of the suspending units includes an extending rod  51  that extends in the vertical direction and that has the first end and a third end opposite to the first end, a suspending rod  52  that includes a horizontal segment  521  and a vertical segment  522  cooperating with each other to form a substantially L shape, and a hanging member  53  removably mounted to the suspending rod  52 . In other words, the extending rod  51  is sleevingly connectable with the top portion of the upright rod  41 . The horizontal segment  521  of the suspending rod  52  extends in the left-right direction and has the second end. The vertical segment  522  of the suspending rod  52  extends in the vertical direction, is connected to the horizontal segment  521  and has a fourth end distal from the second end and sleevingly connectable with the third end of the extending rod  51 . 
         [0024]    In this embodiment, the hanging member  53  is a rope ring that surrounds and is secured to the horizontal section  521  of the suspending rod  52 . However, in practice, the structure of the hanging member  53  is not limited to what is disclosed herein. The hanging member  53  may as well be a ring directly formed on the suspending rod  52 , or any other structure suitable for hanging an object, etc. 
         [0025]    Each of the lower connecting rods  6  has two opposite ends that are sleevingly and respectively connectable with the coupling sections  422  of a corresponding opposite pair of the leg rods  42  of the support units  4 , wherein the leg rods  42  in the opposite pair are opposite to each other in the left-right direction, i.e., one opposite pair is constituted by the rear leg rods  42   a  of the support units  4 , while the other opposite pair is constituted by the front leg rods  42   b  of the support units  4 . The lower connecting rods  6  are parallel to each other when connected between the respective opposite pairs of the leg rods  42 . The upper connecting rod  7  has two opposite ends, each being sleevingly connectable to the second end of the horizontal segment  521  of the suspending rod  52  of a respective one of the suspending units  5 . 
         [0026]    The swing body  8  is removably and hangingly mounted on and between the hanging members  53  of the two suspending units  5 , and can swing relative to the frame body  3 . In this embodiment, the swing body  8  is exemplified as a hammock. However, in practice, the swing body  8  may as well be a swing seat, a cradle, a type of device that can be seated, laid on or grasped, etc. 
         [0027]    Through the structural design of connecting two assemblies of support and suspending units  4 ,  5  at the bottom with two parallel lower connecting rods  6  and connecting the two assemblies of support and suspending units  4 ,  5  at the top with an upper connecting rod  7 , the frame body  3  of the composite frame of this invention is structurally stable. Apart from offering recreational purposes with the swing body  8 , in use, the composite frame of this invention may also be used with the swing body  8  removed so that the frame body  3  serves other functional purposes, for example, as a laundry rack for hanging hangers (not shown), or as a pull-up exercise rack with the horizontal segments  521  of the suspending rods  52  and the upper connecting rod  7  connected thereto cooperatively serving as a horizontal bar. This invention is thus illustrated to have multiple uses. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , to store or transport the frame body  3 , there are two possible ways. The first option is to first loosen the fastening members  43  from pressing against the respective limiting members  44  by operating the heads  432  of the fastening members  43  so as to allow for pivotal movement of the limiting members  44  relative to the front leg rods  42   b  to thereby disengage the notches  441  in the limiting members  44  from the stems  431  of the fastening members  43 , and then to pivot the leg rods  42  towards each other from the support position (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to the stored position (shown in  FIG. 5 ) to be disposed parallel to the upright rods  41  so that the frame body  3  is in a folded state, can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall (not shown), while still being readily and easily unfoldable. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , the second option utilizes the sleevingly connectable structural design of the support units  4 , the suspending units  5 , the lower connecting rods  6  and the upper connecting rod  7 . First, after the limiting members  4  are released from the fastening members  43 , the extending rods  51 , the suspending rods  52 , the lower connecting rods  6  and the upper connecting rod  7  are disengaged, and then the leg rods  42  of each of the support units  4  are moved to the stored position such that the support unit  4  is compactly folded into a substantially L shape with the limiting member  44 , the upright rod  41  and the leg rods  42  disposed parallel to one another. At this point, the support units  4 , the extending rods  51 , the suspending rods  52 , the lower connecting rods  6  and the upper connecting rod  7  may be stacked in such a manner that the user can save a lot of storage space if the frame body  3  is to be stowed away and that the manufacturer can save a lot of packaging and delivering costs if the frame body  3  is to be transported. 
         [0030]    Moreover, although in this embodiment, each of the suspending units  5  consists of separable extending and suspending rods  51 ,  52 , the extending rod  51  may be omitted in other embodiments of this invention, in which case the vertical segment  522  and the horizontal segment  521  of the suspending rod  52  respectively have the first and second ends for sleevingly, removably and respectively coupling to the upright rod  41  and the upper connecting rod  7 , while still forming a firm and stable frame body  3 . Moreover, although embodied as a single rod in this embodiment, each of the lower connecting rods  6  and the upper connecting rod  7  may be composed by a plurality of rods in practice to serve a further purpose of rendering adjustability in terms of a distance between the assembly of the support and suspending units  4 ,  5  on the left and the assembly of the support and suspending units  4 ,  5  on the right. Therefore, this invention is not to be limited in this respect. 
         [0031]    In summary, through the structural design of rendering the components of the frame body  3  to be sleevingly disengageable, a firm and stable frame body  3  may be easily and quickly assembled. Moreover, the frame body  3  can further be used to hang the swing body  8  so as to form a composite frame that serves multiple purposes. In addition, when the frame body  3  is to be stored, through the foldability and expandability of the structural design for the support units  4  in addition to the sleevingly disengageable design, two storage options are provided to the user for either folding the frame body  3  into a rather flat and compact structure or dismembering all separable components of the frame body  3  to save storage space, packaging and delivery costs, making this invention very convenient in use. Therefore, the purpose of this invention is served. 
         [0032]    While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.