Patent Publication Number: US-7587774-B2

Title: Diaper changing station having a collapsible frame

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed to a portable diaper changing station having an internal collapsible frame that provides a parent with sufficient privacy to change a baby&#39;s diaper when in public, while providing the baby sufficient space and shade to play or sleep without being burnt by the sun. 
   There are a number of problems associated with diapering infants while traveling. One such problem is the need to have a device that allows the parent to change the baby&#39;s diaper while concealing the child from public view. Furthermore, when traveling with an infant, there are many items that need to be carried such as toys, diapers, lotions, wipes, and other cleaning supplies. There is also a need for a clean, comfortable place to put the baby so that the baby can sleep or have its diaper changed. 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an enclosure that allows a parent to conceal the baby from public view when changing the baby&#39;s diaper and to store various items that may be advantageous to care for the baby. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a housing that protects the baby from harmful UV rays while the baby is playing or sleeping. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a portable structure that is durable while at the same time light-weight and collapsible for easy transportation. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is directed towards a diaper changing station comprising a station housing having an internal collapsible frame and an outer cover. The internal collapsible frame includes: a front frame having a horizontal base, opposing sides extending generally vertical from the base and an arched top interconnecting the opposing sides; a rear frame having a horizontal base, opposing sides extending generally vertical from the base and an arched top interconnecting the opposing sides; and opposing collapsible side frames having a plurality of hingedly connected framing rods and interconnecting the front frame and the rear frame. 
   The cover includes a flexible fabric enclosing the frame and forms a base, opposing side walls, a rear wall, an open front and a domed hood extending between the arched tops of the front frame and the rear frame and along the entire length of the base; whereby the housing is moveable between an erected position for use as a diaper changing station for an infant and a collapsed position for allowing easy transport and storage. 
   The diaper changing station further includes flexible fabric having a UV ray protecting fabric and liquid and fire resistant fabric. 
   Each of the opposing, collapsible side frames includes an upper rail and a lower rail, wherein each of the upper rail and the lower rail includes at least 2 of the hingedly connected framing rods that are hingedly connected to the front frame and said rear frame. 
   The diaper changing station further includes a safety clip interconnecting said framing rods and having a locked condition for maintaining the erected position of the internal collapsible frame and the unlocked condition for allowing movement of the housing between the erected position and the collapsed position. 
   The diaper changing station further includes a threshold base extension for extending the base outwardly from the open front. 
   The diaper changing station also includes a vent disposed on one of the opposing side walls and the rear wall. An adjustably secured vent cover for partially or completely obstructing the vent is disposed on an exterior surface of one of the opposing side walls and the rear wall. 
   The diaper changing station includes a fastener disposed on an exterior surface of the housing for securing the front frame to the rear frame when the housing is in the collapsed position. 
   The diaper changing station includes a pocket disposed on one of the opposing side walls and the rear wall for allowing objects to be stored in the station housing. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The construction designed to carry out the invention will hereinafter be described, together with other features thereof. The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevation view illustrating a cutaway of the invention during use; 
       FIG. 2  is perspective view illustrating a cutaway of the invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the internal frame of the invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the internal frame of the invention in a collapsed position; and, 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating the invention in a collapsed position. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now in more detail to the drawings, the invention will now be more fully described. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the diaper changing station is shown generally as  10 . A cutaway of the invention during use is shown. The diaper changing station provides a collapsible enclosure (more clearly shown in  FIG. 2 ) that allows a caregiver  1 , to change the diaper of an infant  2 , while having some privacy to do so. The invention includes an internal collapsible frame  12  that is enclosed in a flexible fabric cover  14 . In one embodiment, the flexible fabric is sewn around internal collapsible frame as shown. In alternate embodiments, the cover can enclose internal frame  12  by any fastener such as snaps, zippers or Velcro®. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 2-4 , frame  12  includes a front frame generally shown as  16 , a rear frame generally shown as  18  and two collapsible side frames generally shown as  20  and  22  interconnecting the front frame and the rear frame. Frame  12  is formed of a plurality of flexible frame rods, generally shown as  24 , interconnected by hinged clips. In one embodiment, the frame  12  is formed of four different sized rods shown as  24   a ,  24   b ,  24   c  and  24   d . In at least one embodiment, flexible rods  24  are made of fiberglass and the hinged clips are friction clips that hold flexible rods in position by a friction grip. The friction grip clips act as a safety clips for preventing the internal, collapsible frame  12  from unintentional collapse without human interaction. In at least one alternate embodiment, one or more of the hinged clips could include an additional safety mechanism such as a detent lock for providing a locked position such as when the frame is in an erect position so as to prevent the hinges in the hinged clips from operating and thus preventing the framing rods from pivoting about the hinge when the safety clip is in a locked condition. To allow the hinged nature of the hinged clips to be used, the safety clips must be placed in an unlocked condition such as by pressing a button on the clip thus allowing the rods to pivot about the hinge. 
   Front frame  16  has a generally arched shaped consisting of a base  16   a  and a domed top  16   b  interconnected by two sides  16   c  and  16   d . To provide a point of reference, the X axis will be defined as extending along the width of the frame, the Y axis as extending from the base to the domed portion and the Z axis extending from the front frame to the rear frame. The base  16   a  includes a framing rod  24   a  that interconnects two three-way clips  26   a  and  26   b  that allow flexible framing rods  24   a ,  24   b  and  24   d  to extend from the three-way clip along the X, Y, and Z axis, where the framing rod  24   d  extending along the Z axis is hingedly connected to the three-way clip. Framing rod  24   a  extends along the X axis to interconnect three-way clips  26   a  and  26   b . The side of front frame  16  are formed by two opposing framing rods  24   b  that extend along the Y axis connecting each of the three way clips  26   a  and  26   b  to a three-way “T” clip  28   a  and  28   b  that allow framing rods  24   b ,  24   c  and  24   d  to extend along the Y and Z axis, where the framing rod  24   d  extending along the Z axis is hingedly connected to the three-way clip. The domed top  16   b  is formed by a fourth framing rod  24   c  that interconnects the three-way “T” clips  28   a  and  28   b  by extending between the “T” clips in an arched fashion, thus creating a domed top. 
   Much like the front frame, the base  18   a  of rear frame  18  is formed by framing rod  24   a  which interconnects two three-way clips  26   c  and  26   d  that are substantially identical to the clips represented by  26   a  and  26   b . The sides  18   c  and  18   d  are formed by framing rods  24   b  that extend along the Y axis from each of the three-way clips  26   c  and  26   d , interconnecting each of the three-way clips with a four-way clip  30   a  and  30   b  that allows framing rods  24   a ,  24   b ,  24   c  and  24   d  to extend from the clip along the X, Y and Z axis, where the framing rod  24   d  extending along the Z axis is hingedly connected to the four-way clip. Much like front frame  16 , the domed top  18   b  of rear frame  18  is formed by a framing rod  24   c  which interconnects four-way clips  30   a  and  30   b  and extends between them in an arched fashion. Four-way clips  30   a  and  30   b  are also interconnected by a fifth framing rod  24   a  which extends between the four-way clips in parallel relation to the framing rod  24   a  that forms the base  18   a  of the rear frame  18 . 
   While front frame  16  and rear frame  18  have been described as being formed by several framing rods  24   a ,  24   b  and  24   c , both the front and rear frame could be formed by one pre-formed framing rod. In such an embodiment, the need for the three-way clips  26   a ,  26   b ,  26   c ,  26   d ,  28   a ,  28   b , and four-way clips  30   a  and  30   b  would be alleviated and such clips could be replaced with a clip that allows the framing rods  24   d  that form a portion of the side frames  20  and  22  to be hingedly connected to the front and rear frames so that when in an erect position, the side frames interconnect front frame  16  and rear frame  18  by extending along the Z axis. When in a collapsed position, however, the hinged connection would allow the framing rods to extend along or generally parallel to the X axis. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , collapsible side frames  20  and  22  can be more clearly seen. The side frames interconnect front frame  16  and rear frame  18  and are collapsible. Side frames  20  and  22  include opposing upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  and opposing lower rails  20   b  and  22   b . In at least one embodiment, each upper rail is formed by four framing rods  24   d  interconnected by hinged clips  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d ,  28   c  and  28   d . Upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  are hingedly connected to front frame  16  via three way “T” clips  28   a  and  28   b , each of which includes one hinge along the Z axis. On each upper rail  22   a  and  20   a , framing rod  24   d  extends from the “T” clip, and connects each “T” clip  28   a  and  28   b  to a set of two-way linear dual-hinged clips  32   a  and  32   d . The dual-hinged nature of the two-way linear clip allows both framing rods that are hingedly interconnected by the clip to pivot between the X axis and the Z axis. Two-way clips  32   a  and  32   b  are connected to a set of three-way dual-hinged “T” clips  28   c  and  28   d  by a framing rod  24   d . These dual-hinged “T” clips allow the framing rods  24   d  that form the upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  of the collapsible side frames to pivot between the X axis and the Z axis. The “T” clips  28   c  and  28   d  are interconnected by another framing rod  24   d  to another set of two-way linear dual-hinged clips  32   c  and  32   d , which in turn are interconnected to the rear frame by a set of framing rods  24   d  that are hingedly connected to the rear frame via the four-way clips  30   a  and  30   b.    
   Much like upper rails  20   a  and  22   a , lower rails  20   b  and  22   b  interconnect front frame  16  and rear frame  18  and in at least one embodiment, are formed by four framing rods  24   d  interconnected by hinged clips  32   e ,  32   f ,  32   g ,  32   h ,  28   e  and  28   f . Much like upper rails  20   a  and  22   a , lower rails  20   b  and  22   b  are formed by a first set of framing rods  24   d  which interconnect the hinged “T” clips  26   a  and  26   b  of the front frame  16  to a set of two-way dual-hinged clips  32   e  and  32   f , which are connected to a set of dual-hinged “T” clips  28   e  and  28   f  by a second set of framing rods  24   d . The “T” clips are interconnected, by a set of framing rods, with a second set of two-way dual-hinged clips  32   c  and  32   d , which are connected to the hinged three-way clips  26   c  and  26   d  of the rear frame via a set of framing rods  24   d  that are hingedly connected to the three-way clips  26   c  and  26   d.    
   In at least one embodiment, the opposing upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  are interconnected by a framing rod  24   a  that extends in a generally perpendicular relation to the upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  to provide increased structural integrity. Similarly, the opposing lower rails  20   b  and  22   b  are interconnected by a framing rod  24   a  that extends in a generally perpendicular relation to the lower rails. The framing rod connecting the opposing lower rails is covered by the flexible fabric cover  14  and padding  15  contained within the flexible fabric cover so that the framing rod is out of sight and out of the way. While the friction fitting of the clips and the locking safety mechanism alleviate the need for increased structural integrity, the framing rod connecting the upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  extends through the interior of the diaper changing station providing extra stability as well as a means for hanging objects such as a mobile, towel, diaper, or any other object that may be hung over framing rod. 
   In alternate embodiments, however, the framing rod interconnecting collapsible side frames are not included. In such embodiments, the friction fit safety clips and/or the locking safety clips allowing the hinged nature of the “T” clips  28   c ,  28   d ,  28   e , and  28   f  to be utilized only after the safety clip is placed in an unlocked condition alleviate the need for the framing rod interconnecting the opposing upper rails  20   a  and  22   a . When in an erect position, safety clips  28   c  and  28   d  are placed in a locked condition so that the framing rods interconnected by the safety clips may not pivot about the hinge of the “T” clips  28   c  and  28   d  until the safety clips are placed in an unlocked condition, thus allowing the framing rods to pivot about the hinge and the frame to collapse. 
   While the collapsible side frames  20  and  22  have been generally described as having opposing upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  and opposing lower rails  20   b  and  22   b , in alternate embodiments, collapsible side frames are formed by a single set of opposing side rails. In another embodiment, collapsible side rails  20  and  22  could be formed by opposing upper rails  20   a  and  22   a  and opposing lower rails  20   b  and  22   b  that consist of two framing rods interconnected by dual-hinged “T” clips  28   c  and  28   d , thus alleviating the need for the additional dual-hinged clips  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c , and  32   d . In another embodiment, more than four framing rods could be interconnected by the hinged clips, depending on the desired length of the framing rods or the internal frame itself. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the internal, collapsible frame  12  is enclosed in a flexible fabric cover  14 . In one embodiment, the fabric cover provides a barrier to UV rays to prevent the infant from becoming burnt and is resistant to liquids. The fabric cover is also fire resistant. One such fabric cover is polyester. The base  34  of the diaper changing station includes padding  36  enclosed by flexible fabric cover  14  for providing support and comfort to the infant using the invention. 
   The diaper changing station includes at least one pocket  38  for storing objects such as diapers, cloths, pacifiers or any other desired object. In one embodiment, two pockets are disposed on an interior surface of the side walls of the invention. However, in alternate embodiments any number of pockets could be included which could be disposed on an interior or exterior surface of either side walls or rear wall of the diaper changing station. 
   The diaper changing station further includes a plurality of vents  40  and  42 , for allowing fresh air to circulate throughout the changing station. In at least one embodiment, the vents are made of a mesh fabric allowing air to circulate while keeping bugs or debris from entering the diaper changing station. In alternate embodiments, the vents could be formed by an opening in the fabric  14 . Each vent includes an adjustable cover  44  for allowing the vent to be partially or completely obstructed. In one embodiment, the adjustable cover comprises a piece of flexible fabric that is attached to the bottom of the vent and includes several fasteners that allow the cover to be fastened at various vertical points along the height of the vent for partially or completely obstructing the vent. While the shown embodiment includes two vents, alternate embodiments allow for any number of vents desired. In the shown embodiment, the fasteners  46  for securing the cover  44  to the vent  40  are snaps. In alternate embodiments, however, any fastener that would allow the cover to be secured to the vent may be used. 
   In at least one embodiment, the diaper changing station has a height of twenty-four inches, which is measured from the base to the top of the domed roof; a width of twenty-two inches, which is measured from the left side frame to the right side fame; and a length of twenty-five inches, which is measured from the front frame to the rear frame. To provide an adjustable length, a flexible extension  48  is provided. The extension is disposed at the open front and has a width substantially identical to the width of the diaper changing station and extends outwardly eight inches. In one embodiment, the extension folds under or over the base  34  or may be secured via fasteners  49  to the fabric cover  14  supported by front frame  16  to create a small gate-like barrier to the open front. In at least one embodiment, the extension has a shape that is generally consistent with or similar to that of the front frame. In such an embodiment, when in a closed position, so that fasteners  49  secure extension  48  to front frame  16 , a closure is provided for completely obstructing the open front created by flexible fabric cover  14  and internal frame  12 . 
   In one embodiment, the diaper changing station is provided with a handle  50  for allowing easy movement or transportation of the invention. While the shown embodiment illustrates the handle  50  being disposed on the domed top of the diaper changing station, the handle could be disposed on any exterior surface of the invention. Further, the handle could be adjustably securable having one end disposed on the arched top of either the front frame  16  or the rear frame  18  and another end that is attachable to the arched top of the opposing frame so that when in a collapsed position, the handle may be secured in such a fashion so that front frame and rear frame are secured to one another. In one embodiment, the outer cover includes fasteners  52  disposed adjacent the front and rear frames for securing the front frame  16  to the rear frame  18  when in a collapsed position. Thus, the front and rear frame can be used as a handle to aid in transport of the diaper changing station when in a collapsed position. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the collapsible nature of the diaper changing station can be more clearly seen. For easy transport, diaper changing station may be collapsed whereby the domed top, sides and base all fold inwardly so that the entire collapsed station has a shape generally matching that of the front and rear frames  16  and  18 . Fasteners  52  allow front and rear frame to be secured along the domed top and sides of front and rear frame so that the changing station remains secured in a collapsed position during transport. Extension  48  may be secured to front frame  16  via the use of fasteners  49  so that the extension does not become snagged or torn during transport. 
   While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.