Patent Publication Number: US-6698042-B2

Title: Base of a foldable baby bed

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a base of a foldable baby bed, and particularly to one, which has relatively smooth pivotal movement to be not easily damaged under frequent pivotal movement of the parts for folding and stretching of the baby bed, and is compact for permitting the baby bed to be folded to a desired small size. 
     Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a conventional base for a foldable baby bed includes a middle member  10 , a first pivotal rod  20 , a second pivotal rod  30  and two turning members  60 . 
     The middle member  10  has an elongated shape, and has holed connecting protrusion sets  105  at two ends, and holed connecting protrusion sets  103  at intermediate portions. Receiving hollows  101  are formed between the central support rod (not numbered) and each of the connecting protrusion sets  103 , each having a spring  102  disposed therein. 
     The first pivotal rod  20  is pivoted to one of the connecting protrusion sets  103  with a locating block  201  being connected to a lower end of the corresponding spring  102 ; a curved recess  203  is formed at an outer end; a corresponding wall  107  in the gap  106  between two connecting protrusions of one of the sets  105 , and the curved recess  203  are arranged abreast. 
     The second pivotal rod  30  is pivoted to the other connecting protrusion set  103  with a locating block  301  being connected to a lower end of the corresponding spring  102 . And, an outer end curved recess  302 , and the corresponding wall  107  in a gap between the connecting protrusions of the other set  105  are arranged abreast. 
     Thus, the springs  102  bias the curved recesses  203 , and  302  of the pivotal rods  20  and  30  upwards to connect the walls  107  of the middle member  10 . The first pivotal rod  20  is pivoted to an inner end portion of the second pivotal rod  30  from the inner end portion, and is connected to a belt  40  passed through an elongated hole  104  of the middle member  10  such that the pivotal rods  20  and  30  can be pivoted for moving the outer end curved recesses  203  and  302  away from the walls  107  by pulling the belt  40 . 
     The turning members  60  each has a rod part (not numbered) turnably passed through the corresponding connecting protrusion set  105 ; the rod parts each has a stopping element  601  projecting out from a lower side of the middle part. 
     Thus, when the outer end curved recesses  203  and  302  are moved away from the walls  107  of the middle member  10  by pulling the belt  40 , the stopping elements  601  of the turning members  60  are no long stopped from moving by the curved recesses  203  and  302 . Therefore, the rod parts of the turning members  60  can be turned in the connecting protrusions  105  for the connecting rods  50  connected to two ends of the turning members  60  to pivot inwardly of the baby bed for folding of the baby bed. 
     However, the connecting base for a foldable baby bed is found to have drawbacks as follows: 
     1. The baby bed still can&#39;t be folded into a satisfactorily small size because the middle member of the base, which decides the size of the baby bed after folding, has relatively big transverse cross section area, and is relatively long. 
     2. The pivotal rods  20  and  30  with pivotal connection of the kind get damaged very easily under frequent pivotal movement for folding and stretching of the baby bed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a base for a foldable baby bed, which can&#39;t be easily damaged by frequent movement of the parts in folding and stretching the baby bed, and which is compact for permitting the baby bed to be folded into a satisfactorily small size. 
     The base of a foldable baby bed of the present invention has a main body, two axles, four connecting members and a controlling handle. 
     The main body has a receiving room with a tube-shaped element up and down movably received therein. The main body receives a movable engaging board in it with a connecting bolt passed through the engaging board; the engaging bolt is connected to the tube-shaped element from an upper end, and passed through an upper spring disposed between a lower end of the receiving room, and an upper side of the engaging board. The connecting bolt is further passed through a lower spring disposed between the board and a nut connected to a lower end of the bolt for permitting the board to move together with the tube-shaped element. 
     The axles are each turnably passed through a pair of through receiving holes of the main body, and each has a rod-shaped engaging part having two end portions sticking out from a middle part of the axle. The main body has intermediate gaps between the through receiving holes for the rod-shaped engaging parts to be movably received therein. 
     The connecting members are connected to a respective one of end portions of the axles sticking out from the through receiving holes. The connecting members each has a connecting room pivotally connected to a corresponding one of the connecting rods pivoted to the frame of the bed. 
     The controlling handle has two holed cam parts at two ends, and is pivotally connected to the main body by means of a pivotal rod passed through the cam parts, a through hole of the main body, and the tube-shaped element; the cam parts are fitted onto a respective one of hollows on two sides of the main body; the through hole for the pivotal rod has an elongated opening for permitting the handle to be pivoted on the pivotal rod to move the engaging board up and down together with the pivotal rod and the tube-shaped element. 
     The engaging board is moved down by means of pivoting the handle to an unlocking position, for engaging holes on two end portions of the board to separate from the corresponding sticking-out end portions of the middle rod-shaped engaging part of the axles for permitting the axles to turn in the through receiving holes to pivot the connecting rods to fold the baby bed. The engaging board is moved up to lock the rod-shaped engaging parts of the axles from the engaging holes to fix the connecting rods at a stretched position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the base of a foldable baby bed according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the base of a foldable baby bed according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of the base of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the base of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the frame of a foldable baby bed with the base of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the base of the present invention under a first step of folding movement. 
     FIG. 7 is a view of the base of the present invention under the first step of folding movement. 
     FIG. 8 is a view of the base of the present invention under a second step of folding movement. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the base of the present invention at the folded position. 
     FIG. 10 is a view of the base of the present invention at the folded position. 
     FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the base of the present invention under stretching movement. 
     FIG. 12 is a view of the base of the present invention under stretching movement. 
     FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the base of the present invention under stretching movement. 
     FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional base of a foldable baby bed in the Background. 
     FIG. 15 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the conventional base of a foldable baby bed in the Background. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3  and  4 , a base of a foldable baby bed according to the present invention includes a main body  1 , two axles  17 , four connecting members  2 , a controlling handle  14  and four connecting rods  3  (FIG.  3 ). 
     The main body  1  has two through receiving hole sets  16  on a front end and a rear end of an upper portion respectively; the through receiving hole sets  16  each has two receiving holes, which have an intermediate gap  15  sandwiched in between. The intermediate gaps  15  each has a curved wall  151  on the upper end of the main body  1 . The main body  1  further has a central receiving room  11  defined by a wall; a tube-shaped element  12  is movably received in the central receiving room  11 , and has holed connecting protrusions  121  sticking out from the upper end. 
     A connecting bolt  19  is passed through the tube-shaped element  12  from the threaded rod part, and is passed through an upper spring  191 , a central hole of an engaging board  193 , and a lower spring  192  in sequence; the upper spring  191 , the engaging board  193 , and the lower spring  192  are movably received in the main body  1 ; the upper spring  191  is confined between a bottom of the wall of the receiving room  11  and the engaging board  193 ; a washer, and a nut (not numbered) is connected to the lower end of the connecting bolt  19  to prevent the lower spring  192  from falling out. The engaging board  193  has engaging holes  194  at two end portions thereof 
     The main body  1  has hollow  13  on central parts of two sides, and through holes  131  having elongated openings on the hollows  13 ; the through holes  131  are arranged such that the longer sides of the elongated openings are vertical when the main body  1  is disposed in position to support the baby bed on the ground. The controlling handle  14  has two cam parts  142  at two ends; the cam parts  142  each has a pivotal hole  141 . A pivotal rod  143  is passed through the through holes  131  of the main body  1 , the pivotal holes  141  of the controlling handle  14 , and the holed connecting protrusions  121  of the tube-shaped element  12  with the cam parts  142  of the controlling handle  14  being turnably fitted onto a respective one of the hollows  13  of the main body  1 ; thus, the controlling handle  14  can be pivoted on the pivotal rod  143  between an upright position, as shown in FIG. 6, where the lower one of the longer sides of each of the cam parts  142  abuts an engaging recess  132  (FIG. 3) of the corresponding hollow  13 , and a substantially laid-down position (FIG. 2) where one of the narrower sides of each of the cam parts  142  abuts the engaging recess  132  of the hollow  13 . 
     Thus, the controlling handle  14  can be used to control a position (height) of the engaging board  193  by pivoting between the upright position and the substantially laid-down position. 
     The main body  1  further has confining protrusions  18  on two sides of a lower part. 
     The axles  17  each has a central connecting hole  172  at the middle part, and two connecting holes (not numbered) at two end portions. The axles  17  are each turnably passed through a corresponding one of the through receiving hole sets  16  of the main body  1  with the central connecting hole  172  disposed in the intermediate gap  15 . The axles  17  each further has a rod-shaped engaging part  171  firmly passed through the central connecting hole  172 ; the rod-shaped engaging part  171  includes a rod-shaped fixing element  1713  screwed into an upper ring  1711 , and a lower ring  1712  from two ends for securing the rod-shaped engaging part  171  to the axle  17 . 
     The connecting members  2  each has a connecting room  22 , a connecting hole  21  and a downward projection  23 . The connecting members  2  are each connected to a respective one of the end portions of the axles  17  from the connecting hole  21  by means of rivets inserted through same, and the connecting holes of the end portions of the axles  17 . Thus, the turning members  2  can be pivoted up and down with the axles  17  turning in the through receiving holes  16  for stretching and folding the baby bed. 
     The connecting rods  3  (FIGS. 3 and 4) are pivoted to a respective one of the connecting rooms  22  of the connecting members  2  from inner ends, and are pivoted to the frame of the baby bed, which is not the subject of the present invention, and not detailed here. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 11, the connecting rooms  22  each has confining portions  221  (FIG. 4) and  222  (FIG.  11 ); the confining portion  221  is provided for stopping the connecting rod  3  from pivoting further outwards when the baby bed is stretched to an in-use position; the confining portion  222  is provided for stopping the connecting rod  3  from pivoting further inwardly of the main body  1  when the baby bed is folded to a not-in-use position. 
     Moreover, when the connecting members  2  are pivoted inwardly of the main body  1  to fold the baby bed, the projections  23  of the connecting members  2  will contact the confining protrusions  18  of the main body  1  for stopping the connecting members  2  in a desired positions where the folded body bed can stand on the ground. 
     When the baby bed is stretched to an in-use position, referring to FIG. 2, the controlling handle  14  is moved to the laid-down position for one of the narrower sides of each of the cam parts  142  to abut the engaging recess  132  (FIG. 3) of the main body  1 ; thus, the pivotal rod  143  is lifted to a top edges of the through holes  131  having elongated openings for moving the tube-shaped element  12 , and the engaging board  193  upwards to a locking position where the engaging holes  194  of the engaging board  193  fit onto the lower rings  1712  of the axles  17  to prevent the axles  17  from turning the upper rings  1711  of the axles  17  abut the curved walls  151  of the intermediate gaps  15  of the main body  1  to prevent the axles  17  from turning in the other direction. Therefore, the axles  17  of the base are not able to turn, making the baby bed stay in the stretched position. 
     To fold the stretched baby bed into the not-in-use position for storage, referring to FIGS. 6,  7  and  8 , the controlling handle  14  is pivoted to the upright position for the lower one of the longer sides of each of the cam parts  142  to abut the corresponding engaging recess  132  such that the pivotal rod  143  moves down along the through holes  131  of the main body  1  for moving the tube-shaped element  12  and the engaging board  193  to the not-locking position where the engaging holes  194  of the engaging board  193  separate from the lower rings  1712  of the axles  17 ; thus, the axles  17  can turn in the through receiving holes  16  of the main body  1 ; then, the controlling handle  14  is lifted by the user for pivoting the connecting members  2  and the connecting rods  3  downwards to fold the baby bed into the not-in-use position. After the baby bed is folded, the controlling handle  14  is moved to the laid-down position again, and, the projections  23  of the connecting members  2  abut the edges of the confining protrusions  18  of the main body  1  for locating the connecting rods  3  at an upright position capable of supporting the folded baby bed on the ground. 
     To stretch the folded baby bed, the controlling handle  14  is pivoted to the upright position for the engaging holes  194  of the engaging boards  193  to separate from the lower rings  1712  of the axles  17 . Then, the main body  1  is pressed to move downwards for the axles  17  to turn the connecting members  2  and the connecting rods  3  to pivot outwardly of the main body  1  until the upper rings  1711  of the axles  17  abut the curved walls  151  of the main body  1 . Then, the controlling handle  14  is pivoted to the laid-down position for the engaging holes  194  of the engaging boards  193  to engage the lower rings  1712  again. 
     If the user wants to stretch the folded baby bed with the controlling handle  14  still staying at the laid-down position, he or she can depress the main body  1  directly; the axles  17  will turn due to the downward movement of the main body  1 , and the lower rings  1712  of the axles  17  will force the engaging board  193  to move down due to the turning movement of the axles  17 . When the axles  17  are turned to a position where the lower rings  1712  face the engaging holes  194 , the lower springs  192  will bias the engaging board  193  upwards for the engaging holes  194  to engage the lower rings  1712  again. 
     From the above description, the base of a foldable baby bed according to the present invention can be known to have desirable features as follows: 
     1. The user can move the engaging board up and down to lock and unlock the axles respectively by simply pivoting the controlling handle on the pivotal rod  143  between the laid-down position and the upright position so the operation is relatively easy and effortless. 
     2. When the baby bed is stretched to the in-use position, the curved walls of the intermediate gaps of the main body can stop the upper rings  1711  of the axles  17  from moving further for permitting the connecting rods  3  to be located at a desired horizontal position. 
     3. With the projections  23  of the connecting members  2 , and the confining protrusions  18  of the main body  1 , the connecting rods  3  can be located at an upright position to support the baby bed stably when the baby bed is folded. 
     4. The folded baby bed can be stretched without having to first move the controlling handle to the upright position; the main body is depressed to pivot the connecting rods outwardly of the main body, making the axles turn for the lower rings of the axles to depress the engaging board biased upwards by the lower spring. When the lower rings face the engaging holes, the engaging board is moved up to engage the lower rings from the engaging holes by the lower spring. Thus, the baby bed is stretched. 
     5. The confining protrusions on two sides of the main body can help the main body to stand stably. 
     6. The main body is relatively compact and solid when compared with the middle member of the conventional base in the Background. 
     7. The main body has smaller transverse cross-section area than middle member of the conventional base, therefore the baby bed of the present invention can be folded into an even smaller size than the conventional one for further reducing the cost of storage and transportation.