Patent Publication Number: US-8984682-B2

Title: Reversible platform and crib therewith

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a platform for crib and a crib, and especially relates to a reversible platform and a crib therewith. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     A crib is one of essential household appliances for a family having infants. In general, for the structure design of a current crib, the crib mainly includes a crib frame for supporting and a covering member installed on the crib frame for protection; thereby, an infant can be placed thereon by a caregiver. As technology develops, for the requirements for multi-functional cribs by users, the current crib is often provided with many additional accessories for the crib frame, for example, sleeping napper and baby changer, so as to improve the utility of the crib. 
     However, the current crib is provided with the sleeping napper and the baby changer disposed side by side on the crib frame. The above arrangement occupies a larger space of the crib, leading to occupancy of space. In addition, some cribs are provided with detachable baby changers. In such case, the baby changer can be detached from the crib or pivot on a side of the crib to a store position outside the crib after use. It may save space for the occupation by the baby changer, but the pivotal structure thereof is so complicated as to be very inconvenient to users. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the invention is to provide a reversible platform. The reversible platform uses a reversible mechanism to provide two applications to users but only occupies one disposition space. 
     The reversible platform of the invention is used on a crib frame and includes a pivotally-engaging mechanism and a bracket. The pivotally-engaging mechanism is disposed on the crib frame. The bracket is pivotally connected to the crib frame through the pivotally-engaging mechanism and has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side. The bracket is capable of being rotated to be disposed selectively with the first side or the second side facing upward for providing application space. In practice, a flexible part can be mounted on the first side of the bracket to form a baby changer; similarly, another flexible part can be mounted on the second side of the bracket to form a sleeping napper. Thereby, a user can easily turn the bracket through the pivotally-engaging mechanism to selectively use the first side or the second side of the bracket within the same occupied space for required applications, for example a baby changer or a sleeping napper, but the invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the reversible platform of the invention can provide two application platforms with one occupied space of the crib frame, which solves the problem in the prior art that additional accessories provided for a conventional crib is provided for multiple functions occupy more space and the operation therefor is usually inconvenient to users. 
     Another objective of the invention is to provide a crib having a reversible platform according to the invention. The crib includes a crib frame and a reversible platform. The reversible platform is disposed on the crib frame and includes a pivotally-engaging mechanism and a bracket. The pivotally-engaging mechanism is disposed on the crib frame. The bracket is pivotally connected to the crib frame through the pivotally-engaging mechanism and has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side. The bracket is capable of being rotated to be disposed selectively with the first side or the second side facing upward for providing application space. Similarly, a user can easily turn the bracket through the pivotally-engaging mechanism to selectively use the first side or the second side of the bracket within the same occupied space for required applications, and the crib is multi-functional without occupying much space, which solves the problem in the prior art that the additional accessories occupy more space and the operation therefor is usually inconvenient to users. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarge view of the circle A in  FIG. 1  for illustrating a pivotally-engaging mechanism of a reversible platform of the crib. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarge view of the circle B in  FIG. 1  for illustrating a supporting mechanism of the reversible platform. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the supporting mechanism in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIGS. 7 through 9  are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of turning over the bracket of the reversible platform in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is an enlarge view of the circle C in  FIG. 10  for illustrating a pivotally-engaging mechanism of a reversible platform of the crib. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating the pivotally-engaging mechanism in  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism in  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded view of a supporting mechanism of a reversible platform of the crib in  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is a top view of the supporting mechanism in  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of the supporting mechanism partially sectioned along the line X-X in  FIG. 16 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib  1  of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention. For clear illustration, the covering member, for example, made of cloth for the crib  1  is not shown in  FIG. 1 . In the embodiment, the crib  1  includes a crib frame  12  and a reversible platform  14 . The reversible platform  14  includes a pivotally-engaging mechanism  142 , a bracket  144 , a first supporting mechanism  146   a , and a second supporting mechanism  146   b . The pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  is disposed on the crib frame  12 . The bracket  144  is pivotally connected to the crib frame  12  through the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142 . The supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are pivotally connected to the bracket  144  oppositely and detachably hold the crib frame  12 . Thereby, in an application change for the reversible platform  14 , the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  can be detached from the crib frame  12  first; then, the bracket  144  can be turned over through the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142 ; at last, the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  hold the crib frame  12  again. Therefore, the reversible platform  14  can provide two applications by two sides of the bracket  144  with only one occupied space. The mechanism of the components of the crib is going to be described in detail in the following. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 through 4 .  FIG. 2  is an enlarge view of the circle A in  FIG. 1  for illustrating the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142 .  FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  in  FIG. 2 ; the cutting plane therefor is located at the middle of the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  and perpendicular to the axis of the bracket  144 . The pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  includes a base part  1422 , mounted on the crib frame  12 , and a connection part  1424 , pivotally connected to the base part  1422 . The bracket  144  is connected to the connection part  1424 . In the embodiment, the connection part  1424  has a hole  14242  and a limitation slot  14244 . The bracket  144  is pivotally connected to the connection part by passing through the hole  14242 . The pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  further comprises a limitation part  1426  mounted on the bracket  144  and sliding limitedly in the limitation slot  14244 . Under the limitation on the limitation part  1426  by the limitation slot  14244 , the bracket  144  may rotate relative to the connection part  1424  within 180 degrees. The limitation slot  14244  is conducive to positioning the bracket  144 ; however, in practice, the above limitation design can be omitted so that the bracket  144  can rotate relative to the connection part  1424  free. 
     Furthermore, the base part  1422  has a hole  14222 , a first engagement portion  14224 , and a second engagement portion  14226 . The connection part  1424  has a pivot  14246  with a hook  14248 . The pivot  14246  is pivotally disposed in the hole  14222  so that the connection part  1424  can rotate relative to the base part  1422  free; the hook  14248  is engaged with the first engagement portion  14224  so as to prevent the connection part  1424  from escaping entirely from the base part  1422 . In the embodiment, the first engagement portion  14224  is realized by a shoulder structure adjacent to the hole  14222 , but the invention is not limited thereto. The crib frame  12  has a mounting base  122  thereon. The second engagement portion  14226  is engaged with the mounting base  122 . In the embodiment, the second engagement portion  14226  is realized by two hooks disposed oppositely to hold the bottom of the mounting base  122 , but the invention is not limited thereto. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  6 .  FIG. 5  is an enlarge view of the circle B in  FIG. 1  for illustrating the supporting mechanism  146   a .  FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the supporting mechanism  146   a  in  FIG. 5 ; the cutting plane therefor is located at the middle of the supporting mechanism  146   a  and perpendicular to the axis of the bracket  144 . The supporting mechanism  146   a  includes a connection part  1462  and a holding part  1464  connected to the connection part  1462 . The bracket  144  is connected to the connection part  1462  such that the holding part  1464  is capable of rotating relative to the bracket  144 . In the embodiment, the connection part  1462  has a hole  14622  and a limitation slot  14624 . The bracket  144  is pivotally connected to the connection part  1462  by passing through the hole  14622 . The supporting mechanism  146   a  further comprises a limitation part  1466  mounted on the bracket  144  and sliding limitedly in the limitation slot  14624 . Under the limitation on the limitation part  1466  by the limitation slot  14624 , the supporting mechanism  146   a  (or the holding part  1464 ) may rotate relative to the bracket  144  within 180 degrees. 
     The limitation slot  14624  is conducive to positioning the bracket  144  and remaining the relative position between the supporting mechanism  146   a  and the bracket  144 ; however, in practice, the above limitation design can be omitted so that the supporting mechanism  146   a  can rotate relative to the bracket  144  free, and the relative position between the supporting mechanism  146   a  and the bracket  144  can be adjustable. Moreover, the holding part  1464  is an elastic C-shaped structure with a guiding structure at its opening, so the holding part  1464  can detachably hold the crib frame  12 . In the embodiment, the holding part  1464  includes two ribs  14642  on the inner surface of the C-shaped structure opposite to the opening, which is conducive to holding the crib frame  12  stably and firmly. 
     In the embodiment, the supporting mechanism  146   b  is identical to the supporting mechanism  146   a , so please refer to the above for the description for the supporting mechanism  146   b . However, the invention is not limited thereto. In practice, the supporting mechanism  146   b  can be another kind different to the supporting mechanism  146   a . For example, the supporting mechanism can be designed to hold the crib frame  12  by magnetic attraction instead of the structural holding design, when the crib frame  12  is magnetic. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIGS. 7 through 9 .  FIGS. 7 through 9  are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of turning over the bracket  144  so as to make use of the other side of the bracket  144 . The bracket  144  has a first side  1442  and a second side  1444  opposite to the first side  1442 . In the embodiment, the reversible platform  14  includes a first flexible part  148   a  and a second flexible part  148   b . The first flexible part  148   a  is mounted on the first side  1442  to form a baby changer, as shown in  FIG. 7  (or  FIG. 1 ). The second flexible part  148   b  is mounted on the second side  1444  to form a sleeping napper, as shown in  FIG. 9 . In practice, for the requirements of the baby changer, the first flexible part  148   a  can be made of cloth of water-proof and easily-cleaning material such as EVA, PVC and so on. Similarly, for the requirements of the sleeping napper, the second flexible part  148   b  can be made of cloth of soft material such as cotton, flannel, velvet and so on. But the invention is not limited thereto. 
     When a user needs to use the sleeping napper, the user can lift the bracket  144  first such that the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are detached from the crib frame  12 , and then rotate the bracket  144  about the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  (actually about the connection part  1424 ) upward in about 90 degrees, as shown in  FIG. 7 . Afterward, the user can rotate the bracket  144  about the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  clockwise or counterclockwise in about 180 degrees, as shown in  FIG. 8 ; at the same time, the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are also rotated in about 180 degrees. At last, the user can rotate the bracket  144  down about the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  till the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are attached onto the crib frame  12  again, as shown in  FIG. 9 . At this time, the second side  1444  of the bracket  144  faces upward, and the user can use the sleeping napper now. Similarly, if the user needs to use the baby changer again, the user can perform the above operation again to make the first side  1442  of the bracket  144  face upward for the usage of the baby changer. Thereby, the bracket  144  is capable of being rotated to be disposed selectively with the first side  1442  or the second side  1444  facing upward for providing application space such as for the baby changer and the sleeping napper to the user. 
     In the embodiment, the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are identical and disposed oppositely on the bracket  144 , exactly on a first handrail  144   a  and a second handrail  144   b  of the bracket  144 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . Furthermore, the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  is located on a third handrail  144   c  between the first handrail  144   a  and the second handrail  144   b . But the invention is not limited thereto. For example, in an embodiment, the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  can be disposed on the first handrail  144   a;  the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  are disposed on the second handrail  144   b  and the third handrail  144   c  respectively. In such disposition, the reversible platform  14  still can be supported stably on the crib frame  12  and operate normally. 
     In the above embodiments, the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  uses two pivotal joints to provide the turning-over mechanism to the bracket  144 . But the invention is not limited to the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142 . Please refer to  FIG. 10 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib  3  of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention. The crib  3  is structurally similar to the crib  1 . The main difference therebetween is that the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342  of the crib  3  is different to the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  of the crib  1 . Please also refer to  FIGS. 11 through 13 .  FIG. 11  is an enlarge view of the circle C in  FIG. 10  for illustrating the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342 .  FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342 .  FIG. 13  is a sectional view of the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342  in  FIG. 11 ; the cutting plane therefor is located at the middle of the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342  and perpendicular to the axis of the bracket  144 . 
     The pivotally-engaging mechanism  342  includes a base part  3422 , mounted on the crib frame  12 , and a connection part  3424 , pivotally connected to the base part  3422 , and the bracket  144  is connected to the connection part  3424 . In the embodiment, the base part  3422  includes a front casing member  34222  and a back casing member  34224 . The front casing member  34222  has a socket opening portion  34222   a  and a first mounting portion  34222   b . The back casing member  34224  has a socket back cover portion  34224   a  and a second mounting portion  34224   b . The socket back cover portion  34224   a  is engaged with the socket opening portion  34222   a  by the engagement of a rib  34222   c  (or taken as a groove in practice) formed on the socket opening portion  34222   a  with a groove  34224   c  formed on the socket back cover portion  34224   a  to form a socket  34226 . The first mounting portion  34222   b  forms an accommodating space  34222   d  and has a first hook  34222   e  in the accommodating space  34222   d  and a slot  34222   f  formed on an outer surface  34222   g  thereof. The second mounting portion  34224   b  has a second hook  34224   d ,disposed in the accommodating space  34222   d  through a channel  34222   h  formed on the first mounting portion  34222   b , and a third hook  34224   e , engaged with the slot  34222   f . The mounting base  122  of the crib frame  12  is disposed in the accommodating space  34222   d  to be engaged with the first hook  34222   e  and the second hook  34224   d.    
     The connection part  3424  has a ball portion  34242 , pivotally disposed in the socket  34226  through the socket opening portion  34222   a,  and a connecting portion  34244 , connected to the ball portion  34242 . The connecting portion  34244  has a hole  34244   a . The bracket  144  passes through the hole  34244   a . In the embodiment, for convenience during assembly of the bracket  144  with the connecting portion  34244 , the connecting portion  34244  is formed by a fixed portion  34244   b , fixedly connected to the ball portion  34242 , and a ball cover  34244   c , engaged with the fixed portion  34244   b  after the bracket  144  disposed on the fixed portion  34244   b  for holding the bracket  144 . Furthermore, the bracket  144  is also fixed with the connecting portion  34244  by a fixing part  34246  (not shown in  FIG. 12 ), for example a screw with a nut, so that the bracket  144  moves together with the connection part  3424 . In other words, the movement of the bracket  144  is constrained by the socket  34226  (exactly by the socket opening portion  34222   a ). Hence, the turning-over operation of the bracket  144  is performed by the ball portion  34242  rotating in the socket  34226 . However, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the bracket  144  still can be pivotally connected to the connection part  3424  by passing through the hole  34244   a  without being fixed, so as to be capable of rotating relative to the connecting portion  34244  free, which increases the flexibility of the turning-over operation for the user. The turning-over operation for the bracket  144  of the crib  3  based on the pivotally-engaging mechanism  342  is similar to that based on the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  and is not described again herein. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a crib  5  of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention. The crib  5  is structurally similar to the crib  1 . The main difference therebetween is that the first and second supporting mechanisms  546   a  and  546   b  of the crib  5  are different to the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  of the crib  1 . Please also refer to  FIGS. 15 through 17 .  FIG. 15  is an exploded view of the second supporting mechanism  546   b  in  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 16  is a top view of the second supporting mechanism  546   b  in  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 17  is a side view of the second supporting mechanism  546   b  partially sectioned along the line X-X in  FIG. 16 . In the embodiment, the first and second supporting mechanisms  546   a  and  546   b  are identical, so the following description is based on the second supporting mechanism  546   b . Hence, the description for the first supporting mechanism  546   a  is not described repeatedly hereinafter. 
     The second supporting mechanism  546   b  includes a connection part  5462  and a holding part  5464  connected to the connection part  5462 . The bracket  144  is connected to the connection part  5462  such that the holding part  5464  is capable of rotating relative to the bracket  144 . The holding part  5464  is capable of detachably holding the crib frame  12 . In the embodiment, the connection part  5462  includes a support part  5462   a  and a pivot part  5462   b . The support part  5462   a  is mounted on the holding part  5464  and has a hole  5462   c  and a limitation block  5462   d  formed in the hole  5462   c  . The pivot part  5462   b  is mounted on the bracket  144  with screws or other applicable mounting methods. The pivot part  5462   b  has an axle  5462   e  and a limitation portion  5462   f  formed on the axle  5462   e . The axle  5462   e  is pivotally disposed in the hole  5462   c  with the limitation portion  5462   f  being limited by the limitation block  5462   d . In practice, a pin join  5462   g , for example a bolt probably with a nut, is involved in the engagement of the axle  5462   e  and the hole  5462   c . Under the limitation on the limitation portion  5462   f  by the limitation block  5462   d , the support part  5462   a  together with the holding part  5464  can rotate relative to the pivot part  5462   b  (or the bracket  144 ) within 180 degrees. The limitation block  5462   d  is conducive to positioning the support part  5462   a  together with the holding part  5464 ; however, in practice, the above limitation design can be omitted so that the support part  5462   a  together with the holding part  5464  can rotate relative to the pivot part  5462   b  free. 
     In the embodiment, the bracket  144  is polygonal, i.e. rectangular. The first and second supporting mechanisms  546   a  and  546   b  are disposed oppositely relative to the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  on two corners of the bracket  144 , so as to obtain a larger gravity supporting area, formed by the pivotally-engaging mechanism  142  and the first and second supporting mechanisms  546   a  and  546   b , for supporting the bracket  144  more stably. But the invention is not limited thereto. The description for the supporting mechanisms  146   a  and  146   b  and the variations therefor are also applied to the supporting mechanisms  546   a  and  546   b , which is not described repeatedly herein. 
     As discussed in the above embodiments, the reversible platform and the crib therewith of the invention can provide two application platforms with one occupied space of the crib frame, which solves the problem in the prior art that additional accessories provided for a conventional crib is provided for multiple functions occupy more space and the operation therefor is usually inconvenient to users. Furthermore, the reversible platform of the invention can provide application space not limited to the abovementioned applications, i.e. the baby changer and the sleeping napper. In principle, any application capable of using the bracket of the reversible platform is applicable by the invention. In addition, in the above embodiments, the side portions of the bracket are right above the handrails of the crib frame, so in practice the supporting mechanisms can be omitted such that the side portions of the bracket are directly disposed on the handrails of the crib frame. The bracket still can be supported by the crib frame stably. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.