Patent Publication Number: US-2023159077-A1

Title: Backrest angle adjusting mechanism and infant carrier having the same

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application Serial No. 17/404,110, filed Aug. 17, 2021, which claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application 202021730989.9, filed on Aug. 18, 2020, which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to an infant carrier, and particularly to a backrest angle adjusting mechanism and an infant carrier having the backrest angle adjusting mechanism. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An infant carrier, such as a stroller, a baby seat, a safety seat and the like generally has a seat body and a backrest. At present, there are two common types of infant carriers in the market, and one of them is an infant carrier being relatively simple with a non-adjustable backrest. Such an infant carrier, because its backrest and seat body are fixedly arranged, and the inclination angle of the backrest is not adjustable, cannot meet different usage requirements well, thereby reducing the comfort of use and the adaptability. Another common infant carrier has a backrest with an inclination angle being adjustable in respect with the seat body, but the structure of the adjustment mechanism is relatively complicated, the manufacturing cost is high, and the backrest cannot be effectively adjusted to a vertical position perpendicular to the seat body, thereby making the entire structure of the infant carrier relatively complicated and inconvenient to operate, which affects the use of users. 
     Therefore, it is urgently needed for a backrest angle adjusting mechanism which is simple in structure, easy to operate, low cost, and can realize backrest adjustment, and it is urgently needed for an infant carrier having such backrest angle adjusting mechanism as well, so as to overcome the above-mentioned problems. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the disclosure is to provide a backrest angle adjusting mechanism which is simple in structure, easy to operate, low in cost, and capable of adjusting the backrest, so as to ensure the comfort of the baby and infant riding in the infant carrier. 
     Another object of the disclosure is to provide an infant carrier equipped with a backrest angle adjusting mechanism which is simple in structure, easy to operate, low in cost, and capable of adjusting the backrest, so as to ensure the comfort of the baby and infant riding in the infant carrier. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, the disclosure provides a backrest angle adjusting mechanism which is suitable for being assembled between a seat body and a backrest of an infant carrier, with the seat body installed on the frame and the backrest rotatably connected to the seat body. The backrest angle adjusting mechanism comprises a fixing member, an adjustment member, and a connecting member, one end of the connecting member is connected to the backrest, the other end of the connecting member is connected to the fixing member, and the connecting member has a certain thickness, one end of the adjustment member is connected to the seat body or the frame to form a connecting part, and the other end of the adjustment member is passed around the fixing member to form an operating part, operating of the operating part causes the adjustment member to slide on the fixing member, and sliding of the adjustment member brings the backrest to rotate in respect to the seat body, thereby adjusting an inclination angle of the backrest. 
     Preferably, the connecting member is fixed to the backrest, and the fixing member is detachably installed on the connecting member. 
     Preferably, the connecting member abuts between the backrest and the fixing member, and the fixing member is detachably fixed to the backrest after passing through the connecting member. 
     Preferably, the connecting member and the fixing member form an integral structure. 
     Preferably, the connecting member and the fixing member are fixedly connected to each other as a whole, and the connecting member is detachably installed on the backrest. 
     Preferably, a side of the fixing member opposite to the backrest extends in a direction near the backrest toward the back, thereby forming the connecting member with a certain thickness. 
     Preferably, connecting member is block-shaped or column-shaped. 
     Preferably, the connecting member has elasticity. By the arrangement that the connecting member has elasticity, the connecting member has a function of cushioning and shock absorbing, thereby reducing impact force during sitting or adjusting of the backrest angle, and effectively improving the comfort in use. 
     Preferably, the connecting member is disposed on a relative upper side of a back of the backrest, the fixing member and the connecting member are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, or one fixing member is fixed to the backrest by at least two connecting members. 
     Preferably, the adjustment member and the fixing member are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, or two adjustment members are arranged symmetrically on one fixing member. 
     Preferably, one connecting member is fixed at a center of the relative upper side of the backrest, one fixing member is fixed to the connecting member, and two adjustment member are symmetrically wound around the fixing member. 
     Preferably, two connecting members are symmetrically arranged at left and right ends of the relative upper side of the backrest, two fixing members are fixed to two connecting members in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, and each of the fixing members is wound around one adjustment member. 
     Preferably, the fixing member includes a positioning part and a guiding part connected to each other, the positioning part is used to be fixed to the connecting member, the guiding part is provided with an arc-shaped guide groove, the guide groove is provided with an anti-dropping member and a limiting member therein, the adjustment member is slidably inserted in the guide groove, the anti-dropping member is used to prevent the adjustment member from leaving the guide groove, and the limiting member is used to limit a sliding direction of the adjustment member. 
     Preferably, the anti-dropping member is located at a relative center of the guide groove and protrudes from an opening of the guide groove, and the anti-dropping member is provided with a through hole communicating with the guide groove. 
     Preferably, the adjustment member includes a first adjusting section connected between the connecting part and the fixing member and a second adjusting section connected between to the fixing member and the operating part, and when the adjustment member slides on the fixing member, a length of the first adjusting section and a length of the second adjusting section changes in inverse proportion. 
     Preferably, the backrest angle adjusting mechanism further comprises a locking member, the adjustment member is connected to the locking member after bypassing round the fixing member, the locking member is used to lock the first adjusting section and the second adjusting section at a position after a length adjustment. 
     Preferably, the locking member and the adjustment member are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, or at least two adjustment members are fixed to one locking member. 
     The disclosure further provides an infant carrier comprising a frame, a seat body connected to the frame, a backrest pivoted to the seat body, a backrest angle adjusting mechanism connected between the backrest and the seat body or between the backrest and the frame, and the backrest angle adjusting mechanism is defined as above. 
     Compared with the related art, the backrest angle adjusting mechanism of the disclosure comprises a connecting member, a fixing member and an adjustment member. The fixing member is fixed to a backrest via the connecting member. One end of the adjustment member is connected to the seat body or frame to form a connecting part, and the other end of the adjustment member bypasses round the fixing member to form an operating part. When the adjustment member is operated to slide on the fixing member, sliding of the adjustment member may bring the backrest to rotate the seat body in respect to the seat body, thereby adjusting an inclination angle of the backrest to meet different usage requirements. Furthermore, since the connecting member has a certain thickness, a spacing between the fixing member and the backrest may be effectively increased, and a spacing between the adjustment member and the backrest is also increased at same time. When the adjustment member is tightened, the backrest may lean more forward, and more upright in respect to the seat body, which also makes the adjustment operation of the adjustment member smoother. The backrest angle adjusting mechanism of the disclosure is simple in structure and convenient in operation, which effectively reduces manufacturing costs, so that the backrest may be smoothly varied between a reliable vertical upright state and a supportable lying state, thereby effectively ensuring the comfort and safety of the baby or infant in an infant carrier having the backrest angle adjusting mechanism. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a side view of a back angle adjustment mechanism of the disclosure installed on an infant carrier. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of a back angle adjustment mechanism of the disclosure installed on an infant carrier. 
         FIG.  3    is an enlarged view of the part A in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic view of a matching structure between a fixing member and a connecting member of a backrest angle adjusting mechanism. 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic view of the other matching structure between a fixing member and a connecting member of a backrest angle adjusting mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In order to describe the technical content and structural features of the disclosure in detail, the following illustration is provided conjunction with the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  and an infant carrier  200  having the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  are provided in this disclosure. The infant carrier  200  comprises, but is not limited to, e.g., a stroller, a carrycot, a bed, a baby basket, a safety seat and the like. Specifically, in the preferred embodiments of the present application, the infant carrier  200  of the disclosure may be a stroller comprising a frame  201 , a seat body  202  connected to the frame  201 , a backrest  203  pivoted to the seat body  202 , and a backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  connected between the backrest  203  and the seat body  202  or between the backrest  203  and the frame  201 . Moreover, a front wheel  204  and rear wheels  205  are disposed on front and rear sides of the frame  201  respectively. The backrest  203  can be rotated by the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  in respect to the seat body  202 , so as to adjust an inclination angle of the seat body  202  to meet different usage requirements. According to the preferred embodiments of the disclosure, the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  may cause the backrest  203  to rotate in a front and rear direction on the seat body  202 , such that the backrest  203  may be in a lying state relatively flush with the seat body  202  or in a vertical upright state in respect to the seat body  202 , thereby facilitating a baby or infant lying down or sitting in the infant carrier  200 .  FIG.  1    shows the backrest  203  in the lying state. Of course, the backrest  203  may also be adjusted to an inclined state between the lying state and the vertical upright state. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  3   , the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  of the disclosure comprises a fixing member  10 , an adjustment member  20 , and a connecting member  30 . One end of the connecting member  30  is connected to the backrest  203 , and the other end of the connecting member  30  is connected to the fixing member  10 , and the connecting member  30  has a certain thickness. One end of the adjustment member  20  is connected to the seat body  202  or the frame  201  to form a connecting part  21 , and the other end of the adjustment member  20  is passed around (bypasses round) the fixing member  10  to form an operating part  22 . The adjustment member  20  may be driven by operating of the operating part  22  to slide on the fixing member  10 . The backrest  203  may be brought, by sliding of the adjustment member  20 , to rotate in respect to the seat body  202 , so as to adjust the inclination angle of the backrest  203 . Specifically, connecting member  30  has an elasticity so that it has a function of cushioning and shock absorbing, which can reduce an impact force during sitting or during angle adjusting of the backrest  203 , and effectively improve the comfort of use. Preferably, the adjustment member  20  may be a rope, belt, or cable, which has a simple structure and is easy to operate, and has a low cost, thereby effectively reducing the production cost. 
     Referring both  FIGS.  2  and  3   , the adjustment member  20  comprises a first adjusting section  20   a  positioned between the connecting part  21  and the fixing member  10  and a second adjusting section  20   b  positioned between the fixing member  10  and the operating part  22 . Since the connecting part  21  of the adjustment member  20  is fixed to the seat body  202  or frame  201 , and the overall length of the adjustment member  20  remains certain, when the adjusting member  20  slides on the fixing member  10 , the length of the first adjusting section  20   a  and the length of the second adjusting section  20   b  are changed in inverse proportion, and the inclination angle of the backrest  203  may be adjusted by changing the length ratio between the two adjusting sections. In details, if the first adjusting section  20   a  is changed from short to long, the backrest  203  will be adjusted from the vertical upright state toward the lying state, and if the first adjusting section  20   a  is changed from long to short, then the backrest  202  will be adjusted from the lying state toward the vertical upright state. Furthermore, since the connecting member  30  has a certain thickness, the spacing between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  can be effectively increased, and the spacing between the adjustment member  20  and the backrest  203  can be increased as well. When the adjustment member  20  is tightened, the backrest  203  may be adjusted by a greatest extent to a more upright position in respect to the seat body  202 . In addition, the arrangement that increases the spacing between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  may also make the adjustment operation of the adjustment member  20  smoother. 
     Referring both  FIGS.  2  and  3   , in order to place the connecting member  30  between the backrest  203  and the fixing member  10 , specifically, in the preferred embodiments of the present application, the connecting member  30  may be fixed to the backrest  203 , and the fixing member  10  may be detachably installed on the connecting member  30 . Of course, the connecting member  30  may be arranged to abut on between the backrest  203  and the fixing member  10 , then the fixing member  10  is detachably fixed to the backrest  203  after passing through the connecting member  30 . By either way mentioned above, the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  may be simply and easily assembled with certain spacing between them. Preferably, in order to simplify structure, the connecting member  30  and the fixing member  10  may also form an integral structure. Specifically, the connecting member  30  and the fixing member  10  may be fixedly connected into one body at first, and then the connecting member  30  may be detachably installed on the backrest  203 . Further, the connecting member  30  and the fixing member  10  themselves may be a whole and one face of the fixing member  10  opposite to the backrest  203  may be extended in a direction near the backrest  203 , so as to form the connecting member  30  with a certain thickness. At this time, the connecting member  30  is a part of the fixing member  10 , and it is sufficient to fix the fixing member  10  on the backrest  203  as a whole. 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , the connecting member  30  is disposed on an opposite upper side of the back of the backrest  203 . The fixing member  10  and the connecting member  30  may be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, or one fixing member  10  may be fixed to the backrest  203  by at least two connecting members  30 , both of which can increase the distance between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203 . On this basis, the adjustment member  20  and the fixing member  10  may also be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship, or, two adjusting members  20  are symmetrically arranged on one fixing member  10 . Moreover, the connecting member  30  has a profile of block or column. As shown in  FIG.  4   , the connecting member  30  is in the shape of a plate as a whole, such that an area of a connecting surface between the fixing member  10  and the connecting member  30  is relatively large, and the connecting member  30  and the fixing member  10  are connected more firmly to each other, thereby strengthening the connection between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203 . As shown in  FIG.  5   , the connecting member  30  is cylindrical, and the fixing member  10  may be fixed to the backrest  203  by a plurality of connecting members  30  arranged separately, so, by multi-point fixing, in one hand, the connection between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  may be strengthened, and in the other hand, the adhesiveness between the backrests  203  in different mounting faces may be improved effectively. 
     Specifically, in the preferred embodiments of the present application, when both the number of the fixing member  10  and the number of the connecting member  30  are one, the connecting member  30  may be fixed at a center of an upper side of the backrest  203 , and the fixing member  10  is fixed to the connecting member  30 . The number of the adjustment member  20  is one, and its head and tail ends are respectively connected to both sides of the seat body  202  or the frame  201  to form two connecting parts  21 . A center end of the adjustment member  20  is passed around the fixing member  10  to form an annular-shaped operating part  22 . Then, by pulling the operating part  22  with one hand, adjustment operation of the backrest  203  can be performed, and the structure is simple and the operation is convenient. Of course, if both the number of the fixing member  10  and the number of the connecting member  30  are one, the number of the adjustment member  20  would be set to two, and the two adjustment members  20  may be symmetrically wound on the fixing member  10 . Then, the connecting parts  21  of the two adjustment members  20  are symmetrically connected to both sides of the seat body  202  or the frame  201 , and the operating parts  22  of the two adjustment members  20  are symmetrically passed around the fixing member  10 , so by pulling the two operating parts  22 , the adjustment of the backrest  203  may also be performed. 
     Referring both  FIGS.  2  and  3   , in the preferred embodiments of the present application, in order to ensure the stability and smoothness of the adjustment of the backrest  203 , the number of connecting member  30 , the number of the fixing member  10  and the number of the adjustment member  20  are correspondingly set to two. The two connecting members  30  are arranged symmetrically at left and right ends of the relative upper side of the backrest  203 . The two fixing members  10  are fixed to the two connecting members  30  in one-to-one correspondence relationship with each of the fixing members  10  being wound by one adjustment member  20 , and the connecting parts  21  of the two adjustment members  20  are symmetrically connected to both sides of the seat body  202  or the frame  201 , and the operating parts  22  of the two adjustment member  20  are symmetrically passed around the fixing member  10 , such that force applied on the backrest  203  may be distributed more even when the backrest  203  is adjusted, and the adjustment of the backrest  203  is more stable and smooth. 
     It would be noted, if the number of the fixing member  10  is two, the number of the adjusting member  20  may also be one. After a head end of one the adjustment member  20  is connected to one side of the seat body  202  or one side of the frame  201  to form one connecting part  21 , a tail end of the adjustment member  20  bypasses round the two fixing members  10  in turn, and then is connected to the opposite side of the seat body  202  or frame  201  to form the other connecting part  21 , thereby forming an operating part  22  between the two fixing members  10 . Then, by pulling the operating part  22  with one hand, the adjustment operation of the backrest  203  may be realized, so the adjustment of the backrest  203  is stable and convenient. In addition, the number of the fixing member  10  may be more than one, and a plurality of the fixing member  10  are arranged on the backrest  203  in parallel and spaced apart, and the plurality of the adjustment members  20  are wound on the plurality of fixing members  10  in one-to-one correspondence relationship. Moreover, the plurality of the adjustment members  20  are also respectively connected to the seat body  202  or the frame  201 . So, by arranging multiple pulling points, force applied on the entire backrest  203  may be distributed more even, such that the adjustment is more stable and smooth, and further improves use comfort and safety of the infant carrier  200 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  of the disclosure further comprises a locking member  40 . The adjusting member  20  bypasses round the fixing member  10  and then is inserted and connected to the locking member  40 . The locking member  40  is used to lock the first adjusting section  20   a  and the second adjusting section  20   b  at a position after a length adjustment. It would be noted, specifically, this embodiment allows more than two adjustment members  20  to pass through one locking member  40 , thereby simplifying the structure, realizing synchronous pulling operations, and making adjustments easier. Of course, in other embodiments, the locking member  40  and the adjusting member  20  may also be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence relationship. It would be noted, the structure of the locking member  40  in this embodiment could be implemented by a conventional structure, which can make the adjustment member  20  being unlocked and locked, and will not be described in detail here. Of course, if the locking member  20  is not provided, the disclosure may also perform the adjustment of the backrest  203  by providing a clamp-fitting structure which fitted by clamping with each other on the adjusting member  20  and the fixing member  10 . In addition, locking may be further simplified by directly pulling the adjustment member  20  and then knotting/ positioning it. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3  to  5   , in order to facilitate inserting and sliding of the adjusting member  20 , a guide groove  10   a  is disposed on the fixing member  10 . The adjustment member  20  is inserted in the guide groove  10   a  and may slide in the guide groove  10   a . The guide groove  10   a  may be arranged in a direction parallel or perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the backrest  203 . Preferably, guide groove  10   a  is an arc-shaped groove. Specifically, the fixing member  10  has a positioning part  11  and a guiding part  12  which are connected to each other. The positioning part  11  is used to be fixedly connected to the backrest  203  or the connecting member  30 , specifically, fixedly connected by thread. The guide groove  10   a  is disposed on the guiding part  12 , and the guiding part  12  and the positioning part  11  are arranged parallel with or perpendicular to each other, such that the guiding groove  10   a  is arranged in a direction parallel with or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the backrest  203 . Preferably, the positioning part  11  and the guiding part  12  are an integral structure, so that on the basis of simplifying the structure, the assembly process is optimized, and the manufacturing cost is further reduced. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3  to  5   , the fixing member  10  further comprises an anti-dropping member  13 . The anti-dropping member  13  is disposed in the guide groove  10   a , in order to prevent the adjustment member  20  slidably inserted in the guide groove  10   a  from being separated from the guide groove  10   a . Specifically, the anti-dropping member  13  is located at a relative center of the guide groove  10   a  and protrudes from an opening of the guide groove  10   a . A through hole  13   a  communicating with the guide groove  10   a  is disposed in the anti-dropping member  13 . Then the adjustment member  20  may penetrate into the guiding groove  10   a  from one side of the guiding groove  10   a  and pass through the through hole  13   a  and then pass out of the other side of the guiding groove  10   a , so as to effectively prevent the adjusting member  20  from leaving the guiding groove  10   a  during the pulling process. Preferably, the anti-dropping member  13  may be formed by protruding and buckling of both groove walls of the guide groove  10   a  in a direction away from the opening, and the arrangement that the anti-dropping member  13  and the guide groove  10   a  being integrated may further simplify the structure. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3  to  5   , the fixing member  10  further comprises a limiting member  14 . The limiting member  14  is disposed in the guide groove  10   a  for limiting a sliding direction of the adjustment member  20  in the guide groove  10   a . Moreover, the limiting member  14  may be disposed at an outlet end of the guide groove  10   a , so as to limit an angle of the adjustment member  20  when it passes out, so as to make an adjustment. Of course, the limiting member  14  may also be disposed at an inlet end of the guide groove  10   a , so as to facilitate the penetration of the adjustment member  20 . Specifically, the limiting member  14  is flush with the direction of the opening of the guide groove  10   a , and the limiting member  14  and a bottom wall of the guide groove  10   a  are arranged in parallel and spaced apart, so as to limit sliding of the adjustment member  20  which is inserted between the bottom wall and the limiting member  14 , thereby keeping the adjustment member  20  always sliding in the direction of the guide groove  10   a . When the operating part  22  of the adjustment member  20  is operated to cause the adjustment member  20  to slide on the fixing member  10 , thereby driving the backrest  203  to rotate in respect to the seat body  202 . When the backrest  203  rotates to bring the fixing member  10  to rotate so that its limiting member  14  and the connecting part  21  of the adjustment member  20  are relatively flush, since the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  have a certain distance at this time, the backrest  203  may be adjusted to a position more upright in respect to the seat body  202 . It would be noted, in the prior art, the backrest generally can only be adjusted to a position where it is flush with the pivot point of the seat body  202 , and often the backrest and the seat body are not completely perpendicular in respect each other. However, in the present application, since the backrest  203  is located on a relative front side of the fixing member  10 , and there is a certain distance between the two parts, when the limiting member  14  of the fixing member  10  rotates to be relatively flush with the connecting part  21 , the backrest  203  is actually inclined more forward, and the backrest  203  of the present application is more upright respect to the seat body  202 . 
     Compared with the related art, the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  of the disclosure comprises a connecting member  30 , a fixing member  10  and an adjustment member  20 . The fixing member  10  is fixed to a backrest  203  via the connecting member  30 . One end of the adjustment member  20  is connected to a seat body  202  or a frame  201  to form a connecting part  21 , and the other end of the adjustment member  20  is passed around the fixing member  10  to form an operating part  22 . When the adjustment member  20  is operated to slide on the fixing member  10 , sliding of the adjustment member  20  may bring the backrest  203  to rotate in respect to the seat body  202 , thereby adjusting an inclination angle of the backrest  203  to meet different usage requirements. Furthermore, since the connecting member  30  has a certain thickness, a spacing between the fixing member  10  and the backrest  203  may be effectively increased, and a spacing between the adjustment member  20  and the backrest  203  is also increased at same time. When the adjusting member  20  is tightened, the backrest  203  may be inclined more forward, and thusly more upright in respect to the seat body  202 , which also makes the adjustment operation of the adjustment member  20  smoother. The backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100  of the disclosure is simple in structure and convenient in operation, and can effectively reduce manufacturing costs, so that the backrest  203  may be smoothly switched between a reliable vertical upright state and a supportable lying state, thereby effectively ensuring the comfort and safety of the baby or infant in an infant carrier  200  having the backrest angle adjusting mechanism  100 . 
     What disclosed above are only preferred embodiments of the disclosure, and the scope of the disclosure certainly cannot be limited by this. Therefore, any equivalent changes made according to the scope of the disclosure still belong to the disclosure.