Abstract:
The present application provides a bassinet comprising a cart including a lower portion which has two substantially U-shaped members, and an upper portion movably coupled to the lower portion, a bed portion detachably coupled to the upper portion of the cart; height adjusting means installed to the cart for adjusting the height of the cart, and four leg assemblies coupled to a lower portion of the cart and each of the leg assembly has a wheel unit which can be operated to locked at a erected position and a retracted position where the wheel unit is received in the leg assembly. The bassinet may perform a function similar to a cradle when the wheel units are retracted into the leg assemblies and the bed portion may be detached from the cart to use separately.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a height adjustable bassinet and more particularly, to a bassinet that can be used as a cradle and has a bed portion, which can be detached from the bassinet to be used separately. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A bassinet is one of nursery goods. As shown in FIG. 10, a traditional bassinet  100  includes a cart  101  and a bed portion  102  fixedly attached to the cart  101 . The cart  101  includes an upper frame consisting of two substantially reversed U-shaped members  103  each having two arms, and a lower frame consisting of four tubes  104  respectively fixed to one arm of the U-shaped members  103 , two arcuate tubes  105 , and four wheel assemblies  106  coupling the arcuate tubes  105  to tubes  104 . In addition, two connecting rods  107  are provided along the long sides of the cart to connect two wheel assemblies  106  and a plurality of openings (not shown) are provided along each arm of the U-shaped members to allow height adjustment of the cart. A wheel  108  is provided to each of the wheel assemblies  107  and the wheel  108  can be retracted within the wheel assembly  107  to allow the arcuate tubes  105  to contact the ground so as to allow the bassinet to work as a rocking cradle. 
     Although the traditional bassinet can perform certain functions, the bed portion  102  of the traditional bassinet is fixedly screwed to the cart and unable to be detached form the cart to use separately. In addition, the height adjustment of the traditional bassinet is awkward because a user has to operate four locking members (not shown) on the tubes  104  to perform this height adjustment and this make the height adjusting very inconvenient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a bassinet, which can be easily assembled and operated and a bed portion of the bassinet can be detached from the bassinet so as to use separately. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a bassinet whose height can be easily and conveniently adjusted. 
     To achieve these and other objects, the bassinet according to the present application comprises a cart including a lower portion which has two substantially U-shaped members, and an upper portion movably coupled to the lower portion, wherein each of the U-shaped members has two arm tubes and an arcuate connection portion connecting two arm tubes and each arm tube has a plurality of height adjusting holes formed in a tube wall along an axial direction, and the upper portion comprises four vertical tubes and four connecting rods, one end of each vertical tubes being telescopely coupled to an arm tube of the U-shaped members and the other end is coupled to and adjacent vertical tube by a connecting rod, wherein each vertical tube has a slot formed in a tube wall thereof to align with the height adjusting holes; height adjusting means operablely coupled to the cart and adapted to allow a height of the cart may be adjusted by selectively interlocking the upper portion and the lower portion of the cart may; a bed portion detachably coupled to the upper portion of the cart; and four leg assemblies each coupled to a joint of the arm tube and the connection portion of the U-shaped members, wherein each leg assembly has a housing fixedly attached to the U-shaped members and a wheel unit retractably coupled to the housing. 
     According to one embodiment of the present application, the height adjusting means comprises at least one actuating device operably installed to the upper portion of the cart; at least one locking device installed inside the vertical tubes and having a lock member; at least one cable operably connecting the at least one locking device to the at least one actuating device such that the at least one locking device may selectively engage/disengage with the slot of the arm tube of the U-shaped members and one of the height adjusting holes in the vertical tubes under the operation of the at least one actuating device. 
     The bed portion comprises a bed, a frame fixed to the bed, attaching means provided to a bottom face of the bed and adapted to detachably couple the bed to at least two oppose connecting rods of the upper portion of the cart, a number of support members provided at the bottom face of the bed and arranged such that the support members will abut an inner side of the connecting rods while the bed portion is coupled to the cart. The attaching means comprises two substantially C-shaped coupling member disposed at two opposite sides of the bottom face of the bed. In addition, a height of each of the support members is the same and equals to a height of the attaching member. 
     The wheel unit comprises 
     It is to be appreciated that both the forging general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanations of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings, 
     FIG. 1A is an top perspective view of a bassinet according to the present invention in an assembled state; 
     FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the bassinet shown in FIG. 1 which shows that the bed portion may be detached from the cart to use separately; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the bassinet according to the present application illustrating the structure of the C-shaped coupling member; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the structural details of the leg assembly according to the present application; 
     FIGS. 4A is a partial perspective view of the bassinet according to the present application which illustrates the wheel is in an extended state; 
     FIG. 4B is a partial perspective view of the bassinet according to the present application which illustrates the wheel is in an retracted state; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the bassinet according to the present application which illustrates the actuating device of the height adjusting means being installed to the cart; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the bassinet according to the present application illustrating the structural details of the height adjusting means; 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views illustrating a locked state and an actuating state of the actuating device of the height adjusting means respectively; 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B are partial cross-sectional views illustrating a latched and an unlatched state of the locking device of the height adjusting means; 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the locking device of the height adjusting means; and 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional bassinet. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings in which an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated to describe the present invention. 
     FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of a bassinet according to the present invention showing that the bassinet is in an assembled state. As shown in FIG. 1A, the bassinet generally comprises a cart  10 , a bed portion  20  installed on top of the cart  10 , height adjusting means  70  installed to the cart, and four leg assemblies  30  fixed to a bottom of the cart  10 . FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the bassinet shown in FIG. 1 which shows that the bed portion  20  may be detached from the cart  10  to use separately. 
     The cart  10  consists of an upper cart portion and a lower cart portion. The lower cart portion generally includes two oppositely positioned upstanding U-shaped members  11 , six connecting tubes  12  and four fastening member  16 . Each U-shaped members  11  has two arm tubes  111  and an arcuate connecting portion  112  connecting two arm tubes  111 . A plurality of height adjusting holes  113  are formed in a tube wall of each arm tubes  111  along an axial direction of the arm tube. Four of the six connecting tubes  12  are longer that the other two connecting tubes and connect an upper part and a lower part of both arm tubes  111  of a U-shaped members  11  to an upper part and a lower part of both arm tubes  111  of the oppositely positioned U-shaped members  11 . The other two shorter connecting tubes  12  connect the arm tubes  111  of each U-shaped members  11  respectively. The upper cart portion includes four vertical tubes  14  which are respectively telescoply received in an arm tube  111  of the U-shaped member  11  at a first end thereof, and four frame rods  15  which connect a second end of each adjacent vertical tubes  14 . The height of the cart  10  may be adjusted through the height adjusting means  70  which will be further described later by referring to FIGS. 5-9. 
     The bed portion  20  includes a substantially rectangular side frame  21 , two substantially U-shaped supports  22  coupled to the side frame  21 , a rectangular bed board  23  fixed to a bottom of the supports  22 , two coupling member  25  each fixed to a bottom face of the bed board  23  at a position adjacent to a long side of the bed board, and two substantially U-shaped support members  26  (only one is shown in FIG. 5) each fixed to the bottom face of the bed board  23  at a position adjacent to a short side of the bed board. As shown in FIG. 2, the coupling member  25  has an installation portion  251  for fixedly attached to the bottom face of the bed board  23 , an actuating portion  252 , and elastic connecting portion  253  connecting the actuating portion  252  to the installing portion  251 , and a substantially C-shaped coupling portion  254  for engaging with a frame rod  15  at a long side of the upper cart portion. When the bed portion  20  needs to be detached from the cart  10 , a user only needs to pull the actuating portion  252  of the coupling member  25  to cause the C-shaped coupling portion disengaging from the frame rod  15 , then the bed portion  20  may be remove from the cart  10 . The support member  26  are arranged such that when the bed portion  20  coupled to the cart  10  an outer side of the support members  26  may abut an inner side of the frame rods  15  at the long sides of the upper cart portion to prevent a relative movement between the bed portion  20  and the cart  10 . In addition, Both the support members  26  has the same height and the height is equal to or greater than a height of the coupling member  25  such that the support members  26  may evenly support the bed portion  20  while it is detached from the cart  10  and use separately. 
     Referring now the FIGS. 5-9 to describe the height adjusting means  70 . As shown in FIG. 6, the height adjusting means  70  includes two actuating devices  80  each installed to a short side frame rod  15  of the upper cart portion, four locking devices  90  each fixedly installed inside a vertical tube  14 , and four cables  71  disposed inside the frame rods  15  and the vertical tubes  14 , wherein two of the cables  71  coupling two of the locking devices  90  to a actuating device  80 , and the other two cables  71  coupling the other two locking devices  90  to the other actuating device  80 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5,  6 ,  7 A, and  7 B to explain actuating device  80 . The actuating device  80  includes an attaching member  81  having a substantially C-shaped attaching portion  811  for installing the actuating device  80  to the frame rod  15  and a receiving portion  812 , an operating member  82  partially received in the receiving portion  812  and rotatably coupled to the receiving portion  812  via a rivet  83  passing through side walls of the receiving portion  812 , and a cable fastener  84  fixed in the attaching member  81  and extending through a tube wall of the frame rod  15 . The cable fastener  84  has a hollow body allowing the cable  71  passing therethrough. A secure groove  85  is provided in the operating member  82  at a position corresponding to the cable fastener  84 . The cable  71  has an enlarged end  711 , which engages with the secure groove  85  to connecting the cable  71  to the operating member  82 , as shown in FIG.  7 A. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 8A,  8 B, and  9  to explain the locking device  90 . The locking device  90  includes a plug member  91  which is disposed inside the vertical tube  14 , a sliding block  92  slidably disposed in the plug member  91 , a latch  93  pivotally coupled to the plug member  91 , and a spring  94 . The plug member  91  has a flange  913  formed at one end thereof with a diameter greater than an inner diameter of the vertical tube  14  to prevent the plug member  91  from sliding into the vertical tube  14  entirely. In addition, the diameter of the flange  913  is smaller that an inner diameter of the arm tube  111  of the U-shaped member  11  so as to allow the plug member  91  to slide within the arm tube  111  with the vertical tube  14 . A protrusion  921  is formed at one end of the block  92  and an elongate opening  922  is formed at the other end of the block  92 . In addition, two slant slots  923  are formed in opposite sidewalls defining the elongate opening  922  at an angle of  45  degree. Block  92  is slidably attached to the plug member  91  via a first pin  97  to thereby movably received in a first space formed in the plug member  92 . One end of the spring  94  is attached to the protrusion  921  and the other end abuts a top wall defining the first space  911 . The latch  93  is an elbow-shaped member and received in a second space  912  of the plug member  91 . The latch  93  has a connecting end  931 , a latching end  932  and an arcuate portion  933  disposed between the two ends, wherein a hole  934  is formed in the connecting end  931 . The latch  93  is movably coupled to the block  92  by a pin  935  passing through the slant slots  923  and the hole  934  of the connecting end  631 . In addition, the latch  93  is pivotally fixed to the plug  91  by a rivet  95  and arranged such that the latching end  932  may be pivoted to extend out of the second space  912  or retracted into the second space  912 . Additionally, as shown in FIG. 9, a longitudinal elongate opening  141  is formed in a tube wall of the vertical tube  14  at a position corresponding to the latch member  93  while the locking device  90  is installed to the vertical tube  14 . Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the other end of the cable  71  is fixedly attached to the protrusion  921  of the block  92 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7A,  7 B,  8 A and  8 B to explain the operation of the height adjusting means  70 . 
     When the height of the bassinet needs to be adjusted, a user only needs to pull up the actuating member  82  of the actuating device  80  to cause the cable  71  to displace a distance, as shown in FIG.  7 B. In response, the block  92  of the locking device  90  will be moved up a corresponding distance by the cable  71 . When the block  92  is moved up, the pin  935  will be moved downward and forward along the slant slots  923  to thereby causing the latch  93  to pivot about the rivet  95 , that is, the connecting end  931  of the latch  93  being swung forward and the latching end  932  being swung back into the second space  912  of the plug member  91 , as illustrated in FIG.  8 B. Then, the vertical tube  14  can be moved freely relative to the arm tube  111  because the latching end  932  is retracted into the plug member  91  and is not engaging with any height adjusting holes  113  of the arm tube  111  and the opening  141  of the vertical tube  14 . 
     When the bassinet is adjusted to a desired height, the user only needs to release the force applied to the operating member  82 , the block  92  then will be pushed downward by a return force exerted by the compressed spring  94  to cause the pin  935  to move upward and rearward along the slant slots  923  and cause the connecting end  931  of the latch  93  to be swung backward and the latching end  932  being swung out of the second space  912  of the plug member  91  and extending out of the arm tube  111  through the elongate opening  141  and one of the height adjusting holes  113  to thereby locking the bassinet at a desired position, as illustrated in FIG.  8 A. At this moment, the operating member  82  of the actuating device  80  will return to a position illustrated in FIG.  7 A. 
     Next, the leg assembly  30  will be explained by referring to FIG.  3 . As shown in FIG. 3, the leg assembly  30  includes a housing  31  and a wheel unit  40  which is pivotally coupled to the housing  31 . The housing  31  has a substantially L-shaped installation portion  32  for attaching the leg assembly  30  to the U-shaped member  11 , a receiving space  33 , and a pivotal coupling portion  34 . Two pivotal connecting openings  35  are formed in two opposite walls defining the receiving space  33 . Two engaging notches  36 ,  37  are formed at a periphery of each of the pivotal connecting openings  35  and spaced apart at an angle of  90  degree, such as notch  36  is formed in a horizontal direction and notch  37  is formed in a vertical direction as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     The wheel unit  40  includes a pivoting member  50  which passes through the pivotal connecting openings  35  to pivotally couple to the housing  31 , a button unit  60  movably installed to the pivoting member  50 , and a wheel  300  fixed to the pivoting member  50 . The pivoting member  50  includes a substantially cylindrical body  51  having a transverse through hole  52  formed therein (i.e., a central axis of the through hole  52  is perpendicular to a central axis of the body  51 ) and an elongate hollow head  53  transversely formed at one end thereof and arranged such that a central axis of the head  53  is perpendicular to the central axis of the through hole  52 . In addition, the head  53  has an open end, a close end and two pin holes  54  formed in opposite positions of a sidewall of the head  53 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the button unit  60  is slidably received in the hollow space of the head  53 . The button unit  60  includes a spring  61  disposed in the head  53  of the pivoting member  50 , a hollow cylindrical shaped button  62  having an open end  63  which can be inserted into the head  53  of the pivoting member  50 , a spring receiving space  64  formed at a position adjacent to the open end  63 , two elongate axial slots  65  formed in opposite positions of a sidewall of the hollow cylindrical shaped button  62 , and a latching portion  66  laterally protruding out from the close end of the button  62 . The button  62  is slidably installed to the head  53  of the pivoting member  50  by a rivet  67  passing through the elongate axial slots  65  and the pin holes  54  of the head  53 . The wheel  300  has a coupling shaft  301 , which is inserted into the through hole  52  to thereby installing the wheel  300  to the pivoting member  50 . 
     In sue, when the wheels  300  are need to move the bassinet the user only needs to axially press the button  62  of the button unit  60  and rotate the pivoting member  50  to align the latching portion  66  of the button  62  with the horizontal notch  36  and then release the button  62  to allow the latching portion  66  to engage with the horizontal notch  36  of the housing  31 . Since the central axis of the coupling shaft  301  of the wheel  300  (i.e., the central axis of the through hole  52 ) is perpendicular to a central axis of the button  62  (i.e., the central axis of the head  53 ), thus when the button  62  is rotated and locked at a horizontal position by engaging the latching portion  66  with the horizontal notch  36 , the wheel  300  will be rotated out of the receiving space  33  of the housing  31  and locked at a vertical position, as shown in FIG.  4 A. When the wheels  300  need to be retracted, the button  62  is axially pressed again to cause the latching portion  66  disengaging from the horizontal notch  36  and to allow the pivoting member  50  to be rotated. Then the pivoting member  50  is rotated to align the latching portion  66  with the vertical notch  37  and then release the button to allow the latching portion  66  engaging with the vertical notch  37  to thereby retracting the wheel  300  into the receiving space  33  and keepin it therein, as shown in FIG.  4 B. When the wheels  300  are retracted in the housing  31 , the arcuate connecting portions  112  of the U-shaped members  11  will contact the ground and thus the bassinet may have a function similar to a rocking cradle. In addition, because the bottom of the pivotal coupling portion  34  of the housing  31  is substantially straight rather than arcuate, therefore the leg assemblies  30  may prevent the bassinet from falling due to over-rocking. 
     This invention has been disclosed in terms of specific embodiments. It will be apparent that many modifications can be made to the disclosed structures without departing from the invention. Therefore, it is the intent of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true sprit and scope of this invention.