CA1053717A - Foldable play gym - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A play gym comprising a horizontal bar from which a glide swing and other rides are suspended is supported at its opposite ends by pairs of legs. Special three-axis pivot joints connecting the pairs of legs to the horizontal bar permit each pair of legs to be folded together and against the horizontal bar so that the gym can assume a stick-like configuration.
When the legs are unfolded to support the horizontal bar, clam shells form-ing parts of the pivot joints clamp around the ends of the horizontal bar thereby preventing end-wise movement and racking of the play gym. Provision is also made for substituting one pair of legs by a horizontal pivot ar-rangement which can be secured to a vertical support so that the gym can be used in a small area and be folded up out of the way against the support when not in use. The glide swing is foldable so that it can be stored in a minimum amount of space when not in use. The swing includes a set of de-pending hangers, a platform pivotally secured to the lower end of the hang-ers, and a pair of oppositely-disposed seat assemblies pivotally connected to the hangers. A bar releasably maintains each pair of legs in a spread-apart condition.

Description

This invention relates to a play gym, and relates more particular-ly to an outdoor play gym of the type which includes swines and other kinet-ic play devices. This application is a division of Canadian patent applica-tion Serial No. 255,217 filed June 18, 1976.
Play gyms have, of course, been available for many years. Invari-ably they take the form of a horizontal bar from which is suspe~ded swings and the like, supported at its opposite ends by legs arranged as A-frames.
Invariably the upper ends of the legs are connected to the ends of the hori-zontal bar by rigid socket-type ~oints which envelop the ends of the bar to provide rigid connections between the legs and the bar. If the play gym is unusually long, a third set of supportive legs is often situated at the mid-dle of the horizontal bar.
Prior play gyms are sold in a knocked down condition with the hor-izontal bar and various legs, brackets, bolts, nuts, etc. all being more or less loose in the shipping carton. Consequently, all the components of the gym must be assembled by the ultimate purchaser. This is usually a time consuming task for the average parent. A typical prior play gym requires installation of over two dozen bolts to assemble the gym frame alone. Addi-tional nut and bolt connections are required to assemble the individual gym rides.
Furthermore, once the gym is assembled and exposed to the elements, it is extremely difficult to knock down the play gym for storage or to move it from one location to another because the individual bolts become rusted and bent. In fact in many cases the only feasible way to remove them is with a hacksaw.
Because it is so difficult to disassemble the average play gym, few people bother to store the gym in the winter months when it is not in use. Consequently the prior play units do not last as long as they should.
Furthermore since there are so many loose parts associated with the conven-tional units, even when they are disassembled, braces, bolts, nuts and other 105;~717 parts become misplaced or lost. Consequently when the time comes to re-assemble the gym, new parts have to be purchased.
The up-shot of all these problems is that once the usual play gym is assembled, it tends to remain in the same location for its entire life.
It is not moved when the family goes on vacation to a summer home and in many cases it does not even accompany the family upon a permanent change of residence.
Another problem with conventional play gyms is that they take up a considerable amount of yard space. Thus where yard space is quite limited, say, in the city, an unused play gym restricts the use of the yard for other activities.
According to the invention there is provided a play gym comprising a horizontal bar and a leg assembly for supporting at least one end of the bar. The assembly includes a pair of relatively long tubular legs, and a three-axis pivot joint connecting the upper ends of the legs to each other and to the horizontal bar. The pivot joint includes a pair of sockets for receiving the ends of the legs, connecting means extending between the sockets, and a pair of spaced-apart pivots linking the connecting means and the sockets. The axes of said pivots are parallel to one another and perpendicular to the axes of said legs. Means is provided for pivotally connecting the connecting means to the bar. The pivotal axis of the pivotal connecting means is perpendicular to the bar and perpendicular to the axes of the pivots so that the legs can be swung together so as to lie parallel to one another and both the legs can be swung against the bar so that they lie substantially parallel to the bar. ~urther means releasably maintain the legs in a spread-apart condition at right angles to the bar so that they support the end of the bar above the ground. The play gym also includes means for supporting the opposite end of the bar above the ground and a glide swing pivotally suspended from the bar, said swing comprising 1. a set of depending hangers,

2. a platform pivotally secured to the lower ends of the hangers, and \
l~)S37~7

3. a pair of oppositely-disposed seat assemblies pivotally connected to the hangers above the platform, each said seat assembly comprising lat-erally spaced pairs of seat frame members~ means for pivotally connecting the ends of the seat frame members to laterally spaced pairs of hangers, a seat extending between said pairs of seat frame members for supporting a rider, means for limiting the pivotal movement of said seat frame members relative to said hangers so that said seat frame members cannot extend below their pivotal connections to the hangers whereby each seat assembly can be moved from an active position wherein its seat lies in a horizontal plane to a folded position wherein its seat lies essentially in a vertical plane par-allel to the hangers.

~4 All of the major components of the play gym frame are intercon-nected at the factory by rivets or the like. As a result, in order to erect the gym, the purchaser merely has to unfold the legs and install as few as two bolts in order to secure the gym in its upright position. Consequently the gym can be erected in a very short time with minimum effort.
By the same token, if it becomes necessary to take down the play gym for transportation or storage, only these same two bolts need be removed to permit the gym frame to be folded up into its stick-like form.
In the event that auxiliary legs are needed to support the middle of a particularly long horizontal bar, these also are easily removable from the bar and foldable so that they also can repose stick-like ad~acent the horizontal bar.
A play gym according to the invention can be folded into a stick-like package so that it can readily be transported or stored in a minimum amount of space. It can also be folded out of the way when not in use and taken down quickly as compared with prior comparable equipment.
All of these features make the sub~ect play gym a particularly desirable piece of outdoor play equipment which should have a long useful life and provide minimum inconvenience to the owner.
In drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and which should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a play gym made in accordance with this invention;
Figures 2A to 2C are fragmentary perspective views showing the three-axis pivot joint used in the Figure 1 gym in its unfolded, partially folded and fully folded positions;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the Figure 1 play gym frame folded into its stick-like form;
Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the foldable center legs used in the Figure 1 gym;

~05~717 Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modified play gym for use in small areas;
F~gure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of the Figure 5 gym in greater detail, Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the foldable swing in Fig-ure 1 in somewhat greater detail; and Figure 8 is a similar view showing the swing in its folded con-dition.
Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the subject play gym includes a frame shown generally at 10 which supports a pair of swings in-dicated gener~lly at 12 and 14. The frame includes a horizontal bar 18 which is supported at its ends by pairs of legs 22 arranged as A-frames.
Each A-frame is connected at its apex to the horizontal bar by means of three-axis pivot joints 24a and 24b to be described in detail later. The legs 22 comprising each A-frame are held in spaced-apart relation by a hor-izontal brace 26 installed midway between the horizontal bar 18 and the ground. Plastic end caps 28 close the opposite ends of bar 18.
In the event that the bar 18 is unusually long, an auxiliary pair of legs 32 in the form of an A-frame is installed near the middle of the bar.
Those legs are connected to the bar by an integral clamp shown generally at 34 and the two legs are held apart by a horizontal brace 35, midway between the bar 18 and the ground, all as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
After removing the swings 12 and 14, the gym frame 10 can be fold-ed easily from its fully erected condition illustrated in Figure 1 to a folded condition shown in Figure 3 wherein it reposes in stick form. For this, it is only necessary to remove a bolt 33 securing one end of each brace 26 to the adjacent leg 22. With that end released, each brace 26 can be folded down flush against the leg 22 to which its other end is pivotally attached. The three-axis pivot joints 24a and 24b then permit each pair of legs 22 to be folded together and also allow both pairs of legs to be folded against the horizontal bar 18. All these frame parts are interconnected at the factory using rivets, bolts or other comparable securements and they re-main interconnected even when the play gym is fully folded. Consequently the chances are small of major components of the gym becoming misplaced or lost.
Referring now to Figures 2A to 2C, three-axis pivot Joints 24a and 24b are mirror images of one another. Consequently only the former joint will be described in detail. It comprises a pair of mirror image sections 42 and 44, each of which consists of a single metal stamping. Section 42 is formed with a socket 42a which engages around the upper end of a leg 22.
extending, say, three-fourths of the way around the leg. Section 42 also includes an arcuate shell 42b integral with the upper end of 42a whose axis is generally perpendicular to that of socket 42a. The diameter of shell 42b is essentially the same as that of bar 18 so that the shell can engage around one side of the bar as best seen in Figure 2A. The opposite ~oint section 44 includes a comparable socket 44a for receiving the end of leg 22 and an integr~l arcuate shell 44b for engaging around the opposite side of bar 18 (Figure 2C).
The two sections 42 and 44 are pivotally connected together by a trapezoidal bracket 46 positioned at one side of sockets 42a and 44a direct-ly below bar 18. One end of bracket 46 is pivotally connected to section 42 by means of a rivet 48 or other comparable securement extending through the bracket, through socket 42a and through the leg 22 received in that shell.
A similar rivet 52 extends through the opposite end of bracket 46 through socket 44a and the leg 22 in that socket. Additional rivets 52 are driven through the sockets 42a, 44a and the underlying legs 22 to securely anchor the legs in the sockets. Bracket 46 also has a prominent ear 46a extending out parallel to and below, bar 18.
A metal strap 54 is looped around bar 18 ad~acent joint sections 42 and 44. The two strap ends 54a and 54b extend down on opposite sides of 105371'7 ear 46a to which they are pivotally connected by means of a rivet 56. Ad-ditional rivets 58 extend through the strap into opposite sides of bar 18 to permanently secure the strap to the bar. The joint sections 42 and 44 are thus hinged together and also to bar 18 so as to form the strong three-axis pivot ~oint that rigidly supports the gym, yet permits the legs 22 to be folded together and also flush against bar 18 when it is desired to store the play gym.
As shown in Figure 2A, when the legs 22 are spread apart and stand upright in their normal position, the arcuate sections 42b and 44b form clam shells which clamp against opposite sides of the horizontal bar 18. Any weight on the bar 18 tends to clamp the shells even more tightly against the bar so that a firm, rigid connection is maintained between legs 22 and the bar 18. As a further safety precaution, however, the customer may insert a bolt 5 through in-line openings provided in shells 42b and 44b and in the opposite walls of bar 18 and secure it there with a suitable nut (not shown).
The bolt may also help to retain the end-cap 28 in place. For this, the end-cap is provided within an internal extension 28a terminating in an eye 28b through which the bolt 5 extends (See Figure 2B). Thus even with this added safety feature only four customer-installed bolts are required in order to erect the gym frame 10.
As shown in Figure 2B, when the legs 22 are folded together to store the gym frame 10, the clam shells 42b and 44b are spread apart there-by releasing bar 18. Whereupon the legs can be swung about the pivot at rivet 56 to bring the legs 22 flush against bar 18 as shown in Figure 2C.
The opposite end of the play gym has comparable structural elements permit-ting the other pair of legs 22 to fold up against bar 18 so that the entire frame 10 assumes its stick-like form illustrated in Figure 3. One leg 22 is shown partially unfolded.
Turning now to Figure 4, in the event that an auxiliary pair of legs 32 are used as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1, the clamp 34 used to connect those legs to the horizontal bar has a somewhat different con-struction from the pivot joints at the ends of the play gym. More partic-ularly, the same two joint sections 42 and 44 are employed. However, these are pivotally connected together with a pair of straps 62 and 64.
One end of each strap is connected to opposite sides of sleeve 42a by rivet 66 passing through the straps, the sleeve 42a and the leg 32 therein. Similar rivets 68 are used to pivotally connect the opposite ends of the straps to sleeve 44a and the leg 32 therein. Thus when the legs 32 are spread apart when attaching the free end of the horizontal brace 35 to leg 32, the shells 42b and 44b form clam shells which grip the opposite sides of horizontal bar 18 as described above to further strengthen the play gym frame. Here also for added safety, one or more customer-installed bolts 72 can be slid through suitable openings 73 in the shells 42b and 44b and through opposite sides of bar 18, threaded nuts 74 being turned down onto the ends of the bolts 72. As with the other legs, when it is desired to store the play gym one end of the horizontal brace 35 can be detached from its adjacent leg and the legs folded together. This releases the clamp 34 from bar 18 and permits the auxiliary leg assembly to be folded into stick form for compact storage.
In some cases it may be desirable to have the legs 22 or 32 re-movable from the joints. In this even-t, the joint sockets can be extended all around the legs forming tubular sockets into which the legs project. If desired for added safety, suitable customer installed bolts (not shown) can be passed through openings provided in the sockets and legs.
In Figure 5, the play gym frame 10 shown in Figure 1 has been mod-ified to eliminate pivot joint 24b and associated legs 22. Instead, the end of horizontal bar 18 is suspended from a vertical support G, such as the side of a garage or house, by a single-axis pivot joint indicated generally at 84. Pivot joint 84 permits the play gym frame to extend out away from the surface G when the play gym is being used as indicated in solid lines in Figure 5. It also permits the gym to be swung flush against the surface G
when the legs 22 are folded up as aforesaid to assume a stick form as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. A suitable U-shaped bracket 86 secured to the side of support G may be provided to support the free ends of the folded play gym components.
Referring now to Figure 6, pivot joint 84 comprises a generally rectangular metal bracket 92 which can be secured to support G by suitable nails or screws (not shown) passing through openings 93 in the bracket end extending into the support. Bracket 92 has a pair of parallel upper and lower flanges 92a extending out from its upper and lower edges.
A generally rectangular metal channel 94 having about the same dimensions as bracket 92 is engaged to the bracket. Channel 94 has a pair of upper and lower inwardly extending flanges 94a which engage over flanges 92a. Vertical in-line openings 98 are formed through flanges 92a and 94a at each end of the joint 84 to accommodate a pair of pins 100. These pins are dropped down through the openings 98 to lock the channel 94 to bracket 92.
Also, if desired, cotter pins 102 can be inserted through small horizontal openings 104 at the bottoms of pins 100 to prevent the pins from being pulled out inadvertently from their openings 98.
Secured to the front face of channel 94 is a strap 108 for retain-ing the end of horizontal bar 18. Strap 108 is generally cylindrical and has a diameter that is slightly larger than that of bar 18 so that it can snugly engage around the end of the bar. Further the strap has a pair of legs 108a extending down at each side of the strap and each of these legs terminates in a laterally extending tab 108b which lies flush against the front face of channel 94. Screws 110 extend through openings in each tab 108b and registering openings in the front face of channel 94, with suitable nuts (not shown) being turned down onto the ends of screws inside the chan-nel to securely anchor the strap 108 to channel 94. Additional screws 112 extend through appropriate openings in strap 108 and are turned down into 105371'7 registering openings in bar 18 to ensure that the bar does not pull away from the pivot joint.
When both pins 100 are in place, the end of the horizontal bar 18 is supported so that the play gym extends out at right angles to surface G
whereby children can use the various rides suspended from the play gym frame 10. When it is desired to use the space occupied by the play gym for other purposes, one end of the brace 26 is detached and the legs 22 are folded to-gether and up against bar 18. Also the right-hand piII 100 in joint 84 is re ved from its openings 98. This permits the channel 94 to pivot about the other pin 100 so that the legs 22 and bar 18 can be swung against sur-face G as shown in Figure 5 with the free ends of those elements being sup-ported by bracket 86. Of course if it is desired to fold the legs and bar 18 against surface G in the opposite direction, then the other pin 100 is removed. Finally, removal of the play gym frame 10 from surface G is simply a matter of extracting both pins 100 from their openings 98. This permits the channel 94 to be removed from bracket 92 so that the play gym frame can be stored indoors or transported elsewhere.
Turning now to Figures 7 and 8, swing 14 is also foldable so that it can be stored or shipped in the flattened condition illustrated in Figure 8. More particularly, esch swing seat assembly 106 can be moved from an op-erative position illustrated at the right hand side of Figure 7 in which it can support an occupant, to a raised, generally vertical, folded position wherein its elements repose against the vertical swing frame. The assembly 106 is shown partially folded at the left side of Figure 7. This allows the swing as a whole to be folded flat as shown in Figure 8 when it is removed from the gym frame 10 (Figure 1).
Swing 14 comprises four identical, vertical frame members 112.
The upper end 112a of each frame member 112 is bent at an angle and termi-nates in an eye 112b. These frame members are pivotally connected via these eyes to brackets 114 clamped to bar 18 by suitable bolts 116, all as shown ~05~717 in Figure 1.
The lower ends of the front-most pair of frame members 112 are connected by pivots 116 to the opposite ends of a short horizontal frame member 118. A similar horizontal member 118 is pivotally connected to the lower ends of the rear-most pair of frame members 112. A set of spaced-apart, parallel slats 122 are secured to frame members 118 and form the floor of the swing. Thus when a child stands on the slats 122 and rocks back and forth, the frame members will swing about their pivots at 116 and 112b with the slats 122 remaining in a generally horizontal plane as is customary with such swings.
The seat assemblies 106 are substantially identical. Therefore only the right hand assembly will be described in detail. It comprises a pair of parallel upper frame members 130. The le M hand end of each frame member 130 is formed with an upwardly extending ear 130a which is connected to a vertical frame member 112 by a pivot 132. Also, a detent 134 extends laterally from each frame member 130 adjacent to its ear 130a and the de-tents 134 bear against the adjacent frame members 112 to stop the seat frame members 130 when they are disposed horizontally.
A pair of spaced-apart parallel lower seat frame members 136 are also pivoted to swing frame members 112. For this, they are provided at their left hand ends with upwardly extending ears 136a, each of which is connected by a pivot 138 to the adjacent frame member 112. These frame mem-bers 136 also have laterally extending detents 140 adjacent their ears 136a which engage frame members 112 to stop frame members 136 when they are ex-tending horizontally.
A bowed frame member 144 has its opposite ends positioned adjacent the free ends of members 130 and 136 at the front of the swing and is pivot-ally connected to the ends of those members by pivots 146 and 148. An iden-tical bowed frame member 144 is pivotally connected to the free ends of mem-bers 130 and 136 at the rear of the swing. A rigid seat member 152 reposes 1~)53717 on frames 136 and is secured at its opposite ends to those members. Like-wise a backrest member 154 is secured to the bridging portions of frame mem-bers 144 to form the finished seat.
This seat assembly construction provides firm support for the oc-cupant of the swing, yet permits the seat assemblies 106 to be folded up-wardly so that they lie flush against frames 112 when it is desired to store the swing.
Suitable lock rings 158 may be engaged around frames 112 so that they can drop down around ears 136a to prevent the seat assemblies 106 from being lifted up inadvertently. In other words, both rings 158 on each seat assembly must be slid up away from ears 136a simultaneously in order to fold the seat assembly.
As will be appreciated from the foregoing, the present gym con-struction provides strong support for the various rides suspended from the gym frame. Yet it permits the gym frame and swing 14 to be quickly and easily folded up for storage in a minimum amount of space. Further, the gym can be shipped in a relatively small package and can be erected very easily since most of its major components are already interconnected at the factory.
These same features permit ready folding of the gym in the event that it is desired to store the equipment or move it to a new location. Yet with all of these advantages, the gym is not appreciably more expensive than prior conventional gyms in use today.

Claims (4)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A play gym comprising A. a horizontal bar, B. a leg assembly for supporting at least one end of the bar, said as-sembly including 1. a pair of relatively long tubular legs, 2. a three-axis pivot joint connecting the upper ends of said legs to each other and to the horizontal bar, said pivot joint including a pair of sockets for receiving the ends of said legs, connecting means ex-tending between said sockets, a pair of spaced-apart pivots linking said connecting means and said sockets, the axes of said pivots being parallel to one another and perpendicular to the axes of said legs, means for pivotally connecting said connecting means to the bar, the pivotal connecting means being perpendicular to the bar and perpendicular to the axes of said pivots so that the legs can be swung together so as to lie parallel to one another with both said legs swung against said bar so that they lie substantially parallel to the bar, and 3. means for releasably maintaining the legs in a spread-apart condition at right angles to the bar so that they support said end of the bar above the ground, C. means for supporting the opposite end of the bar above the ground, and D. a glide swing pivotally suspended from the bar, said swing compris-ing

1. a set of depending hangers, 2. a platform pivotally secured to the lower ends of the hang-ers, and 3. a pair of oppositely-disposed seat assemblies pivotally con-nected to the hangers above the platform, each said seat assembly comprising laterally spaced pairs of seat frame members, means for pivotally connecting the ends of the seat frame members to laterally spaced pairs of hangers, a seat extending between said pairs of seat frame members for supporting a rider, means for limiting the pivotal movement of said seat frame members relative to said hangers so that said seat frame members cannot extend below their pivotal connections to the hangers whereby each seat assembly can be moved from an active position wherein its seat lies in a horizontal plane to a folded position wherein its seat lies essentially in a vertical plane par-allel to the hangers.

2. The play gym defined in claim 1 wherein the means for supporting the opposite end of the bar above the ground comprises a single axis pivot joint which permits said bar to be swung in a generally horizontal plane.

3. The play gym defined in claim 2 wherein the single axis pivot joint includes A. a bracket for securement to a support, B. a plate for engagement to the bracket, C. a pair of laterally spaced-apart removable hinges connected between the plate and the bracket so that when one or the other of the hinges is re-moved, the plate can swing from a position flush against the bracket to a position wherein it extends out perpendicular to the bracket at one or the other end thereof, and D. a socket projecting out from the plate, the axis of said socket being in a generally horizontal plane and arranged to snugly receive the op-posite end of said bar.

4. The play gym defined in claim 3 wherein each said hinge com-prises a pin extending loosely through overlapping horizontal portions of said plate and bracket.