CA2590449A1

CA2590449A1 - Infant swing seat

Info

Publication number: CA2590449A1
Application number: CA002590449A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Curtis M. Hartenstine; Gregory Sellers; Adam Bearup
Original assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Co., Ltd.; Curtis M. Hartenstine; Gregory Sellers; Adam Bearup
Current assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Co Ltd Taiwan
Priority date: 2004-11-29
Filing date: 2005-11-25
Publication date: 2006-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-25
Also published as: CA2590449C; WO2006058143A2; EP1816929B1; CN201200188Y; JP2008521497A; CN2891852Y; AU2009238269A1; WO2006058143A3; AU2009238269B2; EP1816929A2; EP1816929A4; JP4794568B2

Abstract

The apparatus is an infant seat that has reduced depth for shipping and recline controls that permit control of the seat during the reclining adjustment. The seat is constructed so that the deepest part of the seat fits into the rest of the seat for packaging, but locks into its proper location for use. The preferred embodiment of the recline control uses a dial on a seat pivot fixture. The dial is pushed in to release the seat for reclining, but the dial is interconnected with the seat so that the dial maintains full control of the seat movement. An alternative recline control captures and releases a support wire at the backside of the seat.

Claims

1. An infant seat formed with a fixed angle between a seat bottom and a seat back and with two side walls joined to the seat bottom and the seat back, comprising:

a base segment shaped as a ring, including parts of the seat bottom, seat back, and the two side walls, and with a larger access opening at an outer edge of the ring and a smaller opening at an inner edge of the ring;

a junction segment shaped as a concave structure with an exposed edge and forming the confluence of the seat bottom, the seat back, and the two side walls, with the exposed edge of the junction section mated with the inner edge of the base segment at a junction line to form a basket shape.

2. The infant seat of claim 1 wherein the junction segment is capable of fitting within the base segment when not mated with the base segment.

3. The infant seat of claim 1 further including a hinge, with the hinge interconnecting the base segment and the junction segment and enabling the junction segment to pivot into the base segment.

4. The infant seat of claim 1 further including a hinge, with the hinge interconnecting the base segment and the junction segment and enabling the junction segment to pivot into the base segment, and also including at least one locking device to lock the junction section to the base section.

5. An infant seat formed with a fixed angle between a seat bottom and a seat back and with two side walls joined to the seat bottom and the seat back, comprising: a flexible support member forming the junction of the seat bottom and the seat back and also including parts of the seat bottom and the seat back, and with the support member constructed to permit the support member to be pushed back into the space between the side walls.

6. The infant seat of claim 5 further including an open hole on each side of the support member with the holes extending into the seat bottom, the seat back, and the side walls.

7. An infant seat recline angle control apparatus comprising;

rotatable pivot fixtures attached to an infant seat, so that the infant seat rotates with the pivot fixtures;

at least one dial interconnected with the infant seat by a coupling that is concentric with an axis common to the dial and to at least one controlled pivot fixture;

a locking device that interconnects the controlled pivot fixture and the dial to a fixed support structure, with the locking device preventing the pivot fixture and the dial from rotating when the locking device is engaged with the support structure;

a biasing apparatus that holds the locking device engaged with the support structure; and a release structure interconnected with the dial and operable by grasping the dial, with operation of the release structure counteracting the biasing apparatus and disengaging the locking device from the support structure so that the dial and the seat can be rotated to adjust the recline angle of the seat.

8. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 7 wherein the locking device comprises:

a control gear;

a pivot gear attached to the controlled pivot fixture with which the seat rotates, with the pivot gear contacting and interacting with the control gear; and a stationary gear attached to the support structure, with the stationary gear interacting with the control gear;

with the biasing apparatus holding the control gear engaged with both the pivot gear and the stationary gear, and operation of the release structure disengages the control gear from the stationary gear.

9. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 8 wherein the control gear is moveable along the dial axis, and the release structure is a mechanism which interconnects the dial to the control gear and mounts the dial to slide along the dial axis and push the control gear out of engagement with the stationary gear.

10. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pivot fixtures are attached to the two sides of the seat and are located at least 2 inches above the seat bottom and at least 1 inch inward from the seat back

11. An infant seat recline angle control apparatus comprising;

an infant seat with two sides, a back with a top and an outside back surface, and pivot fixtures that rotate, so that the infant seat rotates with the pivot fixtures, and with the infant seat supported from a support surface by support structures;

at least one slot interconnected with the outside back surface of the infant seat;
a wire support pivoting within holes in the support structures with a portion of the wire support captured by and slidable within the at least one slot, and with the wire support supporting the seat at different recline angles when the wire is at different locations along the at least one slot;

a locking fixture interconnected with the seat's outside back surface;

spaced indentations within the locking fixture, with the indentations oriented to capture the support wire at different positions along the at least one slot; and a release control on the locking fixture that moves the indentations away from the wire to release the wire for changing positions along the at least one slot.

12. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 11 wherein the locking fixture is pivotable and moving a portion of the locking fixture releases the captured support wire.

13. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 11 wherein the locking fixture is pivotable and pressing the portion of the locking fixture nearest to the top of the seat back releases the captured support wire.

14. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 11 wherein the locking fixture is located so that it can be controlled while simultaneously holding the seat back.

15. The infant seat recline angle control apparatus of claim 11 wherein the pivot fixtures are attached to the two sides at a location at least 2 inches above the seat bottom and at least 1 inch inward from the seat back.