US20090236886A1

US20090236886A1 - Swing assembly

Info

Publication number: US20090236886A1
Application number: US12/050,277
Authority: US
Inventors: Chuen-Jong Tseng
Original assignee: Taiwan Shin Yeh Enterprise Co Ltd
Current assignee: Taiwan Shin Yeh Enterprise Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-03-17
Filing date: 2008-03-18
Publication date: 2009-09-24
Also published as: CA2625929A1

Abstract

A swing assembly includes a main support frame and a swing unit. The main support frame includes left and right upright frames, and a top frame connected to top ends of the left and right upright frames. The swing unit includes a swing chair, and left and right hanging assemblies connected to the swing chair and hung on the top frame. The swing chair includes a seat having left and right seat portions connected to each other and extending respectively to the left and right hanging assemblies. One of the left and right seat portions is pivotal relative to the other one of the left and right seat portions to move between a substantially horizontal position and an inclining position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a swing assembly, more particularly to a swing assembly that has a seat which a user can lie down or recline on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional swing assembly 1 comprises a main support frame 11, a swing frame unit 12 hung on the main support frame 11 through left and right hanging assemblies 13, and a seat unit 14 mounted on and connected to the swing frame unit 12. The seat unit 14 has a seat frame 141, and a backrest frame 142 that is pivotable relative to the seat frame 141 between a horizontal position (see FIG. 1) and an inclining position (not shown). In the inclining position, the backrest frame 142 and the seat frame 141 define therebetween an angle that is approximately 90°, so that the user's back can rest on the backrest frame 142 in an inclining manner relative to the seat frame 141. In the horizontal position, the backrest frame 142 and the seat frame 141 are horizontally aligned, so that the user can lie flatly on the swing assembly 1.
Although the conventional swing assembly 1 can achieve its intended purpose, the user cannot recline on the seat frame 141 and the backrest frame 142, so that use of the conventional swing assembly 1 is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a swing assembly that can be used in a number of ways.
According to this invention, a swing assembly comprises a main support frame and a swing unit. The main support frame includes left and right upright frames, and a top frame connected to top ends of the left and right upright frames. The swing unit includes a swing chair, and left and right hanging assemblies connected to the swing chair and hung on the top frame. The swing chair includes a seat. The seat has left and right seat portions connected to each other and extending respectively to the left and right hanging assemblies. One of the left and right seat portions is pivotal relative to the other one of the left and right seat portions to move between a substantially horizontal position and an inclining position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional swing assembly;

FIG. 2 is a partly exploded perspective view of a swing assembly according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary schematic side view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic side view of an adjustable reclining mechanism of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but illustrating an engaging pin engaged to a selected one of inclined teeth; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a guide piece of the adjustable reclining mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, a swing assembly according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown to comprise a main support frame 2, a swing unit 3, and a roof assembly 5.
The main support frame 2 includes left and right upright frames 21, and a top frame 22 connected to top ends of the left and right upright frames 21.
The swing unit 3 includes a swing chair 30, and left and right hanging assemblies 32 connected to the swing chair 30 and hung on the top frame 22 between the left and right upright frames 21. The swing chair 30 includes a rectangular bottom support 311, left and right substantially inverted-U shaped armrest rods 312, and a seat 31. The bottom support 311 has spaced-apart front and rear bars 3111, a left bar 3112 connected between left ends of the front and rear bars 3111, and a right bar 3113 connected between right ends of the front and rear bars 3111. The armrest rods 312 are connected respectively to the left and right bars 3112, 3113 in a known manner.
Each of the left and right hanging assemblies 32 has a retaining ring 321 sleeved on the top frame 22, an S-shaped hook 322 hooked on the retaining ring 321, and two hanging rods 323 having top ends hung on the hook 322 and bottom ends connected respectively to front and rear ends of the corresponding armrest rod 312.
The seat 31 has front and rear seat sections 6, 7 respectively disposed at front and rear sides of the swing chair 30 and supported by the bottom support 311. The rear seat section 7 is pivotal relative to the front seat section 6 to move between a substantially horizontal position, where the rear seat section 7 is pivoted downwardly so as to align horizontally with the front seat section 6, and an inclining position, where the rear seat section 7 is pivoted upwardly and forwardly so as to incline with respect to the front seat section 6 to serve as a rear backrest.
Since the front and rear seat sections 6, 7 have similar constructions, only the front seat section 6 will be described hereinafter. The front seat section 6 has left and right seat portions 62, 61 connected to each other and extending respectively to the left and right hanging assemblies 32. The left seat portion 62 is pivotal relative to the right seat portion 61 to move between a substantially horizontal position, where the left seat portion 62 is aligned horizontally with the right seat portion 61, and an inclining position, where the left seat portion 62 is inclined with respect to the right seat portion 61 so as to serve as a reclining left backrest. The front seat section 6 further has a fixed frame portion 611 and a movable frame portion 621. The fixed frame portion 611 has longitudinal front and rear rods 6111, 6112, a left transverse rod 6113 connected between left ends of the front and rear rods 6111, 6112, a right transverse rod 6114 connected between right ends of the front and rear rods 6111, 6112, and spaced-apart left and right cross rods 6115, 6116 connected between the front and rear rods 6111, 6112. The right seat portion 61 is fixed to the fixed frame portion 611, and includes a plurality of spaced-apart longitudinal resilient straps 614 connected between the right transverse rod 6114 and the left cross rod 6115 and passing over the right cross rod 6116. The right seat portion 61 is thus supported on the front and rear rods 6111, 6112, the left and right transverse rods 6113, 6114, and the left and right cross rods 6115, 6116. The movable frame portion 621 is connected movably to the fixed frame portion 611, and is pivotal leftward and rightward relative to the fixed frame portion 611. The movable frame portion 621 has a U-shaped rod provided with front and rear arm sections 6211, 6212, and two pivot rods 613 connecting pivotally and respectively the front and rear arms sections 6211, 6212 to the front and rear rods 6111, 6112. The pivot rods 613 extend inwardly and respectively from the front and rear rods 6111, 6112 adjacent to the left cross rod 6115, so that the front and rear arm sections 6211, 6212 are disposed between the front and rear rods 6111, 6112. The left seat portion 62 is fixed to the movable frame portion 621, and includes a plurality of spaced-apart transversal resilient straps 622 connected to and disposed between the left and right arm sections 6211, 6212 of the U-shaped rod 621. The user can lie flatly on the front seat section 6 when the left seat portion 62 is pivoted downwardly and leftwardly so as to be disposed in the horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 2, and can recline on the front seat section 6 when the left seat portion 62 is pivoted upwardly and rightwardly relative to the right seat portion 61 so as to be disposed in the inclined position, as best shown in FIG. 3.
The roof assembly 5 is installed on top of the main support frame 2. Since the roof assembly 5 is not a main aspect of the present invention, a detailed description of the same is dispensed herewith for the sake of brevity.
The swing assembly of the present invention further comprises an adjustable reclining mechanism 4 to adjust an inclination angle of the left seat portion 62 relative to the right seat portion 61. In this embodiment, four adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are employed. Two of the adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are disposed respectively on the front and rear sides of the front seat section 6, while the other two of the adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are disposed respectively on the front and rear sides of the rear seat section 7. Since the operation and structure of each of the adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 are similar, only one of the adjustable reclining mechanisms 4 that is disposed on the front side of the front seat section 6 will be described hereinafter.
With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the adjustable reclining mechanism 4 includes a main rod 41 pivoted to an inner face of the front rod 6111 in proximity to the left rod 6113, and a slide 42 connected telescopically to the main rod 41 and pivoted to an outer face of the left arm section 6211 of the U-shaped rod 621. The main rod 41 is formed as a hollow rod having two parallel walls 411 provided respectively with a longitudinal extending slide hole 414, a plurality of spaced-apart inclined teeth 412 extending into the slide hole 414, and a plurality of recesses 415 each formed between two adjacent ones of the inclined teeth 412 and communicating spatially with the slide hole 414. The slide 42 has a longitudinally extending plate 421 inserted slidably between the two parallel walls 411, and a pawl member 422 connected movably to the plate 421 and having a transverse engaging pin 423 to engage releasably a selected one of the inclined teeth 412. The pawl member 422 is placed within an aperture 420 in the plate 421, and is provided with a hook end 426 inserted movably into a notch 425 adjacent to the aperture 420, thereby connecting movably the pawl member 422 to the plate 421. A guide piece 43 is disposed slidably between the plate 421 and one of the walls 411, and has a guide hole 431 with a small left-end hole section 4311 and a large right-end hole section 4312. The engaging pin 423 extends into the guide hole 431 with two opposite ends thereof received respectively in the slide holes 414 of the walls 411. A biasing spring 424 is disposed between the walls 411, and has one end abutting against a top face of the pawl member 422, so that the engaging pin 423 is urged to move to the selected inclined tooth 412.
With reference to FIG. 5, when the plate 421 is pulled rightwardly from the main rod 41, the plate 421 moves the guide piece 43 and the pawl member 422 therealong, and the engaging pin 423 is situated in the large-end hole section 4312 of the guide hole 431. As the engaging pin 423 slides over the inclined teeth 412, the biasing spring 424 is compressed (see FIG. 5). When the engaging pin 423 falls into one of the recesses 415 (see FIG. 6), the biasing spring 424 expands, thereby retaining the engaging pin 423 within the corresponding recess 415. The left seat portion 62 is therefore fixed to a desired inclination angle relative to the right seat portion 61.
If the plate 421 is to be moved leftward, the plate 421 must be slid rightward first so as to move to the rightmost end of the slide hole 414. The pawl member 422 and the guide piece 43 are thus moved along with the engaging pin 423, and the engaging pin 423 is moved to the left-end hole section 4311 of the guide hole 431. In this state, the plate 421 can be pushed leftward.
Since the adjustable reclining mechanism 4 is known, any other suitable adjustable reclining mechanism may be employed to adjust the inclination angle of the left seat portion 62 relative to the right seat portion 61. Hence, the adjustable reclining mechanism 4 should not be limited to the disclosed embodiment.
In use, with reference to FIG. 2, when an included angle between the front and rear seat sections 6, 7 is approximately 90°, the user can sit on the front seat section 6 with his/her back resting on the rear seat section 7, and can then swing the swing unit 3 forwardly and rearwardly. When the rear seat section 7 is pivoted rearwardly and downwardly so as to be disposed in the horizontal position, the user can lie flatly either on the front or rear seat section 6, 7. When lying flatly on either one of the front or rear seat section 6, 7, the user may lie such that his/her head and back rest on the left seat portion 62 and his/her feet rest on the right seat portion 61. When the user wishes to recline on the left seat portion 62 of either one of the front or rear seat section 6, 7, the left seat section 62 is pivoted rightwardly relative to the right seat portion 61 and is adjusted to a desired inclination angle through the respective adjustable reclining mechanisms 4.
It is worth mentioning that the present invention may be installed with a retaining mechanism (not shown) between the main support frame 2 and the swing unit 3 to arrest movement of the swing unit 3 relative to the main support frame 2, so that safety is enhanced during use of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A swing assembly comprising:

a main support frame including left and right upright frames, and a top frame connected to top ends of said left and right upright frames; and

a swing unit including a swing chair, and left and right hanging assemblies connected to said swing chair and hung on said top frame, said swing chair including a seat;

said seat having left and right seat portions connected to each other and extending respectively to said left and right hanging assemblies, one of said left and right seat portions being pivotal relative to the other one of said left and right seat portions to move between a substantially horizontal position and an inclining position.

2. The swing assembly of claim 1, wherein said seat has front and rear seat sections respectively disposed at front and rear sides of said swing chair, said rear seat section being pivotal relative to said front seat section to move between a substantially horizontal position and an inclining position, at least one of said front and rear seat sections having said left and right seat portions.

3. The swing assembly of claim 1, further comprising an adjustable reclining mechanism to adjust an inclination angle of said one of said left and right seat portions.

4. The swing assembly of claim 3, wherein said seat further includes a fixed frame portion, and a movable frame portion connected movably to said fixed frame portion and being pivotal leftward and rightward, said right seat portion being fixed to said fixed frame portion, said left seat portion being fixed to said movable frame portion, said adjustable reclining mechanism having a main rod pivoted to said fixed frame portion, and a slide connected telescopically to said main rod and pivoted to said movable frame portion.

5. The swing assembly of claim 4, wherein said fixed frame portion has longitudinal front and rear rods, and a plurality of transverse rods connected between said front and rear rods, said right seat portion being supported on said front, rear, and transverse rods, said movable frame portion having a U-shaped rod provided with two arm sections disposed between and connected pivotally and respectively to said front and rear rods.

6. The swing assembly of claim 4, wherein said main rod is formed as a hollow rod having two parallel walls, and a plurality of inclined teeth formed in each of said parallel walls, said slide having a plate inserted slidably between said parallel walls, and a pawl member connected movably to said plate and having a transverse engaging pin to engage releaseably a selected one of said inclined teeth.