US3403412A

US3403412A - Convertible crib bed

Info

Publication number: US3403412A
Application number: US606496A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gottfried Louis; Berger Jacob
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-12-05
Filing date: 1966-12-05
Publication date: 1968-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1985-10-01

Description

Oct. 1, 1968 1.. GOTTFRIED ET AL CONVERTIBLE CRI B BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5, 1966 IIIIPII'I rl w INVENTORS LOUIS GOTTFRIED JACOB BERGER ATTORNEY.

1968 GOTTFRIED ET AL CONVERTIBLE 031 B BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

INVENTORS LOUIS GOTTFRIED JACOB BERGER BY C ATTORNEY.

Oct. 1, 1968 L. GOTTFRIED ET AL CONVERTIBLE CRIB BED Filed Dec. 1966 FIG. 9.

FIG. I6

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS LOUIS GOTTFRIED Y JACOB BERGER BMW ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,403,412 CONVERTIBLE CRIB BED Louis Gottfried, 515 West End Ave. 10024, and Jacob lbizerger, 600 W. 246th St. 10471, both of New York,

Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 570,357, Aug. 4, 1966. This application Dec. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 606,496

29 Claims. (Cl. 5-100) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A crib comprising a head board and a foot board and a pair of side gates disposed between the head board and the foot board and connecting means for securing the side gates to the head and foot board. At least one of the side gates has an enlarged opening therein and at least one section means, at least partly removable and substantially complementary to the shape of the opening, rigidly but releasable attached to the side gate in the opening thereby enclosing the opening and means for releasably connecting the removable section means with the side gate. The section means is adapted to be at least partly removed from the opening in the side gate 'for ready entrance and exit from the crib and includes a frame and a plurality of parallel vertical bars spaced from one another rigidly secured at their ends to the frame.

This is a continuation-in-part application of the copending application filed on Aug. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 570,357, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a convertible crib bed in general, and to a crib bed which is adaptable for ready entrance and exit when desired and which is changeable selectively from such a crib bed into a youth bed, an adult bed and a couch.

No crib beds with at least partly removable or detachable doors for safe and ready entrance and exit into and from the crib are known, and which doors were especially adapted for conversion of the crib bed into both a youth bed, an adult bed and a couch.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a crib bed structure which is readily adaptable for safe entering and exiting when desired and for secure enclosure at other times and when once opened cannot be inad; vertently locked by the child. The present invention also not only permits the conversion of a crib bed into a youth bed, an adult bed and a couch, but provides an additional, intermediate step, taking into account the development of a child, between the crib bed and the youth bed, by providing doors on the side gates of the crib bed, which doors are at least partly movable and therefore permit entering or exiting the crib by the child at the proper development age, before the child is ready for the youth bed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed structure which is readily adaptable for safe entering and exiting when desired and for secure enclosure at other times, and which is especially convertible from a crib bed to a youth bed, an adult bed, and, furthermore, to a couch.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed, wherein the side gate defines an enlarged opening permitting of ready entrance and exit, which opening is closed by rigidly but releasably securing to the gate a section substantially conforming to the shape of the opening and which cannot be opened or removed from within the crib It is still another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed in accordance with the previously stated object, further wherein the side gate is adapted to be posi- 3,403,412 Patented Oct. 1, 1968 "ice tioned vertically lower to the fioor for safe and easy entrance and exit.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a crib comprising a head board, a foot board, a pair of side rails releasably connecting the head board with the foot board, a pair of side gates disposed between the head board and the foot board, connecting means secured to the sides of the foot board and the head board and securing the side gates thereto, at least one of the side gates having an enlarged opening therein, a removable section means substantially complementary to the shape of the opening, rigidly but releasably attached to and at least partly removable from the side gate in the opening thereby enclosing the opening, means for releasably connecting the removable section means with the side gate, and the removable section means being adapted to be at least partly removed from the opening in the side gate for ready entrance and exit from the crib.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a crib bed in accordance with the previously stated object wherein the removable section means is swingably attached to the side gate, so as to partly removable therefrom, and the means for releasably connecting the removable section means with the side gate is mounted on the removable section means, so as to be accessible exclusively from the outside of the crib.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed in accordance with the second last-mentioned object wherein the side gate includes an upper horizontal bar and a lower horizontal bar disposed in spaced relationship from each other and defining the upper and lower edges of the opening, the removable section means including horizontally disposed upper and lower ridges, and the horizontal bars including channels facing each other and complementary to the ridges for slidingly engaging the removable section means therein for sliding the removable section means into an openable and closable crib position.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed, wherein both side gates define substantially identical enlarged openings permitting of said ready entrance and exit, which openings are closed by rigidly but releasably securing to the side gates at the openings removable sections substantially conforming to the shape of the openings, and wherein the side gates are removable from the bed and discarded for conversion of the crib bed into a youth bed, and wherein said removable sections are adapted to be and are securely ailixed to the sides of the head board to form the youth bed.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a crib bed, wherein both side gates define substantial- 1y identical enlarged openings permitting of said ready entrance and exit, which openings are closed by rigidly but releasably securing to the side gates at the openings removable sections substantially conforming to he shape of the openings, and wherein the side gates are removable from the bed and discarded for conversion of the crib bed into a couch, and wherein the removable sections are adapted to be and are securely afiixed along one side of said convertible unit to one side of the foot board and to the corresponding side of the head board, respectively.

It is yet another object of the Present invention to provide a crib bed in accordance with the previously stated objective, wherein the head board and the foot board include a lower section and an upper section removably disposed on top of the lower section, and wherein said upper sections are removed upon conversion of the crib bed into a couch.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the subject matter of the present invention, shown as a crib bed;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a side gate and removable section in detached position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a youth bed designed in accordance with the present invention after conversion from a crib bed or from a couch;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a couch designed in accordance with the present invention after conversion from a crib bed or from a youth bed;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a side gate disclosing another embodiment of partly removable sections in detached position;

FIG. 6 is a view of the side gate and partly removable sections of FIG. 5 in attached, but one of the sections in partly open, position;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a side gate and another embodiment of a slidable gate section;

FIG. 8 is a section along the lines 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a side gate disclosing still another embodiment of a partly removable gate section;

FIG. 10 is a section along the lines 1010 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of a crib bed showing still another embodiment of a partly removable gate section; and

FIG. 12 is a section along the lines 12-12 of FIG. 11.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 to 2, the bed designed in accordance with the present invention, comprises a head board 1, a foot board 2, and the head board 1 is connected with the foot board 2 by means of a pair of side rails 3 releasably connecting the head board with the foot board 2.

The head board 1 and the foot board 2 each comprise two sections including a pair of parallel

lower posts

4 and 5, for the head board 1 and the foot board 2, respectively, which carry therebetween

lower panels

6 and 7, respectively, which pairs of

lower posts

4 and 5 are detachably connected by means described in better detail below with pairs of

upper posts

8 and 9, respectively, which carry between them upper panels 10 and 11, respectively.

The

headboard posts

4 and 8 and the

foot board posts

5 and 9 have secured thereto guide rods 12. The latter are equipped with compression coil springs 13 and the guide rods 12 permit raising and lowering of the

side gates

14 and 15 having an overall rectangular configuration. The

side gates

14 and 15 can be retained in an upper position (as illustrated by the position of gate 15) and a lower position (as illustrated by gate 14) or intermediate positions by gate positioning means 15a.

The

side gates

14 and 15 are formed of an upper horizontal bar 16 and a lower horizontal bar 17 between which are afiixed a plurality of vertically oriented and spaced bars 18. Two of the

bars

18a and 18b are spaced apart a considerable extent defining therebetween an enlarged rectangular opening 19 (as may readily be seen in FIG. 2).

A completely removable section, namely a removable section 20 having a rectangular frame 21 substantially conforming to the shape of the opening 19 is provided for securely closing the opening 19 and which is readily detachable from outside the crib. For this purpose, the upper edge of the frame 21 is provided with two aflixed stud pegs 22 which fit into corresponding stud peg holes 23 in the upper horizontal bar 16 of the side gate 14 adjacent opening 19. In this position (FIG. 1) threaded holes 24 in the lower edge of the frame 21 align with holes 25 through the lower horizontal bar 17 through which are inserted screws 26 which securely and rigidly hold the removable section 20 to the side gate. In this fashion the removable section 20 closes the opening 19.

The interior of the removable section 20 within the frame member 21 may comprise various configurations and designs which substantially close the frame member,

although as illustrated in the drawings, the removable section 20 contains vertical bars 27 afiixed to the frame member 21 and securely held.

With the removable section 20 locked into position as described above, the crib can be used without dangerfof the baby falling out. When it is desired to provide-rady entrance and exit of the child from the crib, the removable sections 20 may be detached from the

side gates

14 and 15 and the side gates may be lowered, via gate positioning means 15a so that the opening 19 is close to the floor.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the arrangement that the removable sections 20 cannot be readily removed by the child from within the crib, thereby protecting the baby from accidentally falling out of the crib, since the screws 26 are only accessible from outside the crib, as they are located on the underside of the lower horizontal bar 17 and the crib bars 27 are too closely spaced, so as not to permit the child to insert his or her hand therebetween and reach the screws.

In addition, the removable sections 20 are either rigidly secured when in position or either partly or completely removed from the side gates when egress and ingress is desired. This arrangement amounts to an additional development step between the crib bed and the youth bed, since while the crib bed is still in use, the child has the possibility to slip out of and into the crib bed upon removal of these sections.

Another advantage of the detachable, removable section 20 of the present invention resides in the feature that the special crib of FIG. 1 may further be readily converted into a youth bed or couch with a minimum of effort and without any additional parts.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the bed is shown after its conversion into a youth bed. To achieve this conversion into a youth bed, the

side gates

14 and 15 and the guide rods 12 are removed and discarded. The removable sections 20 of each side gate are detached from the side gates and rigidly secured by means of screws 29 or the like to the lower posts 4 at the sides of the headboard 1. The upper panel 10 and upper posts 8 remain connected to the lower panel 6 and lower posts 4, respectively, serving as the head board 1 unchanged. Additional details of the youth bed, such as adjustable side rails to vary the length of the bed, etc. are found in our United States patent application entitled Crib-Bed by Louis Gottfried and Jacob Berger, Ser. No. 410,610, filed Nov. 12, 1964. Although not shown in FIG. 3, the upper panel 11 and upper posts 9 of the foot board 2 are removed when the crib is converted into a youth bed, so that the head board 1 is of greater height than the foot board 2.

Referring now to FIG. 4 for a couch, which can be converted from the crib bed of FIG. 1, to convert the crib bed into the couch, the

side gates

14 and 15 and the guide rods 12 are removed and discarded. The removable sections 20 of each side gate are detached from the side gates and rigidly secured by means of screws 30 or the like, one removable section 20 being secured to one of the lower posts 4 of the head board 1 and the other removable section 20 being secured to the corresponding post 5 of the foot board 2 along one side of the unit, in coplanar relationship to form the back of the couch. In this position the removable sections 20 may have a space therebetween, as indicated in FIG. 4. Suitable backing pillows 31 (shown in dashed line) are then placed along the aligned members 20, and the entire unit may be moved in the room with the members 20 against a Wall, as an ordinary couch. The other side portion of the unit opposite the side along which the members 20 are disposed is open serving as the accessible and front and chair portion of the couch.

Completing the conversion of the bed crib into the couch, the upper panels 10 and 11 and the

upper posts

8 and 9 of the head board 1 and the foot board 2, respectively, are removed, so that the couch has substantially a uniform height. The lower panel 6 of the head board 1 and the lower panel 7 of the foot board 2 now form the sides or arms of the couch. Also removed are the rollers 32 (FIG. 1), so that the couch remains firm with respect to the floor.

Referring again to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, it is shown that the height of the removable sections 20 is substantially the same as the height of the

lower panels

6 and 7 of the head board 1 and the foot board 2, respectively. For converting the crib bed into the couch, this permits of the couch to have the aforementioned uniform height.

Referring now again to FIG. 1 of the drawings, in order to connect each pair of adjacent posts, such as posts 4 to posts 8 and posts 5 to posts 9, a pin member 33 (shown in dashed line) extends from the bottom face of the

upper posts

8 and 9 which is received in a complementary bore of the top face of the adjacent

lower posts

4 and 5, respectively, disposed therebelow. Furthermore the posts are equipped with vertical grooves 34 which receive the lateral edges of the panels disposed therebetween. With these detachable mounting means, the

upper posts

8 and 9 and upper panels 10 and 11 are readily removed or connected to meet the aforesaid requirements of the various conversions.

Although the description has demonstrated the conversion of the crib bed of FIG. 1 into the youth bed of FIG. 3 and into the couch of FIG. 4, it should be readily understood that the couch of FIG. 4 may be converted from the youth bed of FIG. 3, as well as vice versa, by suitably detaching, rearranging and attaching the removable sections 20.

Referring now again to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 5 and 6, the removable section is illustrated comprising two

vertical sections

40 and 41, respectively. Each of the

vertical sections

40 and 41 includes a

rectangular frame

42 and 43, respectively, containing therein spaced vertical bars 27a and having such dimensions that when aligned sideways adjacent to one another, the combined

sections

40 and 41 substantially conform to the shape of the rectangular opening 19' in the side gate 14. To close the opening 19', the upper edge of the frame 42 of the vertical section 40 is provided with two affixed stud pegs 22a which fit into corresponding stud peg holes 23a in the upper horizontal bar 16 of the side gate 14 adjacent opening 19. In this position (FIG. 6) threaded holes 24a in the lower edge of the frame 42 align with holes 25:: through the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gat 14 through which are inserted screws 26a which securely and rigidly hold the removable vertical section to the side gate 14.

The vertical section 41 is provided with a single stud peg 44 at the side of the upper edge of the frame 43 which stud peg fits into a corresponding stud peg hole 45 in the upper horizontal bar 16 of the side gate 14 adjacent opening 19. A hole 46 at the corresponding side of the lower edge of the frame 43 is vertically aligned with the stud peg 44 and aligns adjacent a hole 47 through the lower horizontal bar 17 through which holes 46 and 47 is inserted a screw 48. g

The vertical section 41 horizontally swings open (as in FIG. 6) or closed about the axis defined by the vertically aligned stud peg 44 and the screw 48. In the open position, the child can readily enter or exit from the crib.

Provision is made for securely closing the vertical section 41. At the other end of the upper edge and the lower edge of the frame 43 of the vertical section 41 are spring biased locking

bolts

49 and 50, respectively, mounted on the outer face of frame 43. Corresponding

brackets

51 and 52 are secured to the upper horizontal bar 16 and the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate for receiving the locking

bolts

49 and 50, respectively, in closed locking position, thereby closing the opening 19 when the vertical section 41 is adjacent the vertical section 40.

The spring biased bolts 49 and are biased toward the bracket locking position and must both be simultaneously opened when it is desired to swing open the vertical section 41, thereby affording extreme safety for the child who cannot from within the crib perform this difficult operation. Once opened the spring biased bolts revert to their extended positions, and the vertical section 41 cannot be accidently locked by the child although inadvertently swung against the

brackets

51 and 52.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 7 and 8, the removable section 20 comprises two identical, vertical sections 53 including vertical frames 54 having vertical bars 27b therein. When placed adjacent to one another the frames 54 conform to the shape of the rectangular openings 19 in the side gate 14. The entire rear portion of the upper and lower edges of the frames 54 are formed into recessed

ridges

55 and 56 respectively, which are slidingly disposed in

complementary channels

57 and 58 running along the entire upper horizontal bar 16 and the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate 14. respectively, as shown in FIG. 8.

To provide ready entrance and exit to the crib, the vertical sections 53 are slid away from the opening 19 along the

channels

57 and 58. To lock the sections 53, they are moved into abutting position in front of the opening 19 and spring biased bolts 59 which are mounted on the outer face of the lower edge of the frames 54 are lifted and released to engage in corresponding brackets 60 secured to the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate 14. Once the sections are in the locking position, unlocking by the child from within the crib becomes diflicult as the bolts are mounted on the bottom of the outer face of the frame 54 and are relatively inaccessible to the child from within the crib. When in the opened position, inadvertent sliding of the sections 53 cannot lock the sections 53 as the bolts 59 are spring biased in the extended position. As shown in FIG. 8, in the open position the backs of the sections 53 are against the bars 18 of the side gate 14 providing additional security.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 9 and 10, the removable section 20a is illustrated comprising two slidable vertical sections 53 including vertical frames 54 having vertical bars 27b therein. The entire upper and lower edges of the frames 54 of the removable sections 20a are formed into recessed

ridges

55 and 56, respectively. The recessed ridges of one of the slidable sections 53 are slidingly disposed in facing

complementary channels

57 and 58 running along the entire front portion of the upper horizontal bar 16 and the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate 14, respectively, and the recessed ridges of the other slidable section 53 are disposed in facing

complementary channels

57 and 58 running along the entire rear portion of the

horizontal bars

16 and 17, respectively.

To close the crib, the slidable sections 53 are slid along the channels and positioned adjacent one another. The joint length of the two sections 53 is equal to the length of the

horizontal bars

16 and 17 of the side gate of the crib. To lock the sections 53 in this position, spring-biased bolts 59, mounted on the outer faces of the lower edge of the frames 54, are lifted and released to engage in corresponding bracket 60 or hole 60a", respectively, on the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate 14. Once the sections 53 are in the locked position, unlocking by the child from within the crib becomes difficult as the bolts 59 are mounted on the bottom of the outer face of the frames 54 and are relatively inaccessible to the child from within the crib To provide ready entrance and exit to the crib, one of the slidable sections 53 is slid along its corresponding channels (toward the other section) so as to be positioned parallel to and in front (or behind) of the other slidable section. In this position an opening is available for ready entrance and exit to the crib by the child. When the slidable sections 53 are in this position inadvertent sliding of the section 53 by the child cannot move and lock the section 53 in the closed position as the bolt 59" is spring-biased in the extended position and may be locked in corresponding bracket 60" or hole 60a, respectively, in the open position. It is also within the scope of the present invention that only one removable section be provided, and the remainder of the side gate of the crib be provided with fixed spaced vertical bars.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 11 and 12, removable section 20a comprises a rectangular frame 61 conforming to the shape of the opening in the side gate 14 for closing the opening and containing spaced vertical bars 270 within. Secured to the lower edge of the frame 61 is a horizontally elongated hinge '62 which hinge is also secured to a horizontal bar 63 on the side gate 14 which bar 63 also defines the lower portion of the opening of the side gate 14 In the open position the section 201: falls downward, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 11, but is so dimensioned so as not to bang against the floor. For this purpose the lower edge of the frame 61 (and the horizontal bar 63) is positioned above the lower horizontal bar 17 of the side gate 14 at approximately the top of the crib mattress 64 further providing ready entrance and exit to the crib.

For locking the section 20a, the section 200 is raised so as to cover the opening. Two spring biased bolts 65 spaced apart relative to each other, for diflicult acces by a child in the crib, are mounted on the outer face of the upper edge of the frame 61, and are lowered and then released so as to be received in aligned brackets 66 mounted on the upper horizontal bar 16 of the side gate 14 of the crib, thereby locking the section 20a to the side gate 14 As illustrated in the emodiments of FIGS. -12, the removable sections are partly removable from the side gate, but still attached to permit convenient entrance and exit from the crib Without risk of misplacement of the sections. Further, these removable sections may be completely removed from the side gates and the side gates removed from the crib for conversion, as previously described, into a youth bed and/or youth couch.

While we have disclosed several emodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

We claim:

1. A crib comprising a head board,

a foot board,

a pair of side rails releasably connecting said head board with said foot board,

a pair of side gates disposed between said head board and said foot board,

connecting means secured to said foot board and said head board and securing said side gates thereto,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

at least one section means, at least partly removable and substantially complementary to the shape of said opening, rigidly but releasably attached to said side gate in said opening thereby enclosing said opening,

means for releasably connecting said removable section means with said side gate, said removable section means being adapted to be at least partly removed from said opening in said side gate for ready entrance and exit from the crib, and

said section means including a frame and a plurality of parallel vertical bars spaced from each other and rigidly secured at their ends to said frame.

2. The crib, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connecting means include means for raising and lowering said side gate having said Opening to at least two fixed vertical positions.

said side gates are removable from said head board and,

said foot board, respectively, and

both removable section means are completely removable from said side gates and are secured to said head board upon removal of said side gates from the crib, thereby converting said crib into a youth bed.

6. A convertible crib, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said head and foot boards each comprise a lower section and an upper section removably disposed on top of said lower section,

means for releasably connecting said upper section with said lower section, and

said upper sections being adapted to be removed upon conversion of said crib into a youth bed.

7. A crib comprising a head board,

a foot board,

a pair of side gates disposed between said head board and said foot board,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

means for releasably connecting said removable section means with said side gate, and

said removable section means being adapted to be at least partly removed from said opening in said side gate for ready entrance and exit from the crib,

each side gate has an opening therein,

said side gates are removable from said head board and said foot board, respectively, and

each removable section means is completely removable from said side gates and is secured to said head board and said foot board, respectively, along one corresponding side thereof upon removal of said side gates from the crib thereby converting said crib into a couch.

8. A convertible crib, as set forth in claim 7, wherein said head and foot boards each comprise a lower section and an upper section removably disposed on top of said lower section,

means for releasably connecting said upper section with said lower section, and

said upper section being adapted to be removed upon conversion of said crib into a couch.

9. The convertible crib, as set forth in claim 8, wherein said identically shaped openings and said removable section means are rectangular.

10. The convertible crib, as set forth in claim 5,

wherein said identically shaped openings and said removable section means are rectangular. 11. The convertible crib, as set forth in claim 1,

wherein disposed between said head board and said foot board,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

said removable section means further comprises a frame member including closure members therein,

said means for releasably connecting said removable section means with said side gate comprising at least one stud piece,

said side gate including two members consisting of an upper bar and a lower bar disposed in spaced relationship from each other and defining the upper and lower edges of said opening, one of said members having a corresponding stud hole for said stud piece, and

the other of said members having at least one vertical hole therethrough.

13. A crib comprising a head board,

a foot board,

a pair of side gates disposed between said head board and said foot board,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

means for releasably connecting said removable sectionmeans with said side gate, and

said means for releasably connecting said side gate comprising at least one stud piece, affixed to the upper outer edge of said frame,

said side gate including an upper bar and a lower bar disposed in spaced relationship from each other defining the upper and lower edges of said opening,

said upper bar of the side gate having a corresponding stud hole for each stud piece adapted to receive a stud piece therein,

said lower bar having at least one vertical hole therethrough,

said frame including a threaded hole extending from the bottom outer edge thereof and aligned with said vertical hole in the lower bar when said stud hole receives the stud piece, and

a screw for inserting through the lower bar into the aligned vertical hole and threaded hole thereby securing the frame to the side gate.

14. The convertible crib, as set forth in claim 1, said side gate further comprising an upper bar and a lower bar horizontally disposed in spaced relationship from each other, a plurality of vertically aligned and spaced side gate bars afiixed at their ends to the upper bar and the lower bar,

two of said side gate bars being disposed in enlarged spaced relationship and defining said opening.

15. The crib, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said removable section means is swingably attached to said side gate so as to be partly removable therefrom.

16. The crib, as set forth in claim 15, wherein said removable section means is hingedly connected to said side gate adjacent the bottom thereof for upward and downward, closable and openable movement, respectively, relative thereto, and

said releasable connecting means is mounted on said removable section means and said side gate adjacent the top of said section means and comprises two spring biased bolt means oriented in spaced relationship from each other.

17. The crib, as set forth in claim 15, wherein said means for releasably connecting said removable section means with said side gate is mounted on the outside of the crib on said removable section means, so as to be accessible exclusively from the outside of the crib.

18. A crib comprising a head board,

a foot board,

a pair of side gates disposed between said head board and said foot board,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

said removable section means is swingably attached to said side gate so as to be partly removable therefrom,

horizontally pivotable means for horizontally swingably attaching said removable section means to said side gate for horizontal swingable openable and closable movement relative thereto.

19. The crib, as set forth in claim 18, wherein said horizontally pivotable means comprises,

a vertically oriented stud piece adapted to be received in a complementary opening,

said removable means and said gate constituting elements to be joined,

said stud piece is attached to one of said elements, and said opening being provided in the other of said elements, and

a screw oriented in spaced vertical relationship from said stud piece and connecting said removable means with said side gate.

20. The crib, as set forth in claim 18, wherein said removable section means comprises two vertical sections,

one of said vertical sections being rigidly connected to said side gate in said opening, and

the other of said vertical sections being horizontally swingably attached to said side gate.

21. The crib, as set forth in claim 18, wherein said releasable connecting means comprises,

spring biased bolt means including,

a bolt portion,

a bolt engaging means for releasable engagement with said bolt portion, and

said bolt portion and said bolt engaging means are secured to said removable section means and to said side gate so as to releasably secure said removable section means to said side gate.

22. The crib, as set forth in claim 21, wherein said spring biased bolt means includes an upper spring biased bolt and a lower spring biased bolt mounted at the top and the bottom of said removable section means, respectively, in spaced relationship from one another.

23. The crib, as set forth in claim 21, wherein said spring biased bolt means is biased in the engagement position, so that inadvertent engagement is precluded when said removable section means is in the openable position.

24. A crib comprising a headboard,

a foot board,

a pair of side gates disposed between said head board and said foot board,

at least one of said side gates having an enlarged opening therein,

said side gate includes an upper horizontal bar and a lower horizontal bar disposed in spaced relationship from each other and defining upper and lower edges of said opening,

said removable section means includes horizontally disposed upper and lower ridges, and

said horizontal bars include channels facing each other and complementary to said ridges for slidingly engaging said ridges of said removable section means therein for sliding said removable section means therein in openable and closable position.

25. The crib, as set forth in claim 24, wherein two of said removable section means are provided, and

the joint lengths of said two of said removable section means being substantially identical with the lengths of said upper and lower horizontal bars.

26. The crib, as set forth in claim 24, further comprising a plurality of vertically oriented spaced bars disposed between said horizontal bars,

said channels disposed outwardly relative said spaced bars, and

said removable section means slidingly abutting said spaced bars when in said openable position.

27. The crib, as set forth in claim 24, wherein said releasable connecting means comprises a spring biased bolt means mounted at the bottom of said removable section means.

28. The crib, as set forth in claim 27, wherein said removable section means comprises two vertical sections.

29. The convertible crib, as set forth in claim 14 wherein said plurality of vertically aligned and spaced side gate bars spaced from one another by the same spacing of said plurality of parallel vertical bars of said section means and together constituting an equally spaced array of parallel vertically oriented spaced bars along the full length of said side gate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner.