US3670344A - Height-adjustable crib - Google Patents

Abstract

A height-adjustable crib has four legs composed of upper and lower sections. A laterally extending screw and pin are spaced apart on one section. These engage in adjacent holes spaced along the length of the other leg section. The pin extends only part way through the other section, while the screw extends all the way through so that a nut can be turned down on the screw to lock the two sections together. An end hole in the lower section is arranged so that it can only receive the pin in order to ensure that there is always a two-point connection between the two leg sections.

Description

v United States Patent Boudreau 1 June 20, 1972 Inventor:

Assignee:

Filed:

App]. No.:

US. Cl ..5/1 1, 5/93, 5/100, 248/ 1 88.2

..A47c 7/03, A47c 17/ 14 FieldofSearch ..5/11,93, 100, 98;248/157, 248/161, 1882; 108/144 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,889,560 6/1959 Carman ..5/93x 3,495,794 2/1970 Polk,.lr ..248/l57 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 242,540 11/ 1925 Great Britain ..5/93 R Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Anamey-Cesari and McKenna ABSTRACT A height-adjustable crib has four legs composed of upper and lower sections. A laterally extending screw and pin are spaced apart on one section. These engage in adjacent holes spaced along the length of the other leg section, The pin extends only part way through the other section, while the screw extends all the way through so that a nut can be turned down on the screw to lock the two sections together. An end hole in the lower section is arranged so that it can only receive the pin in order to ensure that there is always a two-point connection between the two leg sections.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures P'ATENTEnJmo I87? 3, 570. 344

INVENTOR A LBAN M. BOUDREAU mm! %m ATTORNEYS HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE CRIB BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an infant's crib. It relates more pa.r ticularly to an improved leg structure therefor which is relatively inexpensive, yet which enables the mother to easily adjust the height of the crib.

There are, of course, cribs available today which are height adjustable. They have legs composed of two sections which can be adjusted relative to one another lengthwise to posin'on the lower section; That hardware increases the cost of the crib appreciably.

In another conventional crib, the leg adjustment is achieved by means of screws in the upper section which extend through a lengthwise slot milled, in the lower section. When nuts threaded on these screws are loosened, the lower section can be slid up and down to reach the desired height after which the nuts are tightened to maintain that position. Although this adjustable crib leg'uses less hardware than the previous variety, the lower leg section must be milled out to fonn the slot. This is a relatively costly operation. Also, two nuts must be manipulated to adjust each leg. Still further, if the nuts become loosened, the leg may collapse. Other means for adjustably securing the lower leg section have been suggested. However, all of them suffer from either undue complexity or relatively high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, this invention aims to provide an improved infants crib which may be adjusted as to height.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable crib leg which is relatively easy and inexpensive to make.

Another object of the invention is to provide a height-adjustable crib which is relatively easy to move between its different positions of adjustment.

Yet another object of the inventionis to provide an adjustable crib leg which is sturdy, stableand safe.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplifiedin the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of'the invention will be indicated in the claims.

In general, my crib'has-the usual rectangular crib body and four legs extending down from the four comers of that body to the floor. All of these legs are identical and they can be extended and retracted to position the crib body at selected heights above the floor.

Each leg has an upper section which actually forms the comer post of the crib body. Each leg also has a lower section removably secured to the upper section.

The securement of two leg sections is achieved by means of a single screw mounted near the-lower end of the upper section and a pin mounted in the upper section an appreciable distance above the screw and which extends out in the same direction. The screw and pin are received in holes drilled into the lower leg section. In practice, there is a series of these justment. Thus, the pin and screw together provide a two point connection between the two leg sections. Yet, it is only necessary to manipulate one element, i.e. the nut, when it is desired to lengthen or shorten the leg.

Provision is made for insuring that a two point connection is always maintained between the two leg sections. More particularly, the pin mounted on each upper section is appreciably shorter than the screw thereon. Therefore, it can only protrude partway through a hole in the lower section. However, the topmost hole in the lower section does not extend all the way through the section. Rather, it only reaches the depth of penetration of the pin. Therefore, if the mother inadvertently tries to insert the screw through the topmost opening in the lower section, she will be unable to do this because the topmost hole will only accept the pin. Obviously, if that were to occur, the lower section could swing out of line, causing the crib to collapse.

Of course, there are other equivalent ways to ensure'that the two point connection is maintained. For example, the cross-sectional shapes of the pin, screw and holes can be arranged so that the pin can fit in any hole but so that the screw can fit in all holes but the end one. Further, the present leg construction can be used on other juvenile furniture items such as playpens, car pens, portable cribs and the like.

Thus, the present adjustable crib leg is relatively simple and inexpensive to make. It requires a minimum amount of hardware and simple drilling operations to install that hardware. Further, the leg is strong and sturdy, always providing a two point connection between the two leg sections. Yet, the mother need only manipulate one screw in order to change the leg adjustment. Finally, with the present construction, the only component projecting from the leg is a rather smoothly rounded thumb screw. Therefore, it does not present a safety hazard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infant's crib embodying the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view on a larger scale showing the components of the adjustable crib leg in greater detail; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view with parts in elevation showing the crib leg in one of its positions of adjustment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the crib is shown generally at 10. It is composed of a generally rectangular body 12 of conventional construction with four legs shown generally at 14 located at the four comers of body 12 and extending down to the floor. As will be described presently, legs 14 may be adjusted by hand to position the body 12 at different heights above the floor.

Turning now to FIG. 2, each leg 14 is composed of a long, rectangular upper section 14a which actually constitutes a corner post of crib body 12. Each leg also has a lower rectangular leg section 14b which is approximately the same length as section 14a.

A screw 16 extends with a close fit through an opening 18 near the lower endof leg section 14a. The screw extends out laterally from section for an appreciable distance. Also, a generally cylindrical pin 20 is mounted in section 14a an appreciable distance above screw 16. Pin 20 extends out in the same direction as the screw, but only approximately one-half the distance.

A number of holes 22 are drilled through leg section 14b. These holes are spaced one above the other and the distance between each pair of holes 22 is the same as the distance between screw 16 and pin 20. All of the holes 22 extend all the way through section 14b except the topmost hole 22a. While hole 22a will not receive screw 16, it is sufirciently deep to receive pin as shown in FIG. 3.

When the two leg sections are brought together, as shown in FIG. 3, with the screw 16 extending through one of the openings 22, the pin 20 will extend into the opening 22 just above the one containing the screw. When the two leg sections are flush against one another, the screw 16 will protrude from the opening 22 and a relatively large knurled nut 26 is turned down onto the protruding end of the screw to lock the two sections together. Nut 26 has a shank portion 26a which is internally threaded at 28 to tightly engage the screw. Also, the nut has an end well 30 which is deep enough so that the end of screw 16 is recessed and protectively enclosed within well 30 when the nut is tightened down.

Thus, when the two leg sections are secured together, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a two point connection between them. More particularly, the pin 20 engages the wall of the opening 22 into which its protrudes. Also, the screw 16 engages the wall of the opening 22 through which it extends. Thus, the leg 14 as a whole is able to withstand substantial vertical and sideways stresses imposed on it by the jouncing and rocking movements of an active baby in the crib.

Since the topmost opening 22a in leg section 14b is not a through opening, it is impossible for the housewife to inadvertently connect the two leg sections together so that they only have a one point connection. In other words, if opening 22a extended all the way through section 14b, the mother might insert the screw 16 through that opening, leaving no opening at all for the pin 20 to engage in. This would allow the lower leg section 14b to pivot about screw 16, causing possible collapse of the crib. With the present construction, the topmost opening 22:: cannot receive screw 16 so that that possibility is foreclosed.

When it is desired to change the height of the crib, the mother has to manipulate only one nut on each leg and insert the screw 16 into the opening 22 that gives her the desired height adjustment. When the two leg sections are brought together in parallel, the pin 20 automatically seats in the hole 22 directly above the screw and the nut 26 is tightened. The illustrated leg has three such positions of adjustment. Thus, the whole adjusting operation can be accomplished in a minimum amount of time.

Instead of having the openings 22 on section 14b, it is also feasible to form them in section and have the screw 16 and pin 20 on section 14b. In this event, the bottom hole 22 would be partially blocked like hole 22a. Also, as noted previously, the exclusion of the screw 16 from the end passage can be accomplished by employing holes 22, screw 16 and pin 20 of an appropriate cross-sectional shape.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described.

I claim:

1. An infants crib having adjustable legs, each of said legs comprising a relatively long upper section and a relatively long lower section, several small openings spaced along the length of the lower section, the uppermost opening extending only part way through the lower leg section, the remaining openings extending all the way through the lower leg section, a screw extending laterally through the upper leg section near the bottom thereof said screw being sufficiently long to extend completely through and project from an opening in the lower leg section when the two sections are placed flush together, a

pin mounted in the upper le section, said pin being parallel to the screw and being space above the screw a distance equal to the distance between the openings in the lower leg section, said pin also projecting out from the upper leg section a distance slightly less than the depth of the uppermost opening in the lower leg section so the pin but not the screw can engage in the uppermost opening in the lower leg section, and a nut engaging the portion of the screw projecting through an opening in the lower leg section so that when the two sections are placed flush together and the nut is tightened down, there is always a two point connection between the two leg sections.

2. A crib defined in claim 1 wherein the nut has collar which extends outward beyond the central portion of the nut containing the threaded opening therein 50 that when the nut is turned down on the associated screw, the protruding end of the screw is recessed into the collar.

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Claims (2)

1. An infant''s crib having adjustable legs, each of said legs comprising a relatively long upper section and a relatively long lower section, several small openings spaced along the length of the lower section, the uppermost opening extending only part way through the lower leg section, the remaining openings extending all the way through the lower leg section, a screw extending laterally through the upper leg section near the bottom thereof said screw being sufficiently long to extend completely through and project from an opening in the lower leg section when the two sections are placed flush together, a pin mounted in the upper leg section, said pin being parallel to the screw and being spaced above the screw a distance equal to the distance between the openings in the lower leg section, said pin also projecting out from the upper leg section a distance slightly less than the depth of the uppermost opening in the lower leg section so the pin but not the screw can engage in the uppermost opening in the lower leg section, and a nut engaging the portion of the screw projecting through an opening in the lower leg section so that when the two sections are placed flush together and the nut is tightened down, there is always a two point connection between the two leg sections.

2. A crib defined in claim 1 wherein the nut has collar which extends outward beyond the central portion of the nut containing the threaded opening therein 50 that when the nut is turned down on the associated screw, the protruding end of the screw is recessed into the collar.

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