GB2482574A

GB2482574A - A footrest adjusting mechanism for a baby stroller

Info

Publication number: GB2482574A
Application number: GB1106887.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Zhi-Ren Zhong; Yongli Liu
Original assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Co Ltd Hong Kong
Current assignee: Wonderland Nurserygoods Co Ltd Hong Kong
Priority date: 2010-08-02
Filing date: 2011-04-26
Publication date: 2012-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 2031-04-26
Also published as: GB2482574B; GB201106887D0; CN201872781U

Abstract

A footrest adjusting mechanism 10 suitable for a child carriage comprises a footrest 20 pivotably connected to a seat 14, a positioning block 22 connected to the seat 14, and an operating part 24 pivotally connected to the foot-rest and selectively operable to abut against the positioning block 22. Preferably the positioning block comprises several abutment grooves 30 each in an L-shape. Ideally, the operating part is spring biased 26 and has a pressing button 34, pressing the pressing button 34 disengaging the operating part from the groove, and allowing the footrest to pivot. The operating part and positioning block may work along the pawl and ratchet principal, allowing the footrest to be raised but requiring the pawl / operating member to be released before the footrest can be lowered. A stroller with this mechanism will allow a baby to have its outstretched legs supported, while the footrest angle can be changed to accommodate a larger child.

Description

CHILD CARRIAGE AND RELATED FOOTREST ADJUSTING MECHANISM

Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a child carriage and a related footrest adjusting mechanism, and more particularly, to a child carriage and a related footrest adjusting mechanism capable of fixing a position of a footrest relative to a seat of the child carriage by utilizing an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest to abut against a positioning block.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Generally speaking, a conventional footrest of a child carriage includes a seat and a footrest pivotally connected to a front portion of the seat by shaft. In the prior art, the footrest usually has a fixed angle relative to the seat.

Accorthngly, the footrest can only allow an older child to put his feet thereon. -iowever, when a baby with a smaller size sits on the child carriage, this conventional design will not provide an appropriate angle for the baby to put his feet horizontally on the footrest such that it will cause inconvenience in use of the footrest and make the baby feel uncomfortable easily.

Therefore, a multi-step footrest adjusting mechanism is provided to solve the said problem. That is, the multi-step angle adjustment of the footrest can be achieved by using an adjusting mechanism disposed between the seat and the footrest.

A conventional design is to utilize an operating part capable of sliding forward and backward relative to the seat to constrain rotary of the footrest relative to the seat such that the footrest can be fixed at different angles for babies with different sizes. However, the said design may cause a complicated mechanism. Moreover, since the said design requires a user to pull the operating part forward and backward to perform angle adjustment of the footrest relative to the seat, it is still not intuitive and convenient enough.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a footrest adjusting mechanism for a child carriage. The child carriage includes a seat. The footrest adjusting mechanism includes a footrest pivotally connected to the seat; a positioning block connected to the seat; and an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest and abutting against the positioning block, the operating part being operable for being selectively separate from the positioning block.

The present invention further provides a child carriage.

The child carriage includes a main body; a seat disposed on the main body; and a footrest adjusting mechanism disposed on the seat. The footrest adjusting mechanism includes a footrest pivotally connected to the seat; a positioning block connected to the seat; and an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest and abutting against the positioning block, the operating part being operable for being selectively separate from the positioning block.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of a child carriage according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of a seat and a footrest adjusting mechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagram of a positioning block in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section diagram of an operating part in FIG. 1 abutting against a positioning groove of the positioning block.

FIG. 5 is a section diagram of the operating part in FIG. 4 abutting against another positioning groove.

Detailed Description

A footrest adjusting mechanism of the present invention can be implemented on both sides of a child carriage. The following description only illustrates each component of the footrest adjusting mechanism on one side of the child carriage.

As for the footrest adjusting mechanism on the other side, it can be reasoned by analogy, and the related description will be therefore omitted herein.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is an exploded diagram of a child carriage 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the child carriage includes a main body 12 (only partially shown in FIG. 1), a seat 14 and a footrest adjusting mechanism 16. The main body 12 is an assembly of the major structures (e.g. a backrest supporting mechanism, a handle, and so on) of the child carriage 10 other than the seat 14 and the footrest adjusting mechanism 16, and the related description is omitted herein since its design is commonly seen in the prior art. The seat 14 has a seat board 17 and a support tube 18. The support tube 18 is connected the seat board 17 and the main body 12. The seat 14 supports a baby by the seat board 17 such that the baby can sit on the child carriage 10 comfortably. The footrest adjusting mechanism 16 includes a footrest 20, a positioning block 22, an operating part 24 and a spring 26. The positioning block 22 is connected to a side of the support tube 18, and the footrest 20 rotatably sheathes on the positioning block 22. The operating part 24 is pivotally connected to the footrest 20 and abuts against the positioning block 22. The operating part 24 is operable to pivot relative to the footrest so as to be selectively disengaged from or abutted against the positioning block 22.

More detailed description for the structural design and assembly of the seat 14 and the footrest adjusting mechanism 16 is provided as follows. Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of the seat 14 and the footrest adjusting mechanism 16 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagram of the positioning block 22 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. land FIG. 3, a fixing hole 28 and at least one positioning groove 30 (two shown in FIG. 3) are formed on the positioning block 22. The fixing hole 28 is used for disposing around the support tube 18 such that the positioning block 22 can be fixed on the support tube 18. In this embodiment, the positioning groove 30 is preferably an L-shaped positioning groove and is disposed on a surface of the positioning block 22. The operating part 24 has a pressing portion 32 and an engaging portion 34. The engaging portion 34 is used for abutting against the positioning groove 30 so as to fix a position of the footrest 20 relative to the seat board 17. The operating part 24 is operable to pivot relative to the footrest 20 when the pressing portion 32 is pressed, so as to make the engaging portion 34 disengage from the positioning groove 30.

Accordingly, the footrest 20 can rotate relative to the seat 14. Furthermore, the said spring 26 is disposed between the pressing portion 32 and the footrest 20 to provide the pressing portion 32 with elastic force, so as to make the engaging portion 34 tend to abut against the positioning groove 30.

In other embodiment, it can place a spring between the footrest and one end of the operating part 24 near the positioning block 22 to provide a returning force when the operating part 24 is pressed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, a containing groove 36 is formed on the footrest 20. The positioning block 22 and the operating part 24 are received in the containing groove 36 and connected to the footrest 20 respectively. In summary, via the design of the support tube 18 of the seat 14 being disposed through the fixing hole 28 of the positioning block 22 and being pivotally connected to the containing groove 36 of the footrest 20 and the design of each of the positioning block 22 and the operating part 24 being contained in the containing groove 36, the footrest adjusting mechanism 16 can be installed on the seat 14 securely (as shown in FIG. 2) and can position the footrest 20 at a desired inclination relative to the seat.

In the following, the structure relationship of the footrest adjusting mechanism 16 is described in detail. Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a section diagram of the operating part 24 in FIG. 1 abutting against the positioning groove 30 of the positioning block 22. FIG. 5 is a section diagram of the operating part 24 in FIG. 4 abutting against another positioning groove 30. When the footrest 20 is located at a position as shown in FIG. 4 relative to the seat 14, it can constrain rotary of the footrest 20 relative the seat 14 by abutting of the engaging portion 34 of the operating part 24 against the positioning groove 30 of the positioning block 22, so as to retain the footrest 20 at the position as shown in FIG. 4. In such a manner, an older child can lay his feet upon the footrest 20 comfortably while sitting on the seat board 17.

On the other hand, if a user wants to rotate the footrest from the position as shown in FIG. 4 to a position as shown in FIG. 5 for allowing a baby to put his feet on the footrest horizontally, the user just needs to lift the footrest 20 to rotate relative to the seat 14 until the footrest 20 is rotated to the position as shown in FIG. 5. With rotary of the footrest 20, the engaging portion 34 of the operating part 24 is moved away from the original positioning groove 30, and then engages with another positioning groove 30 (as shown in FIG. 5) . When the user stops lifting the footrest 20, the footrest 20 is rotated reversely due to its weight or the weight of the baby's feet, and then the engaging portion 34 can abut against the positioning groove 3Oby return force of the spring 26 so as to keep the footrest 20 at the position as shown in FIG. 5. In such a manner, even if a baby with a smaller size sits on the seat board 17, the baby's feet can be put on the footrest 20 horizontally since the child carriage 10 can keep the footrest 20 at the position as shown Ira FIG. 5 by abutting of the engaging portion 34 against the corresponding positioning groove 30. Accordingly, the child carriage 10 can provide the baby with a better sense of sitting.

If the user wants to return the footrest 20 counterclockwise from the position as shown in FIG. 5 back to the position as shown in FIG. 4, the user only needs to press the pressing portion 32 in FIG. 5 (at this time, the spring 26 is compressed) to make the engaging portion 34 of the operating part 24 rotate clockwise relative to the footrest 20 and then be separate from the positioning groove 30. At this time, since the engaging portion 34 no longer abuts against the positioning groove 30, the user can rotate the footrest 20 counterclockwise relative to the seat 14 while the pressing portion 32 of the operating part 24 is pressed until the footrest 20 is rotated to the position as shown in FIG. 4. Subsequently, after the user stops exerting force upon the pressing portion 3, the compressed spring 26 provides the pressing portion 32 with elastic force to drive the engaging portion 34 to abut against the positioning groove 30 (as shown in FIG. 4) . In other words, the operating part 24 can return to its original position by the elastic force provided from the spring 26. Accordingly, the footrest 20 can be fixed at the position as shown in FIG. 4 again by abutting of the engaging portion 34 against the positioning groove 30.

In summary, by the two-step footrest design mentioned above, the child carriage 10 can be suitable for babies with different sizes. In addition, number of the positioning groove 30 on the positioning block 22 is not limited to said embodiment, meaning that it may vary with the practical application of the child carriage 10. For example, the number of the positioning groove 30 can be added to more than two such that the child carriage 10 can have a multi-step footrest adjusting function. Accordingly, operating flexibility of the child carriage 10 can be increased. Furthermore, the number of the positioning groove 30 can be reduced to one instead. That is, the positioning block 22 can have only one positioning groove for fixing the footrest 20 at the position as shown in FIG. 5, so as to simplify the structural design of the positioning block 22.

Furthermore, the said spring 26 is an omissible component for simplifying the structural design of the footrest adjusting mechanism 16. For example, the user can move the operating part 24 to abut against or be separated from the positioning block 22 manually; or, by a flexible structure extending from the operating part 24 can be deformed when an external force is applied, and can return the operating part 24 by its elasticity to abut against the positioning block 22 after the external force is removed. The said flexible structure can be, for example, a tongue piece disposed between the operating part 24 and the footrest 20 for driving the operating part 24 to return its original position. As for which design is utilized, it depends on the practical application of the child carriage 10.

Compared with the prior art, in which an operating part capable of sliding back and forth relative to a seat is utilized to constrain rotary of the footrest relative to the seat, the child carriage of the present invention is capable of fixing a position of the footrest relative to the seat by utilizing an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest to abut against the positioning block, so as to allow a baby sitting thereon to put his feet on the footrest comfortably.

Accordingly, via the said simple and intuitive pressing design, the present invention can enhance operability of the footrest for positioning. Furthermore, the present invention can also increase flexibility of the child carriage in use by the said multi-step positioning design.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.

Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is: 1. A footrest adjusting mechanism for a child carriage, the child carriage comprising a seat, and the footrest adjusting mechanism comprising: a footrest pivotally connected to the seat; a positioning block connected to the seat; and an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest and abutting against the positioning block, the operating part being operable for being selectively separate from the positioning b]ock.
2. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 1, wherein at least one positioning groove is formed on the positioning block, the operating part has an engaging portion corresponding to the postorLir1g groove, arid the engagnag portion abuts against the positioning groove when the operating part abuts against the positioning block.
3. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 2, wherein the positioning groove is an L-shaped positioning groove.
4. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 2, wherein the operating part further has a pressing portion, and the operating part rotates relative to the footrest so as to make the engaging portion be separate from the positioning groove when the pressing portion is pressed.
5. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 4 further comprising: an elastic part disposed between the pressing portion and the footrest for driving the engaging portion to abut against the positioning groove.
6. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 1, wherein the seat has a support tube, the positioning block is disposed on the support tube, and the footrest is pivotally connected to the positioning block.
7. The footrest adjusting mechanism of claim 6, wherein a containing groove is formed on the footrest for containing the positioning block and the operating part.
8. A child carriage comprising: a main body; a seat disposed on the main body; and a footrest adjusting mechanism disposed on the seat, the footrest adjusting mechanism comprising: a footrest pivotally connected to the seat; a positioning block connected to the seat; and an operating part pivotally connected to the footrest and abutting against the positioning block, the operating part being operable for being selectively separate from the positioning block.
9. The child carriage of claim 8, wherein at least one positioning groove is formed on the positioning block, the operating part has an engaging portion corresponding to the positioning groove, and the engaging portion abuts against the positioning groove when the operating part abuts against the positioning block.
10. The child carriage of claim 9, wherein the positioning groove is an L-shaped positioning groove.
11. The child carriage of claim 9, wherein the operating part further has a pressing portion, and the operating part rotates relative to the footrest so as to make the engaging portion be separate from the positioning groove when the pressing portion is pressed.
12. The child carriage of claim 11, wherein the footrest adjusting mechanism further comprises: an elastic part disposed between the pressing portion and the footrest for driving the engaging portion to abut against the positioning groove.
13. The child carriage of claim 8, wherein the seat has a support tube, the positioning block is disposed around the support tube, and the footrest is pivotally connected to the positioning block.
14. The child carriage of claim 13, wherein a containing groove is formed on the footrest for containing the positioning block and the operating part.