A play yard includes a plurality of corner posts, a plurality of rails, a floor structure and at least one soft good assembly. Each of the plurality of corner posts includes a first guiding component. Each of the plurality of rails is connected between two adjacent corner posts. The floor structure is connected to the plurality of corner posts. The soft good assembly includes soft goods, a soft goods connector and a second guiding component. The soft goods connector is fixed to the soft goods. The second guiding component is connected to the soft goods connector and adapted to be detachably assembled with the corner post via the first guiding component for tensioning the soft goods.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
. A play yard, comprising:
. The play yard of, wherein when the second guiding component is positioned within the first guiding component, the soft goods are connected with the first guiding component, and when the second guiding component is removed from the first guiding component, the soft goods are disconnected from the first guiding component.
. The play yard ofwherein the second guiding component is an external track comprising a rounded edge, and the rounded edge is detachably connected to the first guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the second guiding component comprises a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end that are arranged on opposite longitudinal ends of a base body having a width that is less than a width of the first enlarged end and less than a width of the second enlarged end, the first enlarged end is affixed to the soft goods, and the second enlarged end is detachably engaged inside the first guiding component, and wherein the first enlarged end, the second enlarged end, and the base body of the second guiding component are formed as a unitary component.
. The play yard of, wherein the soft goods further define a channel sized to receive the second guiding component within.
. The play yard of, wherein the second guiding component is a rod sized to be positioned within the inner channel of the first guiding component and the channel defined by the soft goods to detachably connect the soft goods with the first guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the rod is adapted to be sewn into the channel to fixedly couple the rod to the channel.
. The play yard of, wherein the wide section is located on an upper end of the inner channel of the first guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the wide section is located on a lower end of the inner channel of the first guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the soft goods further comprise a constraining clip adapted to engage with the corner post for constraining a removal of the second guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the constraining clip is adapted to engage with an upper end of the corner post to constrain removal of the second guiding component.
. The play yard of, wherein the soft goods comprises a positioning component adapted to attach to the corner post.
. The play yard of, wherein the corner post includes a first jointing component, and the positioning component includes a second jointing component adapted to connect with the first jointing component for tensioning the soft goods.
. The play yard of, wherein the second jointing component is located on a lower end of each corner of the soft goods, adjacent a lower end of the corner posts.
. The play yard of, wherein the first jointing component is an attachment boss and the second jointing component is an opening structure, such that the attachment boss is sheathed by the opening structure for tensioning the soft goods and for attaching the soft goods to the corner posts.
. The play yard of, wherein the soft goods comprises a restraining component and a textile element connected to each other, each of the plurality of rails are wrapped by the textile element and the textile element is sealed via the restraining component.
. A play yard, comprising:
. The play yard of, wherein the first guiding component comprises two rounded edges adapted to abut against an inner surface of the second guiding component for engagement.
. A play yard, comprising:
. The play yard of, wherein the soft goods define a slot to receive the external track.
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/754,953, filed on Jun. 26, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/993,193, filed on Nov. 23, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,022,961, issued on Jul. 2, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/403,643, filed on May 6, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,510,503, issued on Nov. 29, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/667,789, filed on May 7, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/701,082, filed on Jul. 20, 2018, the disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a play yard, and more particularly, to a play yard with removable soft goods.
A conventional play yard is typically constructed with soft goods permanently attached to a rigid frame. The soft goods cannot be removed from the rigid frame without damaging either the soft goods or the frame components of the rigid frame. The soft goods affixed to the rigid frame naturally become dirty over time from spills, food, dirt and occasional overflowing diaper. With the frame components intact, it is difficult and time consuming to thoroughly wash and clean the soft goods.
The present invention provides a play yard with removable soft goods for solving above drawbacks.
According to the claimed invention, a play yard includes a plurality of corner posts, a plurality of rails, a floor structure and at least one soft good assembly. Each of the plurality of corner posts includes a first guiding component. Each of the plurality of rails is connected between two adjacent corner posts. The floor structure is connected to the plurality of corner posts. The soft good assembly includes soft goods, a soft goods connector and a second guiding component. The soft goods connector is fixed to the soft goods. The second guiding component is connected to the soft goods connector and adapted to be detachably assembled with the corner post via the first guiding component for tensioning the soft goods.
According to the claimed invention, the at least one soft good assembly further includes a constraining clip adapted to engage with the corner post for constraining a removal of the soft goods connector or the second guiding component.
According to the claimed invention, the first guiding component is a slot formed on a lateral side of the corner post, and the second guiding component is an external track connected to the soft goods connector in a loose fit manner and detachably engaged with the slot. The second guiding component includes a first rounded edge and a second rounded edge opposite to each other. The first rounded edge is affixed to the soft goods connector, and the second rounded edge is detachably engaged inside the first guiding component.
According to the claimed invention, the first guiding component is an external track formed on a lateral side of the corner post, and the second guiding component is a slot formed on the soft goods connector and detachably engaged with the external track. The first guiding component includes two rounded edges adapted to abut against an inner surface of the second guiding component for engagement.
According to the claimed invention, each corner post includes an edge corner having a through hole structure. The at least one soft good assembly further includes a tensioning component connected to the soft goods and adapted to detachably pierce through the through hole structure for tensioning the soft goods. The tensioning component pierces through the through hole structure from an inner side to an outer side of the edge corner, and abuts against an outer surface of the edge corner. The tensioning component is in a first rotary position to insert into the through hole structure, and then rotated from the first rotary position to a second rotary position for covering the through hole structure.
According to the claimed invention, the soft goods connector includes a flat edge whereon the soft goods are disposed. The second guiding component is wrapped by the soft goods. An edge of the soft goods is rounded to form the soft goods connector as a tunnel, and the second guiding component is a rod adapted to sewn into the tunnel. The soft goods include a restraining component and a textile element connected to each other. Each of the plurality of rails is wrapped around by the textile element. and the textile element is sealed via the restraining component.
According to the claimed invention, the first guiding component is a slot. The slot includes a narrow section and a wide section connected to each other. A width of the narrow section is larger than a thickness of the second guiding component, and a width of the wide section is wider than the width of the narrow section to allow insertion of the second guiding component or insertion of the soft goods and the second guiding component. The corner post further includes an inclined portion disposed near the wide section of the slot and adapted to guide a movement of the soft goods connector or the second guiding component.
According to the claimed invention, the wide section is located on an upper end of the slot, and the soft goods include a positioning component adapted to attach to the corner post. The corner post has a first jointing component, and the positioning component has a second jointing component adapted to connect with the first jointing component for tensioning the soft goods. The first jointing component is an attachment boss disposed on a lower end of the corner post, and the second jointing component is an opening structure for sheathing the attachment boss. Further, the wide section can be located on a lower end of the slot.
The play yard of the present invention can design the slot with the narrow section and the wide section on the corner post, so the soft good assembly can conveniently insert into the wide section and be pulled through the narrow section to be movably located inside the slot of the corner post. The wide section of the slot can be set on the upper end or the lower end of the corner post, and then the positioning component and the first and second jointing components can be designed accordingly. The soft goods connector and the second guiding component of the soft good assembly can respectively be the rod and the soft good tunnel, or the stiffener and the external track. The soft goods can be disassembled from the corner posts by unzipping the restraining component, unwrapping the textile element from the rails, and removing the soft good assembly from the corner post, so that the play yard of the present invention has an advantage of the removable soft goods.
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.
Please refer toand.is a diagram of a play yardaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.is a diagram of the play yardwith soft goodsaccording to the embodiment of the present invention. The play yardcan include a plurality of corner posts, a plurality of rails, a floor structureand at least one soft good assembly. Each of the railscan be connected between upper ends of two adjacent corner posts, and the floor structurecan be connected to bottom ends of the corner postsfor forming a play yard frame. The play yard frame is covered by the soft goodsvia the soft good assembly, so that a child can stay in the play yardsafely.
Please refer toto.is a diagram of the corner postaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.andare diagrams of the soft good assemblyin different views according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Each of the corner postscan include a first guiding component. The soft good assemblycan include a soft good connectorand a second guiding component. The first guiding componentcan be a slot formed on a lateral side of the corner post. The foresaid slot can include a narrow sectionand a wide sectionconnected to each other. The soft good connectorcan be fixed to the soft goods. The second guiding componentcan be connected to the soft good connector. The second guiding componentcan be a resilient rod used to be detachably installed inside the first guiding componentof the corner post.
It should be mentioned that an edge of the soft goodscan be rounded to form the soft good connectoras a tunnel, which means the second guiding componentcan be wrapped by the soft goods; or, an extra structural component having a through hole can be represented as the soft good connector. The second guiding componentdesigned as the resilient rod can sew into the soft good connector, and the soft good connectorwith the second guiding componentcan be inserted into the first guiding componentin a movable and detachable manner.
In the first embodiment, an inner width of the narrow sectioncan be larger than a thickness of the second guiding componentcovered by the soft good connectoror the soft goods, and an opening width of the narrow sectioncan be smaller than the foresaid thickness. Thus, the soft good assemblycan be moved inside the corner postalong a structurally vertical direction of the first guiding component, and cannot be separated from the corner postvia a lateral opening of the first guiding component. In addition, a width of the wide sectioncan be wider than the width of the narrow section, so as to allow insertion of the second guiding component, or insertion of the soft goodsand the second guiding component. The soft good assemblycan insert into the first guiding componenteasily due to the wide section.
Moreover, the corner postcan further include an inclined portion. The inclined portioncan be disposed on a lateral surface of the corner postand adjacent to a position near the wide sectionof the first guiding component, and can be inclined toward a center of the corner postvia an inclined angle. The inclined portioncan be used to guide a movement of at least one of the soft goods connectorand the second guiding component. A connection about the inclined portionand the first guiding componentcan be lower than an upper surface of the corner post; besides, the narrow sectionand the wide sectionof the first guiding componentcan be sheltered by the corner post. The said movement can be a removal or an assembly of the soft goods connectorand the second guiding component. Please refer toto.toare diagrams of a part of the play yardaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. The wide sectioncan be located on an upper end of the first guiding component, and accordingly the soft goodsmay include a positioning componentdisposed on a lower edge of the soft goods. The corner postcan have a first jointing component, such as an attachment boss; and the positioning componentcan have a second jointing component, such as an opening structure. The attachment boss can be sheathed by the opening structure for tensioning the soft goodsand then attaching the soft goodsto the corner post.
The attachment boss (which means the first jointing component) can be disposed on a lower end of the corner postbecause the soft good assemblyis assembled with the corner postvia an upper end of the corner post. In another possible situation, the first jointing componentmay be the opening structure, and the second jointing componentmay be the attachment boss. Structural design of the first jointing componentand the second jointing componentare not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, which depends on design demand.
Please refer toand.andare diagrams of the soft good assemblyin different views according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, elements having the same numerals have the same structures and functions as ones of the first embodiment, and a detailed description is omitted herein for simplicity. The soft good assemblyin the second embodiment can design the wide section′ located on a lower end of the first guiding component. The second guiding componentconnected to the soft good connectorcan insert into the lower end of the first guiding componentvia the wide section′, and then the second guiding componentcan be pulled through the narrow sectionupwardly along a length of the first guiding componentfor tensioning the soft goodsand then attaching the soft goodsto the corner post.
In the second embodiment, the wide section′ can be disposed on the lower end of the first guiding component, and the soft goodscan be assembled with the corner postthrough its lower end, so that the soft goodsmay not have the positioning component, and the corner postmay not have the first jointing component.
Please refer to.is a diagram of the soft goodsaccording to the embodiment of the present invention. The soft goodscan have a restraining componentand a textile elementconnected to each other. The railcan be wrapped around by the textile element, which means the wrapped textile elementcan form a soft goods top rail tunnel, and the textile elementcan be sealed via the restraining component, for affixing the soft goodsto the plurality of rails.
Please refer toand.is a diagram of the soft good assembly′ disassembled from the corner post′ according to a second embodiment of the present invention.is a diagram of the soft good assembly′ assembled with the corner postaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. The corner post′ can include the first guiding component′. The soft good assembly′ can include the soft good connector′, the second guiding component′ and a constraining clip. The constraining clipcan be used to engage with an upper end of the corner post′ for constraining a removal of the soft goods connector′ and/or the second guiding component′.
The first guiding component′ may have the wide section and the narrow section, and the wide section can be located on the upper end of the first guiding component′. The second guiding component′ can be an external track connected to the soft goods connector′ in a loose fit manner and detachably engaged with the first guiding component′. The soft goods connector′ can be connected to the soft goods, which is not shown in. The second guiding component′ designed as the external track can include a first rounded edgeand a second rounded edgeopposite to each other. The first rounded edgecan be affixed to the soft goods connector′, and the second rounded edgecan be detachably engaged inside the first guiding component′, so that the soft goods connector′ can be assembled with the corner post′ via the second guiding component′.
Besides, the soft goods connector′ can include a flat edgewhereon the soft goodscan be disposed. The flat edgecan be a stretching portion extending from a tube (whereinto the first guiding component′ inserts) for providing as a platform. The soft goodscan be disposed on the foresaid platform via a screw, a bolt, a clip or adhesive.
Please refer to.is a diagram of the soft good assembly′ and the corner post′ according to another embodiment of the present invention. The corner post′ may have the first guiding component″ designed as the external track. The first guiding component″ can be formed on the lateral side of the corner post′. The soft good assembly′ may include the second guiding component″ designed as the slot, which can be formed on the soft goods connector′ and detachably engaged with the first guiding component″ (which means the external track). The first guiding component″ can include two rounded edgesused to abut against an inner surface of the second guiding component″, and thus the corner post′ and the soft good assembly′ can be assembled in a movable manner.
Please refer toto.torespectively are diagrams of the corner postand the soft good assemblyin different operation modes according to the embodiment of the present invention. The corner postcan include an edge cornerhaving a through hole structure. The soft good assemblycan include a tensioning componentused to connect with the soft goodsand detachably pierce through the through hole structure. As shown in, the tensioning componentcan stay in a first rotary position, and pierce through the through hole structurefrom an inner side to an outer side of the edge corner; as shown in, the tensioning componentcan still stay in the first rotary position and exposed out of the through hole structure; then, as shown in, the tensioning componentcan be rotated from the first rotary position to a second rotary position, so as to abut against an outer surface of the edge cornerand cover the through hole structurefor tensioning the soft goods.
In conclusion, the play yard of the present invention can design the slot with the narrow section and the wide section on the corner post, so the soft good assembly can conveniently insert into the wide section and be pulled through the narrow section to be movably located inside the slot of the corner post. The wide section of the slot can be set on the upper end or the lower end of the corner post, and then the positioning component and the first and second jointing components can be designed accordingly. The soft goods connector and the second guiding component of the soft good assembly can respectively be the rod and the soft good tunnel, or the stiffener and the external track. The soft goods can be disassembled from the corner posts by unzipping the restraining component, unwrapping the textile element from the rails, and removing the soft good assembly from the corner post, so that the play yard of the present invention has an advantage of the removable soft goods.
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.
Unknown
December 25, 2025
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