Chairs and seats – With table – desk – or easel – Seat supported within periphery of apertured table
Reexamination Certificate
1994-10-03
2001-01-30
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3624)
Chairs and seats
With table, desk, or easel
Seat supported within periphery of apertured table
C297S258100, C297S271500, C297S344180, C297S344260, C248S372100, C248S618000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179376
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a child exerciser/rocker and, more particularly, to a device for exercising and entertaining a child having a seat for supporting a child with an associated tray and a bowl-shaped base to facilitate rocking, engagable feet to preclude rocking, spring couplings between the seat and the base to facilitate bouncing with height adjustment components between the base and seat and with bearing surfaces between the seat and tray to facilitate 360 degree rotation with locking components therebetween to preclude rotation when so desired.
2. Description of the Background Art
There are a wide variety of devices in the marketplace today in which children may be placed for exercise. Similarly, there are a wide variety of devices in the marketplace today in which children may be placed for entertainment. In a limited number of cases, devices for entertainment may provide exercise and, conversely, devices for exercise may provide entertainment. In all such instances, however, care must be taken in the design and use of such devices to insure the maximum safety of the child as well as the peace of mind of the mother.
Typical devices attempting to meet such needs are disclosed in the patent literature. Consider, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,107 to Chippa; U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,273 to Haynes; U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,588 to Anderson; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 295,397 to Brownlie et al; U.S. Design Pat. 315,644 to White; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,438 to Beger.
Despite the large number of efforts to meet the needs of child and mother for exercise and entertainment of young ones, along with maximum safety, no prior art device has the capability of the present invention which provides for a combination of bouncing, rotating, and rocking, all for a maximum safety of the child in mind.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat for receipt of a child capable of providing exercise and entertainment comprising a seat having a rigid upper support and a lower support therebeneath and a circular bearing surface therebetween, the lower support having leg openings for passage of the legs of a child supported therein. An upper supporting tray has a radially interior opening in a circular configuration for receiving and supporting the seat, the upper supporting tray having a radially exterior periphery with projections extending downwardly therefrom. A bowl-shaped base, preferably with radial ribs, is provided. The upper periphery of the base has spaced upstanding towers with openings at the upper ends thereof. Upstanding posts are also provided, each post having a lower end received within the upper end of a tower, each post having an upper end with a recess for receiving a downwardly depending projection.
A further object of the present invention is to exercise a child while the child is entertaining itself.
A further object of the present invention is to entertain a child while it is exercising itself.
It is a further object of the present invention to insure a child's safety while the child is exercising and entertaining through a combination of bouncing, rocking and rotating.
These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is defined by the appended claims with the specific embodiment shown in the attached drawings. For the purposes of summarizing the invention, the invention may be incorporated into a seat for receipt of a child capable of providing exercise and entertainment for a child supported therein comprising, in combination, a seat having a rigid upper support and a lower support therebeneath and a circular bearing surface therebetween, the lower support having leg openings for passage of the legs of a child supported therein. An upper supporting tray in a circular configuration has a radially interior opening for receiving and rotatably supporting the seat at the circular bearing surface, the upper supporting tray having a radially exterior periphery in a circular configuration with three equally spaced projections extending downwardly therefrom. A bowl-shaped base, preferably with radial ribs, and adapted to rock in any direction is also provided, the upper periphery of the base having three equally spaced upstanding towers in parallel relationship with vertical openings at the upper ends of the towers, each tower having vertically spaced height adjustment holes formed therein. Three vertically extending posts are provided, each post having a lower end received within the upper end of a tower with a spring based operator controlled button positionable through a hole in the tower for varying the height of the post with respect to the tower, each post having an upper end with a recess for receiving a downwardly depending projection to preclude rotation therebetween, and a spring between each post and tower to allow bouncing of a child in the seat with respect to the base. A lock couples the seat and the tray movable between a locking orientation to preclude rotation therebetween and an unlocking orientation to allow rotation therebetween. Three feet depend from the lower surface of the base from equally spaced peripheral locations and movable between a recessed orientation to allow rocking and an extended orientation to preclude rocking.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly, the more pertinent and important features of the present invention. The detailed description of the invention that follows is offered so that the present contribution to the art may be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter. These form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific embodiment may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 149178 (1874-03-01), Wright
patent: 432378 (1890-07-01), Davidson et al.
patent: 517403 (1894-03-01), Bradish et al.
patent: 2812012 (1957-11-01), Hansburg
patent: 2910111 (1959-10-01), Hansburg
patent: 2988358 (1961-06-01), Mills
Courtney Steve
Gibson William R.
Meeker Paul K.
Brown Peter R.
Evenflo Company, Inc.
Thompson Hine & Flory LLP
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