Joints and connections – Articulated members – Lockable at fixed position
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-12
2002-04-02
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3629)
Joints and connections
Articulated members
Lockable at fixed position
C403S218000, C005S099100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06364563
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a joint for a playen, and particularly to one which can be collapsed and spread easily without possibility of getting damaged by incorrect operation due to only a barb release from a pin, and user may use big force to collapse the other barb to result in damaging support rods of the playen.
Referring to
FIGS. 8 and 9
, a conventional joint for a playen that was patented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,542, has a main base
5
, two wing bases
6
, a press block
7
and two elongated plate hooks
8
.
The main base
5
has two lengthwise side portions
51
,
52
, and an upper arch-shaped bridge
53
connecting upper ends of the lengthwise side portions
51
,
52
. The main base
5
has a center hole
531
with an annular curved-down
532
(
FIG. 9
) on the upper arch-shaped bridge
53
. The side portions
51
,
52
each has two position holes
511
,
521
; the position holes
511
are each aligned with a corresponding one of the position holes
521
.
The wing bases
6
are formed of V-shaped plates, and each connected to a support rod of the playen, and are pivoted to the main base
5
from the position holes
511
,
521
by means of pins
63
.
The depress block
7
has two vertical slots
71
parallel to each other, two side recesses
72
, a through hole
721
on the side recesses
72
, and an upper recesses
73
. The elongate plate hooks
8
are each fixed to one of the side recesses
72
by means of a pin
84
connected to the hole
721
. The plate hooks
8
each has two guide curves
81
on outer ends and two barbs
82
. The depress block
7
is disposed under the arch-shaped bridge
53
of the main base
5
with a spring
54
disposed in between; the spring
54
is connected to the curved-down edge
532
and the upper recess
73
to bias the press block
7
downwardly.
Two pins
56
are provided, each passed through a respective one of the vertical slots
71
of the press block
7
and the lengthwise side portions
51
,
52
such that the press block
7
can be moved up and down, confined by the vertical slots
71
.
The wing bases
6
each further has a pin
62
,
64
fixed to a lower portion to engage the barbs
82
of the plate hooks
8
to support the playen in a spread position.
To fold the playen, first the support rods are pivoted inwardly of the main base
5
to disengage the pins
62
,
64
from the barbs
82
. Then, the depress block
7
is moved up and the support rods are pivoted outwardly of the main base
5
; the pins
62
,
64
of the wing bases
6
will contact the guide curves
81
of the plate hooks
8
, permitting the support rods to be pivoted further up for the joint to be folded.
However, the above joint for a playen is found to have a disadvantage that one of the pins
62
or
64
which engage the barbs
82
is likely to engage the barbs
82
when the other one has disengaged, and the corresponding support rod has been moved to the folded position due to a somewhat tight connection between the wing bases
6
and the main base
5
. In this case, the user might exert big force to try to move the support rod which is still fixed by the plate hook
8
without first disengaging the pin
62
or
64
from the barbs
82
. Consequently, the associated parts and the support rod itself might get damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a joint for a playen, which can be folded very easily and without possibility of damaging the parts when a shaped hole is provided.
The joint of a playen of the present invention includes a main base, two wing bases, a press block and two elongated plate hooks.
The main base has two lengthwise side portions and an upper arch-shaped bridge connecting tops of the side portions. The side portions each has a shaped hole shaped like a water chestnut.
The wing bases are pivoted to the side portions of the main base and each connected to a support rod of a playen. The wing bases each has a locating pin fitted thereto.
The press block is movably connected to the main base, and has a long vertical guide hole. A guide pin is passed through the guide hole and the shaped hole of the main base to confine a movement of the press block.
The elongated plate hooks are fixed to the press block, and each has two end barbs.
The support rods are supported at a spread position by means of the locating pins engaging the barbs. To move to the support rods to a folded position, the support rods are slightly pivoted inwardly of the main base, and the press block is pushed up; thus, the support rods can be pivoted upwards to the folded position. The guide pin can move in the shaped holes sideways to permit the press block to move sideways, helping the barbs to separate from the locating pins of the wing bases easily in can one of the locating pins fails to disengage from the barbs in the above said operation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5483710 (1996-01-01), Chan
patent: 5730542 (1998-03-01), Cheng
patent: 6202229 (2001-03-01), Cheng
Browne Lynne H.
Cottingham John R.
Rosenberg , Klein & Lee
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