Cam-Actuated Play Yard Folding With Stable Corner Posts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child play yards are cumbersome to open and close, require complex interconnections, are heavy, and often lack a locking mechanism for the closed position, making them difficult to manufacture and use efficiently.
Innovation Solution
The use of a novel cam actuator assembly with a central hub and corner posts that allow for easy opening and closing, along with a locking mechanism at the lower and upper corners to maintain the play yard's position, reduces the number of parts and weight, making it easier to operate and manufacture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If complex interconnections of linkages, cables and gear assemblies are used, then the play yard can achieve desired easy operation and compact folding, but the manufacturing cost increases and the device becomes heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The play yard is divided into modular components including collapsible sides with independent corner posts, rails, and panels that can fold separately. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for easy folding without requiring complex interconnections between all parts, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The corner posts are designed to be collapsible rather than rigid, allowing them to dynamically change from an extended operational position to a retracted storage position. This dynamic design eliminates the need for complex linkages and cables by using the corner posts themselves as the primary folding mechanism, reducing device complexity while preserving ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If complex interconnections of linkages, cables and gear assemblies are used, then the play yard can achieve desired easy operation and compact folding, but the play yard becomes heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates unnecessary intermediate components such as linkages, cables, and gear assemblies from the folding mechanism. By using a simplified design where corner posts collapse directly and rails fold along with the posts, the overall weight is reduced while maintaining ease of operation through the streamlined mechanism.
3Weight of moving object
If the play yard is designed to be lightweight with fewer parts, then it becomes easier to carry and operate, but it may lack the stability and tension necessary to maintain structure during opening and closing
Solution Approach 1:
The corner posts are designed with dynamic collapse characteristics that maintain structural stability during the transition from open to closed position. The posts are engineered to bend and fold in a controlled manner, providing the necessary tension and stability during opening and closing operations without requiring additional rigid support structures that would increase weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The corner posts utilize changes in structural parameters during folding, transitioning from a rigid extended state that provides stability when open to a flexible folded state that enables compact storage. This parameter change allows the structure to maintain stability during operation while remaining lightweight and easy to collapse when needed.
4Stability of the object's composition
If prior art play yards require posts to remain rigid and substantially parallel to vertical axis, then tension is created to maintain stability, but the structure requires more parts and becomes heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from rigid, vertically-aligned corner posts to dynamic, collapsible corner posts that can change their orientation and structure during folding. This dynamic design maintains the necessary tension and stability during opening and closing operations without requiring the posts to remain rigid and parallel to the vertical axis throughout the entire cycle, thereby reducing the number of parts and overall weight.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in a lightweight, intuitive, and cost-effective play yard that is easy to open, close, and transport, with a robust structure that prevents corner posts from collapsing during use and stays closed without additional locking features.
Implementation Method 1
a cam actuator assembly connected to each corner post and to a central hub, each cam actuator assembly including: a base strut... a cam rod... slidably mounted within a cam slot in the base strut and a cam slot in the central hub
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is an easy to open, close and transport child's play yard. The opening and closing of the play yard is controlled and driven by a central hub that is connected to at least three cam actuator assemblies, all of which are structured to control the joint angles between the central hub and the corner posts and between the corner posts and the upper rails.