TRAVEL COT

Abstract

A travel cot has multiple lateral fences, multiple vertical posts, and a bottom frame. Each of the lateral fences is rotatably mounted between every two of the adjacent vertical posts, and includes a middle unit, two surrounding frames, and two lateral locks. The bottom frame includes a central body and multiple bottom links. The bottom links are disposed between the central body and the vertical post. In a folding process, the central body moves upward to move the vertical posts closer to each other, and then the lateral locks switch into an unlocked state, thus the middle units move downward and the lateral fences are folded. In the expanding process, the central body moves downward to expand the vertical posts via the bottom links, and then the lateral fences expand, and the middle units move upward to switch the lateral locks into the locked state.

Claims

1. A travel cot which has an expanded state and a folded state, the travel cot comprising: multiple vertical posts; multiple lateral fences, and each one of the lateral fences rotatably connecting with top ends of adjacent two of the vertical posts, each one of the lateral fences having: two surrounding frames and a middle unit, the middle unit disposed between and rotatably connecting with the two surrounding frames, and each one of the two surrounding frames including an upper surrounding rod and a lower surrounding bar; and two lateral locks mounted between the middle unit and the two surrounding frames respectively, and each one of the two lateral locks capable of switching between a locked state and an unlocked state via adjusting a distance between adjacent two of the vertical posts and/or adjusting angles of adjacent two of the vertical posts; a bottom frame being foldable and connecting with bottom ends of the multiple vertical posts, the bottom frame including: a central body disposed at a bottom central region of the travel cot; multiple bottom links, and each one of the bottom links mounted between one of the vertical posts and the central body, each one of the bottom links having a first link unit and a second link unit.

2. The travel cot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second link unit includes a rope which is inextensible, two ends of the rope are connected to the central body and the bottom end of said one of the vertical posts respectively; the first link unit and the rope together keep said one of the vertical posts steadily standing via the central body moving downward until the rope is strained.

3. The travel cot as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first link unit includes a rod unit, and an end of the rod unit is connected to the central body via a bottom first pivot, and another end of the rod unit is connected to said one of the vertical posts via a bottom second pivot.

4. The travel cot as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second link unit is disposed beneath the first link unit.

5. The travel cot as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upper surrounding rod and the lower surrounding bar rotatably connect with a lateral part of the middle unit and said one of the vertical posts, and the upper surrounding rod and the lower surrounding bar are parallel to each other.

6. The travel cot as claimed in claim 4, wherein the upper surrounding rod and the lower surrounding bar rotatably connect with a lateral part of the middle unit and said one of the vertical posts, and the upper surrounding rod and the lower surrounding bar are parallel to each other.

7. The travel cot as claimed in claim 2, wherein: an end of the upper surrounding rod is pivotally connected to the middle unit via an upper first pivot, and another end of the upper surrounding rod is pivotally connected to said one of the vertical posts via an upper second pivot; an end of the lower surrounding bar is rotatably and slidably connected to the middle unit via an upper third pivot, another end of the lower surrounding bar is pivotally connected to said one of the vertical posts via an upper fourth pivot; and the two lateral locks are mounted symmetrically between the middle unit and the two lower surrounding bars respectively.

8. The travel cot as claimed in claim 6, wherein: an end of the upper surrounding rod is pivotally connected to the middle unit via an upper first pivot, and another end of the upper surrounding rod is pivotally connected to said one of the vertical posts via an upper second pivot; an end of the lower surrounding bar is rotatably and slidably connected to the middle unit via an upper third pivot, another end of the lower surrounding bar is pivotally connected to said one of the vertical post via an upper fourth pivot; and the two lateral locks are mounted symmetrically between the middle unit and the two lower surrounding bars respectively.

9. The travel cot as claimed in claim 7, wherein: a slotted hole is formed at one of the ends of the lower surrounding bar, and the slotted hole extends along a length direction of said lower surrounding bar, the upper third pivot passes through the slotted hole, and the upper third pivot is fixed on the lateral part of the middle unit; and each one of the two lateral locks includes: a locking pin mounted on the lower surrounding bar and capable of sliding along the length direction of the lower surrounding bar; an expanding guiding slot formed on the middle unit and extending along a radial direction of the upper third pivot and the length direction of the lower surrounding bar; a folding guiding slot formed on the middle unit, extending downward from an end of the expanding guiding slot, and forming an arc-shaped groove along a circumferential direction of the upper third pivot; and a locking spring disposed between the locking pin and the lower surrounding bar, thereby the locking pin being capable of moving toward the upper third pivot; when the lateral lock is in the locked state, the locking pin is in the expanding guiding slot; and when the lateral lock is in the unlocked state, the locking pin is in the folding guiding slot.

10. The travel cot as claimed in claim 8, wherein: a slotted hole is formed at one of the ends of the lower surrounding bar, and the slotted hole extends along a length direction of the lower surrounding bar, the upper third pivot passes through the slotted hole, and the upper third pivot is fixed on the lateral part of the middle unit; and each one of the two lateral locks includes: a locking pin mounted on the lower surrounding bar and capable of sliding along the length direction of the lower surrounding bar; an expanding guiding slot formed on the middle unit and extending along a radial direction of the upper third pivot and the length direction of the lower surrounding bar; a folding guiding slot formed on the middle unit, extending downward from an end of the expanding guiding slot, and forming an arc-shaped groove along a circumferential direction of the upper third pivot; and a locking spring disposed between the locking pin and the lower surrounding bar, thereby the locking pin being capable of moving toward the upper third pivot; when the lateral lock is in the locked state, the locking pin is in the expanding guiding slot; and when the lateral lock is in the unlocked state, the locking pin is in the folding guiding slot.

11. The travel cot as claimed in claim 9, wherein: an unlocking spring is mounted between the lower surrounding bar and the upper third pivot, and the unlocking spring is capable of pushing the lower surrounding bar to slide, and thereby the locking pin leaves the expanding guiding slot.

12. The travel cot as claimed in claim 10, wherein: an unlocking spring is mounted between the lower surrounding bar and the upper third pivot, and the unlocking spring is capable of pushing the lower surrounding bar to slide, and thereby the locking pin leaves the expanding guiding slot.

13. The travel cot as claimed in claim 9, wherein: a position fixing slot is connected to a lower end of the folding guiding slot, and the position fixing slot extends downward.

14. The travel cot as claimed in claim 12, wherein: a position fixing slot is connected to a lower end of the folding guiding slot, and the position fixing slot extends downward.

15. The travel cot as claimed in claim 9, wherein: a distance between the two upper first pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts on the middle unit is shorter than a distance between the two upper third pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts on said middle unit; and a distance between the two upper second pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts is shorter than a distance between the two upper fourth pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts.

16. The travel cot as claimed in claim 14, wherein: a distance between the two upper first pivots of the two adjacent vertical posts on the middle unit is shorter than a distance between the two upper third pivots of the two adjacent vertical posts on said middle unit; and a distance between the two upper second pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts is shorter than a distance between the two upper fourth pivots on the two adjacent vertical posts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a travel cot in accordance with the present invention, shown in an expanded state;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the travel cot, shown in a folding process;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the travel cot, shown in a folded state;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a front view of region M in FIG. 1, shown in a locked state of the lateral lock in the expanded state of the travel cot;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a front view of the lateral lock of the travel cot, shown in an unlocked state of the lateral lock;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a front view of the lateral lock of the travel cot, shown in the folding process of the travel cot;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a front view of the lateral lock of the travel cot, shown in the folded state of the travel cot; and

[0018] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the travel cot taken across line A-A in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] With reference to FIG. 1 to 3, a travel cot in accordance with the present invention has four lateral fences 1, four vertical posts 2, and a bottom frame 3. Each one of the vertical posts 2 has an upper corner unit 21, a vertical rod unit 22, and a foot unit 23. The four lateral fences 1 connect with the two adjacent upper corner unit 21 of the adjacent vertical posts 2 respectively. The bottom frame 3 is foldable and connected to the four foot units 23 of the four vertical posts 2. When the travel cot is in use, the travel cot may further need a sheet, however, the sheet is not shown in the figures in order to get a better view of the structure of this embodiment.

[0020] Each one of the lateral fences 1 includes two surrounding frames, a middle unit 13, and two lateral locks 14. The middle unit 13 is rotatably mounted between the two surrounding frames. The lateral locks 14 are mounted between the middle unit 13 and the two surrounding frames respectively.

[0021] In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each one of the surrounding frames has an upper surrounding rod 11 and a lower surrounding bar 12. The upper surrounding rod 11 and the lower surrounding bar 12 are parallel to each other and are disposed up and down with respect to each other when the travel cot is in an expanded state.

[0022] One end of each one of the upper surrounding rods 11 is connected to the middle unit 13 via an upper first pivot X11, and another end of said upper surrounding rods 11 is connected to the upper corner unit 21 of a respective one of the vertical posts 2 via an upper second pivot X12. An end of the lower surrounding bar 12 is capable of rotating around an upper third pivot X13 and is slidably mounted on the middle unit 13, another end of the lower surrounding bar 12 is rotatably connected to the upper corner unit 21 of a respective one of the vertical posts 2 via an upper fourth pivot X14. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, a slotted hole is formed at one of the ends of each one of the lower surrounding bars 12, and the slotted hole extends along a length direction of said lower surrounding bar 12. The upper third pivot X13 passes through the slotted hole, and the upper third pivot X13 is fixed on a lateral part of the middle unit 13.

[0023] The two lateral locks 14 are symmetrically disposed between the two surrounding rods and the middle unit 13 respectively. Each one of the lateral locks 14 is capable of switching between a locked state and an unlocked state via adjusting a distance between the two adjacent vertical posts 2 and/or adjusting angles of the adjacent vertical posts 2. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, each one of the lateral locks 14 includes a locking pin 14a, an expanding guiding slot 14b, a folding guiding slot 14c, a position fixing slot 14d, a locking spring 14e, and an unlocking spring 14f.

[0024] The locking pin 14a is mounted on the lower surrounding bar 12 and capable of sliding along a length direction of the lower surrounding bar 12. The expanding guiding slot 14b is formed on the middle unit 13 and extends along a radial direction of the upper third pivot X13, and the expanding guiding slot 14b is straight. The folding guiding slot 14c is formed on the middle unit 13 and extends along a circumferential direction of the upper third pivot X13. The folding guiding slot 14c extends downward and forms an arc-shaped groove from an end of the expanding guiding slot 14b. The locking spring 14e is disposed between the locking pin 14a and the lower surrounding bar 12, and thus the locking pin 14a tends to move toward the upper third pivot X13. The upper third pivots X13 on each one of the lower surrounding bars 12 are located between the locking pin 14a and the upper fourth pivot X14.

[0025] A distance between the two upper first pivots X11 on the middle unit 13 is shorter than a distance between the two upper third pivots X13 on said middle unit 13. Similarly, a distance between the two upper second pivots X12 of the two adjacent vertical posts is shorter than a distance between the two upper fourth pivots X14 on said two adjacent vertical posts.

[0026] The bottom frame 3 has a central body 31 and multiple bottom links. The central body 31 is disposed at a bottom central region of the travel cot. Each one of the bottom links is disposed between the central body 31 and one of the vertical posts 2 respectively, and each one of the bottom links includes a first link unit 32 and a second link unit 33. Each one of the first link units 32 is a rod unit, an end of the first link unit 32 is rotatably connected to the central body 31 via a bottom first pivot X21, and another end of the first link unit 32 is rotatably connected to a respective one of the vertical posts 2 via a bottom second pivot X22. The second link unit 33 is parallel to the first link unit 32 and is located beneath the first link unit 32 in each one of the bottom frames 3 while the travel cot is in an expanded state. Each one of the second link units 33 may be a rope which is inextensible such as a steel cord. Two ends of the second link unit 33 of each one of the bottom links are connected to the central body 31 and the foot unit 23 of the respective one of the vertical posts 2. When the central body 31 moves downward until the second link units 33 get taut, the vertical posts 2 steadily stand vie a collective work of the central body 31 and the second link units 33.

[0027] In this embodiment, the travel cot may further have a bottom lock, the bottom lock is mounted between an inner end of each one of the first link units 32 and the central body 31, but it is not limited thereto. The bottom lock is capable of fixing positions of the first link units 32 with respect to the central body 31 when the travel cot is in the expanded state.

[0028] In a folding process of the travel cot, as shown in FIG. 4, the lateral locks are in the locked state, each one of the locking pins 14a is inserted in a respective one of the expanding guiding slots 14b, and the expanding guiding slot 14b extends along the length direction of the lower surrounding bar 12. Then the central body 31 is lifted and the foot unit 23 of each one of the vertical posts 2 gets closer to each other and moves to center, and thus all of the vertical posts together form a shape like a funnel, and further move the upper corner units 21 toward each other. In other words, all of the vertical posts 2 are tilted such that a distance between bottom ends is shorter than a distance between top ends of every two said adjacent vertical posts 2. Each one of the locking pins 14a then easily moves out from the expanding guiding slot 14b and then enters the folding guiding slot 14c as shown in FIG. 5. When the central body 31 further moves upward and the middle units 13 move downward due to gravity, the vertical posts 2 gradually move closer to each other, as shown in FIG. 6, each one of the locking pins 14a slides along a respective one of the folding guiding slots 14c. As long as the locking pin 14a slides to a position shown in FIG. 7, the folding process of the travel cot is complete, and the travel cot is in the folded state as shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each one of the position fixing slots 14d is connected to a lower end of each one of the folding guiding slots 14c, and the position fixing slot 14d extends downward. When the travel cot is in the folded state, the locking pin 14a is in the position fixing slot 14d to fix the lower surrounding bar 12.

[0029] Each one of the unlocking springs 14f is mounted between each one of the lower surrounding bars 12 and a respective one of the upper third pivots X13. The unlocking springs 14f are capable of pushing the lower surrounding bars 12 to slide such that the locking pins 14a can easily leave from the expanding guiding slots 14b when the travel cot is going to be folded from the expanded state.

[0030] In an expanding process of the travel cot, the central body 31 moves downward and thus the foot unit 23 of each one of the vertical posts 2 moves away from center of the travel cot, and therefore, the vertical posts 2 together form a shape like an inverted funnel. Then the vertical posts 2 move away from each other to expand the lateral fences 1. The two upper surrounding rods 11 of each one of the lateral fences 1 expand via rotating with respect to the middle unit 13 around the upper first pivots X11 respectively. The lower surrounding bars 12 expand via rotating with respect to the middle unit 13 around the upper third pivots X13 respectively, and the lower surrounding bars 12 are pulled via the upper third pivot X13 sliding with respect to the slotted hole, whilst the locking springs 14e which abut the locking pins 14a are compressed. When the central body 31 moves downward to a limit position, the second link units 33 get taut and the vertical posts 2 keep steadily standing; in other words, the vertical posts 2 would not collapse or move toward center of the travel cot, and then the lateral fences 1 are fully expanded. Meanwhile, the locking pin 14a moves to the expanding guiding slot 14b and gets pushed by the locking springs 14e in each one of the lateral locks 14, thereby switching the lateral lock 14 into the locked state.

[0031] The structure of the travel cot in this disclosure is simple and thus easy to use, and the travel cot is capable of being folded or expanded in one step. The travel cot is easy to lock or unlock in the process of expanding and folding, and the travel cot is steady in the expanded state, thereby being safe to use; on the other hand, the travel cot has a smaller volume when in the folded state, and the travel cot costs and weighs less than the conventional travel cots.

[0032] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.