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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to swings for use inside a dwelling.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,747 issued in 1921 to Thomas JORDAN, discloses a swing,
consisting of a seat member 8 hanged to the horizontal top segment 4 of a
door frame 1 by flexible suspenders 7. Each suspender 7 is connected to
the door frame by a distinct C-shape clamp 6.
Canadian patent No. 549,839 issued in 1957 to Charles LAVOIE discloses a
swing consisting of a seat 15 hanged to an H-shape mount 1 by suspenders
10, 12, 14. H-mount 1 is anchored to a ceiling 4 with a bolt 3 extending
through central part 2 of mount 1.
A drawback in these prior art swing mounts is that, although generally
satisfactory, they tend to loosen their anchoring under the strain of the
continuous swinging motion of the seat. Indeed, this swinging load applies
a translational bias to the swing mount, which often leads to progressive
release (with time) of the mount--a safety hazard.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
A general object of the invention is to improve upon existing indoor
swings.
A more particular object of this invention is to provide such an indoor
swing, having a wall mount which will resist much better than the other
swing mounts the progressive loosening of the wall anchoring under the
continuous load sustained with time by the swing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is disclosed a swing mount assembly for
mounting a swing to the top segment of a door frame, said swing being of
the type comprising seat means and flexible suspender members for hanging
said seat means to said mount assembly freely over ground whereby said
seat means are reciprocatable through the aperture defined by said door
frame, said door frame defining first and second opposite faces, said
mount assembly consisting of: (a) a first abutment member, for releasably
abutting an upper portion of said first face of said door frame top leg;
(b) a second abutment member, for releasably abutting an upper portion of
said second face of said door frame top leg; (c) a third abutment member,
for releasably abutting a lower portion of said first face of said door
frame top leg; (d) a fourth abutment member, for releasably abutting a
lower portion of said second face of said door frame top leg; (e) a main
frame, operatively interconnecting said first to fourth abutment members;
(f) biasing means, for biasing said first and third abutment members
against said door frame first face and said second and fourth abutment
members against said door frame second face; (g) means for securing said
suspender members to said main frame; and (h) joint means for relative
movement of said third and fourth abutment members relative to said main
frame, said joint means responsive to the swinging motion of said seat
means to accordingly tilt said third and fourth abutment members against
said door frame while insulating said first and second abutment members
from this motion load.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the indoor swing,
being mounted to a door frame shown fragmentarily, a punching bag
depending from the swing mount being also shown in phantom lines;
FIG. 1a is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the second embodiment of
the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-section about line 2--2 of FIG. 1a;
FIG. 2a, on the fifth sheet of drawings, is a view similar to but at a
smaller scale than FIG. 2, but relating to the first embodiment
illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3 and 4, on the third sheet of drawings, are a front elevation and
bottom plan view respectively of the swing mount elements and door frame
top segment of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-section about line 5--5 of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 6 and 7 ate a front elevation and a bottom plan view, respectively,
of the mount elements and door frame top segment of
FIG. 2a;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-section about line 8--8 of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9, on the fourth sheet of drawings, is a view at an enlarged scale of
the area circumscribed by arrow 9 in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The upright wall 12 of the house (not shown) defines a door opening 14
circumscribed by a conventional door frame 16. Door opening 14 is a
through-way between two rooms in the house, wherein first and second
opposite faces 12a, 12b, of wall 12 are defined. Door frame 16 includes
two vertical legs 18, 20, extending downwardly to the flooring (not
shown), and a top horizontal leg 22. Each leg 18-22 defines first and
second opposite faces 18a/18b, 20a/20b, 22a/22b, (merging with faces 12a
and 12b, respectively) and a pair of opposite finishing planks 24a, 24b,
one on each face 12a, 12b of wall 12 edgewisely of the door frame legs
18-22. Finish planks 24a, 24b, project outwardly from the plane of the
room wall faces 12a, 12b, wherein an offset 25 (FIG. 6) is defined
therebetween. Door frame 16 may hingedly support a pivotal door D along
one side leg thereof, 20.
The indoor swing 26 consists of a seat member 28, a mount means 30
releasably anchored to the top leg 22 of the door frame 16, and flexible
suspender members 32 for hanging the seat member 28 to the mount means 30
freely over the flooring. The mount means 30 enables the suspenders 32 to
reciprocate the seat 28 through the door aperture 14, from the first to
the second room, and vice versa. This reciprocating or swinging motion of
the seat 28 is initiated by the infant sitting thereon and pushing with
his feet on the floor to bias the seat through the door aperture 14, as is
well known.
Two embodiments of seat members 28 are envisioned. The first seat member
28, illustrated in FIG. 1, is of the see-saw type, with an elongated plank
34, oriented generally orthogonally to the plane of the door aperture 14
and extending through the latter, and two transverse posts 36 and 38,
pivotally mounted at the opposite ends of the plank 34 for pivotal motion
within the plane of the plank 34. Each post 36 or 38 carries top and
bottom transverse handles 40, 42, for hand and foot grasping respectively
by the infant.
The mount means 30 is detailed in FIGS. 2, 2a and 5. According to the
invention, the mount means 30 includes a pair of generally C-shape,
tubular members 44, 46, telescopically mounted to one another. More
particularly, C-member 44 includes a first, L-shape, tubular section 48,
having opposite female-type coupling end mouths 48a, 48b; a second,
straight, tubular section 50, engaging through said first section end
mouth 48a; and a third L-shape tubular section 52, having one leg 52a
extending through said first section end mouth 48b and another leg 52b.
Second tubular section 50 carries an integral transverse pad 54 at its
outer end. Quadrangular pad 54 defines a main flat surface 54a, and a
peripheral edge portion 54b orthogonal to main surface 54a. The pad main
surface 54a is destined to operatively abut against wall surface 12b,
while the bottom leg of the peripheral edge portion thereof, 54b, will
abut against the top edgewise portion of the corresponding portion of
finish plank 24b within the recess defined by offset 25. A locking wingnut
56 releasably interconnects tubular sections 48 and 50 at a fixed extended
position of section 50; while tubular sections 48 and 52a are
interconnected by another locking wingnut 58 at an adjustably selected
extended position of section 52a (section 52a includes a set of
lengthwisely spaced, small through-bores 60 for that purpose). L-shape leg
52a further includes a large through bore 62, proximate its elbow and
exteriorly of tube 48, being engaged by a threaded shaft 64. A nut 66 is
engaged inside the hollow of tube 52a, in register with bore 62 for
threaded engagement by shaft 64. Shaft 64 carries at its inner end another
pad 68 through a knee joint 70. Pad 68 defines a smooth wavy surface 68a
destined to generally conform adjustably to and abuttingly engage with the
corresponding portion of finishing plank 24b.
C-shape member 46 includes a first, L-shape, tubular section 72, having
opposite male-type coupling, first and second end portions 72a, 72b; a
second, straight, tubular section 74, defining a mouth 74a being engaged
by said first section end portion 72a; and a third L-shape tubular section
76, having first and second opposite mouths 76a and 76b at the ends of two
legs 76c and 76d, respectively. Mouth 76a is engaged by the first tube end
portion 72b, while mouth 76b is engaged by tubular leg 52b of the C-shape
member 44, wherein tubes 76 and 52 of C-shape members 46 and 44
respectively are telescopingly engaged. Second tubular section 74 carries
an integral transverse pad 78 at its outer end. Quadrangular pad 78
defines a main flat surface 78a, and a peripheral edge portion 78b
orthogonal to main surface 78a. The pad main surface 78a as destined to
operatively abut against wall surface 12a, while the bottom leg of the
peripheral edge portion thereof, 78 b, will abut against and be supported
by the top edgewise portion of the corresponding finish plank 24a within
the recess defined by offset 25. Accordingly, top finishing plank 24a (in
register with the top horizontal leg 22 of the door frame 16) prevents the
C-clamp 46 from slidingly disengaging downwardly from the door frame, even
if the anchoring force exerted by the friction fit locking engagement
between the C-clamp 46 and the vertical wall 12a is relatively small. As
suggested in FIGS. 2 and 2a, the top segments of finish planks 24a and
24b, may be vertically offset relative to one another, whereby the pads 54
and 78 would accordingly be offset relative to one another with respect to
their integral joint with shafts 50 and 74. A locking wingnut 80
releasably interconnects tubular sections 72a and 74 at an adjustably
selected extended position of section 50; while tubular sections 72 and 76
are releasably interconnected by another locking wingnut 82 at an
adjustably selected extended position of section 72 (section 72 includes a
set of lengthwisely spaced, small through-bores 84, 86, at the opposite
end portions thereof, for that purpose). L-shape leg 76 further includes a
large through bore 88, proximate its elbow and exteriorly of tube 72,
being engaged by a threaded shaft 90. A nut 92 is engaged inside the
hollow of tube 72, in register with bore 88 for threaded engagement by
shaft 90. Shaft 90 carries at its inner end another pad 94 (similar to pad
68) through a knee joint 96. Pad 94 defines a smooth wavy surface 94a
destined to generally conform adjustably to and abuttingly engage with the
corresponding portion of finishing plank 24a.
The male-female end couplings between the various tubular elements of
C-shape members 44 and 46, as above-disclosed, should be complementary,
i.e. that the inner diameter of the female part of each coupling be
approximately equal to the external diameter of the male part. This will
allow free and smooth sliding displacement of the male part through the
hollow of the female part, without introducing tilt play which would
undesirably occur if the male part were diametrally much smaller than the
female part lumen.
A threaded actuating rod 100 is engaged through an aperture 102 in the
elbow of L-shape tube 76, axially into the hollow of tube leg 76d, through
and into the hollow of tube leg 52b. Within the mouth portion 52c of tube
52 is fixedly carried a nut 104, this nut being threadedly engaged by
actuating rod 100. To the outer end of rod 100 is pivotally carried a
transverse actuating handle 106.
The bottom face of tube part 76d integrally carries a bar member 108 (via a
lock plate 109) for supporting the suspenders 32. In the embodiment of
FIG. 1, bar member 108 extends through the door aperture 16, and comprises
downwardly offset, opposite end portions 108a, 108a, which support
corresponding transverse, rigid, integral legs 110a, 110a. As illustrated,
transverse leg 110a advantageously constitutes an abutment supporting
surface for the outer end portion of (horizontally extending) actuating
rod 100. The two ends of each transverse leg 110a, 110a are interconnected
by a flexible cord 112, the cords 112 being much longer than the length of
these legs 110a, 110b, so that their intermediate sections hangs freely
beneath these legs. Each loop cord 112 is connected to another
corresponding, flexible, loop cord 114, via a rigid ring 116. Alternately,
rings 116 are replaced by a locking knot arrangement, not illustrated.
Loop cord 114 interconnects the two opposite ends of transverse arm 40 at
a corresponding end of the see saw, whereby associated cords 112 and 114
form an X-shape assembly, as illustrated. Cord 114 may further extend
downwardly from each end of arm 40, to merge about post 38. A punch bag
118, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1, may be hung to a hook 120 at the
intermediate section of bar member 108, by a cord 122.
As suggested in FIG. 8, each bar 110a at the respective ends of the main
bar 108 is preferably releasably connected thereto, whereby the H-shape
bar assembly 108, 110a, 110a, (of the see-saw embodiment of FIG. 1) can be
disassembled so that only bar 108 will remain, to constitute the swing of
FIG. 1a. One way of releasably interconnecting bar 108 to one bar 110a
consists in having an integral transverse box-like projection 111 from bar
110a engage an aperture 113 made in bar 108; a finger 115 is lodged inside
the hollow of projection 111 and is biased by a spring 117 toward
registering bores 119 and 121 made in the wall of projection 11 and bar
108. Finger 115 is diametrally larger than bores 119 and 121, but includes
a nipple 115a being diametrally smaller relative to these bores. Hence,
nipple 115a is spring biased to engage bores 117 and 119, when the bars
108 and 110a are positioned to make the bores register with one another,
so these two bars become interlocked. To release the lock 115, one needs
only to push nipple 115a into housing 111, against the bias of spring 117,
and pull bar 110a away from bar 108. Preferably, the finger 115 and spring
117 combination is contained within a narrow housing 123 located within
and being an integral part of box-like projection 111, to prevent nipple
115 from diverting laterally into the hollow of housing 111.
As suggested in FIG. 9, cord 112 may be releasably secured to tubular bar
110a, e.g. by having the cord end engage a series of through bores 110b
therein and knotting same thereabout.
In the embodiment of FIG. 1a, bar member 108 extends within the plane of
the door aperture 16, and again comprises downwardly offset, opposite end
portions 108a, 108a. Each of the two intermediate portions of the bar
member 108 located slightly short of the end portions thereof 108a, 108a,
support a flexible cord 122, so that they hang freely beneath the bar
member 108. Each cord 122 is connected to a further corresponding,
flexible, loop cord 124, via a rigid ring 126. Each loop cord 124 is
anchored at its bottom end to a corresponding end of a rectangular plate
128, plate 128 constituting seat 28'. A conventional, basic "swing" is
then obtained.
It can now be understood how the mount means 30 or 30' may be installed on
the top leg 22 of the door frame. First, pad 54 of C-clamp 44 is applied
against wall 12b, above finish strip 24b, and then leg 52a is
telescopingly extended from tube 48 until leg 52b clears the bottom edge
of finish strip 24b, wherein nut 58 is screwed at the selected position to
anchor tubes 48 and 50 together. Then, the height of tube 72 of the other
C-clamp 46 is extended until pad 78 clears the corresponding finish strip
24a, and nut 82 is screwed at the selected position to interlock tubes 72
and 76. Tube 74 is extended to bring pad 78 flatly against wall 12a,
wherein bolt 80 is tightened at the selected position to anchor tubes 72
and 74 to one another. The handle 106 pivoted at 107 to rod 100 is
actuated to rotate threaded rod 100 to forcibly tighten pads 54 and 78
toward one another, against wall 12. Each of the two rods 64 are then
actuated by rotating their corresponding control end knob 130 to bring
pads 68 and 94 abuttingly against the lower section of finish strip 24b
and 24a.
With such a swing mount construction, the undesirable progressive loosening
of the anchoring of the mount 30 to the wall 12--which often occurs with
prior art mounts due to the repetitive pendulum action applied thereto by
the suspenders 32--is prevented with the present invention, due to:
(a) the generally closed frame arrangement obtained by telescopingly
engaging the two C-shape members 44 and 46;
(b) the combination of a first pair of upper pads, 54 and 78, to a second
pair of pads 68, 94, carried beneath the first one, the four pads engaging
the two legs of the door frame;
(c) the provision of a knee joint 70, 96 for the lower pads 68, 94,
respectively, which knee joints 70, 96, enable yielding action of the
interconnected C-shape members 44, 46, during the swinging motion of the
suspenders 32; that is to say, knee joints 70, 96, will allow the lower
pads 68, 94, to slightly swing with the suspenders 32, while the upper
pads 54, 78, are insulated from this swinging torque.
It is therefore understood that threaded rods 64, 90, provide
continuous-type, fine adjustment capability in the adjustment of the
distance between the two lower pads 68, 94, whereas bolt 80 provides only
a coarse, incremental adjustment in the distance between the two upper
pads 54, 78. Similarly, control rod 100 also provides fine,
continuous-type adjustment capability of the overall length of telescoped
tubes 52b, 76d, that is, also of the distance between the two lower pads
68, 94, cooperatively with the first fine adjustment means 64, 90, thus
further enhancing the fineness of adjustment.
It is important that the fine adjustment be provided for the lower abutment
pads 68 and 94, to provide optimum performance for the knee joint 70, 96,
in tilting the lower pads 68, 94 responsively to the swinging load of the
seat, while the upper pads 54, 78, are thereby insulated from this
swinging load.
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