US2823043A - Vertically adjustable footrest for folding baby stroller - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 11, 1958 s. M. SHONE ROLLER VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST FOR FOLDING BABY ST Filed Oct. 6, 1954 5 Sheet-Sheet 1 6 5 HA5 ATTOP/VE KS- HAQR/S, E56, FosmQ a: mQws Feb. 11, 1958 s. M. SHONE 2,823,043

VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST FOR FOLDING BABY STROLLER Filed 001. 6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 51/ A05 arroe/veys. HAflQ/S, [1 7544 Fbsrge & Ewe/5 S. M. SHONE Feb. 11, 1958 VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST FOR FOLDING BABY STROLLER Filed 001:. 6, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fNVEA/[OE SAMUEL M. SHONE r 2,823,043 1C Patented Feb. 11, 1958 VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST FOR FOLDING BABY STROLLER Samuel M. Shone, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to A. E. Peterson Mfg. Co., Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Application October 6, 1954, Serial No. 460,685

2 Claims. (Cl. 280-36) The present invention relates to a new and improved variety of foldable stroller which is designed to be used in transporting children, but which is obviously of other utility.

A great many designs of foldable baby strollers have been patented in the past and are being marketed at the present by a number of firms. However, there is still a constant demand in the trade for foldable baby strollers which are distinguished by virtue of ease of manufacture and by the fact that they may be folded to a carrying position by the average individual with a minimum of difficulty. Further, there is a continuing demand in the trade for baby strollers which are readily adjustable so as to accommodate a child in a number of positions. A broad object of the instant invention is to provide new and improved baby strollers, and individual parts usable in other strollers, which are distinguished over prior art constructions by virtue of the above factors. Other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages of it, will be more fully apparent from the remainder of this specification and the accompanying claims.

The instant invention is summerized in detail by the appended claims forming a part of this disclosure. However, for purposes of understanding the present invention, it may be summarized as involving a base frame upon which there are mounted wheels, front braces, and a seat support in such a manner that the front braces may be rotated from a folded position into an upward operative position from the base frame and in such a manner that the seat support frame may also be rotated from a folded position to a similar operative position. With the construction of the invention, a handle member is slidably disposed upon these front braces, and these front braces are pivotally secured to the seat frame. Further, an adjustable backrest is located in a foldable manner upon the seat support, and an adjustable footrest is located upon the base frame. The actual details of the present invention are best more fully explained with reference to the accompanying drawings,in' which:

Fig. 1 is aside view of a foldable stroller of the pres ent invention in which part of the base frame has been broken away in order to more clearly illustrate. certain constructional details;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the stroller shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar side view of Fig. 1 showing various positions of certain members illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial side view similar to Fig. 3 showing a third position of an adjustable member illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side view in elevation of a portion of the stroller shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the above mentioned portion of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view, in elevation, of the above mentioned portion.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, a foldable stroller 10 is shown, which comprises a generally U-shaped base frame 12 having a front end 14 and rear ends 16. Adjacent the front end 14, suitable casters 18 are attached to this base frame in the conventional manner. Adjacent the rear ends of the base frame 12, an axle 2b is secured across these rear ends 16 so as to carry externally of the base frame 12 rear wheels 22. Adjacent the front end 14 of the base frame 12, a conventional bumper 24 is secured to this base frame for the obvious purpose.

Immediately above both of the casters 18, ends of froint braces 26 are pivotally secured to the base frame 12 in such a manner that they may be rotated from a folded position immediately adjacent to this base frame 12 to the location shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. These front braces 26 slidably carry a U-shaped handle 28 which joins the two ends of the front braces 26 generally remote from the base frame 12. Suitable latch means 30 of a conventional category are disposed upon the handle 28 so as to engage the front braces 26 in order to secure the handle 23 in an extended operative position, substantially as shown. When these latch means 30 are disengaged, the handle 28 may thus be pushed down towards the base frame 12 in order that the entire construction may be folded in a conveniently small volume.

Slidably disposed upon the front braces 26 are pivot members 34 which are pivotally attached to the top section 36 of a seat support 38, the rear ends 49 of which are pivotally secured about the axle 29. it is seen from an examination of- Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings that this seat support 31 is in the general shape of a U, bent in such a manner that the top section 36 of this seat support 38 is disposed generally parallel to the base frame 12 when the pivot members 34 are drawn along the front braces 26 to the position shown in Fig. 1. Suitable latch means 42 are provided upon the pivot members 34 so as to engage the front braces 26 and hold the pivot members in operative position.

The-top section 36 of the seat support 33 is specifically designed to carry front and side webs 44 which, in turn, are secured to a substantially rigid seat bottom 46 (shown in phantom in Fig. l). Preferably, the webs 44 are secured in the positions shown in Fig. 1 by means of common snaps so that they and the seat bottom 46 may be easily removed from the remainder of the stroller 10 for replacement or washing.

A seat back 48 is pivotally secured between the sides of the seat support 38 so as to be capable of movement with respect to the seat support. This seat back has on its sides projections 50 which are adapted to bear against appropriate sections of a seat back retainer 52 which is also pivotally secured between the sides of the seat support 38. As is best seen in Fig. 1, this seat back retainer has a first notch 54 at each end thereof which is adapted to engage the projections 50 upon the seat back 48 so that the seat back is disposed at an angle which is substantially vertical. The seat back retainer 52 also is provided at each end thereof with a second notch 56, which, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, is adapted to engage the same projections 50 so as to retain the seat back 48 at an angle of less than with respect to a surface upon which the stroller 10 is operated. The seat back retainer 52 is also provided with a back crossbar 53 which is adapted to bear against the seat back 43 in a position in which the projections 50 been against the extremities of the seat back retainer immediately adjacent the crossbar 58 retaining the entire seat back in a third position, as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, in which this entire seat back: 48 is disposed at an angle which. is. nearly parallel to the surface upon which. the stroller 10 is operated; further, the notches 54 and 56 are located at the ends of straight parallel portions of the seat back retainer 52.

Thus, with the specific construction shown, three different positions of the seat back 48 are possible, and these positions may be achieved by merely lifting the back crossbar 58 while placing the projections 56 of the seat "back 48 in any desired position. This operation is extremely simple to carry out and the construction shown in the drawings is exceedingly effective for the purpose described. Because of the adjustability of the seat back 48, it is possible to adjust this seat back when the stroller is occupied by a child to any desired position so as .to make the child occupying the stroller 10 comfortable.

It is considered obvious from the drawings that the rotation of both the seat support 38 and the front braces 26 from folded positions immediately adjacent the base frame 12 to the operative positions shown in the drawings is interrelated since these two members are both connected by the pivot members 34 which are pivotally attached to the seat support 38 and to the front braces 26. When the seat support 38 and the front braces 26 are disposed adjacent the base frame 12 in a folded position, the pivot members 34 are located near the points of attachment of the front braces 26 to the base frame 12. Further, in such a folded position the webs 44, the seat bottom 46, the seat back 48, and the seat back retainer 52 are all located in what may be broadly termed substantially parallel relation to the base frame 12, although, obviously, it is impossible for all of these members to be precisely parallel to this base frame. When the latch means 42 are disengaged permitting the pivot members 34 to slide upon the front braces 26, the seat support 38 and the front braces 26 are rotated from the positions shown in the drawings to a substantially folded position adjacent the base frame 12, and the various elements forming a seat for a child within the stroller of the invention are automatically collapsed to a folded position. The extension of the seat support 38 and the front braces 26 is relatively easy to accomplish by merely grasping the handle 28 and the front extremity of the seat support 38 and pulling these two members towards one another, while generally rotating them about the base frame 12.

Another feature of material significance with the new stroller design of the present invention is the footrest 62 employed. This footrest comprises a central cross grid of wires having a rear section 64, a center section 66 disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to the rear section, and a front portion 68 located parallel to the rear section 64. This rear section 64 is secured to the base frame 12 by means of arms 70 pivotally attached to both the rear section 64 and the base frame 12. The front portion of the footrest 62 is provided with wires defining first edge slots 72 (Fig. 1) and with wires defining second slots 74 at right angles to the edge slots 72 projecting from these edge slots along and back of the front of the footrest 62. The front portion 68 is secured to the front end 14 of the base frame 12 by means of a generally U-shaped member 76 which is pivotally attached to the front end 14 in such a manner that its sides 78 pass within the second slots 74 and in such a manner that the base portion 80 (Fig. 2) of the member 76 passes within the edge slots 72 and completely across the front portion 68 of the footrest 62.

This specific footrest construction 62 is exceedingly advantageous inasmuch as it may be readily adjusted to two different positions so as to make a child seated within the stroller It comfortable. The first of these positions is shown in Fig. l and is generally employed when the back 48 is in a folded or a substantially upright position. It is readily seen from an examination of Fig. 1 of the drawings that when the footrest 62 is located as shown the base portion 80 of the member 76 is positioned as far towards the rear of the footrest 62 as possi ble, and the sides 78 of this member 76 are clearly located within the second slots 74.

When it is desired to move the footrest 62 to an up ward position, such as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, this footrest is generally rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3, pulling the sides 78 of the member 76 from within the second slots 74 to positions immediately forward of these second slots with the base portion of the member 76 remaining within the edge slots 72. In this location, the entire footrest 62 can be rotated further in a counterclockwise direction to an overcenter position such as is shown in Fig. 3, where the footrest 62 remains in an elevated posiiton. Rotation of the footrest 62 is preferably limited by means of stops 82 secured to the sides of the rear section 64- of this footrest so as to engage the front braces 26, when these braces are in a position such as is shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

It will be obvious in the above description of the drawings that a great many modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure without departing from the essential teachings of this invention. As an example of such modifications, the casters 18 may be replaced by front wheels joined together by a common axle and aligned with the rear wheels. Further, a number of minor modifications with respect to shape and position of attachments of the various members shown can be made. Such modifications are to be considered as part of the inventive concept insofar as they are defined by the appended claims.

The present construction is readily distinguished over prior art baby strollers because of its comparative simplicity, its ability to be easily folded to a collapsed position or to be extended to an operative position, its adjustability, and ease of construction. Further, the present invention is readily distinguished because the various members shown can be made from a number of different specific materials or structural shapes. It is preferred with the invention to form the base frame 12, the front braces 26, the handle 28, and the seat support 38 from conventional aluminum or other tubing, although, obviously, other materials can be substituted.

I claim as my invention:

1. A foldable stroller, which comprises: a base frame having a front and a rear end; wheels mounted upon said base frame at said front and said rear ends; front braces pivotally mounted upon said base frame; a seat support pivotally mounted upon said base frame at points remote from the points of attachment of said front braces to said base frame; a seat attached to said seat support, said seat being capable of being collapsed when said seat support is located in a folded position adjacent said base frame; pivot members slidably disposed upon said front braces and pivotally attached to said seat support; a footrest having a front edge; arms pivotally attached to said base frame and to said footrest; means defining edge slots adjacent an end of said footrest; means defining second slots at right angles to said edge slots adjacent an extremity of said footrest; a brace pivotally secured to said base frame, said brace including sides capable of being passed through said second slots; and a base portion passing through said edge slots whereby said foot support is capable of being located in either a lower position or an elevated position.

2. In a device of the class described, an adjustable footrest construction which is adapted to be disposed between parallel supporting members, Which comprises: a foot support having a front edge; arms pivotally attached to the rear portion of said foot support and said parallel supporting members; means defining edge slots adjacent the forward end of said foot support; means defining second slots at right angles to said edge slots back of the front edge of said foot support; and a brace pivotally secured to said supporting members having sides capable 2,823,648 5 6 of passing through said second slots and a base portion References Cited in the file of this patent passing through said edge slots, said footrest construction being designed so that said foot support may be UNITED STATES PATENTS rotated about said arms pulling said brace from within 776,665 Leadbetter Dec. 6, 1904 said second slots and rotated to an upper position with 5 856,850 Dobe -L June 11, 1907 said base portion of said brace located within said edge 2,616,719 Heideman Nov. 4, 1952 slots. 2,678,219 Goodman May 11, 1954

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