Seat for a child's swing
AssigneeThe Sutcliffe Engineering Holdings Limited
InventorVictor Horace Yates
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A seat for a childs swing is of composite structure having a first member, which is sufficiently rigid to bear the weight of a child, and a second member made of a compressible polymeric material. The first member is substantially laminar and the second member covers at least part of the peripheral edge of the first member. The force-deflection characteristic of the second member is such that, on any impact with an object, the second member initially deforms to conform with the shape of the impacted object and then deforms further to absorb the main energy of the impact.
Claims23
A seat for a child's swing, the seat being of composite structure comprising a generally rectangular substantially laminar first member, which is sufficiently rigid to bear the weight of a child, and a second member made of a compressible polymeric material covering the entire peripheral edge of the first member, there being:
- apertures all of the same diameter extending along both of a first pair of opposite sides of the second member,
- apertures all of the same diameter, greater than the diameter of the apertures in said first pair of opposite sides, extending along a second pair of sides of the second member,
- a respective row of further circular cross-section blind apertures all of the same diameter provided in each of the parts of the second member forming the first pair of sides, said further row of blind apertures being parallel to the corresponding first-mentioned row of apertures, the diameters of said further apertures being less than the diameters of the apertures in the corresponding first rows of apertures, and their centres being off-set with respect to the centres of the apertures in the corresponding first rows of apertures, wherein the force-deflection characteristic of the second member is such that, on impact with an object, the second member initially deforms to conform with the shape of the impacted object and then deforms further to absorb the main energy of the impact.
A seat for suspension in a horizontal position as, for example, by chains to form a swing, said seat comprising:
- a core member of generally laminar form having sufficient rigidity to bear the weight of a user,
- compressible polymeric material covering said core member and having substantial depth and thickness around the periphery of said core member,
- first wall means formed by a part of said compressible polymeric material and located adjacent the periphery of said core member,
- second wall means formed by another part of said compressible polymeric material and defining a pliant peripheral skin at the periphery of said seat,
- buckling struts of said material interconnecting said first and second wall means and formed by walls defining a multiplicity of apertures in said compressible polymeric material, said apertures having selected sizes and spacings so that said struts act as buckling struts and said first and second wall means having selected thicknesses so that said wall means and buckling struts co-operate to provide a deflection characteristic such that on impact of the periphery of said seat with an object there is an initial deformation with little absorption of energy in which the shape of the impacted object is taken up by the pliant peripheral skin defined by said second wall means and a subsequent deformation in which substantially all of the impact energy is absorbed,
- suspension means associated with said core member to enable said seat to be suspended in a horizontal position,
- wherein said core member is oblong and has first and second major sides and first and second minor sides, wherein said first wall means, at least along said major sides, has a first selected depth and is connected to buckling struts of said first selected depth, and wherein said second wall means, at least along said major sides, has a second selected depth and is connected to buckling struts of said second selected depth, the buckling struts of said first selected depth being connected to the buckling struts of said second selected depth at a location intermediate said first and second wall means, and said second selected depth being substantially greater than said first selected depth.
A seat for suspension in a horizontal position as, for example, by chains to form a swing, said seat comprising:
- an oblong member of generally laminar form having sufficient rigidity to bear the weight of a user, said oblong member having first and second major sides and first and second minor sides,
- compressible polymeric material covering said oblong member and having substantial depth and thickness around the periphery of said oblong member,
- first wall portions formed of said polymeric material adjacent the periphery of said oblong member,
- second wall portions formed of said polymeric material defining a pliant skin at the periphery of said seat,
- struts of said material interconnecting said first and second wall portions and formed by walls defining a multiplicity of blind apertures of circular cross-section in said material, said apertures having selected sizes and spacings so that said struts act as buckling struts and there being at least two parallel rows of apertures along each of said major sides, said struts and wall portions providing a deflection characteristic such that on impact of the periphery of said seat with an object there is an initial deformation with little absorption of energy in which the shape of the impacted object is taken up by said periphery and a subsequent deformation in which substantially all of the impact energy is absorbed, and
- first and second means provided adjacent said minor sides of said oblong member to enable said seat to be suspended in a horizontal position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.