Pendulum swing
AssigneeGerico, Inc.
InventorAlbert W. Gebhard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An infant swing includes a uni-axial weight-biased pendulum escapement motor actuator with a weighted body that glides up and down one of the support legs of the swing and a rewind apparatus having a coiled torsion spring which rewinds the weight cord around a reel when the weight is repositioned to a position of potential energy useable for actuating the swing, and an axially biased unidirectional slip clutch. The swing also includes two rear legs which extend downwardly from a frame to support the swing in combination with two similarly downwardly extending front legs, the rear legs being foldable into parallel relation to the front legs for transportation and storage.
Claims18
In a swing apparatus wherein a portable frame has first and second structural sections fastened together in rigid, spaced-apart relation and a plurality of downwardly extending support means for supporting said first and second sections a spaced distance above a surface on which the swing apparatus is set, two of said support means extending substantially downwardly from said first section with an acute angle therebetween and the remaining two of said support means extending downwardly from said second section with an acute angle therebetween, the improvement comprising:
- a shaft extending between and journaled in said first and second sections, a seat hanger mounted between said first and second sections, and a seat suspended from said hanger;
- and
- actuator means on said shaft connected to said hanger for imparting swinging motion to said seat, said actuator means including weight-biased drive means adapted to impart rotating motion to said shaft in a first direction, escapement means including a ratchet wheel concentrically mounted on said shaft for governing the rotational movement of said shaft, rewind means for returning said weight-biased drive means in the reverse direction as it is returned to a position of potential energy usable for driving said actuator means, said drive means including a weighted body constrained for movement along one of said support means and a reel rotatably journaled on said shaft, and unidirectional clutch means concentrically mounted on said shaft for selectively engaging said weight-biased drive means with said shaft.
Swing apparatus, comprising:
- a structural frame and support means for supporting said frame;
- a main shaft extending transversely from the right to the left ends of said frame and journaled therein for rotation;
- a right swing hanger and a left swing hanger, both of which are mounted between said ends of said frame, and a swing seat suspended from said right and left hangers;
- actuator means for moving said swing in a pendulum motion, including weight-biased drive means having a drive weight for urging said shaft to rotate, escapement means for governing the rotation of said shaft, unidirectional clutch means for engaging said drive means with said shaft, and automatic rewind means for urging said drive means in a reverse rotational direction automatically in response to repositioning of said drive means to a position of potential energy usable for driving said swing;
- and
- said drive means, escapement means, clutch means, and rewind means all being mounted concentric to a common longitudinal axis which is also common with the longitudinal axis of said main shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.