US-20260123769-A1 - Infant Care Apparatus

US20260123769A1US 20260123769 A1US20260123769 A1US 20260123769A1US-20260123769-A1

Abstract

An infant care apparatus includes a base; a drive mechanism disposed on the base; a controller electronically coupled to the drive mechanism; and a support device coupled to the drive mechanism. The support device is configured to be moved in both a horizontal and vertical direction relative to the base by the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is controlled by the controller to move the support device in a plurality of motion profiles relative to the base.

Inventors

Frederick Karl Hopke
Henry F. Thorne
Mary J. Koes
Robert D. Daley

Assignees

Monahan Products, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251104

Claims (20)

1 . An infant care apparatus comprising: a base; a drive mechanism coupled to the base and having a first motion assembly and a second motion assembly, a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly so that the first motion assembly imparts a first cyclic motion in a first direction to the movable stage, and the second motion assembly is dependent from the movable stage so that the second motion assembly imparts a second cyclic motion in a second direction independent of the first cyclic motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly; an infant support disposed to effect stand-alone infant care support of an infant on the infant care apparatus and coupled to the second motion assembly so that the second cyclic motion and the first cyclic motion are imparted to the infant support, and the infant support is configured to move cyclically in both the first direction and the second direction relative to the base; and a controller communicably coupled to the drive mechanism, and configured so as to move the infant support, with separate impetus separately imparted on the infant support by the first cyclic motion and the second cyclic motion, in both the first direction and the second direction with a selectably variable motion path selected, with the controller, from a number of different selectably variable motion paths, wherein the controller is configured to effect selection of the selectably variable motion path by separate variance of motion characteristic of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion determined from a selection input to the controller such that the controller effects the selection corresponding to only one of the selectably variable motion paths so that selection of each selectably variable motion path by separate variance of motion characteristic of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion is effected with selection of corresponding selection input common to the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion.
2 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the different selectably variable motion paths is deterministically defined by a selectably variable velocity characteristic of at least one of the first and second cyclic motions respectively of the first and second motion assemblies, and a selectably variable velocity characteristic of another of the first and second cyclic motions respectively of the first and second motion assemblies.
3 . The infant care apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the selectably variable velocity characteristic of at least one of the first and second cyclic motions respectively of the first and second motion assemblies, and the selectably variable velocity characteristic of another of the first and second cyclic motions respectively of the first and second motion assemblies are selected with the controller from the corresponding selection input to the controller.
4 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is mounted within the base.
5 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a user interface configured to receive the corresponding selection input from a user for selecting the different selectably variable motion paths.
6 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the different selectably variable motion paths includes at least one of horizontal and vertical movements.
7 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first motion assembly comprises: the first motor having a drive shaft; and a slide crank assembly comprising a gearing assembly coupled to the drive shaft of the first motor and a crank member coupled to the gearing assembly and the movable stage; wherein operation of the first motor causes rotation of the slide crank assembly, thereby imparting the first cyclic motion to the movable stage.
8 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second motion assembly comprises: the second motor having a drive shaft; a worm gear assembly coupled to the output of the drive shaft; and a vertical yoke having a first end coupled to an output shaft of the worm gear assembly, wherein operation of the second motor causes rotation of the vertical yoke, thereby imparting second cyclic motion to the infant support.
9 . The infant care apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the second motion assembly further includes a dual scissor mechanism coupled to a second end of the vertical yoke configured to support the infant support.
10 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first motor provides horizontal motion to the infant support and the second motor provides vertical motion to the infant support.
11 . The infant care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first encoder having a single slot is coupled to a first drive shaft of the first motor and a second encoder having a single slot is coupled to a second drive shaft of the second motor.
12 . The infant care apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the controller determines position information of the infant support based at least in part on information from the first encoder and the second encoder.
13 . A method for controlling an infant care apparatus, the method comprising: providing a base of the infant care apparatus; providing a drive mechanism coupled to the base and having a first motion assembly and a second motion assembly, wherein the first motion assembly has a first motor dependent from the base and the second motion assembly has a second motor separate and distinct from the first motor; providing a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly for imparting, via the first motor of the first motion assembly, a first cyclic motion in a first direction to the movable stage; providing an infant support disposed to effect stand-alone infant care support of an infant on the infant care apparatus and coupled to the second motion assembly for imparting, via the second motor of the second motion assembly dependent from the movable stage, a second cyclic motion in a second direction independent of the first cyclic motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly, wherein the second cyclic motion and the first cyclic motion are imparted to the infant support moving the infant support cyclically in both the first direction and the second direction relative to the base; moving, with a controller communicably coupled to the drive mechanism, the infant support, with separate impetus separately imparted on the infant support by the first cyclic motion and the second cyclic motion respectively driven by the first and the second motors, in both the first direction and the second direction with a selectably variable motion path selected, with the controller, from a number of different selectably variable motion paths; and effecting, with the controller, selection of the selectably variable motion path by separate variance of motion characteristic of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion determined from a selection input to the controller such that the controller effects the selection corresponding to only one of the selectably variable motion paths so that selection of each selectably variable motion path by separate variance of motion characteristic of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion is effected with selection of corresponding selection input common to the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein a first encoder is coupled to a first drive shaft of the first motor and a second encoder is coupled to a second drive shaft of the second motor.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the first encoder and the second encoder each include no more than one slot.
16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising determining, with the controller, position information of the infant support based at least in part on information from the first encoder and the second encoder.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the different selectably variable motion paths include movement of the infant support in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction relative to the base.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the movement of the infant support in the horizontal direction and the movement of the infant support in the vertical direction is coordinated such that a repeatable, visually distinctive motion path is obtained.
19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein each of the different selectably variable motion paths is predetermined, the method further comprising selecting, by a user, one of the selectably variable motion paths.
20 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising adjusting, with the controller, a speed of the first motor and the second motor.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/733,556, filed Jun. 4, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,458,153, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/342,258, filed Jun. 27, 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,998,123, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/352,056, filed Mar. 13, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,684,173, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/679,918, filed Aug. 17, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,231,555, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/170,240, filed Jun. 1, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,763,524, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/446,803, filed Jul. 30, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,642,474, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/467,604, filed May 9, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,827,366, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/552,607, filed Sep. 2, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,197,005, which claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/093,764, filed Sep. 3, 2008, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to an infant care apparatus and, more particularly, to a seat for an infant or baby that can be moved by a drive mechanism. Description of Related Art Baby swings and bouncy seats have been used to hold, comfort, and entertain infants and babies for many years. Prior art bouncy seats are normally constructed with a wire frame that contains some resistance to deformation that is less than or equal to the weight of the child in the seat. Thus, when the child is placed in the seat, his or her weight causes a slight and temporary deformation in the wire structure that is then counteracted by the wire frame's resistance to deformation. The end result is that the child moves up and down slightly relative to the floor. This motion can be imparted to the seat by a caregiver for the purpose of entertaining or soothing the child. Baby swings normally function in much the same way as swing sets for older children; however, the baby swing usually has an automated power-assist mechanism that gives the swing a “push” to continue the swinging motion in much the same way a parent will push an older child on a swing set to keep them swinging at a certain height from the ground. There are some products that have recently entered the market that defy easy inclusion into either the bouncy or swing category. One such product includes a motorized motion that can move the infant laterally, but only has a single degree of motorized freedom and is thus limited in the motion profiles that can be generated. While the seat can be rotated so that the baby is moved back and forth in a different orientation, there remains only one possible motion profile. A need exists for a motorized infant chair that is capable of simultaneous or independent movement in two dimensions, and can reproduce a large number of motion profiles with those two dimensions to both better mimic the motion of a parent or caregiver. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Described herein is a motorized infant chair that is capable of simultaneous or independent movement in at least two dimensions, and can reproduce a large number of motion profiles with those at least two dimensions to better mimic the motion of a parent or caregiver. Accordingly, in one embodiment, an infant care apparatus includes a base; a drive mechanism coupled to the base; a controller electronically coupled to the drive mechanism; and a support device coupled to the drive mechanism. The support device is configured to be moved in both a horizontal and vertical direction relative to the base by the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is controlled by the controller to move the support device in a plurality of motion profiles relative to the base. The controller may be mounted within the base, and may include a user interface configured to receive input from the user for controlling the movement of the drive mechanism. Each of the plurality of motion profiles may include both horizontal and vertical movements. The drive mechanism may include a horizontal reciprocating assembly and a vertical reciprocating assembly disposed on the horizontal reciprocating assembly. The horizontal reciprocating assembly may include a first motor having a drive shaft; a slide crank assembly comprising a gearing assembly coupled to the drive shaft of the first motor and a crank member coupled to the gearing assembly; and a sliding stage coupled to the crank member. Operation of the first motor may cause rotation of the slide crank assembly, thereby imparting reciprocating horizontal motion to the sliding stage. The vertical reciprocating assembly includes a second motor having a drive shaft; a worm gear assembly coupled to the output of th