Abstract: A footrest/cover member is attached to the frame of an infant or child carrier such as a stroller. The footrest/cover member is pivotally attached to the stroller frame by a bar traversing the two front leg portions. The footrest cover member can serve as a footrest for a stroller or may be rotated upward to engage a resilient tab on a grab bar, thus enclosing the stroller leg area when the carrier is serving as a bassinet/carriage.

Abstract: An infant's swing is disclosed that has a frame, a swing arm, and a seat releasably mounted on the swing arm by a seat-to-frame coupler assembly that includes a pivot plate mounted to the back of the seat and a T-shaped connector mounted to the lower end of the swing arm. The connector is received in a mating cavity formed in the rear surface of the pivot plate, and the connector is engaged with the cavity by cooperation of slots in the cavity and posts on the connector. The pivot plate is pivotally mounted to the seat to permit the seat to pivot between a recline position and an upright position.

Abstract: An article of children's furniture is convertible between a table configuration and an easel configuration. The article of furniture comprises a support member, a work surface, and a handle coupled to the work surface for changing the configuration of the article. The work surface includes a pair of panels that are attached to each other by a hinge, the handle being attached to the panels at the hinge. The handle includes a locking portion for engaging the support member to lock the work surface to the support member in the table configuration. The article is convertible to the easel configuration by rotating the handle to unlock the work surface from the support member and lifting both panels to the easel configuration. A lever lock is coupled to the support member for locking the panels in the easel configuration. The article is convertible to the easel configuration by depressing the lever lock to release the panels, which are then spread apart and lowered onto the support member.

Abstract: A cover member is attached to the frame of an infant or child carrier such as a stroller. The cover member relates to a removable flexible covering for a laterally extending member such as a grab bar residing between a pair of opposed side portions on a child carrier frame. The upper aspects of the cover may be draped around the grab bar and releasably secured to the grab. In a like manner, the lower aspects of the cover may be releasably secured to the footrest.

Abstract: A joint for joining two tubes together that provides a connection that is highly resistant to relative rotational movement of the two tubes and that provides for connecting the tubes without requiring tools. A tube with a swaged end of smaller diameter that is to be joined to a second tube with a larger diameter contains an interconnection member disposed within the swaged end of the tube. The interconnection member is a button that is spring-biased to extend through a hole in the swaged tube. The end of the swaged tube also includes two slots, disposed on opposing sides of the tube, that receive within them a rivet that extends transversely through the larger diameter tube. As the swaged tube is inserted into the larger diameter tube, the button in the swaged tube springs into a corresponding hole in the larger diameter tube when the holes in the swaged tube and the large diameter tube are in alignment.

Abstract: An instant special effects camera which provides children in the age range of five years and up with an opportunity to take photos and see the results instantly. The camera is a battery operated electronic black and white camera with an integral direct thermal printer. A replaceable paper cassette is included. To improve the ease of use and reduce cost, a minimal number of simple controls are provided. A picture may be taken simply by aiming the camera through a double view finder and pressing the shutter button. No setting up or flash is required. Plug-in special effects cartridges may be provided to increase the number of special effects.

Abstract: A play-inside play structure comprising a plurality of wall members, a door panel and a roof securely connectable to form a substantially enclosed play structure, said play structure having an interior space sufficiently large to accommodate at least one child therein, and said wall members, door panel and roof having a plurality of play surfaces thereon for small cars, trucks, play or action figures. The play structure and play surfaces are related in appearance, such that they both revolve around a central theme to create a synergistic imaginative and role playing effect. In the preferred embodiment, the play structure resembles a schoolhouse and the play surfaces include, but are not limited to, a functional blackboard, molded-in classroom and cafeteria areas, library, gym, swimming pool area, picnic area, slides, ladders, tunnels, school crossing signals, and playground area including a merry-go-round, hanging tires, and hopscotch outline.

Abstract: A walk-in child playhouse having pivotally attached seating surfaces. In one embodiment, the walk-in child playhouse comprises an enclosed rotomolded plastic structure having walls, a roof, and at least one chair or seat member pivotally attached to the playhouse. In another embodiment, the walk-in child playhouse has a garden party theme in which the roof has a canopy portion overhanging the rear of the house. Under the canopy are two chairs or seat members pivotally connected the rear wall and the roof via a pair of continuous bosses, the rear wall also having a substantially horizontally extending table disposed between the chairs and under the canopy. In another embodiment, the playhouse comprises a series of double-walled hollow parts that are interconnected by a unique snap interlock system. In yet another embodiment, the playhouse comprises a lateral connection member for joining various wall panels at a lower portion thereof.

Abstract: A child's toy is disclosed that provides for a character that is capable of both visually and audibly displaying a variety of emotional expressions and which is capable of providing these displays in combination with playing a "peek-a-boo" game with the toy character. The toy has a housing that is shaped like a teddy bear, with openings for the bear's eyes and mouth and a pair of paws that rotate to a position where both paws cover the eyes of the bear when mechanically activated by the child. The paws are mechanically interconnected to a disk mounted within the housing which contains different representations for the eyes and the mouth of the bear, each of which is configured to represent a different emotional expression, on its front surface. The representations for the eyes and the mouth of the bear appear through the eye and mouth openings in the bear's face.

Abstract: A front infant carrier which includes a vest-like harness that is worn by the attendant, a detachable infant shell, and a sling. The detachable infant shell attaches to the harness at three attachment points, either in a forward-facing or rearward-facing orientation. In the rearward-facing position, the shell attaches to the harness by a peg/button mounted at the crotch of the shell which snaps into a socket centrally mounted at the lower front of the harness, and by a pair of upper clips on the shell which engage rings on the upper front of the harness. The forward-facing attachment uses a second peg/button at the lower back portion of the shell, instead of the crotch peg/button, and attaches in a similar fashion, whereby the second peg/button snaps into the socket centrally mounted at the lower front of the harness, and the pair of upper clips on the shell engage the rings on the upper front of the harness.

Abstract: A basketball system having has a ballasted base, an adjustable support system comprising two pole sections, a backboard, a hoop structure, and a net. They include an upper pole section and a lower pole section, and may be operated either telescopically or non-telescopically. The base has a first socket that receives the lower pole section, and a second socket is sized to receive the upper pole section when the system is operated in the non-telescoping mode. The hoop structure is provided with a neck flange for attaching the hoop structure to a recess in the upper telescoping pole section. The net is attached to the hoop structure by a net retention hoop on which the net is threadedly engaged.

Abstract: A three-wheeled collapsible stroller which can be used on terrain that is more bumpy or uneven than the smooth terrain suitable for a conventional small-wheeled stroller, but that is also more maneuverable than a conventional three-wheeled "jogging stroller." The stroller has a folding frame and automatic side latches so that it is conveniently collapsible into a compact form for transportation and storage. The stroller also had a seat back that is quickly and conveniently adjustable between reclined and upright seating positions and that remains in the same reclined or upright position when folded and unfolded. The brakes of the rear wheels are automatically set when the stroller is fully folded.

Abstract: A reclining seat for use in a stroller or similar device incorporating flexible elements having shape memory characteristics integrally affixed along the upper portion of the seat's side webs such that during conversion from a reclined position to an upright position, the flexible elements urge the side webs inwardly, away from the latching mechanism, inhibiting entanglement of the webs in the latching mechanism.

Abstract: A three-wheeled collapsible stroller which can be used on terrain that is more bumpy or uneven than the smooth terrain suitable for a conventional small-wheeled stroller, but that is also more maneuverable than a conventional three-wheeled "jogging stroller." The stroller has a folding frame and automatic side latches so that it is conveniently collapsible into a compact form for transportation and storage. The stroller also had a seat back that is quickly and conveniently adjustable between reclined and upright seating positions and that remains in the same reclined or upright position when folded and unfolded. The brakes of the rear wheels are automatically set when the stroller is fully folded.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for simulating the feeding of a variety of food types to a child's baby doll is disclosed. The apparatus includes a spoon and a food container. The food container is segmented into three compartments, each of which contains a different simulated food type. Within each compartment is a cam assembly for interaction with a cam follower that is disposed within a spindle that is rotatably mounted within the bowl of the spoon. The outer surface of the spindle is configured to also represent food, where the types of food represented on the spindle in the bowl of the spoon are the same food types that are simulated in the food container.

Abstract: An odorless container having a selectively openable peripheral constrictor that creates a seal between a holding chamber where waste is deposited and a storage chamber where waste is stored so that odors from the storage chamber do not escape when waste is deposited into the holding chamber. Operation of the pail involves opening the lid, depositing the waste into the holding chamber, and closing the lid. The constrictor is then opened allowing the waste to fall from the holding chamber into the storage chamber. Finally, the constrictor is closed to prepare the pail for the next deposit of waste. Therefore, odors from the second chamber are never directly exposed to the outside environment. The constrictor may be constructed of a single continuous flexible sleeve, or of multiple constrictor elements, which may be rigid members, articulated members having rigid segments, or elastic or inelastic flexible strands or strips.