Protective play enclosure
A protective play enclosure includes a frame unit, a bed unit mounted on the frame unit, and a tent mounted on the frame unit. The tent includes a surrounding wall and a roof member. The surrounding wall surrounds the bed unit and cooperates with the bed unit to confine a play chamber. The surrounding wall is formed with at least one doorway for access into the play chamber, and at least one window. The play chamber has an open side opposite to the bed unit. The roof member functions to close the open side of the play chamber.
This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 096210140, filed on Jun. 22, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a play enclosure, more particularly to a protective play enclosure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a protective play enclosure that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawback of the prior art.
According to the present invention, there is provided a protective play enclosure that comprises a frame unit, a bed unit mounted on the frame unit, and a tent mounted on the frame unit. The tent includes a surrounding wall and a roof member. The surrounding wall surrounds the bed unit and cooperates with the bed unit to confine a play chamber. The surrounding wall is formed with at least one doorway for access into the play chamber, and at least one window. The play chamber has an open side opposite to the bed unit. The roof member functions to close the open side of the play chamber.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Preferably, the frame unit 5 includes a circular bed frame 51 and three U-shaped leg frame members 52, which are distributed evenly around the periphery of the bed frame 51 and which are attached thereto.
Preferably, the bed unit 6 includes a flexible bed body 61 and a plurality of elastic anchoring components 62 for connecting the flexible bed body 61 to the frame unit 5. In this embodiment, each of the elastic anchoring components 62 includes an elastic strap. The elastic straps allow the flexible bed body 61 to produce a rebounding force in response to jumping of the user on the flexible bed body 61. Alternatively, each elastic anchoring component 62 could include an extension spring for producing the rebounding force.
Preferably, the tent 7 further includes a protective skirt 72 to surround a bottom side of the bed unit 6, and a plurality of sleeves 73 attached to the surrounding wall 71 for extension of the leg frame members 52 of the frame unit 5 thereinto. In this embodiment, the tent 7 further includes a roll-up curtain 751 for selectively covering and uncovering the doorway 75, and nets 761 for covering the windows 76. It is noted herein that the numbers of the doorway 75 and the windows 76 should not be limited to what are shown in the drawings, and could include any number from the minimum number of one to a plurality depending on design requirements.
Preferably, the roof member 77 includes a covering layer 771 and a partitioning layer 772, which is disposed between the covering layer 771 and the bed unit 6. The covering layer 771 cooperates with the partitioning layer 772 to confine a storage space 773. The partitioning layer 772 is formed with an access opening 774 for providing access into the storage space 773. In this embodiment, the roof member 77 is detachably mounted on the surrounding wall 71 with the use of a zipper or a hook-and-loop fastener (not shown). Alternatively, the roof member 77 could be detachably mounted on the frame unit 5. In this case, a quick release buckle fastener could be used as the mounting means. The covering layer 771 of the roof member 77 could be designed to resemble a polyhedron cone (see
The following description explains how the protective play enclosure 4 protects the user at play, and how the play chamber 74 might be used for various activities.
In
As mentioned hereinabove, the flexible bed body 61 is connected to the frame unit 5 through the elastic anchoring components 62, thereby permitting the user to jump on top of the bed unit 6. Such an arrangement, however, may result in user discomfort should the user choose to rest or sleep on the bed unit 6. Therefore, to accommodate the user during periods of rest or sleep, the flexible bed body 61 can be stabilized with the inclusion of a plurality of non-elastic support components 63 (see
Moreover, the roof member 77 of this embodiment provides the storage space 773 accessible through the access opening 774 for storing articles.
Referring to
Referring to
The bed unit 6 of the second preferred embodiment further includes a rigid bed body 64 mounted removably on the frame unit 5, and a reinforcing frame 65 mounted on an underside of the rigid bed body 64 (see
It has thus been shown that the protective play enclosure 4 of this invention provides a tent function to shelter the user, a storage function inside the roof member 77, a safety function in protecting the user from injury, a creative play function as described in the game of catch, and a slide function.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. A protective play enclosure, comprising:
- a frame unit;
- a bed unit mounted on said frame unit; and
- a tent mounted on said frame unit, said tent including a surrounding wall surrounding said bed unit, and cooperating with said bed unit to confine a play chamber, said surrounding wall being formed with at least one doorway for access into said play chamber, and at least one window, said play chamber having an open side opposite to said bed unit, and a roof member for closing said open side of said play chamber.
2. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bed unit includes a flexible bed body and a plurality of elastic anchoring components for connecting said bed body to said frame unit.
3. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said elastic anchoring components includes an elastic strap.
4. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said elastic anchoring components has a pair of strap sections, one of said strap sections being provided with a hook, the other of said strap sections being provided with a loop to engage said hook so as to interconnect removably said strap sections, thereby permitting removal of each of said elastic anchoring components from said frame unit.
5. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said elastic anchoring components includes an extension spring.
6. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said elastic anchoring components includes a hook and loop fastening unit for attaching removably each of said elastic anchoring components to said frame unit.
7. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bed unit further includes a plurality of non-elastic support components removably attached to said frame unit and supporting said flexible bed body thereon.
8. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein said roof member of said tent is detachably mounted on said frame unit.
9. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein said roof member of said tent is detachably mounted on said surrounding wall.
10. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a zipper for detachably mounting said roof member of said tent on said surrounding wall.
11. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 9, wherein said tent further includes a plurality of sleeves attached to said surrounding wall for extension of said frame unit thereinto.
12. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said tent further includes a roll-up curtain for selectively covering and uncovering said doorway.
13. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said tent further includes a net for covering said window.
14. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said tent further includes a roll-up curtain for selectively covering and uncovering said window.
15. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a ladder situated at said doorway of said tent.
16. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said surrounding wall of said tent is formed with a pair of said doorways, said protective play enclosure further comprising a ladder situated at one of said doorways, and a slide situated at the other of said doorways.
17. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bed unit includes a rigid bed body mounted on said frame unit.
18. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 17, wherein said bed unit includes a reinforcing frame mounted on an underside of said rigid bed body.
19. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a play tunnel disposed between an underside of said rigid bed body and the ground.
20. The protective play enclosure as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a play tunnel disposed on the ground along an outer side of said protective play enclosure.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 25, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 25, 2008
Inventor: Fen-Ying Lai (Taichung City)
Application Number: 12/010,531
International Classification: E04H 15/58 (20060101); E04H 15/00 (20060101);