Joint structure for collapsible play yard

Abstract

A joint structure for a collapsible play yard suitable for infants or pets, which is pivotally connected between a pair of upper rails of a foldable fame. The pair of tipper rails can either be locked precisely in alignment or be released and folded in a parallel arrangement. Therefore, the foldable frame can either be fixed in a deployed state or converted into a collapsed state. When the foldable frame is fixed in the deployed state, the upper rails are locked by a pair of pins, whereby the pins are supported by a pair of slots of the housing of the joint structure. A release button is equipped on the outside of the housing of the joint structure for pushing by a user, so as release the pins from the upper rails, thereby permitting the upper rails to be unlocked, rotated and folded in a parallel arrangement.

1 . A joint structure for a collapsible play yard, comprising: 
 a joint used in a foldable frame for controlling the frame to be in either a deployed state or a collapsed state, said joint having:    a pair of upper rails, each rail having a locking portion at one end;    a housing having two side plates, each side plate further having a pair of slots and a through hole, wherein the housing is pivotally connected between the pair of upper rails;    a pair of pins arranged to move only linearly along the slots, wherein the pins can be fixedly engaged at the locking portion to stop the rotation of the pair of upper rails, so as to secure the frame in the deployed state;    a pair of arms, each arm having one end pivotally connected between the two side plates of the housing and another end which reciprocally drives one of the pair of pins along the corresponding slot;    an elastic member arranged to bias the pair of arms; and    a release button movably equipped on the outside of the housing, wherein said release button is used to drive the pair of arms to carry the pair of pins so as to engage and release the pair of pins from the locking portion.    
   
   
       2 . The joint structure of  claim 1 , wherein the locking potion of the upper rails is an indent or a groove.  
   
   
       3 . The joint structure of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is integrally formed with the side plates, each side plate having a plurality of pivoting orifices for pivotally connecting the pair of arms thereon.  
   
   
       4 . The joint structure of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of pins are moved to one end of the pair of slots to engage at the locking portion, and wherein the pair of pins are carried by the pair of arms to another end of the pair of slots to release from the locking portion.  
   
   
       5 . The joint structure of  claim 1 , wherein said release button further comprises a press member and an actuator, wherein said press member is equipped on the outside of the housing for pushing by an user, and said actuator extends from the back side of the press member and passes through the through hole of the housing to drive the pair of arms to indirectly move the pair of pins.  
   
   
       6 . The joint structure of  claim 5 , wherein the actuator of the release button has a pair of opposite slopes which are slidably contacted with the pair of arms.  
   
   
       7 . The joint structure of  claim 6 , wherein the pair of opposite slopes are slidably contacted with the outside of the pair of arms.  
   
   
       8 . The joint structure of the  claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is a torsion spring for biasing the pair of arms respectively in opposite directions.