Foldable playard

Abstract

A collapsible child furniture or playard assembly is provided. The assembly includes softgoods that are connectable to and removeable from a frame. The softgoods define sidewalls and a base surface of the assembly. The frame is transitionable between an expanded and collapsed configuration. The frame includes a plurality of legs, a plurality of side rails, and a plurality of end rails. A leg hub rotatably connects at least some of the plurality of legs together, and an end hub rotatably connects at least some of the plurality of end rails together. A corner hub connects a leg, an end rail, and a side rail together. The end hub and end rails are configured to fold inwards towards a center of the frame when the frame is in the collapsed configuration, and the legs are configured to fold inwards towards each other when the frame is in the collapsed configuration.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A playard assembly comprising:
 a frame;   softgoods connectable to and removeable from the frame, the softgoods defining sidewalls and a base surface of the playard;   the frame comprising a plurality of legs connected to a plurality of end rails and a plurality of side rails through a corner hub; and   a plurality of straps extending along at least one sidewall of the playard, the plurality of straps being connected between a side rail of the plurality of side rails and a leg of the plurality of legs along one sidewall of the playard, and the plurality of straps extending at an angle with respect to a central axis of the side rail.   
     
     
         2 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of straps extend at a non-parallel and non-perpendicular angle with respect to the central axis of the side rail. 
     
     
         3 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of straps cross over each other along one sidewall of the playard, forming an X-shaped strap configuration along the one sidewall. 
     
     
         4 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of straps are tension straps configured to produce tension that holds the playard in an expanded configuration. 
     
     
         5 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of straps are connected to one of the legs through a strap connector disposed at a distal end of the strap. 
     
     
         6 . The playard assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the strap connectors comprise clips, buckles, buttons, hook and loop fasteners, or magnetic closures. 
     
     
         7 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of legs are transitionable between expanded and collapsed configurations. 
     
     
         8 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of end rails are transitionable between expanded and collapsed configurations. 
     
     
         9 . The playard assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a first pair of straps are disposed along a first sidewall of the playard, and a second pair of straps are disposed along a second sidewall of the playard. 
     
     
         10 . A child furniture assembly comprising:
 softgoods connectable to and removeable from a frame, the softgoods defining sidewalls and a base surface of the child furniture assembly;   the frame being transitionable between an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration, the frame comprising:
 a first siderail and a second siderail oriented offset and parallel to each other; 
 a first end rail and a second end rail disposed at one end of the frame, and a third end rail and a fourth end rail disposed at another end of the frame, wherein each of the end rails are connected to a siderail through one corner hub of a plurality of corner hubs; and 
 a first leg and a second leg disposed at each end of the frame, each of the legs being connected to one of the corner hubs, each of the legs extending from the corner hub to a supporting surface, and the first and second legs crossing each other and forming an X-shaped configuration. 
   
     
     
         11 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein a leg hub connects the first leg to the second leg, and the leg hub is rotatable about a leg hub pivot axis of the leg hub. 
     
     
         12 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein each of the end rails have a length that is shorter than a length of the side rails. 
     
     
         13 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein an end hub connects the first end rail to the second end rail, and the end hub is rotatable about an end hub pivot axis of the end hub. 
     
     
         14 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the end hub and the first and second end rails are configured to rotate and fold inwards towards a center of the frame when the frame is in the collapsed configuration. 
     
     
         15 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second end rails are pivotally connected to the corner hubs. 
     
     
         16 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the legs are configured to fold or rotate inwards towards each other about the leg hub pivot axis when the frame is in the collapsed configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the legs are configured to fold or rotate about a pivot point of the corner hubs inwards towards the side rails to be parallel to the side rails when the frame is in the collapsed configuration. 
     
     
         18 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the child furniture assembly is a playard. 
     
     
         19 . The child furniture assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the child furniture assembly is a carrycot bassinet.