HK40082023A

HK40082023A - Infant care apparatus

Info

Publication number: HK40082023A
Application number: HK62023070778.3A
Authority: HK
Inventors: Richard JUCHNIEWICZ
Original assignee: Thorley Industries, Llc (Dba4Moms)
Priority date: 2020-09-18
Filing date: 2020-09-21
Publication date: 2023-06-02

Description

Infant care apparatus

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is a non-provisional application and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 62/902,770 filed 2019, 9, 19, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Background

1. Field of the invention

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to infant care apparatuses and, more particularly, to an infant care apparatus having a passenger area movable by a drive mechanism.

2. Description of the related Art

Infant swings, bounceable seats, cradles, and bassinets have been used for many years to hold, soothe, and amuse an infant. Prior art resilient seats are typically 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 a child is placed in the seat, his or her weight causes a slight and temporary deformation of the wire structure, which is then resisted by the deformation resistance of the wire framework. The end result is a slight up and down movement of the child relative to the floor. This motion can be applied to the seat by the caregiver to amuse or soothe the child.

Infant swings generally function substantially the same as swing devices for older children; however, infant swings typically have an automatic power assist mechanism that urges the swing to continue the swing motion as if a parent were pushing a larger child on the swing apparatus to keep them swinging at a certain height from the ground.

There are some products that have recently entered the market that are not easily incorporated into the springing or swinging category. One such product includes motorized motion that can move the infant laterally, but has only a single degree of motorized freedom, and is therefore limited by the motion profile that can be generated. While the seat can be rotated so that the infant moves back and forth in different orientations, there is only one possible motion profile.

There is a need for a motorized infant support that is capable of simultaneous or independent movement in at least two directions and that is capable of reproducing a large number of motion profiles in both directions.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infant care apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 1A is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an infant care apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2A is a side view of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an infant care apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2C is a perspective view of an infant care apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2D is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2C, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2E is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2C, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 2F is a schematic view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIGS. 2B and 2C in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3D is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3E is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

6A-6F are cross-sectional views of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

fig. 8A and 8B are perspective views of a portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 1 and/or 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

fig. 9A is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 1 and/or 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 9B is a front perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 9C is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 10A is a bottom perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

fig. 10B is a side view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 1 and/or 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 10C is a bottom perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 12 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 12, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 13A is a front view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 12, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 14, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 15 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a top view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 15 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a front view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 15, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a side view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 15 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a partial perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 14 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a partial perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 14 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a partial perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 14 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

23A-23E are schematic diagrams of representative motion profiles in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

fig. 24 is a block diagram of an exemplary control system of the infant care apparatus of fig. 1 and/or 2, in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 25 is a method for imparting motion on the infant care apparatus of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 26A is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2C in a first orientation in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 26B is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 2C in a second orientation in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments;

fig. 27A is a perspective view of a portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 2C in the first orientation of fig. 26A in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 27B is a perspective view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of FIG. 27A in the second orientation of FIG. 26B in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

fig. 27C is a schematic plan view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 27A in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

fig. 28A is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 2C in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

fig. 28B is a schematic plan view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 28A in a first orientation in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiment;

fig. 28C is a schematic plan view of the portion of the infant care apparatus of fig. 28A in a second orientation in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments; and

fig. 29 is a method for an infant care apparatus in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Detailed Description

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms "upper," "lower," "right," "left," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "lateral," "longitudinal," and derivatives thereof shall relate to various aspects of the disclosed embodiments as oriented in the drawings. However, it is to be understood that aspects of the disclosed embodiments may assume alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply examples of aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.

Referring to fig. 1, 1A, 2A and 2C, an infant care apparatus 1 is shown in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Although aspects of the disclosed embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be implemented in various forms. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.

According to aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the infant care apparatus 1 generally includes a base 3, an infant support 2, and an infant support coupling 200 (or infant support receiver coupling 200C) arranged to releasably couple the infant support 2 to the base 3. The infant support 2 includes mating support members 8, 8R that are configured to be engaged with the infant support coupler 200 (or infant support receiver coupler 200C), as will be described in greater detail below.

In one aspect, the infant support 2 may be a crib 6, such as a bassinet or bassinet (as shown in FIG. 1). In other aspects, the infant support 2 may be any suitable support, such as a chair (see fig. 2). The crib 6 includes a bottom panel 20 and a continuous side wall 21 having a top edge 22. In one aspect, the crib 6 may include mating support members 8, 8R coupled to the bottom surface of the bottom panel 20; while in other aspects, the bottom panel may be coupled to the base substantially directly (as described herein) or in any other suitable manner. A continuous sidewall 21 extends around the periphery of the bottom panel 20 and is joined to the bottom panel 20 so as to define an enclosed space 23 for seating an infant or toddler. The side wall 21 may be constructed of any suitable material such as a solid fabric/cloth, mesh fabric, or the like. Although the crib 6 is shown as being oval in shape, the crib 6 may be any other suitable shape, such as square, rectangular, circular, etc.

In another aspect, as shown in fig. 2 and 2A, the infant support 2 may be the infant seat 7 mentioned above. Suitable examples of infant seats are found in us patent No. 10,231,555, granted 3/19/2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Although the infant seat 7 is shown as being oval in shape, the infant seat 7 may be any other suitable shape, such as square, rectangular, circular, etc. The infant seat 7 includes cooperating support members or frames 8, 8R configured to support at least the weight of an infant or young child. In some aspects, the cooperating support members or frames 8 form a rocker 2R having rocker rails 2610R, 2611R that, in one or more aspects, is fixed relative to the seat 7, as will be described herein. In some aspects, the infant seat 7 includes any suitable movable piece 19 that may be fixedly or releasably coupled to the infant seat 7 in any suitable manner. In one aspect, the infant seat 7 has an upper end 11 and a lower end 12. The infant seat 7 is configured to receive fabric or other types of material to form a seating portion (seating portion) 15 for an infant or young child. The seating portion 15 may be coupled to the infant seat 7 by using any suitable fastening mechanism, such as a zipper 24. Here, the zipper 24 is shown for exemplary purposes, but in other aspects the fastening mechanism can be hook-and-loop fabric, buttons, or any other suitable fastening mechanism. In one aspect, the seating portion 15 may further include straps 16 to secure the infant or young child to the seating portion 15. The strap 16 is coupled to the mating support members 8, 8R in any suitable manner, such as using, for example, clips, rivets, buttons, etc., provided on the strap securing member 17. The strap 16 is fed through a slot 26 provided in the seating portion 15 to connect to the crotch support 25 of the seating portion 15 to secure the infant or child. In one aspect, the sitting portion 15 and the strap 16 may be easily removed by a user, for example, for cleaning or replacement. In one or more aspects, the straps 16 form a five-point harness (harness) (e.g., two shoulder straps, two waist straps, and one under-the-hip strap, see fig. 2B and 2C) for securing an infant in the infant seat 7; while in other aspects, the webbing 16 may form a harness having any suitable number of anchor points/straps, such as a three-point harness (e.g., two lumbar straps and one under-the-hip strap), for securing an infant in the infant seat 7.

Referring also to fig. 2C, 2D and 3A-3D, the mating support members 8, 8R are connected to the upper end 11 of the infant seat 7 by an upper connector 13 and to the lower end 12 of the infant seat 7 by a lower connector 14. The cooperating support members 8, 8R have any suitable shape such that when coupled to the infant support coupler 200 (or infant support receiver coupler 200C), the cooperating support members 8, 8R orient the infant seat 7 in a predetermined position. For example, in one or more aspects, the mating support members 8, 8R can have a longitudinal axis extending between the upper end 11 and the lower end 12 of the infant seat 7, with the mating support members 8 forming an arc between the upper end 11 and the lower end 12 of the infant seat 7. Thus, the infant seat 7 with the cooperating support member 8 forms a bassinet. The arc may allow adjustment of the angle θ (see fig. 2) of the infant seat 7 or bassinet relative to the base 3. In other aspects, the mating support members 8 may have arcuate portions coupled to one another (see fig. 3A) such that the arcuate portions set the angle θ. In still other aspects, the mating support member 8R includes an articulated span member 266 (which will be described further herein) such that the articulated span member 266 sets an angle θ (see fig. 2C, 26A, and 26B).

In one aspect, referring to fig. 3A-3E, the mating support member 8 is a bifurcated or split support comprising two support tubes 8A, 8B arranged side-by-side along the longitudinal axis of the mating support member 8. The two support tubes 8A, 8B are pivotally coupled to the upper end 11 and the lower end 12 of the infant seat 7 so as to pivot relative to each other in the direction P3. The two support tubes 8A, 8B may be pivoted from a first position 1000 (fig. 3A and 3B) to a second position 1001 (fig. 3C and 3D), in which first position 1000 the two support tubes 8A, 8B are positioned together to form a mountable base (mountable to the infant support link 200). In the second position 1001, the two support tubes 8A, 8B are pivoted away from each other to form, for example, support legs configured to independently support at least the weight of the infant support 2 and an infant or young child placed therein, such as on a floor surface. For example, support tube 8A may be pivoted about axis P1 in direction PD1 from first position 1000 to second position 1001. Support tube 8B may be pivoted in direction PD2 about axis P2 from first position 1000 to second position 1001. In one aspect where the mating support member 8 has two arcuate portions, the infant's center of gravity CG (fig. 3E) is positioned on the two arcuate portions so that the infant seat 7 is stably supported on the arcuate portions for cradling and rocking in a predetermined range of motion without unstable transition to the other arcuate portion. Any suitable clip, catch or the like may be provided to releasably couple the support tubes 8A and 8B together in the first position 1000.

Referring to fig. 2C-2E, the mating support member 8R includes supports 2610, 2611. Each support 2610, 2611 includes a rocker portion 2610R, 2611R (also referred to herein as a rocker rail) and an extender portion 2615-. Here the rocker portions 2610R, 2611R are coupled to the upper end 11 of the infant seat 7 at an upper connector 13 by respective stretcher portions 2615, 2617. The rocker portions 2610R, 2611R are also coupled to the lower end 12 of the infant seat 7 at a lower connector 14 by respective stretcher portions 2616, 2618. The rocker portions 2610R, 2611R have an arcuate shape so as to form a bassinet with the infant seat 7, wherein the infant seat 7 has a center of gravity CG (substantially similar to the center of gravity shown in fig. 3E) positioned above the rocker portions (or rocker rails) 2610R, 2611R such that the infant seat 7 is stably supported on the rocker portions 2610R, 2611R so as to cradle and rock with a predetermined range of motion without unstable transition to the stretcher portions 2615 and 2618. In this aspect, the supports 2610, 2611 extend the upper end 11 and the lower end 12 of the infant seat such that the rocker portions 2610R, 2611R are separated from each other by a predetermined distance D. The predetermined distance D is any suitable distance that provides stable support of the infant seat 7 in a direction TD transverse to the rocking direction RD of the infant seat 7. For example purposes only, the distance D may be substantially equal to or greater than the width W of the infant seat; while in other aspects the distance D may be less than the width W of the infant seat 7. An articulation span member 266, which will be described in greater detail below, is coupled to each rocker portion 2610R, 2611R and spans the distance D between the rocker portions 2610R, 2611R. The articulated span member 266 enables coupling of the infant seat 7 to the base 3 and for adjusting the angle θ of the infant seat 7 when the infant seat 7 is coupled to the base 3.

Referring to fig. 2C, 2D, 26A-27C, the hinged span member 266 (also referred to herein as the infant support coupler 266) includes a base 2620 (only a portion of which is shown in fig. 27A-27C) and hinged supports 2621, 2622. The infant support coupling or span member 266 is arranged to releasably couple the infant support 2 and the base 3 for mounting the infant support 2 to the base 3 and dismounting the infant support 2 from the base 3, with the infant support coupling 266 depending from the rocker rails (or rocker portions) 2610R, 2611R and having an integral tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 of the rocker 2R. The base 2620 is configured to couple with the infant support receiver link 200C as described herein and has an actuatable grip 2888 that engages the infant support link 266, the grip 2888 being configured to be actuated between a closed position and an open position to capture the infant support 2 to the base 2620 and to release the infant support 2 from the base 2620, with the gripping actuation being separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker 2R. The hinged supports 2621, 2622 form part of a tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 and each have a rocker coupling surface 2621R, 2622R that cooperates with a respective rocker portion 2610R, 2611R in any suitable manner (e.g., such as using any suitable fasteners) so that the infant seat 7 (including the hinged span member 266) is suspended by the hinged span member 266 when the infant seat 7 is coupled to the infant support receiver coupling 200C. Each hinged support 2621, 2622 is rotatably coupled to the base 2620 so as to be rotatably indexed to adjust the angle θ of the infant seat 7 when the infant seat 7 is coupled to the base 3. The coupling of the hinged supports 2621, 2622 to the base 2620 of the hinged span member 266 will be described with reference to the hinged supports 2622; it should be understood, however, that the coupling between hinged supports 2621 and base 2620 is substantially similar (but in the opposite direction) and that like reference numerals will be used with respect to the coupling of hinged supports 2621, 2622 and base 2620. It is also noted that the configurations of the base 2620 and the hinged supports 2621, 2622 described herein are exemplary, and that the base 2620 and the hinged supports 2621, 2622 can have any suitable configuration that enables coupling of the hinged span member 266 to the rocker portions 2610R, 2611R and the infant support receiver coupling 200C.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 will be described. The tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 is configured to adjust at least one of the rocker rail tilt and the seat tilt relative to the base 2620. The tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 also has an adjustment handle 2785 that is separate and distinct from a grip actuation handle 2878 (also referred to as a cam lever) that is configured to actuate the actuatable grip 2888. For exemplary purposes, the hinged support 2622 includes a frame 2622F that forms a rocker link surface 2622R. The frame 2622F has any suitable shape and size for coupling the respective rocker portion 2611R to the base 2620. Frame 2622F includes a base interface surface 2750 that faces base 2620 when hinge support 2622 is coupled to base 2620. The pivot pins 2720 extend from the frame 2622F so as to protrude from the base interface surface 2750, wherein the pivot pins 2720 are coupled to the frame 2622F in any suitable manner (e.g., such as using or integrally formed with any suitable fasteners). The interface surface 2750 includes a vector slot 2730 and at least two pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C (three shown for exemplary purposes), wherein the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C are disposed substantially radially about the pivot axis AX30 at any suitable predetermined angular spacing formed at least in part by the pivot pin 2720.

Base 2620 includes a housing 2620H that includes a housing bottom 2620HB and a housing top 2620HT coupled to one another in any suitable manner, such as using any suitable fasteners. The housing 2620H forms a bearing 2760 (a portion of which is shown in fig. 27A-27C) that receives the pivot pin 2720 and positions the pivot pin 2720 (and the hinge support 2622) relative to the base 2620. For example, the bearing 2760, along with the pivot pin 2720, forms the pivot axis AX30 and sets the lateral distance D30 of the pivot pin from, for example, the centerline CL of the base 2620. For example, the pivot pin 2720 includes a head 2720H that is laterally retained captive by the bearing 2760 to control the lateral distance D30 and provide running clearance between the base interface surface 2750 and the housing 2620H. In the example shown, bearings 2760 are integrally formed with housing bottom 2620HB and housing top 2620HT, although in other aspects bearings 2760 may have any suitable configuration and be coupled to housing 2620H in any suitable manner.

Housing 2620H includes pivot guides 2770 extending from one or more of housing bottom 2620HB and housing top 2620 HT. The pivot guide 2770 extends through the vector slot 2730 and guides pivotal movement of the hinge support 2622 about the pivot axis AX30 by interfacing with the vector slot 2730. It is noted that the guide slots 2730 have a length that limits the rotation of the hinge supports 2622 about the pivot axis AX30 to any suitable range of rotational angles in order to prevent the infant seat 7 from undesirably tipping beyond a predetermined range of rotation when the infant seat is coupled to the base 3.

The base 2620 includes pivoting locking arms 2780 that are configured to extend into and retract from the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C in order to adjust the angle θ of the infant seat 7 when the infant seat 7 is coupled to the base 3. Each pivoting locking arm 2780 is slidably mounted to housing 2620H to reciprocate in direction D27. Any suitable resilient member 2781 (such as a coil spring, resilient foam, etc.) is disposed within the housing 2620H and is configured to bias the respective pivoting locking arm 2780 into the extended position (i.e., toward the respective hinge support 2621, 2622) and into one of the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C. It is noted that while the pivoting locking arm 2780 and the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C are shown as having rectangular cross-sections, in other aspects the pivoting locking arm 2780 and the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C can have any suitable cross-sections.

Actuation of the pivoting locking arm 2780 from an extended position (e.g., extending through one of the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C, as shown in fig. 27A) to a retracted position (shown in fig. 27B and 27C) is provided by the handle 2785 to allow pivotal movement of the infant seat 7 relative to the base 3. Handle 2785 is movably coupled to base 2620 to move substantially in direction D26. Here, each pivoting locking arm 2780 includes a cam surface 2782 and handle 2785 includes a mating cam surface 2786, such that movement of handle 2785 in direction D26A causes mating cam surface 2786 to engage cam surface 2782, thereby causing pivoting locking arm 2780 to move in direction D27 toward the centerline CL of base 2620 (against the bias provided by resilient member 2781) to retract pivoting locking arm 2780 from pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C. Retracting the pivoting locking arms 2780 from the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C provides rotational movement of the hinge supports 2621, 2622 about the pivot axis AX30 to adjust the angle θ of the infant seat 7 relative to the base 3. Movement of the handle 2785 in direction D26B disengages the mating cam surface 2786 from the cam surface 2782 such that the bias from the resilient member 2871 moves the pivoting locking arm 2780 away from the centerline CL of the base 2620 and extends the pivoting locking arm 2780 into a respective one of the pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C. Extension of the pivoting locking arms 2780 into the respective pivot stop apertures 2740A-2740C hinders/prevents rotational movement of the hinge supports 2621, 2622 (and the infant seat 7) relative to the base 3 and sets/locks the angle θ to a predetermined infant seat tilt angle corresponding to the selected pivot stop aperture 2740A-2740C (e.g., providing a lockable tilt position of the infant seat 7). In one or more aspects, handle 2785 is biased in direction D26B by the interface between camming surface 2782 and mating camming surface 2786 and the biasing force of resilient member 2781. In other aspects, the handle 2785 is biased in the direction D26B by any suitable biasing member (e.g., a spring, resilient foam, etc.).

Referring to fig. 1, 1A, 2A and 2C, the base 3 of the infant care apparatus 1 includes a bottom support housing 4, a top enclosure 5 positioned on the bottom support housing 4 and at least partially covering the bottom support housing 4, a housing 280 including a cover 280C and a skirt 280S, and a housing base 281. In one aspect, the housing 280 is configured to house the infant support link 200. The infant support link 200 is disposed within the enclosure such that the housing cover 280C at least partially encloses the infant support link 200 and the skirt 280S extends from the housing cover 280C so as to surround or enclose at least a portion of the movable stage 10 extending through the surface 5A of the top enclosure 5. The housing base 281 is configured to couple the infant support link 200 to the movable stage 10 (fig. 14), as will be described further herein. The top enclosure 5 includes a surface 5A that at least partially covers an opening through which the movable stage 10 supported on the bottom support housing 4 extends, as further described herein. Surface 5A may be an articulating surface configured such that an opening formed therein moves with movable stage 10.

In one aspect, the base 3 may have fixed or removable legs 9. In one aspect, the legs 9 may be adjustable to raise or lower the height of the infant care apparatus 1, for example, relative to a floor surface or a table on which the infant care apparatus 1 is placed. The leg 9 comprises a foot 9A which is profiled or otherwise shaped and dimensioned such that the leg 9 slides easily over the floor surface. For example, the feet 9A may have curved edges to substantially avoid the feet 9A from catching on the floor surface when the infant care apparatus 1 slides over the floor surface under the influence of external motive forces. In one aspect, the base 3 may further include a storage basket 18 provided for storing infant or toddler equipment, accessories, and the like. The storage basket 18 may be mounted to the leg 9 or any other suitable portion of the infant care apparatus 1. In one aspect, the base 3 may include a portable music player station 55 having a speaker 56 and an input jack 57 for playing music or other prerecorded sounds.

Referring now to fig. 2, 4, 5, 6A-6F, and 7, the mating support member 8 of the infant support 2 is configured to be releasably coupled to the base 3. The coupling of the infant support 2 is described herein with respect to an infant seat 7, however, it will be appreciated that in some aspects, the crib 6 may be coupled to the base 3 in a substantially similar manner by using the cooperating support members 8 shown in fig. 2 and 2A. As mentioned above, the infant care apparatus 1 comprises an infant support link 200 arranged to releasably couple the cooperating support members 8 of the infant support 2 to the base 3. The infant support link 200 includes a movable support 210 and gripping members 220, 225 that are automatically actuatable, such as when the infant seat 7 is placed onto the infant support link 200.

Referring specifically to fig. 4 and 5, the movable support 210 is movably connected to the base 3 in any suitable manner for movement in the direction D2. The movable support 210 is arranged to form a support seat 211 which engages and supports the cooperating support member 8 of the infant support 2. The movable support 210 includes a rib 214 coupled to the base 3. The rib 214 includes a slotted hole 215 through which a pin 299 is inserted to restrict movement of the movable support 210 in the direction D2. The slotted aperture 215 has an elongated shape such that the movable support 210 is movable in a direction D2 between a first raised position 1150 (fig. 6F) and a second lowered position 1160 (fig. 6B), as described in more detail below. The movable support 210 further includes a cam mechanism 212 (see at least fig. 6A) having a cam surface 213 configured to interface with the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 to automatically actuate the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 between a clamped or closed position 240 (fig. 6A) and an undamped or open position 230 (fig. 6F).

Referring to fig. 2, 4, 5, 6A-6F, 7, 8A-8B, and 9A-9C, the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 each include a base 231, 235 with an aperture 232, 236 (through which a respective pin 299 extends) and a cam follower surface 222, 227. The clamp arms 233, 237 extend from the bases 231, 235 and include gripping surfaces 234, 238. The automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 are coupled to respective pins 299 so as to rotate between an open position 230 and a closed position 240 (as best shown in fig. 6A-6F) relative to both the movable support 210 and the base 3. In one aspect, the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 are coupled to their respective pins 299 so as to be free to rotate relative to the pins 299; in yet other aspects, the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 and respective pins 299 can rotate as a unit relative to the slotted aperture 215 and the movable support 210. The automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 are arranged relative to the infant support 2 to grip the infant support 2 using gripping surfaces 234, 238 when the infant support 2 is positioned on the support seat 211 (fig. 9B). The automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 actuated between the open position 230 and the closed position 240 capture and release the cooperating support members 8 of the infant support 2. The automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 are automatically actuatable between the open and closed positions 230, 240 by the action of the movable support 210.

For example, referring also to fig. 10A-10C, the infant care apparatus 1 may further include at least one toggle mechanism 250. In one aspect, the at least one toggle mechanism 250 may form an indicator to indicate the position of the movable support 210. For example, the at least one toggle mechanism 250 may emit an audible or tactile signal to indicate position. In one aspect, the movable support 210 may be supported on at least one toggle mechanism 250, the toggle mechanism 250 being configured to toggle the movable support 210 between a first raised position 1150 and a second lowered position 1160. The at least one toggle mechanism 250 toggles between a first raised position 1150 and a second lowered position 1160 using a helical gear cam 251 and a spring 252. For example, when the movable support 210 is lowered in the direction D4 (fig. 6A-6F and 10B), such as when the infant support 2 is being coupled to the base 3, the at least one toggle mechanism 250 is compressed and the helical tooth cam 251 rotates in the direction R1. In this position, the spring 252 in the at least one toggle mechanism 250 is loaded by the helical tooth cam 251 into a compressed locked position. In this position, both the at least one toggle mechanism 250 and the movable support 210 support supported thereon are in a lowered state. When the movable support 210 is moved again in the direction D5 (fig. 6A-6F and 10B), such as when the infant support 2 is removed, the at least one toggle mechanism 250 is compressed, which causes the helically toothed cam 251 to rotate in the direction R1, thereby unlocking the at least one toggle mechanism 250 and allowing the spring 252 of the at least one toggle mechanism 250 to move the movable support 210 in the direction D5 (fig. 6A-6F and 10B).

With the at least one toggle mechanism 250 (and thus the movable support 210) in the raised position 1150, the automatically actuatable gripping member 220, 225 is in and held in the open position 230 by the interfacing connection between the cam mechanism 212 and the cam follower surface 222, 227 of the automatically actuatable gripping member 220, 225. With the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 in the open position 230, the cooperating support members 8 of the infant support 2 are free to be removed or placed into the support seats 211 of the movable support 210 in order to mount the infant support 2 to the base 3. To bias the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 in the open position 230, the cam follower surfaces 222, 227 of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 are configured to interface with the cam surface 213 of the cam mechanism 212. For example, in the absence of the infant support 2 on the support seat 211, the movable support 210 is in the first raised position 1150 such that the cam surface 213 of the cam mechanism 212 engages and biases the cam follower surfaces 222, 227 of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 to the open position 230 in the direction T5 and the direction T6, respectively, against the biasing force of the torsion spring 260. As the mating support member 8 of the infant support 2 is placed on the movable support 210 by the user and the movable support 210 moves in the direction D4 into the second lowered position 1160, the cam surface 213 of the cam mechanism 212 disengages from the cam follower surfaces 222, 227 (i.e., lowers so that the cam follower surfaces 222, 227 of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 follow or slide along the cam surface 213 of the cam mechanism 212 in the respective directions D6 and D7). The torsion springs 260 of the respective automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 cause rotation of the respective automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 in the respective directions T1 and T2. The respective torsion springs 260 bias the automatically actuatable gripping member 220 in the direction T1 and the automatically actuatable gripping member 225 in the direction T2 about the respective pivot axes 221, 226 so as to place the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 in the closed position 240.

Referring to fig. 4, 5 and 8A-8B, in one aspect, infant support link 200 includes first and second tilt locks 31, 33 each including a lock pad 35, the lock pad 35 configured to engage mating support member 8 so as to lock the position of mating support member 8 relative to base 3 and set an angle θ (fig. 2). The first tilt lock 31 and the second tilt lock 33 are substantially similar to the locking mechanism described in U.S. patent No. 10,231,555 previously incorporated herein by reference. The locking pad 35 may be made of rubber or any other suitable material. The first and second tilt locks 31, 33 are configured such that the locking pad 35 removably engages the mating support member 8 positioned within the support base 211 by movement of the Z-link (not shown). Movement of the Z-link causes movement of both the first tilt lock 31 and the second tilt lock 33 in direction D12 to lock and release the mating support member 8 relative to the base 3. For example, to lock the mating support member 8 relative to the base 3, the Z-link drives the first tilt lock 31 in direction D9 and drives the second tilt lock 33 in direction D8 such that the first tilt lock 31 and the second tilt lock 33 move toward the centerline CL of the infant support link 200. When the Z-link is actuated to drive the first tilt lock 31 in direction D8 and the second tilt lock 33 in direction D9 away from the centerline CL of the infant support link 200, the cooperating support member 8 is released. The first and second tilt locks 31, 33 may include a lock member 36 to lock the automatically actuatable gripping members 220, 225 in place. The lock member 36 is configured to move in the direction D3 with the first tilt lock 31 and the second tilt lock 33. For example, when the second tilt lock 33 is moved in direction D8 to lock the mating support member 8 relative to the base 3, the lock member 36 is also moved in direction D8 and positioned below the automatically actuatable gripping member 225. Automatically actuatable gripping member 225 includes a lock surface 36A (fig. 8B) that interfaces with lock member 36 and "locks" automatically actuatable gripping member 225 (i.e., prevents rotation of automatically actuatable gripping member 225). The lock member 36 is coupled to the motion links of the tilt locks 31, 33 to move between the locked and unlocked positions in unison with the tilt locks 31, 33 being engaged and disengaged.

Referring now to fig. 11-13, an infant support link 200' is shown in accordance with another aspect of the disclosed embodiments. The infant support link 200' is substantially similar to the infant support link 200 except as noted below. In this regard, the infant support link 200' includes automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225', and the housing cover 280C of the housing 280 serves as the movable support 210 as described above. Here, the housing cover 280C is movably coupled to the base 3 in any suitable manner, such as by the housing base 281 being coupled to the base such that the housing cover 280C moves in the direction D2 relative to the housing base 281 being fixedly mounted to the base 3. Note that skirt 280S is coupled to housing base 281 independently of housing cover 280C such that housing cover 280C moves relative to skirt 280S in direction D2. Skirt 280S extends from housing base 281 (or relative to infant support link 200') so as to surround or enclose at least a portion of movable stage 10 extending through surface 5A. The housing cover 280C includes a cam mechanism 283 with a cam surface 284 to enable automatic actuation of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225', as will be described below.

The automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' each include a base 231', 235' with an aperture 232', 236' (through which aperture 232', 236' a respective pin 299' extends) and a cam follower 222', 227' extending from the base 231', 235 '. The clamp arms 233', 237' extend from the bases 231', 235' and include gripping surfaces 234', 238'. The automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' are coupled to respective pins 299' for rotation relative to the housing cover 280C (and base 3) between the open position 230 and the closed position 240. Here, when the housing cover 280C is lowered in the direction D4, the cam surface 284 of the cam mechanism 283 engages with and biases the cam followers 222', 227' of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' in the open position 230. As the cooperating support member 8 of the infant support 2 is placed on the movable support 210 by the user and the movable support 210 is lowered in direction D4 into the second position, the cam surface 284 of the cam mechanism 283 is lowered in direction D4 so that the cam followers 222', 227' of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' rotate in the respective directions T5 and T6, which forces the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' into one position 230. When the cam mechanism 283 is disengaged (i.e., the housing cover 280C is toggled to the raised position), the torsion springs integrated into the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' cause the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225' to rotate in the respective direction T3 and direction T4 of the automatically actuatable gripping members 220', 225', forcing them to the closed position 240. The infant support link 200 'may further include shock towers 288 to absorb any shock and maintain stability of the infant support link 200'.

Referring to fig. 2C, 2D, and 26A-28C, in one or more aspects as described herein, the infant seat 7 includes an articulating span member or infant support coupling 266 configured to couple with the infant support receiver coupling 200C. The infant support receiver coupling 200C is substantially similar to the infant support coupling 200 unless otherwise noted and is configured to receive an infant support coupling 266 as described herein. Here, the infant support receiver coupling 200C includes a seating surface 2710 (fig. 27) configured to receive the articulating span member 266. For example, as described above, the hinged span member 266 includes a base 2620 (only a portion of which is shown in fig. 27A-27C) and hinged supports 2621, 2622 rotatably coupled to the base 2620. Base 2620 has a mating surface 2620B and infant support receiver coupler 200C has a complementary mating surface 200CS on which mating surface 2620B sits. Here, the complementary mating surface 200CS is configured to position the base 2620 in a predetermined position on the infant support receiver coupler 200C. For example, with particular reference to fig. 28A, the complementary mating surface 200CS includes a protrusion 2801 and the mating surface 2620B of the base 2620 includes a groove 2800, wherein the groove 2800 is placed over and mates with the protrusion 2801 to at least partially position the base 2620 (and the infant seat 7) on the infant support receiver attachment 200C.

Base 2620 includes a locking post 2810 extending from mating surface 2620B. The complementary mating surface 200CS of the infant support receiver coupling 200C includes an aperture 2820 that receives the locking post 2810 to at least partially position the base 2620 (and infant seat 7) on the infant support receiver coupling 200C. The locking post 2810 extends through the aperture 2820 to the interior of the infant support coupling, with the locking post 2810 engaging and disengaging the movable locking arm 2830 of the infant support receiver coupling 200C. In one or more aspects, lock post 2810 includes a groove 2840 and lock arm 2830 includes a prong 2841 that extends into groove 2840 when the lock arm engages lock post 2810. Prongs 2841 within grooves 2840 lock base 2620 substantially to infant support receiver coupling 200C in direction D28, while engagement of locking posts 2810 with apertures 2820 lock base 2620 substantially to infant support receiver coupling 200C in directions D26, D27 (see also fig. 27C). In other aspects, the locking arm 2830, locking post 2810 and mating surfaces 2620B, 200CS may have any suitable configuration for positioning and locking the base 2620 (and infant seat 7) to the infant support receiver coupling 200C. Infant support receiver coupling 200C includes an anti-rotation surface 2710 (see fig. 27A-27C) that engages side 2620A of base 2620 to substantially prevent rotation of base 2620 (and infant seat 7) relative to infant support receiver coupling 200C in direction D25; in still other aspects, the base 2620 and the infant support receiver coupler 200C include any suitable anti-rotation features (e.g., pins/grooves, mating grooves/protrusions, etc.) to substantially prevent rotation of the base 2620 (and the infant seat 7) relative to the infant support receiver coupler 200C in the direction D25.

Still referring to fig. 28A-28C, the locking arm 2830 is movable to engage and disengage the locking post 2810, as described above. In one or more aspects, the locking arm 2830 is linearly moved in direction D20 to engage the locking post 2810 and in direction D21 to disengage the locking post 2810; in other aspects, however, the locking arm can be provided with a pivoting motion such that the prong 2841 travels along an arcuate path to engage the groove 2840 in the lock post 2810 and disengage the groove 2840 from the lock post 2810. In an example, as shown in fig. 28A-28C, the locking arm 2830 forms part of a cam lock mechanism that includes the cam lever 2878, the locking arm 2830, and the slider 2877. The locking arm 2830 is mounted to the slide 2877 in any suitable manner. For example, in one aspect, the locking arm 2830 is mounted to the slider 2877 so as to be slidable relative to the slider 2877. Here, the slider 2877 includes a ramp surface 2877R, and the locking arm 2830 includes an engaging ramp surface 2830R. The coupling between the slider 2877 and the locking arm 2830 is arranged such that the locking arm 2830 is movable relative to the slider in directions D20, D21, wherein engagement between ramp surfaces 2877R, 2830R (as the locking arm 2830 moves relative to the slider 2877 in directions D20, D21) causes the locking arm 2830 to move in direction D28. By way of example, the slider includes a guide 2877G (e.g., a rail, a protrusion, or any other suitable linear guide) with which the locking arm 2830 is coupled and slides along, e.g., slides within a plane defined by the engagement between the ramp surfaces 2877R, 2830R. Here, guide 2877G provides movement of locking arm 2830 in directions D20, D21 relative to slider 2877 while maintaining the coupling engagement between locking arm 2830 and slider 2877 (i.e., movement of locking arm 2830 in direction D28 is due to ramp surfaces 2877R, 2830R rather than any lifting of locking arm 2830 from slider 2877). Any other suitable fastener or guide pin 2889A, 2889B may be provided to guide the movement of the locking arm 2830 relative to the slider 2877 and/or to movably couple the locking arm 2830 to the slider 2877.

Slider 2877 is biased in direction D21 (such as by any suitable resilient member 2811, such as a spring). Movement of slider 2877 (and locking arm 2830) is provided by a cam lever 2878 that is pivotally coupled about a pivot axis AX28 to one or more of sheath cap 280C, skirt 280S, or any other suitable frame member of infant support receiver coupling 200C. The cam lever 2878 includes a cam surface 2878S that is configured to effect movement of the slider 2877 (and locking arm 2830) in the directions D2, D21 in combination with a bias applied to the slider 2877. For example, as cam lever 2878 is rotated about pivot axis AX28 in direction R28 (e.g., handle 2878H of the cam lever is moved away from housing cover 280C and/or skirt 280S), cam surface 2878S is a lobed surface having a lobe apex (lobe peak)2878P (i.e., the distance between axis AX28 and cam surface 2878S is greatest at apex 2878P), wherein cam surface 2878S is configured to effect movement of slider 2877 in direction D21 in combination with the biasing of slider 2877 such that prongs 2841 disengage from grooves 2840, thereby releasing infant seat 7 from base 3. For example, as cam lever 2878 is rotated in direction R28, lobe apex 2878P causes initial movement of slider 2877 in direction D20, wherein as the engagement between cam surface 2878S and slider 2877 passes lobe apex 2878P, cam surface 2878S causes subsequent movement of the slider in direction D21 such that tines 2841 disengage from grooves 2840. Initial movement of slider 2877 in direction D20 causes locking arm 2830 to ride up ramp surface 2877R, which causes locking arm 2830 to rise in direction D28A to facilitate release of seat 7 by vertical disengagement of the mating surfaces of fork 2841 and channel 2840. As the cam lever 2878 is rotated about the pivot axis AX28 in the direction R27 (e.g., the handle 2878H of the cam lever moves toward the housing cover 280C and/or skirt 280S), the cam surfaces 2878S are configured to effect movement of the slider 2877 in the direction D20 in combination with the biasing of the slider 2877 such that the prongs 2841 engage the grooves 2840, thereby locking the infant seat 7 to the base 3. Here, as cam lever 2878 rotates in direction R27, the initial movement of slider 2877 is in direction D20, wherein as the engagement between cam surface 2878S and slider 2877 passes lobe apex 2878P, cam surface 2878S causes subsequent movement of the slider in direction D21 such that tines 2841 engage grooves 2840. Subsequent movement of slider 2877 in direction D21 causes locking arm 2830 to ride down ramp surface 2877R, which lowers locking arm 2830 in direction D28B to assist in locking seat 7 by vertical engagement of the mating surfaces of fork 2841 and channel 2840. In other aspects, the locking arm 2830 may not move in direction D28.

As described above, the bias on slider 2878 is provided by resilient member 2811 shown in fig. 28B and 28C. In the example shown in fig. 28B and 28C, the resilient member 2811 is a torsion spring configured such that the bias of the torsion spring attempts to cause the torsion links 2890, 2891 to be straightened relative to one another (i.e., to resist bending of the torsion links relative to one another about the pivot axis AX 29). Here, one end of the torsion link 2890 is pivotably coupled to the slider 2877, and the other end of the torsion link 2890 is pivotably coupled to one end of the torsion link 2891 about the pivot axis AX 29. The other end of torsion link 2891 is pivotally coupled about axis AX27 to closure cap 280C, skirt 280S, or any other suitable frame member of infant support receiver coupling 200C. As the cam lever is rotated in direction R28, the bias of resilient member 2811 on torsion links 2890, 2891 urges slider 2877 against cam surface 2878S in direction D20 (thereby causing torsion links 2890, 2891 to spread apart relative to each other) so that locking arm 2830 is disengaged from locking post 2810. As the cam lever is rotated in direction R27, the cam surface 2877 pushes the slider in direction D21 against the bias of the resilient member 2811 on the twist links 2890, 2891 (thereby causing the twist links 2890, 2891 to fold relative to each other) so that the locking arm 2830 engages the locking post 2810.

Note that while a single locking arm 2830 and locking post 2810 are shown in fig. 28A, in other aspects, any suitable number of locking arms and locking posts may be provided. For example, as shown in fig. 28B and 28C, the infant support receiver coupling 200C can include more than one slider 2877, 2877A, with more than one locking arm (substantially similar to locking arm 2830) can be mounted to each slider 2877, 2877A. Here, the other twist member 2892 is pivotably coupled to the twist member 2891 at one end and pivotably coupled to the sled 2877A at the other end. Another resilient member 2811A (substantially similar to resilient member 2811) is provided to bias torsion member 2892 relative to torsion member 2891 in a manner substantially similar to that shown above. In this regard, as the cam lever 2878 is rotated in the direction R28, the slider 2877 is moved in the direction D20 and the slider 2877A is moved in the direction D21 such that the sliders are moved in opposite directions away from each other to provide opposite release movement of the respective locking arms from the respective locking posts (e.g., the locking arms on the slider 2877A oppose the locking arms on the slider 2877, see fig. 28B). As the cam lever 2878 is rotated in direction R27, the sliders 2877 move in direction D21 and the sliders 2877A move in direction D20 such that the sliders move in opposite directions toward each other to provide opposite locking movement of the respective locking arms to the respective locking posts.

Referring now to fig. 2E and 14-19, in one aspect, the infant care apparatus 1 can include a drive mechanism 60 coupled to the base 3, a vibration mechanism 90, 90A, a movable stage 10 movably mounted to the base 3, and a control system 50 (including a controller 51) communicatively coupled to each of the drive mechanism 60 and the vibration mechanism 90, 90A. In one aspect, mobile stage 10 includes a first (here rigid) platform 70 and a support platform 99. The lift motion assembly 65 (here, for example, a double scissor mechanism 94 having a first scissor mechanism 95 operatively coupled to a second scissor mechanism 97, although any other lift motion assembly (see fig. 15) may be provided) is movably coupled to the support platform 99 and the first platform 70. Support platform 99 is configured to couple with housing base 281 and/or substantially directly couple with infant support coupling 200 in any suitable manner, such as using mechanical fasteners, chemical fasteners, or a combination thereof. A suitable example of a double scissor mechanism 94 can be seen in U.S. patent No. 10,231,555, previously incorporated herein by reference. The first platform 70 includes at least one wheel 76 suitably disposed thereon such that the first platform 70 is rollingly supported by the at least one wheel 76. The rails 78 are fixedly attached to the bottom support housing 4 of the base 3. The rail 78 is configured to receive and support the at least one wheel 76 of the first platform 70 such that the movable stage 10 is configured to reciprocate along the rail 78 in a first direction D1 (such as a horizontal direction). In one aspect, the at least one wheel 76 may be a flanged wheel 77, the flanges of which ride along respective rails 78 within corresponding grooves of the rails 78 so as to linearly guide the movable stage 10 along the rails 78. In one aspect, movable stage 10 may reciprocate about three inches along rail 78, while in other aspects, movable stage 10 may reciprocate any suitable distance along rail 78, such as greater than or less than about 3 inches.

The lifting motion assembly 65 (here, the first and second scissor mechanisms 95, 97) is attached between the first platform 70 and the support platform 99 to couple the first platform 70 to the support platform 99. Here, the first scissor mechanism 95 includes a first pair of spaced apart parallel members 101, 101 'and a second pair of spaced apart parallel members 103, 103'. The second scissor mechanism 97 includes a third pair of spaced apart parallel members 105, 105 'and a fourth pair of spaced apart parallel members 107, 107'. The lower ends 101L, 101L 'of the first pair of spaced apart parallel members 101, 101' and the lower ends 107L, 107L 'of the fourth pair of spaced apart parallel members 107, 107' are rotatably pinned (pinned) to each other and to the first platform 70 about the axis 93 (fig. 18). Similarly, the upper ends 103U, 103U 'of the second pair of spaced parallel members 103, 103' and the upper ends 105U, 105U 'of the third pair of spaced parallel members 105, 105' are rotatably pinned to each other and to the support platform 99 about the axis 96 (fig. 18). A first pair of spaced apart parallel members 101, 101 'is pivotally secured at a central portion thereof to a second pair of spaced apart parallel members 103, 103' via a horizontal pivot pin or the like. Correspondingly, the third pair of spaced apart parallel members 105, 105 'are pivotally secured at respective central portions to the fourth pair of spaced apart parallel members 107, 107' via horizontal pivot pins or the like. When the support platform 99 is displaced, for example in a second direction D2 (such as a vertical direction), as described in more detail later, the first and second scissor mechanisms 95 and 97 move in a crossed manner relative to the pivot pin such that the double scissor mechanism 94 extends between the first platform 70 and the upwardly displaced support platform 99. While the lifting motion assembly 65 connected to the movable stage 10 has been shown and described herein as including a double scissor mechanism 94, in other aspects, the movable stage 10 may have any suitable configuration for providing reciprocating motion in the second direction D2.

Still referring to fig. 14-19, in one aspect, another motion assembly 61 (laterally) is operatively connected to the movable stage 10. Suitable examples include providing first and second horizontal bars 71, 72, wherein the first horizontal bar 71 extends laterally between the lower ends 103L, 103L 'of the second pair of spaced apart parallel members 103, 103', and the second horizontal bar 72 extends between the lower ends 105L, 105L 'of the third pair of spaced apart parallel members 105, 105', to provide structural stability. Furthermore, first and second horizontal bars 71, 72 may further comprise bearing wheels 75 at ends thereof that interface with a travel surface 87 of first platform 70 of movable stage 10 for supporting double-scissor mechanisms 94 and support platforms 99. Third and fourth horizontal bars 73, 74 are provided, with the third horizontal bar 73 extending laterally between the upper ends 101U, 101U 'of the first pair of spaced apart parallel members 101, 101', and the fourth horizontal bar 74 extending between the upper ends 107U, 107U 'of the fourth pair of spaced apart parallel members 107, 107'. The third and fourth horizontal bars 73, 74 may include bearing wheels 79 at ends thereof for engaging and supporting the infant support 2 coupled to the infant support link 200 (as described above). In another aspect, the support platform 99 may be extended such that the bearing wheels 79 engage and are supported on the support platform 99, as shown in phantom in fig. 18.

In one aspect, the movable stage 10 may be provided with at least one resilient element 98, such as a tension spring, fixedly attached between two or more of the pairs of spaced apart parallel members 101, 101', 103', 105', 107'. Resistive mechanical element(s) 98 may be provided and configured to assist lifting motion assembly 65 (described below) in extending or retracting dual scissor mechanism 94 in second direction D2. For example, the resistive mechanical element(s) 98 may be coupled to the lower ends 103L, 103L 'of the second pair of spaced apart parallel members 103, 103' and the lower ends 105L, 105L 'of the third pair of spaced apart parallel members 105, 105' (fig. 14-16). In this configuration, the resilient element 98 applies tension to the second and third pairs of spaced apart parallel members 103, 103', 105 and pulls the relevant portions towards each other, for example to assist in the upward vertical movement of the lifting motion assembly 65. In another example, the resilient element 98' (fig. 18) may be a compression spring positioned to apply an expansion force to the dual scissor mechanism 94 to urge the relevant portions apart, e.g., to assist in the upward vertical movement of the lift motion assembly 65. The position of the resilient elements 98, 98 'as described above should not be configured to limit the exact position of attachment of the resilient elements 98, 98' to the dual scissor mechanism 94 and can vary according to similar results. The resilient members 98, 98' also have the benefit of acting to reduce or increase the downward movement to counter or increase the effect of gravity respectively.

With reference to fig. 20-22 and with continuing reference to fig. 14-19, as noted above, the infant care apparatus 1 includes a drive mechanism 60 coupled to and supported by the bottom support housing 4 of the base 3. The drive mechanism 60 includes a lateral motion assembly 61 that imparts a first cyclic motion (e.g., provides a lateral motion) in a first direction D1 to the movable stage 10 and a lift motion assembly 65 that imparts a second cyclic motion (e.g., provides a lift motion) in a second direction D2 to the movable stage 10, as described. As can be appreciated, the respective first and second cyclic motions imparted by the respective motion assemblies 61, 65 are directed in orthogonal directions and are therefore kinematically independent of each other.

The lateral movement assembly 61 includes: a drive section having a first motor 62 with a drive shaft 63 and suspended from the base 3; and a sliding crank assembly 80 mounted to the bottom support housing 4 of the base 3. The first motor 62 is configured to impart a first cyclical motion in a first direction D1 to the movable stage 10. The sliding crank assembly 80 includes a transmission assembly 86 having a set of first gears 81 operatively coupled to the drive shaft 63 of the first motor 62 and a second gear 82 operatively coupled to the set of first gears 81. A crank member 83 having a first end 84 and a second end 85 couples the second gear 82 to the first platform 70 to impart the first cyclical motion provided by the first motor 62 to the first platform 70 of the movable stage 10. For example, a first end 84 of the crank member 83 may be rotationally coupled to a point on the outer circumference of the second gear 82, and a second end 85 of the crank member 83 may be rotationally coupled to the first platform 70.

In operation, actuation of the first motor 62 causes rotation of the first gear 81, which in turn causes rotation of the second gear 82. Rotation of the second gear 82 drives a crank member 83 coupled to an outer circumference of the second gear 82. As the first end 84 of the crank member 83 rotates about the second gear 82, the first platform 70 is pushed and pulled in the first direction D1 by the second end 85 of the crank member 83. This operation effects a reciprocating motion of the driven portion of motion assembly 61, which motion assembly 61 is coupled to movable stage 10 and thereby imparts a lateral motion to movable stage 10 in a first direction, e.g., along rail 78. Accordingly, the lateral motion assembly 61 is configured such that a single motor (i.e., the first motor 62) moves the first platform 70 in a first direction (e.g., horizontally), wherein the first motor 62 only operates in a single direction, thereby eliminating backlash (backlash) of the system. The control system for controlling the lateral motion assembly 61 to achieve the desired motion profile will be discussed in greater detail below.

Referring still to fig. 14-22, the lift motion assembly 65 is disposed on the first platform 70 of the movable stage 10 and is configured to impart a second cyclical motion in the second direction D2 to at least a portion of the movable stage 10 independent of the first cyclical motion in the first direction imparted by the lateral motion assembly 61. The lift movement assembly 65 includes a second motor 66 disposed on the first platform 70 separate and distinct from the first motor 62. The second motor 66 includes a drive shaft 67 operatively coupled to a worm gear drive assembly 120. The worm gear drive assembly 120 converts rotation of the drive shaft 67 into rotational motion of the output member 121 perpendicular to the rotation of the drive shaft 67. The vertical yoke 122 is rotatably attached at its first end 123 to the output member 121 in the following manner: the vertical yoke 122 vertically reciprocates the attachment member 125 attached to the second end 124 of the vertical yoke 122 along a direction D2 shown in fig. 21. The attachment member 125 is configured to couple and drive/support the support platform 99 (and wheels 79). Accordingly, the lift motion assembly 65 is configured such that a single motor (i.e., the second motor 66) moves the support platform 99 in the second direction D2 (e.g., vertical) and wherein the second motor 66 operates in only a single direction, thereby eliminating backlash of the system. The control system for controlling the lift motion assembly 65 to achieve the desired motion profile will be discussed in greater detail below. Note that the motion assist provided by the resilient elements 98, 98 'may be used to deploy a smaller torque motor than if the resilient elements 98, 98' were omitted.

Because the lateral motion assembly 61 and the lift motion assembly 65 each include a first motor 62 and a second motor 66, respectively, that are separate and distinct from each other, the lateral motion assembly 61 can be controlled independently of the lift motion assembly 65. Independently controlling the first and second motors 62, 66 allows for a wide variety of variable motion profiles to be selected, including cyclical motion in a first direction, in a second direction, or both.

Referring also to fig. 23A-23E, the control system 50 is configured to effect movement of the drive mechanism 60 on at least one motion profile, such as, by way of example, preprogrammed selectively variable motion profiles Car Ride 201, Kangaroo 202, Ocean Wave 204, Tree Swing 206, and Rock-a-Bye 208. These selectively variable motion profiles are achieved by independently controlling the horizontal motion provided by the lateral motion assembly 61 and the vertical motion provided by the lift motion assembly 65 and then coordinating the horizontal and vertical motions to achieve a visually distinct motion profile. However, these motion profiles are used for exemplary purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting, as any motion profile including horizontal and/or vertical motion may be utilized. In one aspect, the different selectably variable motion profiles are deterministically defined by selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies 61, 65, respectively, and selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies 61, 65, respectively. In one aspect, the selectably variable speed characteristic of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second assemblies 61, 65, respectively, and the selectably variable speed characteristic of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second moving assemblies 61, 65, respectively, are selected using the controller 51 from a common selection input to the control system 50.

Referring again to fig. 2E and 14-22, in one aspect, a vibration mechanism 90 is connected to the base 3 and arranged to cooperate with the drive mechanism 60. In another aspect, the vibration mechanism 90, 90A is coupled to the movable stage 10 or any other suitable portion of the infant care apparatus 1, such as the infant seat 7 as shown in fig. 2E. In fig. 2E, the vibration mechanism 90A is integrated into one or more of the lower connector 14 and the upper connector 13. The vibration mechanism 90A is substantially similar to the vibration mechanism 90; however, the vibration mechanism 90A is coupled to the infant seat 7. In one aspect, the vibration mechanism 90A includes a control that is separate and distinct from the controller 51. For example, the vibration mechanism 90A includes any suitable switch 247 (e.g., similar to those described herein) that turns the vibration mechanism 90A on and off. The switch 247 is also configured to periodically pass through different vibration modes/patterns when repeatedly pressed/touched. In other aspects, the vibration mechanism 90A (with or without the switch 247) is remotely coupled to the controller 51 by a suitable wired or wireless connection such that the vibration mechanism 90A is controlled via, for example, the control panel 52. Where a wired coupling is used to couple the vibration mechanism 90A to the controller 51, any suitable electrical coupling 248 is provided on the articulated span member 266 and the base 3 that are coupled to each other when the infant seat 7 is coupled to the base 3 (e.g., to provide communication between the vibration mechanism 90A and the controller 51) and decoupled from each other when the infant seat 7 is decoupled from the base 3.

In the aspect shown in fig. 14-22, the vibration mechanism is mounted to the first platform 70 and positioned to reduce the vibration pulses applied to the motors 62, 66 of the moving assemblies 61, 65. The vibration mechanism 90 includes a vibration motor 91 that is separate and distinct from the first and second motors of the drive mechanism 60. The vibration motor 91 is configured to vibrate the movable stage 10. The vibration motor may be any suitable vibration mechanism, such as a motor having an eccentric weight on an output shaft that rotates about the output shaft to effect vibration. In other aspects, the vibration motor may be any suitable oscillating linear motor or rotary motor. The vibration motor 91 effects different patterns and intensities of vibrations to form vibration modes that are selectively applied to the movable stage 10, as will be discussed in more detail below. In one aspect, the oscillation profile is superimposed on the cyclic motion of the first and/or second motion assemblies 61, 65. The oscillation profile may be superimposed on the lateral motion assembly 61 independently of the lift motion assembly 65. The oscillation profile may be superimposed on the lift motion assembly 65 independently of the lateral motion assembly 61. For example, vibratory mechanism 90 may be mounted to any stage of movable stage 10, e.g., to first platform 70 and/or support platform 99, to achieve a desired vibratory superposition. Alternatively, the vibration mechanism 90 may be mounted to any of the respective driven portions of the lateral motion assembly and/or the lift motion assembly. The stage of the moving assembly to which the vibratory mechanism 90 is attached can be freely selected without regard to the effect of the coupling on the respective reciprocating motion produced by the respective moving assembly 61, 65.

Referring to fig. 1, 14-22 and 24, control system 50 may be mounted in base 3 and used to implement different selectably variable motion profiles imparted on movable stage 10 by drive mechanism 60 and to implement various vibration modes of each different variable motion profile via vibration mechanism 90. The control system 50 may include any suitable controller 51, such as a microprocessor, variable resistor, potentiometer, or any other suitable control mechanism that controls the movement of the drive mechanism 60. As described above, the controller 51 is communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism 60 and the vibration mechanism 90 (and in one or more aspects to the vibration mechanism 90A). The controller 51 is configured to effect movement of the infant support 2 with a selectable vibration mode using a selectably variable motion profile having a selectable vibration mode selected by the controller from among different selectably variable motion profiles and selectable different vibration modes for each of the different selectably variable motion profiles.

The control system 50 may further include a control panel 52 for viewing and controlling the speed and movement of the drive mechanism 60, one or more control switches or knobs 54 for causing actuation of the drive mechanism 60, and various inputs and outputs operatively coupled to the controller 51. For example, the control system 50 may include a horizontal encoder 130 (fig. 20) coupled to an output shaft 131 of the first motor 62. The horizontal encoder 130 may include an Infrared (IR) sensor 132 and a disk 133 having a single aperture or slot 134 positioned thereon (see fig. 20). The horizontal encoder 130 is configured so that the controller 51 can determine the revolution speed and the number of the first motor 62. A vertical encoder 135 (fig. 22) may be provided and coupled to the rear shaft 136 of the second motor 66. The vertical encoder 135 may include an IR sensor 137 and a disk 138 having a single hole or slot 139 positioned thereon (see FIG. 22). The vertical encoder 135 is configured such that the controller 51 can determine the revolution speed and the number of the second motor 66. The position of the vibration mechanism 90 may be selected to avoid noise that generates the position signals of the encoders 130, 135, as previously described.

Further, while horizontal encoder 130 and vertical encoder 135 are described above, they are not to be construed as limited to magnetic encoders, as other types of encoders known in the art may also be used. It may also be desirable to provide a device in which two or more control switches associated with respective motors are required to be actuated to achieve speed control in a desired direction. Further, while it has been described that the horizontal encoder 130 and the vertical encoder 135 include only a single slot, this should not be construed as limiting as encoders having multiple slots may be utilized.

In one aspect, the control system 50 may further include horizontal and vertical limit switches 165, 167 (fig. 14) to provide input to the controller 51. For example, the horizontal and vertical limit switches 165, 167 may be configured to indicate to the controller 51 that the first platform 70 or the support platform 99 has reached the end of travel. The vertical limit switch 167 may be configured to indicate when the support platform 99 is in a lowermost and/or uppermost vertical position relative to the base 3. The level limit switch 165 may be configured to indicate when the first platform 70 is at a point furthest from the center position, to the right and/or to the left relative to the base 3. The horizontal and vertical limit switches 165, 167 are configured so that the control system 50 can determine the initial position of the lateral motion assembly 61 and the lift motion assembly 65 and adjust the drive mechanism 60 accordingly. In one aspect, the limit switches 165, 167 may be optical switches or any other suitable switches. The position of the vibration mechanism may be selected as previously described to avoid noise (to prevent errors in over-driving the motor) that generates the position signals that limit the switches 165, 167.

The control panel 52 may also have a display 53 to provide information to the user such as, for example, the motion profile, the volume of music played through the speaker 56, and the speed of reciprocation, among others. In one aspect, the control panel 52 may be a touch screen control panel, a capacitive control panel 52C (see fig. 2F), or any suitable user interface configured to receive a common selection input from a user to select different selectably variable motion profiles. The control switches 54 (which may be capacitive switches 270 and 277, regions of a touch screen, toggle switches, buttons, etc.) may include user input switches such as power, start/stop button 270, motion increment button 278U, motion decrement button 278D, speed increment button 279U, speed decrement button 279D, and the like. FIGS. 2B, 2C and 2F show aspects of the infant care apparatus 1 including an exemplary capacitive control panel 52C, the capacitive control panel 52C including a power switch 270C, a motion switch 271-275 (which corresponds to an exemplary motion profile described below), a sound on/off switch 276 and a volume switch 277; however, it should be appreciated that in other aspects, the capacitive control panel 52C may include any suitable function switch as described above. The control panels 52, 52C can also include any suitable status lights/indicators 285-287 configured to indicate the status of the child care device 1. For example, the light 285 is configured to indicate a power state (i.e., on/off) of the child care device 1. Light 286 is configured to indicate whether the sound is on or off, and light 287 is configured to indicate the volume level of the sound. The control panels 52, 52C can also include any other suitable light identification as noted herein. The controller 51 of the control system 50 may also include various outputs. These outputs include, but are not limited to, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for the first motor 62, PWM for the second motor 66, display backlight.

The following explanation provides an understanding of an exemplary control system 50 of the infant care apparatus 1. Based on the physical limitations of the first and second motors 62, 66 of the lateral and lift motion assemblies 61, 65, the maximum speed of the first motor 62 may be about a four second period and the maximum speed of the second motor 66 may be about a two second period. Based on these constraints, the following relationships can be established:

TABLE 1	Car Ride	Kangaroo (Kangaroo)	Tree Swing	Rock-a-Bye (lambkin sleeping)	Ocean Wave (surf)
						Vertical for each horizontal cycle Direct circulation (n)	2	4	2	2	1
Phase shift (phi)	90 degree	0 degree	180 degrees	0 degree	90 degree
						Level at minimum speed Period of time	8 seconds	12 seconds	8 seconds	8 seconds	8 seconds
Level at maximum speed Period of time	4 seconds	8 seconds	4 seconds	4 seconds	4 seconds

The speed of the first motor 62 is set independently to a period, and a feedback control loop is used to ensure that the first motor 62 is maintained at a constant speed regardless of the dynamics of the components of the infant care apparatus 1. As described above, the output of the control system 50 is the PWM signal of the first motor 62. One possible input to the control system is the speed of the first motor 62, which can be observed by the speed of the first motor 62 as observed by the horizontal encoder 130. However, to avoid computationally intensive computations, it is possible to operate in the frequency domain and use the processor time base number between the time bases (ticks) of the horizontal encoder 130 as an input variable. This allows the computational effort of the controller 51 to be limited to integers rather than manipulating floating point numbers. The vibration mechanism 90 generates different modes of vibration that are superimposed on each of the variably selectable motion profiles controlled as described above.

The physical drive mechanism for the lateral motion assembly 61 is a sliding crank assembly 80 configured such that the first motor 62 reciprocates the first platform 70 back and forth without changing direction. Because the first motor 62 only needs to run in one direction, the kickback effect in the system is eliminated, thereby removing the problems associated with the horizontal encoder 130 on the rear axle 131 of the first motor 62.

The natural smooth motion that people use to soothe a child is known to be a combination of at least two motions, both moving in a reciprocating motion with gentle acceleration and deceleration, so that the limits of the motion are slowly stopped before the reversal motion and fastest in the middle of the motion. This motion is the same as that produced by the sinusoidal motion produced by the combination of the sliding crank assembly 80 and the worm gear drive assembly 120. The sliding crank assembly 80 and worm gear drive assembly 120 are configured such that the drive motor operates at a constant rotational speed, while the output motion provided to the infant seat 7 is slowed and sped up, simulating the motion of a human pacifying a child. These assemblies are also configured so that the drive motor runs in one direction.

Referring to fig. 14 and 20, the torque on the first motor 62 depends on the friction of the entire system (which depends on weight) and the angle of the crank member 83. The torque of the first motor 62 is controlled by setting PWM to a predetermined value based on the desired speed set by the user. The controller 51 may include feed forward compensation to control the speed of the first motor 62.

Any of the components shown in fig. 14-22 may be set to zero. Reasonable accuracy can be achieved, for example, by using only proportional and integral terms (where the constants Kp and Ki depend on the input speed) and ignoring the feed forward and derivative terms.

Based on feedback from the horizontal encoder 130 and the horizontal limit switch 165, the exact position of the first stage 70 (labeled "hPos") can be determined at any point within its range of motion. Similarly, based on feedback from the vertical encoder 135 and the vertical limit switch 167, the exact position of the support platform 99 (labeled "vPos") can be determined at any point within its range of motion.

While control of the first platform 70 is based entirely on speed, control of the support platform 99 may be based on both position and speed. For a given horizontal position (hPos) and a given motion, which indicates the number of vertical cycles (n) and phase offset (Φ) per horizontal cycle as shown in table 1, the required vPos can be calculated as follows:

Desired _{_} vPos=hPos×v2h_ratio×n+Φ (equation 1)

Where v2h _ ratio is a constant defined by the number of vertical encoder time bases per cycle divided by the number of horizontal encoder time bases per cycle. Based on the actual vertical position, the amount of error can be calculated as follows:

posErr=vPos−Desired_vpos (Eq. 2)

This error term must be correctly scaled to +/-vertical encoder time base per cycle (vertical EncodeTicksPerCycle)/2.

On the other hand, if the direction of motion of the ocean wave 204 and ride 201 is irrelevant, Desired for each value of hPos _{_} vPos has two possibilities and can base the vertical error term posErr on the closer of the two.

The position error term posErr must then be incorporated into the velocity-based feedback control loop. Logically, if the vertical axis is backward (posErr < 0), the speed should be increased in proportion to the error, and if the vertical axis is forward (posErr > 0), the speed should be decreased in proportion to the error, as follows:

vSP = posErr × K _VP + vBase (equation 3)

WhereinvBasw = hSP/n × h2v _ ratio (equation 4)

And h2v _ ratio is defined as the horizontal time base per cycle/the vertical time base per cycle.

The above description is for exemplary purposes only, as any suitable control scheme may be utilized. As previously described, the different vibration modes generated by the vibration mechanism 90 are superimposed on each of the variably selectable motion profiles controlled as described.

In an exemplary embodiment, the infant care apparatus 1 is configured such that the seat reciprocates with a vertical displacement of about 1.5 inches and a horizontal displacement of about 3.0 inches, with a vertical displacement frequency range of between about 10 and 40 cycles per minute and a horizontal displacement frequency range of between about 10 and 40 cycles per minute. In another example, the infant care apparatus 1 is configured such that the seat reciprocates with a vertical displacement of greater than or less than about 1.5 inches and a horizontal displacement of greater than or less than about 3.0 inches, wherein the vertical displacement frequency ranges from greater than or less than about 10 to 40 cycles per minute and the horizontal displacement frequency ranges from greater than or less than about 10 to 40 cycles per minute.

In another aspect, at least a third reciprocating means (not shown) may be added to enable the seat to reciprocate in another direction than the first and second directions imposed by the first and second motion assemblies 61, 65 referred to herein.

In one or more aspects, the control system 50 is configured with any suitable "smart" connection feature for remotely controlling the infant care apparatus using smart home accessories/devices. For example, the control system 50 includes a Wi-Fi connection and is configured, for example, to have an Alexa connection (available from amazon.com, inc.) and/or a Google association @ (available from Google LLC) connection such that the functionality of the infant care apparatus 1 described herein can be remotely operated via the Wi-Fi connection. Control system 50 includes any suitable short-range wireless communication, such as Bluetooth ^® Which enables audio streams to be transmitted from a remote replaceable device (e.g., a cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) to the baby care device 1 for broadcast through the speaker 56. Note that control system 50 is configured as a generalThe short-range wireless communication remotely controls the infant care apparatus 1 through the remote replaceable device, so that the functions of the infant care apparatus 1 described herein can be remotely operated through the remote replaceable device.

The control system 50 is also configured to have an operational interlock that prevents movement of the infant seat 7, such as when the cam lever 2878 is not locked (i.e., fully rotated in the direction R27 to a predetermined stop position) and/or when the infant seat 7 is not seated on the base 3. For example, referring to fig. 27C, 28A and 28B, at least one sensor (e.g., a seat lock sensor) 2866, 2869 is provided on the infant support receiver coupling 200C (or any suitable location on the base 3) to detect/sense the position of the cam lever 2878 and/or slides 2877, 2877A. For example, the sensor 2866 can be positioned on the housing cover 280C and/or the skirt 280S to detect the position of the handle 2878H relative to the sensor 2866. For example, the sensor 2866 can be a proximity sensor, an optical sensor, or other suitable sensor that detects when the handle 2878H is in the locked position (e.g., fully rotated in the direction R27 to a predetermined stop position). A sensor 2869 (similar to sensor 2866) can be located within the infant support receiver coupling 200C to detect when the slider 2877 (and/or slider 2877A) is in the locked position (see fig. 28C) or when in the unlocked position (see fig. 28B). A sensor 2867 (similar to sensor 2866) can be located on the complementary mating surface 200CS to detect the presence of the mating surface 2620B (i.e., detect the presence of the infant seat 7 on the base 3). A sensor 2868 (similar to sensor 2866) can be located on the housing cover 280C to detect the presence of the side 2620A of the base 2620. The sensors 2866, 2867, 2868, 2869 are configured to send signals to the controller 51 embodying information regarding the presence or absence of the infant seat on the base 3 and/or whether the cam lever 2878 (or the sliders 2877, 2877A) is in the locked position, wherein the controller 51 enables operation of the infant care apparatus 1 based on the sensor signals or prevents operation of the infant care apparatus based on the sensor signals.

The sensors (at least one sensor for detecting the state of the cam lever 2878 and at least one sensor for detecting the state of the infant seat 7 on the base 3) are used to detect the following use states: (1) the infant seat 7 is on the base 3 but not locked, (2) the infant seat 7 is on the base 3 and locked, (3) the infant seat 7 is off the base 3 and not locked, and (4) the infant seat 7 is off the base and locked. For example, in the event that the controller 51 determines that the sensor signal indicates the use states 1, 3 and 4, the controller 51 prevents operation of the infant care apparatus 1 and causes an error or locking flag/message to be presented on the control panel 52 (see illumination of the locking flag 269 on the control panel 52 in fig. 2F). In case the controller 51 determines that the sensor signal indicates the use state 2, the controller is adapted to operate the baby care apparatus 1. In one or more aspects, the lock indicia 269 may not be illuminated when the infant seat 7 is not detected on the base 3 but the cam lever 2878 (and slide) is detected in the locked position.

Referring to fig. 1, 2, 14-22 and 25, a method 2000 for imparting motion on an infant support 2 is shown. The method comprises providing a base 3 of the baby care device 1 (fig. 25, block 2001). A drive mechanism 60 having a lateral motion assembly 61 and a lift motion assembly 65 coupled to the base 3 is provided (fig. 25, block 2002), wherein the lateral motion assembly 61 has a first motor 62 suspended from the base 3 and the lift motion assembly 65 has a second motor 66 separate and distinct from the first motor 62. A vibration mechanism 90 is provided having a vibration motor 91 coupled to the base 3 that is separate and distinct from the first and second motors 62, 66 of the drive mechanism 60 (fig. 25, block 2003). A movable stage 10 is provided that is movably mounted to the base 3 (fig. 25, block 2004). Movable stage 10 is operatively coupled to lateral motion assembly 61 such that first motor 62 imparts a first cyclical motion in first direction D1 to movable stage 10 via lateral motion assembly 61, and movable stage 10 is operatively coupled to lift motion assembly 65 such that second motor 66 imparts a second cyclical motion in second direction D2 to at least a portion of movable stage 10 via lift motion assembly 65 independent of the first cyclical motion imparted by lateral motion assembly 61 in first direction D1, and movable stage 10 is operatively coupled to vibration mechanism 90 such that vibration motor 91 causes movable stage 10 to vibrate (fig. 25, block 2005). The baby support 2 is provided coupled to the movable stage 10 (fig. 25, block 2006) such that the second and first cyclical motions are applied to the baby support 2, and the baby support is configured to cyclically move relative to the base 3 in both the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The controller 51 is communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism 60 to move the infant support 2 using a selectably variable motion profile having selectable vibration modes selected by the controller 51 from among different selectably variable motion profiles and selectably different vibration modes for each of the different selectably variable motion profiles (fig. 25, block 2007).

Referring to fig. 29, an exemplary method of the infant care apparatus 1 will be described. According to the method, the infant care apparatus 1 has a base 3 and an infant support 2 with a frame 8, 8R having a seat 7 configured to support an infant, the frame 8, 8R being configured to form a rocker 2R having rocker rails 2610R, 2610L. The method includes releasably coupling the infant support 2 to the base 3 using the infant support coupling 266 (fig. 29, block 2900) to mount the infant support 2 to the base 3 and to dismount the infant support 2 from the base 3, wherein the infant support coupling 266 depends from the rocker rails 2610R, 2610L and has an integral tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 of the rocker 2R. The method also includes adjusting at least one of the rocker rail tilt and the seat tilt relative to the base 3 separately from releasably coupling the infant support 2 to the base 3 using the tilt adjustment mechanism 2777 (fig. 29, block 292). As described herein, the base 3 has an actuatable gripper 2888 that engages the infant support link 266, the actuatable gripper 2888 being configured to actuate between a closed position and an open position so as to capture the infant support 2 to the base 3 and release the infant support 2 from the base 2620, with the gripping actuation being separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker 2R.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, an infant apparatus having an infant support is provided. The infant apparatus includes a base and an infant support link arranged to releasably couple the infant support to the base, the infant support link including: a movable support movably connected to the base and configured to form a support seat that engages and supports the infant support on the base with the movable support in a first position (relative to the base); and an actuatable gripping member configured to be actuated between a closed position and an open position to capture and release the infant support to and from the base, the actuatable gripping member being automatically actuatable between the closed and open positions by the action of the movable support moving to the first position.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, an actuatable gripping member is disposed relative to the infant support to effect gripping.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the infant support is free of a grip.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the movable support has a cam that cams the gripping member from the closed position to the open position and from the open position to the closed position.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, an infant care apparatus is provided. The baby care apparatus comprises: a base; 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 suspended from the base and the second motion assembly has a second motor separate and distinct from the first motor; a vibration mechanism connected to the base for cooperation with the drive mechanism, the vibration mechanism having a vibration motor separate and distinct from the first and second motors of the drive mechanism; a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly such that the first motor imparts a first cyclical motion to the movable stage in a first direction via the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the second motion assembly such that the second motor imparts a second cyclical motion to at least a portion of the movable stage in a second direction via the second motion assembly independent of the first cyclical motion imparted by the first motion assembly in the first direction, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the vibration mechanism such that the vibration motor causes the movable stage to vibrate; an infant support coupled to the movable stage such that the second and first cyclical motions are imparted to the infant support and the infant support is configured to cyclically move in both the first and second directions relative to the base; and a controller communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism and configured to move the infant support with a selectably variable motion profile having a selectably vibrational mode selected using the controller from among different selectably variable motion profiles and selectably different vibrational modes for each of the different selectably variable motion profiles.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the controller is configured to move the infant support using the first and second cyclical motions in both the first and second directions, driven by the first and second motors, respectively, to individually apply individual power to the infant support to selectively vary the motion profile.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the controller is configured to effect selection of the selectably variable motion profile by selecting the selectably variable motion profile in accordance with individual differences in motion characteristics of individual respective first and second cyclical motions determined in accordance with a common selection input to the controller.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, at least a portion of the movable stage isolates the drive mechanism from the base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, each of the different selectably variable motion profiles is deterministically defined by selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the respective first and second cyclic motions of the first and second motion assemblies and selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the respective first and second cyclic motions of the first and second motion assemblies.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the selectably variable speed characteristic of at least one of the respective first and second cyclical motions of the first and second moving assemblies and the selectably variable speed characteristic of at least one of the respective first and second cyclical motions of the first and second moving assemblies are selected using a common selection input from the controller to the controller.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, each of the different selectably variable motion profiles includes at least one of horizontal and vertical motion.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the first motion assembly includes a first motor having a drive shaft, and a sliding crank assembly including a transmission assembly coupled to the drive shaft of the first motor and a crank member coupled to the transmission assembly and the movable stage, wherein operation of the first motor causes rotation of the sliding crank assembly, thereby imparting a first cyclical motion to the movable stage.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the second motion assembly includes a second motor having a drive shaft, a worm gear assembly coupled to an 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 a second cyclical motion to the infant support.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the second motion assembly further includes a double scissor mechanism coupled to the second end of the vertical yoke configured to support the infant support.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, a first encoder having a single slot is coupled to the first drive shaft of the first motor, and a second encoder having a single slot is coupled to the second drive shaft of the second motor.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the controller determines position information of the infant support based at least in part on information from the first and second encoders.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, a method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: providing a base of a baby care device; providing a drive mechanism coupled to the base, the drive mechanism having a first motion assembly and a second motion assembly, wherein the first motion assembly has a first motor suspended from the base and the second motion assembly has a second motor separate and distinct from the first motor; providing a vibration mechanism connected to the base and arranged to cooperate with the drive mechanism, the vibration mechanism having a vibration motor that is separate and distinct from the first and second motors of the drive mechanism; providing a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly such that the first motor imparts a first cyclical motion in a first direction to the movable stage via the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the second motion assembly such that the second motor imparts a second cyclical motion in a second direction to at least a portion of the movable stage via the second motion assembly independent of the first cyclical motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to a vibration mechanism such that the vibration motor causes the movable stage to vibrate; providing an infant support coupled to the movable stage such that the second and first cyclical motions are imparted to the infant support and the infant support is configured to move cyclically in both the first and second directions relative to the base; and moving the infant support using a controller communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism by using a selectably variable motion profile having a selectably variable vibration mode selected by the controller from among different selectably variable motion profiles and selectably different vibration modes for each of the different selectably variable profiles.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the first encoder is coupled to the first drive shaft of the first motor and the second encoder is coupled to the second drive shaft of the second motor.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the first encoder and the second encoder each include only one (no more than) slot.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, position information of the infant support is determined using a controller based at least in part on information from the first and second encoders.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, each of the different selectably variable motion profiles is predetermined, the method further comprising selecting, by the user, one of the selectably variable motion profiles.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, an infant apparatus includes: a baby support; a base; and a baby support coupling arranged to releasably couple the baby support to the base, the baby support coupling comprising: a movable support movably connected to the base and configured to form a support seat that engages and supports the infant support on the base; and a cam lock mechanism configured to lock the infant support to the base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a cam lock mechanism includes: a cam lever pivotably coupled to the base, the cam lever having a cam surface; a slider movably mounted within the base, the slider configured to interface with the cam surface of the cam lever; and a locking arm coupled to the slider so as to slide with the slider as a single unit, wherein pivotal movement of the cam lever causes reciprocal movement of the locking arm to effect locking and unlocking of the infant support to and from the base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the infant support includes a hinged span member having a locking post extending therefrom, and the cam lock mechanism includes a locking arm that engages the locking post to lock the infant support to the base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the infant support includes an infant seat and two rocker supports coupled to the infant seat, wherein an articulation span member extends between the two rocker supports and couples the two rocker supports to each other.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, an articulating span member comprises: a span member base from which a locking post extends; and a hinge support pivotably coupled to the span member base, wherein the hinge support engages the span member base to lock the hinge support in one of a plurality of predetermined angular positions relative to the base to adjust the tilt position of the infant support relative to the base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the span member base includes a pivoting locking arm; and the hinged support includes a plurality of pivot stop apertures each configured to receive a pivot locking arm therein, wherein the pivot locking arm is configured to be selectively retracted from one pivot stop aperture and inserted into another pivot stop aperture so as to lock the infant support in a predetermined tilted position corresponding to a selected one of the pivot stop apertures.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, an infant care apparatus has an infant support, the infant care apparatus including: a base; an infant support having a frame with a seat configured to support an infant, the frame configured to form a rocker having a rocker rail; and an infant support link arranged to releasably couple the infant support and the base for mounting and dismounting the infant support to and from the base, wherein the infant support link is suspended from the rocker rail and has an integral tilt adjustment mechanism of the rocker; wherein the base has an actuatable catch engaging the infant support link, the actuatable catch configured to actuate between a closed position and an open position to capture and release the infant support to and from the base, wherein the catch actuation is separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, the rocker rail is fixed relative to the seat.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, a tilt adjustment mechanism is provided to adjust at least one of a rocker rail tilt and a seat tilt relative to a base.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the tilt adjustment mechanism has an adjustment handle that is separate and distinct from a grip actuation handle configured to actuate the actuatable grip.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a method for an infant care apparatus having a base and an infant support with a frame having a seat configured to support an infant, the frame configured to form a rocker having a rocker rail, the method comprising: releasably coupling the infant support to the base using an infant support coupling to mount and dismount the infant support from the base, wherein the infant support coupling depends from the rocker rail and has an integral tilt adjustment mechanism of the rocker; and adjusting at least one of the rocker rail tilt and the seat tilt relative to the base using the tilt adjustment mechanism separate from releasably coupling the infant support to the base; wherein the base has an actuatable grip engaging the infant support link, the actuatable grip configured to actuate between a closed position and an open position to capture and release the infant support to and from the base, wherein the grip actuation is separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, the aspects of the disclosed embodiments are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fall within the scope of any claims appended hereto. Furthermore, the mere fact that different features are recited in mutually different dependent or independent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be used to advantage and still be within the scope of the aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Claims

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, wherein the first motion assembly has a first motor suspended from the base and the second motion assembly has a second motor separate and distinct from the first motor;

a vibration mechanism connected to the base and arranged to cooperate with the drive mechanism, the vibration mechanism having a vibration motor that is separate and distinct from the first and second motors of the drive mechanism;

a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly such that the first motor imparts a first cyclical motion in a first direction to the movable stage via the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the second motion assembly such that the second motor imparts a second cyclical motion in a second direction to at least a portion of the movable stage via the second motion assembly independent of the first cyclical motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the vibration mechanism such that the vibration motor vibrates the movable stage;

a baby support coupled to the movable stage such that the second cyclical motion and the first cyclical motion are imparted to the baby support and the baby support is configured to move cyclically relative to the base in both the first direction and the second direction; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism and configured to move the infant support with a selectable vibration mode of the selectively variable motion profile selected from different selectively variable motion profiles and selectively different vibration modes for each of the different selectively variable motion profiles using the controller.

2. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to move the infant support in both the first and second directions with the selectively variable motion profile using separate power applied separately to the infant support by the first and second cyclical motions driven by the first and second motors, respectively.

3. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to enable selection of the selectably variable motion profile by selecting the selectably variable motion profile by individual differences in motion characteristics of individual respective first and second cyclical motions determined from a common selection input to the controller.

4. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the movable stage isolates the drive mechanism from the base.

5. An infant care apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the different selectably variable motion profiles is definitively defined by selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies, respectively, and selectably variable speed characteristics of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies, respectively.

6. The infant care apparatus of claim 5, wherein the selectably variable speed feature of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies, respectively, and the selectably variable speed feature of at least one of the first and second cyclical motions of the first and second motion assemblies, respectively, are selected using the controller from the common selection input to the controller.

7. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the different selectably variable motion profiles includes at least one of horizontal motion and vertical motion.

8. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first motion assembly comprises:

the first motor having a drive shaft; and

a sliding crank assembly including a transmission assembly coupled to the drive shaft of the first motor and a crank member coupled to the transmission assembly and the movable stage;

wherein operation of the first motor causes rotation of the sliding crank assembly, thereby imparting the first cyclical motion to the movable stage.

9. The infant care apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second motion assembly includes:

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 the second cyclical motion to the infant support.

10. The infant care apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second motion assembly further comprises a double scissor mechanism coupled to a second end of the vertical yoke configured to support 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 and second encoders.

13. A method, comprising:

providing a base of a baby care device;

providing a vibration mechanism connected to the base and arranged to cooperate with the drive mechanism, the drive mechanism having a first motion assembly and a second motion assembly, wherein the first motion assembly has a first motor suspended from the base and the second motion assembly has a second motor separate and distinct from the first motor;

providing a vibration mechanism connected to the base and arranged to cooperate with the drive mechanism, the vibration mechanism having a vibration motor that is separate and distinct from the first and second motors of the drive mechanism;

providing a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly such that the first motor imparts a first cyclical motion in a first direction to the movable stage via the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the second motion assembly such that the second motor imparts a second cyclical motion in a second direction to at least a portion of the movable stage via the second motion assembly independent of the first cyclical motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly, and the movable stage is operatively coupled to the vibration mechanism such that the vibration motor vibrates the movable stage;

providing a baby support coupled to the movable stage such that the second and first cyclical motions are imparted to the baby support and the baby support is configured to cyclically move in both the first and second directions relative to the base; and

using a controller communicatively coupled to the drive mechanism to move the infant support using a selectable variable motion profile having selectable vibration modes selected from different selectably variable motion profiles and selectably different vibration modes for each of the different selectably variable motion profiles using the controller.

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 only one slot.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining, using the controller, position information of the infant support based at least in part on information from the first and second encoders.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein each of the different selectably variable motion profiles is predetermined, the method further comprising selecting one of the selectably variable motion profiles by a user.

18. An infant apparatus having an infant support, the infant apparatus comprising:

a base; and

a baby support link arranged to releasably couple the baby support to the base, the baby support link comprising:

a movable support movably connected to the base and arranged to form a support seat for engaging and supporting the infant support on the base with the movable support in a first position relative to the base; and

an actuatable gripping member configured to be actuated between a closed position and an open position to capture and release the infant support to and from the base, the actuatable gripping member being automatically actuatable between the closed position and the open position by the action of the movable support moving to the first position.

19. The infant apparatus of claim 18, wherein the actuatable gripping member is disposed relative to the infant support to enable gripping.

20. The infant apparatus of claim 18, wherein the infant support is free of grips.

21. The infant apparatus of claim 18, wherein the movable support includes a cam that cams the grip member from the closed position to the open position and from the open position to the closed position.

22. An infant apparatus comprising:

a baby support;

a base; and

a movable support movably connected to the base and configured to form a support seat that engages and supports the infant support on the base; and

a cam lock mechanism configured to lock the infant support to the base.

23. The infant device of claim 22, wherein the cam lock mechanism includes:

a cam lever pivotably coupled to the base, the cam lever having a cam surface;

a slider movably mounted within the base, the slider configured to interface with the cam surface of the cam lever; and

a locking arm coupled to the slider so as to slide with the slider as a single unit, wherein pivotal movement of the cam lever causes reciprocal movement of the locking arm to effect locking and unlocking of the infant support to and from the base.

24. The infant apparatus of claim 22, wherein:

the infant support includes an articulating span member having a locking post extending therefrom, and

the cam lock mechanism includes a locking arm that engages the locking post to lock the infant support to the base.

25. The infant apparatus of claim 24, wherein the infant support includes an infant seat and two rocker supports coupled to the infant seat, wherein the articulation span member extends between the two rocker supports and couples the two rocker supports to each other.

26. The infant apparatus of claim 24, wherein the articulating span member comprises:

a span member base from which the locking post extends; and

a hinge support pivotably coupled to the span member base, wherein the hinge support engages the span member base to lock the hinge support in one of a plurality of predetermined angular positions relative to the base in order to adjust the tilt position of the infant support relative to the base.

27. The infant apparatus of claim 26, wherein:

the span member base includes a pivoting locking arm; and is

The hinge support includes a plurality of pivot stop apertures each configured to receive the pivot locking arm therein, wherein the pivot locking arm is configured to be selectively retracted from one pivot stop aperture and inserted into another pivot stop aperture to lock the infant support in a predetermined tilted position corresponding to a selected one of the pivot stop apertures.

28. An infant care apparatus having an infant support, the infant care apparatus comprising:

a base;

an infant support having a frame with a seat configured to support an infant, the frame configured to form a rocker having a rocker rail; and

an infant support coupling arranged to releasably couple the infant support and the base for mounting and dismounting the infant support to and from the base, wherein the infant support coupling is suspended from the rocker rail and has an integral tilt adjustment mechanism of the rocker;

wherein the base has an actuatable catch engaging the infant support link, the catch configured to actuate between a closed position and an open position to capture the infant support to the base and release the infant support from the base, wherein the catch actuation is separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker.

29. An infant care apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the rocker rail is fixed relative to the seat.

30. The infant care apparatus of claim 28, wherein the tilt adjustment mechanism is disposed to adjust at least one of a rocker rail tilt and the seat tilt relative to the base.

31. The infant care apparatus of claim 28, wherein the tilt adjustment mechanism has an adjustment handle that is separate and distinct from a grip actuation handle configured to actuate the actuatable grip.

32. A method for an infant care apparatus having a base and an infant support with a frame having a seat configured to support an infant, the frame configured to form a rocker having a rocker rail, the method comprising:

releasably coupling the infant support to the base using an infant support coupling for mounting and dismounting the infant support to and from the base, wherein the infant support coupling is suspended from the rocker rail and has an integral tilt adjustment mechanism of the rocker; and is provided with

Adjusting at least one of a rocker rail tilt and a seat tilt relative to the base separately from releasably coupling the infant support to the base using the tilt adjustment mechanism;

wherein the base has an actuatable catch engaging the infant support link, the actuatable catch configured to actuate between a closed position and an open position to capture the infant support to the base and release the infant support from the base, wherein the catch actuation is separate and distinct from the tilt adjustment of the rocker.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the rocker rail is fixed relative to the seat.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the tilt adjustment mechanism has an adjustment handle that is separate and distinct from a grip actuation handle configured to actuate the actuatable grip.