FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support structure for a pushchair or similar vehicle particularly but not exclusively, for preventing the pushchair from tipping over when bags and the like are suspended from the handle of the pushchair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pushchairs are used throughout the world to transport children and wheelchairs are used to transport handicapped people. The term pushchair will be used herein to cover all types of mobile chair and any other type of vehicle that may need to be supported or stabilized in certain situations.

It is not uncommon for the person pushing the pushchair to hang bags or other items from the handles of the pushchair. Depending on the weight of the person in the pushchair and the center of mass of the pushchair it is possible that adding a bag to the handles can cause the pushchair to tip backwards and fall over. This is particularly the case when the pushchair comes to rest and the person pushing the pushchair is no longer holding the handles, or if the person in the chair gets out of the seat. Obviously, the fact that the pushchair can fall over is undesirable. The person in the pushchair can be injured and the contents of the bags hanging from the handles can be damaged by the impact. Also damage and harm may occur to persons or objects in the vicinity of the rear of the pushchair as well as the pushchair being damaged by the fall.

A need therefore exists for a mechanism that is easily deployable to prevent a pushchair from over balancing and falling over which can be easily deployed SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a support structure for a pushchair or the like comprising: a support body for attaching the support structure to the pushchair; a first elongate member having respective first and second ends, wherein the first end is pivotally and slidably connected to the support body; a second elongate member having respective first and second ends, wherein the first end comprises a foot and the second end engages with the second end of the first elongate member in a telescopic engagement; a cross strut (104) connected to the support body at a first end and engaging with the first and second elongate members at a second end, wherein the cross strut supports a latch (105) operable to deploy the support structure in use; wherein the support structure is deployed by operating the latch to release the cross strut from a locked engagement with the second elongate member such that the second elongate member automatically telescopically extends relative to the first elongate member by virtue of its weight and such that first elongate member moves relative to the support body to enable the first end of the first elongate member to automatically lock relative to the support body; and wherein when the second elongate member cannot extend further the second end of the second elongate member is automatically locked in that position.

In an embodiment full extension of the second elongate member causes automatic locking.

In an embodiment partial extension of the second elongate member causes automatic locking.

In an embodiment the latch is foot operated.

In an embodiment releasing the latch shortens the effective length of latch and cross strut to release said locking engagement.

In an embodiment the first elongate member has a lug which is guided in a slot to slide the first elongate member to lock relative to the support body.

In an embodiment the cross strut includes a guide pin which engages with a set of teeth on the second elongate member to effect the locking of the cross strut and the second elongate member.

In an embodiment the support structure is closed by lifting the latch and cross strut and thereby disengaging the guide pin.

In an embodiment further movement of the latch slides the second elongate member relative to the first elongate member and brings the cross strut back into said locked engagement. In an embodiment the support body has clips to attach the support body to a pushchair or the like.

In an embodiment the support structure may be located in alignment with a wheel of the pushchair.

In an embodiment the support structure may located substantially centrally at the back of the pushchair.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a pushchair or other vehicle having a support structure according to the first aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings to provide a better understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The drawing should not be interpreted to limitative and dimensions may not be to scale.

Figure la is a view of a support in a closed position, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure lb is a third angle projection view of the support of figure la, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure lc is a sectional view along A-A in figure la, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure Id is a sectional view along B-B in figure la, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2a is a view of a support in an open position, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2b is a sectional view along C-C in figure 2a, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2c is a sectional view along D-D in figure 2a, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a an isometric view of the support in an open position, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a view of the support in a semi open position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5a is a view of the support illustrating the locking mechanisms, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5b is more detailed view of area A in figure 5a in the open position, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5c is a more detailed view of area A in figure 5a in the locked position, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 5d is a more detailed view of area B in figure 5a, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support structure for a vehicle, such as a pushchair, stroller, wheelchair, caddy, golf bag, luggage carrier or any other type of similar vehicle. The support is designed to attach to the vehicle to prevent the vehicle form toppling over. In an embodiment the support structure which can be fixed to a pushchair or wheelchair, to prevent the pushchair from falling over when bags or other items are suspended from the handle of the pushchair or when a person gets out of the seat of the pushchair.

The support structure has a universal attachment which means that it may be attached to any pushchair by adapting the positions of movable clips. The clips themselves may be sized and shaped to match the pushchair frame. The support structure may be attached to the pushchair at any appropriate location, including in alignment with one or other of the back wheels, a handle or in a central location. Generally, the support will be located in at the back of the pushchair underneath the handles, but other locations for attachment of the support may be envisaged.

Referring to figure 1, four views of the support structure 100 are shown. The support structure is made up of four main members: a sliding sectionlOl; a support leg 102; a cross strut 104; and a support body 106. The support leg and the sliding section are in telescopic engagement with each other. The cross strut 104 includes a foot latch 105. The sliding section 101 includes an upper slot 107 and the support body 106 includes a lug 108 which engages with the upper slot 107. The upper slot 107 acts as a guide for lug 108. It will be appreciated that different mechanisms could be used to carry out the function of upper slot 107 and lug 108. The support leg 102 includes a foot 109 at the lower end thereof. A spring-loaded locking insert 103 is located at the upper end of the sliding section 101. The support body 106 is fitted with two clips or other fixing devices 110 which are used to attach the support to the pushchair.

Referring to figure 2 a set of teeth 111 is located within and forms part of a lower slot 112 of the sliding section 101. This can be seen more clearly in figure 3. The teeth in the slot and a guide pin 113 (see below) form a type of ratchet assembly.

The support leg 102 has a slightly larger cross-sectional area, or diameter, than the sliding section 101. As a result the sliding section 101 and the support leg 102 are in a telescopic engagement can move relative to one another, with the sliding section moving in or out of the support leg 102. In the closed position, sliding section 101 is substantially located within the support leg 102. In the open position, the support leg 102 descends along the length of the sliding section 101 until it is prevented from descending further by coming in contact with the floor or reaches the end of its travel. Cross strut 104 is fixed at one end to the support body 106 and is free to rotate about the fixing point. The other end can move within the lower slot 112 of the sliding section 101 to which it is connected by a guide pin 113. The top end of the sliding section 101, in the vicinity of the locking insert 103 is attached to the support body 106, but is free to rotate about the fixing point, lug 108 and to slide relative to the support body 106.

The support leg 102 and the sliding section 101 are shown in the current drawings as being of square cross-section, however the support will work equally well whatever the shape of the support leg 102 and the sliding section 101. For example the support leg 102 and the sliding section 101 may be circular in cross- sectional, rectangular, square, triangular or any other appropriate shape. In addition, these and the various other parts of the support can be of any appropriate shape. The cross-section shapes of each of the other elements of the support can be made to be whatever shape is appropriate. The manner in which the support is deployed and closed will now be described with reference to all of the figures. Deployment is initiated when foot latch 105 is pushed down as shown by arrow X. Figure 5d shows the foot latch 105 and cross strut 104 in the locked position. As the foot latch 105 is pushed down, the foot latch 105 moves relative to the cross strut 104 to thereby reducing the effective length of cross strut 104 and foot latch 105 and thus enabling it to be released from within the support leg 102. The total length of the foot latch 105 and the cross strut 104 is greater than the forward-facing slot in 101. Pushing down on the foot latch in direction X shortens the overall length, thus allowing the foot latch and cross strut to release through the slot 115 (see figure 3) on support leg 102. The pressure on foot latch 105 commences the mechanism of unfolding the support. The lug 108 moves along upper slot 107 thereby sliding up the sliding section 101 until it reaches the top and travels round an L-bend in the slot 107. At this point, support leg 102 starts to move downwards along the length of sliding section 101 by virtue of its weight. Locking insert 103 is housed in sliding section 101, and is held up by support leg 102 to allow lug 108 to travel to the top of slot 107. Locking insert 103 begins to latch over lug 108 as soon as support leg 102 begins to move relative to sliding sections 101. Figures 5b and 5c show the locking mechanism in the open and closed positions. It should be noted that the mechanism as a whole is in a 'closed' position when the locking insert 103 is open, and vice versa. The operation of the mechanism is essentially automatic once the foot latch has been activated. The movement being driven by the weight of at least the support leg 102.

As the support leg 102 continues to move down sliding section 101, a guide pin 113 in the cross strut 104 slides down the lower slot 112 of the sliding section 101. The bottom of slot 112 takes the form of a set of teeth 111 which engages with the guide pin 113 as the mechanism approaches the end of its travel. The guide pin 113 is drawn into the set of teeth 111 in slot 112 by the movement by gravity of the support leg 102. A combination of parallel force and gravity thus causes the mechanism to lock in place. This occurs by virtue of the fact that the top of each ratchet tooth is slanted at the same angle to the slots 114 cut either side of the support leg 102. When a upward force parallel to the length of the support leg 102 is applied to the foot 109, for example when the foot comes in contact with the floor, the guide pin 113 is forced between two parallel converging edges of the set of teeth 111 and slot 114, thereby preventing the support leg 102 from moving back along the sliding section 101. The set of teeth 111 includes a number of different teeth and is shaped so that if the support mechanism is deployed on an uneven surface, and as such the support leg 102 is not fully extended, then it would be still able to lock the support in position.

The support structure is closed by first releasing the locking mechanism. This is achieved by moving the guide pin 113 upwards, parallel to the edges of the slots either side of the support leg 102. This is most easily achieved by lifting the protruding edge of the foot latch 105 and cross strut 104. Once the guide pin 113 has been released continual application of a force underneath the foot latch 105 pushes the guide pin 113 back into the lower slot of the sliding section 101. As a result the support leg 102 can now move up the sliding section 101. The movement continues until the top of the support leg 102 comes in contact with the locking insert 103. The locking insert 103 is pushed out of the way of the lug 108 on the support body 106. As the support leg 102 moves further up the sliding section 101 the underside of the support leg 102 comes in contact with the top of the support body 106. This movement of the support leg 102 and the sliding section 101 allows the lug 108 to be released from upper slot 107 in the sliding section 101. Further movement on the underside of the foot latch 105 brings the cross strut 104 in line with both the sliding section 101 and the support leg 102. The foot latch 105 then locks back into the support leg 102. Latch 105 is slanted so that as cross strut 104 and support leg 102 become parallel, the top of the slot in the support leg 102 forces latch 105 down until it is completely inside and parallel to support leg 102, whereby it is sprung up to lock in place. This can be seen in figure 5d.

The support body 106 is designed in such a way to allow clips 114 to be placed in different positions to suit the push chair to which the support structure 100 is being attached. The clips 114 are attached by locating a circular point on the support body and inserting a raised oval ball into the support body 106 while the clip 114 is turned by a 90° angle to the support body 106. Once the oval ball of the clip 114 is firmly inserted into the desired position, the clip can be turned 90° to lock it in that position. This works best if the oval ball is slightly oversized and made from a malleable plastic material so that friction helps keep it in place. The clips 114 themselves are supplied with different shaped adapters allowing them to fit to a multitude of different bar shaped on different pushchairs.

The parts of the support may be made from metallic material, plastic material, any other appropriate material or a combination of materials. The size and shape of the support structure can be adapted to suit the vehicle and the location on the vehicle onto which the support is to be attached.