US 12,458,153 B2
Infant care apparatus
Frederick Karl Hopke, Medway, MA (US); Henry F. Thorne, Sewickley, PA (US); Mary J. Koes, Pittsburgh, PA (US); and Robert D. Daley, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
Assigned to Monahan Products, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
Filed by Thorley Industries, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
Filed on Jun. 4, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/733,556.
Application 18/733,556 is a continuation of application No. 18/342,258, filed on Jun. 27, 2023, granted, now 11,998,123.
Application 18/342,258 is a continuation of application No. 16/352,056, filed on Mar. 13, 2019, granted, now 11,684,173, issued on Jun. 27, 2023.
Application 16/352,056 is a continuation of application No. 15/679,918, filed on Aug. 17, 2017, granted, now 10,231,555, issued on Mar. 19, 2019.
Application 15/679,918 is a continuation of application No. 15/170,240, filed on Jun. 1, 2016, granted, now 9,763,524, issued on Sep. 19, 2017.
Application 15/170,240 is a continuation of application No. 14/446,803, filed on Jul. 30, 2014, granted, now 9,642,474, issued on May 9, 2017.
Application 14/446,803 is a continuation of application No. 13/467,604, filed on May 9, 2012, granted, now 8,827,366, issued on Sep. 9, 2014.
Application 13/467,604 is a continuation of application No. 12/552,607, filed on Sep. 2, 2009, granted, now 8,197,005, issued on Jun. 12, 2012.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/093,764, filed on Sep. 3, 2008.
Prior Publication US 2024/0324791 A1, Oct. 3, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A47C 1/00 (2006.01); A47D 9/02 (2006.01); A47D 13/10 (2006.01)
CPC A47D 9/057 (2022.08) [A47C 1/00 (2013.01); A47D 13/10 (2013.01); A47D 13/105 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
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,
a movable stage movably mounted to the base and operatively coupled to the first motion assembly so that the first motion assembly imparts a first cyclic motion in a first direction to the movable stage, and the second motion assembly is dependent from the movable stage so that the second motion assembly imparts a second cyclic motion in a second direction independent of the first cyclic motion in the first direction imparted by the first motion assembly;
an infant support that has an elliptical shape when viewed from above, the infant support effects stand-alone infant care support of an infant on the infant care apparatus and coupled to the second motion assembly so that the second cyclic motion and the first cyclic motion are imparted to the infant support, and the infant support is configured to move cyclically in both the first direction and the second direction relative to the base; and
a controller communicably coupled to the drive mechanism, and configured so as to move the infant support, with separate impetus separately imparted on the infant support by the first cyclic motion and the second cyclic motion, in both the first direction and the second direction with a selectively variable motion path selected, with the controller, from a number of different selectively variable motion paths,
wherein the controller is configured to effect selection of the selectively variable motion path by varying motion characteristic separately of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion determined from a common selection input to the controller such that the controller effects the selection corresponding to only one of the selectively variable motion paths so that selection of each selectively variable motion path by varying motion characteristic separately of the separate respective first cyclic motion and second cyclic motion is effected with a corresponding common selection input.