Canopy for a child's playpen

Claim 1

A portable and collapsible canopy for use in combination with a conventional child's playpen, the combination comprising: a pair of flexible rods; a dome shaped canopy constructed of a fabric type material, said material having two integral elongated pockets intersecting at approximately 90 degrees at the midpoint of said canopy, one of said flexible rods being contained within one of said pockets, the other of said rods being contained in the other of said pockets, said rods being pivotally affixed to one another at said midpoint, whereby the canopy and rods are assembled as a collapsible unit; four connectors configured for mounting on the rails of said playpen at the corners thereof, each of said connectors having means for vertically attaching an end of one said rods thereto, whereby said rods each flex into an arch and a dome shaped structure results, each of said connectors comprising a spring clip having a c-shaped cross section dimensioned for frictional engagement with a rail of a playpen when inserted thereon, said spring clip having a vertically oriented aperture on the top thereof for receiving the end of a rod, said spring clip having its opening oriented downward at an angle to provide a vector of resistance to removal in both the horizontal and vertical planes; and locking means between said material and said connector for vertically locking said material to said connector, said locking means comprising a downward extending projection on each of said connectors, and an elastic loop secured to said material adjacent a respective connector, said loop being engagable with said projection to lock said canopy to said connector.