GB2089202A - Seat - Google Patents

Abstract

An integrally moulded plastics seat element (1) having tubular mountings (7, 9, 11, 13), in the form of through holes (8, 10, 12, 14), for legs at the corners, and reinforcing ribs on the underside. The tubular mountings may also have a back rest and arm rests (not shown) located in their upper ends. Seats may be connected side-by-side by interengaging hooks (15, 16, 18). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Seat The invention relates to a seat element with mountings for the fitting of legs, referred to herein as "a seat element of the type described".

In known seat elements of this kind mountings consisting of threaded sockets are usually provided, to which the legs are secured by screwing, the legs in general being part of a supporting frame which is connected with the seat element and provides this seat element with the strength necessary to withstand the loads occurring in use.

A construction of this kind has the result that a seat element can generally be connected only with a quite specific supporting frame, and thus there are no possibilities of variation as regards the shape of the legs and thus considerable manufacturing expenditure is involved.

In view of this the present invention seeks to provide a seat element which makes possible a simple design of the legs and also makes the assembly of these legs simple.

According to the invention there is provided a seat element of the type described which is selfsupporting and has integral tubular mountings for legs. By self-supporting we mean the seat does not require any other framework to support it in addition to the legs. Preferably the seat element is square or rectangular, the mountings being at the corners. The mountings preferably have a circular cross-section and are preferably integrally moulded with the seat.

Because the seat element of the invention is self-supporting it is possible to fit the legs individually to the seat element without the necessity of a supporting frame which bears the legs and supports the seat element. In addition, the legs can be very simply secured in the tubular mountings, for example by making them an interference fit and/or by means of an adhesive bond. The invention also extends to a chair having a back rest and/or arm rests which may be assembled by inserting the legs into the tubular mountings of the seat element from below and the back or armrest support elements into the tubular mountings from above. In this case the tubular mountings are preferably in the form of through holes.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the seat element and mountings are made in one piece from plastic, and reinforcement ribs may be provided on the underside of the seat element in order to give the seat element additional strength.

In order to make the seat element also suitable for row seating, inter-engaging means such as cooperating lugs may be provided on the outer surfaces of the mountings. In a preferred arrangement these comprise a pair of hook-like members on each side of the seat, the hook-like members of one side being arranged to face one another whilst those on the other side face away from one another so that when two seats are juxtaposed their hook members can be made to engage.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a seat element according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the seat element of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front elevation of the seat element of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the seat element of Figure 1; Figures 5 and 6 are side elevations of the seat element of Figure 1; Figure 7 is an underneath plan view of the seat element of Figure 1; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a stool including a seat element as in Figure 1; Figure 9 is a plan view of the stool of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a rear elevation of the stool of Figure 8; Figure ii is a side elevation of the stool of Figure 8;; Figure 12 is a plan view of an assembly of several stools corresponding to the stool in Figure 8, joined together; and Figure 13 shows a front elevation of the assembly of Figure 12.

The seat element 1, which consists, for example of plastic, has a seating surface 2, lateral edges 3 and 4, a front edge 5 and a rear edge 6, the lateral edges, the front edge and the rear edge comprising the flat surfaces of flanges 22 (Figure 7) which extend downwards from the seating surface 2. At the corners of the essentially rectangular seat element, mountings 7,9, 11, 13 are mouled on to the seat element, these having through holes 8,10,12, of circular cross section, and the longitudinal axes of all through holes extending parallel to each other.

On the underside 20 of the seat element 1, as can be seen in Figure 7, strengthening ribs 21 are provided which are moulded integrally with the seat element and extend essentially at right angles to each other. The flanges 22 and the ribs 21 give the seat element sufficient strength so that it is selfsupporting. Hook like members 15,16,17, 18 are moulded respectively on the outer surfaces of the mountings 7,9, 11 and 13, all of these hooks being at a uniform height. The hooks 15 and 16 located on the lateral edge 3 have their openings facing each other, while the openings of the hooks 17 and 18 on the lateral edge 4 face away from each other. In addition, the hooks 15 and 16 are spaced slightly further apart than the hooks 17 and 18.

As can be seen from Figures 8 to 11, legs 23, for example made of wood, can be pressed into the through holes 8, 10, 12, 14 of the mountings 7, 9, 1 !, 13 from below, so that an annular shoulder (not shown) of each leg 23 abuts the lower edge of the corresponding mounting and the circumferential surface of the leg below the annular shoulder is in alignment with the outer surface of the mounting.

Supports 23, possibly made of wood, can be inserted from above. The legs and the supports can be an interference fit in the mountings and/or may be fixed by means of adhesive. Since the seat element 1 is self-supporting, no additional bracings or supports are necessary in order to produce a stool of the required stability.

As the Figures 12 and 13 show, the hooks 15,16, 17, 18 can be used for the attachment of adjacent stools, which is of importance especially in the case of row seating. Here the hooks 15 and 16 of one stool are made to engage with the hooks 17 and 18 of an adjacent stool by, for instance, lowering the stool to be attached beside the stool already in position so that the hooks slide into mutual engagement.

Claims (15)

1. A self-supporting seat element having integral tubular mountings for legs.

2. A seat element according to claim 1 in which the mountings comprise through holes.

3. A seat element according to claim 1 or claim 2 which is square or rectangular, the mountings for the legs being arranged at the corners.

4. A seat element according to any preceding claim in which the mountings are of circular crosssection.

5. A seat element according to any preceding claim in which the mountings are integrally moulded with the seat.

6. A seat element as claimed in any preceding claim which is made from plastics material and has integral reinforcing ribs.

7. A seat element as claimed in any of claims 3 to 6 having engaging means on the side edges, which engaging means are arranged to mate with corresponding engaging means on the side edge of an adjacent seat so as to allow the seats to be assembled into rows.

8. A seat element according to claim 7 in which the engaging means comprise a pair of facing hook members on one side edge of the seat, and a pair of oppositely facing hook members on the other side edge, the arrangement being such that the facing hook members of one seat can be engaged with the oppositely facing hook members of an adjacent seat.

9. A seat element according to claim 7 or claim 8 in which the engaging means are moulded onto the outer surfaces of the tubular mountings.

10. A chair including a seat element according to any preceding claim.

11. A chair according to claim 3 as dependent upon any of claims 2 to 8, having a back rest mounted in the upper ends of an adjacent pair of the said tubular mountings.

12. A chair according to claim 11 including a pair of arm rests, each arm rest being mounted in the upper end of at least one of the tubular mountings.

13. A seat element substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A seat substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 8 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.

15. An assembly of seats substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 12 and 13 of the accompanying drawings.