GB2183467A - Collapsible seat - Google Patents

Abstract

A collapsible seat 1 comprises a support 3 fitted to a length of seat material 4 such that when the user sits on a ground engaging portion 6 of the seat material 4 the user's back is supported in a sitting position against a backrest portion 5 of the seat material 4 by the sitting user's bodyweight. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Collapsible Seat This invention relates to a seat or backrest which is primarily for use at the beach, for camping or at picnics and is collapsible for ease of transport.

Such collapsible seats which have been hitherto known to the Applicant, for example deck chairs, are despite the light weight of materials used still bulky, and take up space particularly in tourists suitcases when travelling abroad. Indeed it would not be practicable to take the conventional kind of deck chair abroad on an aeroplane, for example, due to its bulk and weight and consequent expense. Thus, it is unusual for tourists to take the collapsible seats abroad leaving them, if seating is required, having to obtain deck chairs on the beach which is sometimes difficult and more often than not expensive.

Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to provide a seat which can be collapsed into a condition in which it occupies minimal space for transport in say a suitcase, which can be quickly and easily assembled into a condition in which the user can be supported in a sitting position, and which is of lightweight construction.

To this end, the present invention consists in a collapsible seat which when in an assembled condition can support the back of a user in a sitting position by the sitting user's bodyweight.

By means of the invention a compact lightweight, quickly and easily collapsed and assembled seat is provided which can easily be carried in the user's luggage.

Preferably, the seat comprises a support and a length of flexible material which is adapted to be fitted to the support such that a portion of the material forms with the support a backrest and a seating portion of the material is sat on by the user, whereby the backrest supports the user in the sitting position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the seating portion of the material bifurcates into two portions, the backrest portion and another portion which also lies on the ground and which oppositely faces and cooperates with, the backrest portion to enable the material to be fitted to the support.

The backrest portion of the material conveniently has a length which is greater than that of the cooperating portion and conveniently, also, the seating portion.

The material may be of any appropriate kind, for example canvas, cotton, or a synthetics material such as plastics and all preferably of woven construction for durability and wear resistance.

In one embodiment in which the support has four free ends, the material is fitted to the support by means of pockets which are located at the free corners of the oppositely facing backrest and cooperating portions of the seat material. To fit the material to the support, the free ends of the support are located in the pockets. Then to use the seat the support is then placed in an upright position in the pockets so that the backrest portion is spaced from the cooperating portion and then the user can sit on the seating portion and rest the back against the backrest portion in a substantially upright position.

In order that the support may take up a minimal amount of space, it is movable between collapsed and supporting conditions. To this end the support is conveniently made of two elongate members which are pivoted at their centre points so that the elongate members can be pivoted together into the collapsed condition and pivotted away from each other into the supporting condition in which the free ends of the elongate members can be located in the pockets of the backrest and cooperating portions of the material.

Preferably means such as a cooperating screwthread and wing nut are provided at the pivot point to fix the elongate members in their collapsed and supporting conditions.

The elongate members may be made of any suitable material consistent with providing sufficient support. Although the support may have a degree of "give" it is nevertheless substantially rigid in order to fulfil its supporting function.

Thus, the elongate members may be of wood such as plywood, metal such as aluminium, steel, or of a suitable plastics. Tubular metals may be used.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible seat constructed according to the invention, in a seating condition, Fig. 2a is a plan view of two elongate members constituting a support when joined together, forming part of the seat of Fig. 1, Fig. 2b is a plan view of the support in a supporting position with the elongate members joined together, Fig. 2c is a perspective view of the support of Fig.

2b, in a collapsed condition, Fig. 3a is a plan view of a length of seat material forming the other part of the seat of Fig. 1, Fig. 3b is a plan view of the material of Fig. 3a in a folded or collapsed condition, Fig. 3c is a perspective view of the seat material, Fig. 3d is a plan view of the four pieces of material used to make locating pockets in the seat material, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing two users sitting on two seats constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings a collapsible seat is generally indicated at 1, and is in an assembled condition in which it can support the back of a user 2 in a sitting position by the sitting user's bodyweight. The seat 1 comprises two parts, namely, a support 3 and a length of flexible seat material 4, e.g. of canvas, which is adapted to be fitted on the support 3 such that a portion 5 of the seat material forms a backrest.

The seat material 4 comprises a seating portion 6 which rests on the ground and on which the user 2 sits, and bifurcates into the longer backrest portion 5 and a portion 6 which faces opposite the backrest portion 5 and cooperates therewith to fit the seat material 4 to the support 3 in a manner to be described. The seat and cooperating portions 6 and 7 are, as shown, in one piece which engages the ground as illustrated in Fig. 3a and the longer backrest portion 5 is stitched to the one piece.

The support 3 comprises two elongate members 8 of plywood having central holes 9 through which a screw-threaded bolt 10 extends to pivot the two elongate members together. The elongate members 8 are held together by means of a wing nut 11 threadedly engaging the thread on the bolt 10. The wing nut is tightened to hold the support in the seating condition shown in Fig. 2b or the collapsed condition shown in Fig. 2c in which the two members 8 overlie each other. The support has four free ends 12 which are tapered to facilitate location in four pockets 13 made up of triangular pieces 14 of material stitched to the two free corners of the backrest portion 5 and the two free corners of the cooperating portion 7. The two pockets 13 on the backrest portion 5 face the two pockets on the cooperating portion 7.

In the illustrated embodiment the various parts have the following dimensions:-- the two plywood elongate members 8 are each 2'2"x24"xa8", and joined at the centre by a 1" bolt and wing nut. The ground engaging portion of the seat material 4 comprising the seating and cooperating portions 6 and 7 is 41"x 15", and the backrest portion 5 is 1 6"x 15". The triangular pieces 14 of the material from which the pockets 13 are made each measure 5"x5"x6". The whole seat weighs a mere 1 Ib 2 oz.

The two parts of the seat, i.e. the support 3 and seat material 5 are shown in Figs. 3c and 3b in their collapsed condition for transport, with the wing nut 11 tightened up. To assemble the seat into the position shown in Fig. 1, the seat material is unfolded to the condition shown in Fig. 3c, the wing nut 11 is loosened and the support 3 unfolded to the condition shown in Fig. 2b. Then the tapered ends 12 of the support 3 are located in the respective pockets 13, and the wing nut 11 is tightened. All that remains is for the user 2 to sit on the seating portion 6 and support the back against the backrest portion 5 in a substantially upright position for eating, drinking, reading or sleeping or sunbathing as the case may be.

It should be appreciated that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example other kinds of support may be used and the locating pockets may be replaced by other suitable forms of locating means.

Claims (10)

1. A collapsible seat which, when in an assembled condition, can supportthe back of a user in a sitting position by the sitting user's bodyweight.

2. A seat as claimed in claim 1, and comprising a support and a length of flexible material which is adapted to be fitted to the support such that a portion of the material forms with the support a backrest, and a ground engaging seating portion of the material is sat on by the user, whereby the backrest supports the user in the sitting position.

3. A seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein the seating portion of the material bifurcates into two portions, the backrest portion and another ground engaging portion which oppositely faces and cooperates with, the backrest portion to enable the material to be fitted to the support.

4. A seat as claimed in claim 3, wherein the backrest portion of the material has a length which is greater than that of the cooperating portion and preferably, also, the seating portion.

5. A seat as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the support has four free ends, and wherein the material is fitted to the support by means of pockets which are located at the free corners of the oppositely facing backrest and cooperating portions of the seat material.

6. A seat as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support is movable between collapsed and supporting conditions and comprises two elongate members which are pivoted at their centre points so that the elongate members can be pivoted together into the collapsed condition and pivoted away from each other into the supporting condition in which the free ends of the elongate members can be located in the pockets of the backrest and cooperating portions of the seat material.

7. A seat as claimed in claim 6, wherein means is provided at the pivot point to fix the elongate members in their collapsed and supporting conditions.

8. A seat as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the elongate members are of wood, metal or plastics.

9. A seat as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the seat material is of woven construction.

10. A collapsible seat substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c and 4 of the accompanying drawings.