GB2232883A

GB2232883A - Folding seat assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2232883A
Application number: GB9010419A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harry Clarke; Gary Green
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-05-12
Filing date: 1990-05-09
Publication date: 1991-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-09
Also published as: GB2232883B; GB8911005D0; GB9010419D0

Abstract

A folding seat assembly (1) which can make use of railings in public places to afford occasional seating comprises a seat (2) carried by a support arm (3) which is hinged at one end (5) to an attachment member (4) fixable to a pair of superposed rails (R). The arm (3) can be pivoted between a folded or stowed position in which the seat (2) is adjacent the rails (R) and a position of use in which the arm (3) projects substantially perpendicular to the rails (R) and the seat (2) is substantially horizontal. A second embodiment discloses a seat with a pivotable back (illustrated in Fig. 3 (not shown)). <IMAGE>

Description

FOLDING SEAT ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to folding seats and aims to provide a folding seat which can make use of railings in public places, such as promenades and gardens, in order to afford occasional seating.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a folding seat assembly comprising a seat carried by a support arm hinged at one end to an attachment member which can be fitted to a pair of superposed rails, the arm being pivotable between a folded or stowed position in which the seat is adjacent the rails and a position of use in which the arm projects substantially perpendicular to the rails and the seat is substantially horizontal.

The support arm may be hinged to the attachment member about an axis which is substantially horizontal in use or about an axis which is substantially vertical in use. In the latter case, the seat itself may be pivoted to the arm so that it can be rotated into a plane substantially parallel to or coplanar with the plane containing the pair of rails in the folded or stowed position.

Furthermore, the seat assembly may include a backrest fixed to the attachment member or hinged to the support arm or the seat so as to lie flat against the seat in the folded or stowed position. If the backrest is hinged to the seat, the seat may be mounted on the support arm so that it can swivel about an axis which is substantially vertical in use.

The support arm may be biassed resiliently into its folded or stowed position, whereby it is kept in the position of use by the weight of a seated person.

Alternatively, the arm may be biassed into the folded or stowed position by gravity once it has been pivoted into that position. Catch means may be provided to keep the arm in the folded or stowed position and/or in the position of use, as appropriate.

The attachment member may be of any configuration which can be made captive on a pair of superposed rails. For example, it may comprise a plate, a bar or a frame engageable with respective rails of the pair at opposite ends. In a preferred embodiment, the attachment member comprises two elements having respective hooked ends engageable with respective rails and opposite ends which can be connected together between the rails.

The attachment member may be fixed to the rails by welding, bolts or other fixings, or it may be fitted thereto by other means. For example, in the case of an attachment member with hooked ends as mentioned above, the member may held in place on the rails by friction by means of a tie bolt which interconnects the ends between the rails.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view showing a folding seat assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention, in its position of use; Figure 2 is a frontal view of the seat assembly of Figure 1 in its folded or stowed position; Figures 3 and 4 are views corresponding to Figure 1 but showing a folding seat assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention in its position of use and its folded or stowed position, respectively, and Figure 5 is a frontal view showing the seat assembly of Figures 3 and 4 in its folded or stowed position.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a folding seat assembly, generally indicated 1, comprises a seat proper which is carried at one end of a support arm 3. The other end of the support arm 3 is hinged to an attachment member 4 which, in use, is fixed to a pair of superposed rails R of a set of railings, for example, on a promenade.

The support arm 3 is connected to the attachment member 4 by a hinge 5 with an axis X-X which is substantially vertical in use, whilst the seat 2 is connected to the support arm 3 by a pivot joint 6 with an axis Y-Y which is substantially horizontal in use. The pivot joint 6 allows the seat 2 to be rotated through approximately 900 from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation, in use.

The arrangement is therefore such that the arm 3 and the seat 2 can be pivoted between a folded or stowed position (Figure 2) in which the arm 3 is parallel to the rails R and the seat 2 is in a plane substantially parallel to the plane containing the rails R, and a position of use in which the arm 3 projects substantially perpendicular to the rails R and the seat 2 is substantially horizontal. - Catch means or resilient biassing means, not shown, may be provided to keep the arm 3 and the seat 2 in the folded or stowed position and/or in the position of use.

The attachment member 4 comprises two substantially J-shaped, strap-like elements 7, 8 whose hooked ends 7A, 8A are welded to respective rails R of the pair with the tails or limbs of the J-shaped elements 7, 8 projecting towards each other so that their opposite ends 7B, 8B meet between the rails R. The ends 7B, 8B of the elements 7, 8 are butt-welded together. The J-shaped element 8 which is attached to the lower rail of the pair in use has a bracket 9 at its hooked end 8A. This bracket 9 is strengthened by a reinforcing web and supports the hinge 5 for the support arm 3.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, in which parts identical or corresponding to those of the seat assembly of Figures 1 and 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In the embodiment of Figures 3, 4 and 5, the seat 2 of the folding seat assembly 1 is provided with a folding backrest 10 which is attached to the seat 2 by a hinge 11 whose axis is substantially horizontal in use, and the seat itself is connected to the support arm 3 by a pivot joint 12 whose axis A-A is substantially vertical in use. The joint 12 allows the seat 2 to swivel freely relative to the arm 3 in the position of use (Figure 3). The support arm 3 is connected to the attachment member 4 by a hinge 13 with an axis B-B (Figure 5) which is substantially horizontal in use.

In this case, the arm 3 and the seat 2 can be pivoted between a folded or stowed position (Figures 4 and 5) in which the arm 3 is oriented more or less vertically adjacent the rails R and the seat 2 is in a plane substantially parallel to the plane containing the rails R with the backrest 10 folded flat against it, and a position of use (Figure 3) in which the arm 3 projects substantially perpendicular to the rails R and the seat 2 is substantially horizontal with the backrest 10 in a substantially vertical, erect position. A catch 14 is mounted near the end of the attachment member 4 which is uppermost in use so as to snap-engage the edge of the seat 2 in the folded or stowed position and thus keep the arm, the backrest and the seat in that position.

The position of use of the support arm 3 relative to the attachment member 4 is defined by the abutment of cooperating stop surfaces 15, 16 at the hinged end of the arm 3 and on the hinge-support bracket 9 of the attachment member 4, respectively. The erect position of the backrest 10 relative to the seat 2 is defined by the abutment of respective edges of backrest and the seat.

As in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the attachment member 4 is again constituted by two substantially J-shaped elements 7, 8 but in this case the ends 7B, 8B of the elements which meet between the rails R are bolted together rather than welded. The hooked ends 7A, 8A of the elements 7, 8 may still be welded to the rails R, however, to secure the seat assembly 1 against lateral movement on the rails R unless such movement is desired.

In an alternative arrangement of the attachment member, not illustrated, the tails or limbs-of the two J-shaped elements or their equivalents may be telescopically slidable relative to each other so that the attachment member can be adjusted to different distances between the rails during the fixing of the seat assembly. Once the adjustment has been made, the two elements can be rivetted together, or even bolted or welded together as described previously. In another, similar arrangement, the tail or limb of one of the J-shaped elements may comprise two parts which are telescopically slidable or otherwise adjustable in length.

If the attachment member is to be fitted to sloping rails (not shown), its hooked ends may be bent or profiled so that their surfaces which engage the rails have an inclination corresponding to that of the rails, whereby the seat will still have a substantially horizontal position of use. Alternatively, the spaces between the ends of the attachment member and the rails created by the inclination of the latter may be taken up by wedges or shims or filled with welding material.

In the addition to its described use on promenade railings, a folding seat assembly 1 according to the present invention can also be used in stadia, shelters or the like if suitable pairs of superposed rails are present or are provided to support the assembly.

Claims

1. A folding seat assembly comprising a seat carried by a support arm hinged at one end to an attachment member which can be fitted to a pair of superposed rails, the arm being pivotable between a folded or stowed position in which the seat is adjacent the rails and a position of use in which the arm projects substantially perpendicular to the rails and the seat is substantially horizontal.

2. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which the support arm is hinged to the attachment member about an axis which is substantially horizontal in use.

3. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 1, in which the support arm is hinged to the attachment member about an axis which is substantially vertical in use and the seat is pivoted to the support arm about an axis which is substantially horizontal in use so that it can be rotated into a plane parallel to or coplanar with the plane containing the pair of rails in the folded or stowed position.

4. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 1, including a backrest.

5. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 4, in which the backrest is hinged to the seat so as to lie flat against the seat in the folded or stowed position.

6. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 5, in which the seat is mounted on the support arm so that it can swivel about an axis which is substantially vertical in the position of use.

7. A folding seat assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the support arm is biassed resiliently into the folded or stowed position.

8. A folding seat assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which catch means are provided to keep the support arm in the folded or stowed position.

9. A folding seat assembly as claimed in Claim 8, in which the attachment member carries a catch which is snap-engageable with the edge of the seat in the folded or stowed position.

10. A folding seat assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the attachment member comprises two elements having respective hooked ends engageable with respective rails and opposite ends which can be connected together between the rails.

11. A folding seat assembly substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.