GB2292679A

GB2292679A - A foldable chair

Info

Publication number: GB2292679A
Application number: GB9517576A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Reginald James Whitehead
Original assignee: WHITEHEAD INNOVATIONS Ltd
Current assignee: WHITEHEAD INNOVATIONS Ltd
Priority date: 1994-08-31
Filing date: 1995-08-29
Publication date: 1996-03-06
Also published as: GB9417692D0; GB9517576D0

Abstract

A foldable chair 2 comprising a foldable frame 4 which supports a seat portion 6, the foldable frame 4 comprising a strut part 8 and a leg part 10, the strut part 8 being releasably lockable by a locking device 24 to the leg part 10 for maintaining the chair in an unfolded condition in which the chair is ready for use. The locking device 24 is lockable in at least one recess 16 in the leg part 10, and has upper and lower abutment members 26, 28 which engage upper and lower faces 30, 32 of the leg part 10 when the chair is in use. The upper abutment members sits in a selected recess 16. The locking device 24 is pivotally attached to the strut part 8 so that downwards pressure on the strut part 8 caused by a person sitting on the chair causes the upper and lower abutment members 26, 28 to trap and lock to the leg part 10. <IMAGE>

Description

A FOLDABLE CHAIR This invention relates to a foldable chair such for example as a deck-chair or a sun-lounger chair.

Deck-chairs are extremely well known types of foldable chair. The deck-chairs comprise a foldable frame which supports a seat portion. The foldable frame is such that it comprises a strut part and a leg part.

The strut part is formed with a horizontally extending locking bar which locates in one of a series of recesses in the leg part of the frame for the purpose of maintaining the chair in an unfolded condition in which the chair is ready for use.

Many people have difficulty in correctly unfolding a folded deck-chair. The result is often that the horizontally extending locking bar is not correctly located in a chosen recess and this in turn often causes the deck-chair to collapse. Even if a person knows how to assemble a deck-chair, it sometimes happens that the frame has become warped during use and this may prevent the locking bar correctly seating in its chosen recesses. Again this tends to lead to the deck-chair being likely to collapse.

Deck-chairs are often also caused to collapse by being moved by persons still sitting in them. Such persons invariably want to adjust the position of their deck-chair, for example to turn it slightly to face the sun, and if they try and do this whilst still sitting in the deck-chair, they pull upwardly on the frame which often causes the locking bar to come out of its recesses. As the person settles back down into the deck-chair in its new position, the result is often the collapse of the deck-chair. Still further, many people lean on the front of a deck-chair as they go to get up and this tends to pull the locking bar out of its recesses. If the person is not quick in getting up, the chair may collapse under their weight during the action of the person getting up.

The collapsing of a deck-chair is self-evidently dangerous. Fingers are very likely to get trapped between folding parts of the frame. Such fingers may just be severely pinched or they may get broken. Even if fingers are not trapped, persons are likely to fall on the floor. At worst such persons may break something or injure their back or their head, and at best such persons are made to look silly.

Apart from the above mentioned dangers to users, there is the problem that councils traditionally hire out large number of deck-chairs at seaside resorts.

Accidents due to collapsing deck-chairs often lead to the councils being sued for damages and councils are naturally anxious to avoid this.

The above problems with deck-chairs have existed for many years. A number of known designs have been produced to try and improve the safety of deck-chairs but none of them has been entirely satisfactory. The designs are generally too complicated and/or do not work satisfactorily. The result is that deck-chairs are still produced to their original design, in spite of the known dangers.

It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or reduce the above mentioned problems.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a foldable chair comprising a foldable frame which supports a seat portion, the foldable frame being such that it comprises a strut part and a leg part, the strut part being such that it is releasably lockable by a locking device to the leg part for the purpose of maintaining the chair in an unfolded condition in which the chair is ready for use, the locking device being such that it is lockable in at least one recess in the leg part, the locking device being such that it has upper and lower abutment members which engage upper and lower faces of the leg part when the chair is in use, and the locking device being such that it is pivotally attached to the strut part so that downwards pressure on the strut part caused by a person sitting on the chair causes the upper and lower abutment members to trap the leg part and lock to the leg part.

The foldable chair of the present invention can be used with a high degree of safety, even by members of the public lacking in common sense. Even if the locking device slips out of its recess, the upper and lower abutment members will still trap the leg part and lock to the leg part. Thus the foldable chair will not suddenly collapse as is the case with known deck-chairs.

Thus if the locking device is not correctly located in the chosen recess during unfolding of the chair, or if the locking device comes out of the recess due to the chair being moved whilst somebody is sitting in it or due to somebody getting out of the chair, then the chair will not collapse.

The foldable chair is preferably one in which the leg part comprises a first leg member which is on one side of the chair and which has at least one of the recesses, and a second leg member which is on the other side of the chair and which has at least one of the recesses. If desired however only one side of the chair need be provided with the said at least one locking recess.

Preferably, the foldable chair is one in which the locking device is such that the upper and lower abutment members are formed by an upper continuous bar which extends across the locking device and forms a single upper abutment member, and a lower continuous bar which extends across the locking device and forms a single lower abutment member.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the foldable chair is one in which the locking device is such that the upper and lower abutment members are formed by a pair of upper stub members which extend towards each other and which form two abutment members, and a pair of lower stub members which extend towards each other and which form two lower abutment members.

The or each abutment member that is for locating in the or each recess is preferably V-shaped in cross section, at least over that part of the abutment member that is for locating in the recess. Other cross sectional shapes such for example as circular and rectangular shapes may however be employed if desired.

Preferably, the said at least one recess will be in the upper face of the leg part. If desired however, the said at least one recess may be in the lower face of the leg part.

The foldable chair may be one in which the leg part has a plurality of the recesses, and in which the locking device is such that it is lockable in any chosen one of the recesses in the leg part, the different recesses being such as to give different angles of inclination of the seat portion during use of the chair.

Usually there will be twO sets of the recesses, arranged one on either side of the foldable chair. If only one recess is employed on one side of the foldable chair or only one recess is employed on each side of the foldable chair, then it will be apparent that the foldable chair will only unfold to one position and there will be no seat angle adjustment.

The foldable frame may be a deck-chair frame, in which case the foldable chair is then a deck-chair.

When the foldable chair is a deck-chair, then the seat portion may be made of a flexible sheet material such for example as canvas or a plastics material.

The foldable frame may alternatively be a sunlounger frame, in which case the foldable chair is then a sun-lounger. With a sun-lounger, the seat part may be a padded seat part and the seat part may have a wire sprung frame.

With a deck-chair, the user's feet usually touch the floor. With a sun-lounger, it is usually possible to have different chair-like positions in which the user's feet touch the floor, or bed-like positions in which the users feet do not touch the floor.

Generally, the foldable chair of the present invention can be produced to a wide variety of designs providing it has the above mentioned foldable frame, the seat portion and the locking device.

The foldable frame can be made from any suitable and appropriate materials such for example as wood, metal and plastics materials. Where metals are employed these may be tubular steel or tubular aluminium.

Plastics materials which are sufficiently rigid may be moulded or extruded to shape.

In order to help people assemble the foldable chair of the present invention, the locking device may be provided with instructional information such for example as "top" or "this side up" on the side of the locking device that is to go uppermost during unfolding of the chair.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a known deck-chair; Figure 2 is a side view of a first deck-chair of the present invention; Figure 3 is a rear view of the deck-chair shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side view of the deck-chair shown in Figure 2 and folded flat; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the deck-chair shown in Figure 2 and folded flat; Figure 6 is an end view of the locking device used in the deck-chair shown in Figure 2; Figure 7 is a top plan view of the locking device used in the deck-chair shown in Figure 2; and Figure 8 is a top plan view of a second deck-chair folded flat.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a foldable chair in the form of a deck-chair 2. The deck-chair 2 comprises a foldable frame 4 which supports a seat portion 6. The foldable frame 4 is such that it comprises a strut part 8 and a leg part 10. The strut part 8 is such that it is releasably lockable to the leg part 10 by a locking device in the form of a horizontally extending locking bar 12. The locking bar 12 locks to the leg part 10 for the purpose of maintaining thP deck-chair 2 in an unfolded condition as shown in Figure 1, in which condition the deck-chair 2 is ready for use.

The deck-chair 2 is such that the leg part 10 comprises a first leg member 14 which is on one side of the deck-chair 2 and which has a plurality of recesses 16. The leg part has a second leg member on the opposite side of the deck-chair 2 and this second leg member has another series of the recesses 16. As is well known, the locking bar 12 is located in a pair of the recesses 16 in the first and second leg members to incline the seat portion 6 at a desired angle. If the locking bar 12 is not correctly located in the recesses 16 during assembly, for example due to carelessness on the part of the user or a warped foldable frame 4, then the deck-chair 2 is likely to collapse as a person sits in it.Similarly, if a person is sitting in the deckchair and pulls upwardly on the deck-chair with a view to adjusting the position of the deck-chair, then the locking bar 12 is likely to be pulled out of its recesses 16 and the deck-chair 2 will again collapse.

Still further, if a person goes to get out of the deckchair and leans heavily on end parts 18 of the foldable frame 4 and/or on a front transverse frame bar 20, then again this is likely to result in the locking bar 12 being pulled out of its recesses 16 and the deck-chair 2 collapsing.

The deck-chair 2 shown in Figure 1 has a pivot 22 at either side. If the deck-chair 2 collapses, persons very frequently crap their fingers in the parts of the foldable frame 4 adjacent the pivots 22. Alternatively, or in addition, people are likely to suffer injury as che deck-chair 2 suddenly collapses and they fall flat on their back.

Referring now to Figures 2 - 7, similar parts as in Figure 1 have been given the same reference numerals for ease of comparison and understanding. As can be seen most clearly from Figure 2, the deck-chair 2 of the present invention is such that the locking bar 12 has been replaced by a locking device 24. The locking device 24 is such that it is lockable in the recesses 16. The locking device 24 is such that it has an upper abutment member 26 and a lower abutment member 28. As can be seen, the upper and lower abutment members 26, 28 respectively engage upper and lower faces 30, 32 of the leg part 10 when the deck-chair 2 is in use.

The locking device 24 is pivotally attached by a pivot 34 to the strut part 8. As will be seen from Figure 2, downwards pressure on the strut part 8 caused by a person sitting on the deck-chair 2 causes the upper and lower abutment members 26, 28 to trap the leg part 10 and lock to the leg part 10.

The upper abutment member 26 is a continuous bar which extends across the locking device 24 as can best be seen from Figures 5 and 7. Similarly, the lower abutment member 28 is a single continuous bar which extends across the locking device 24, this again being best seen from Figures 5 and 7.

As can be seen from Figures 2 and 6, the upper abutment member 26 has a V-shaped front portion 36 which fits in chosen pair of recesses 16.

The strut part 8 is pivotally connected by a pivot 38 to the foldable frame 4 as shown. Figure 3 shows how the foldable frame 4 is constructed and has upper and lower cross bars 40, 42. The seat portion 6 is made of a flexible material such for example as canvas or a plastics material.

It will be appreciated from Figure 2 that the deckchair 2 is extremely safe to use. The locking device 24 will trap the leg part 10 and lock to the leg part 10 even if the upper abutment member 26 moves out of the chosen notches 16. Thus the deck-chair 2 shown in Figure 2 can be used to obviate many of the accidents which will invariably occur with the deck-chair 2 shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 8, there is shown a plan view of a second deck-chair 2 of the present invention and folded flat. In Figure 8, it will be seen that the upper abutment members 26 are formed by a pair of upper stub members which extend towards each other and thus form two upper abutment members 26. It will also be seen that the lower abutment members 28 are formed by a pair of lower stub members which extend towards each other and whicn form two lower abutment members 28.

It is to ne appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example the recesses 16 have been shown as V-shaped notches but other types of recesses, for example rounded recesses may be employed. Also, the recesses 16 could be positioned on the lower face 32 of the leg part 10 instead of the upper face 30. If desired, recesses 16 could be provided on both the upper face 30 and the lower face 32. Although the foldable chair 2 has been shown as a deck-chair 2, the foldable frame 4 may be of another design so that then the foldable chair will be a sun-lounger or other type of foldable chair. The foldable frame 4 has been shown as being made of wood but it may be made of other materials including tubular steel, tubular aluminium and plastics materials.

The seat portion 6 may be varied to suit the type of foldable chair. New foldable chairs may be produced to have the locking device. Alternatively, existing folding chairs, for example existing deck-chairs, may be up-graded by being provided with the locking device in place of their old horizontally extending locking bars.

Claims

1. A foldable chair comprising a foldable frame which supports a seat portion, the foldable frame being such that it comprises a strut part and a leg part, the strut part being such that it is releasably lockable by a locking device to the leg part for the purpose of maintaining the chair in an unfolded condition in which the chair is ready for use, the locking device being such that it is lockable in at least one recess in the leg part, the locking device being such that it has upper and lower abutment members which engage upper and lower faces of the leg part when the chair is in use, and the locking device being such that it is pivotally attached to the strut part so that downwards pressure on the strut part caused by a person sitting on the chair causes the upper and lower abutment members to trap the leg part and lock to the leg part.

2. A foldable chair according to claim 1 in which the leg part comprises a first leg member which is on one side of the chair and which has at least one of the recesses, and a second leg member which is on the other side of the chair and which has at least one of the recesses.

3. A foldable chair according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the locking device is such that the upper and lower abutment members are formed by an upper continuous bar which extends across the locking device and forms a single upper abutment member, and a lower continuous bar which extends across the locking device and forms a single lower abutment member.

4. A foldable chair according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the locking device is such that the upper and lower abutment members are formed by a pair of upper stub members which extend towards each other and which form two abutment members, and a pair of lower stub members which extend towards each other and which form two lower abutment members.

5. A foldable chair according to any one of the preceding claims in which the or each abutment member that is for locating in the or each recess is V-shaped in cross section, at least over that part of the abutment member that is for locating in the recess.

6. A foldable chair according to any one of the preceding claims in which the said at least one recess is in the upper face of the leg part.

7. A foldable chair according to any one of the preceding claims in which the leg part has a plurality of the recesses, and in which the locking device is such that it is lockable in any chosen one of the recesses in the leg part, the different recesses being such as to give different angles of inclination of the seat portion during use of the chair.

8. A foldable chair according to claim 7 in which there are two sets of the recesses, arranged one on either side of the foldable chair.

9. A foldable chair according to any one of the preceding claims in which the foldable frame is a deckchair frame, in which case the foldable chair is then a deck-chair.

10. A foldable chair according to any one of claims 1-8 in which the foldable frame is a sun-lounger frame, in which case the foldable chair is then a sun-lounger.

Il. A foldable chair substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.