GB2317332A

GB2317332A - Folding chair or commode

Info

Publication number: GB2317332A
Application number: GB9619602A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Edwin Gordon Ellis; Colin Ward
Original assignee: Gordon Ellis and Co
Current assignee: Gordon Ellis and Co
Priority date: 1996-09-19
Filing date: 1996-09-19
Publication date: 1998-03-25
Also published as: GB9619602D0

Abstract

A folding chair has a frame member 10 presenting a pair of front legs 14 and a chair back 18 interconnected by pivot members 22. Each of the latter pivotally mounts a rear leg 30 of a frame member 32 which has a cross-member 36 (FIGURE 5). A seat 40 is pivotally interconnected to the frame member 32 by way of the cross-member 36, and is also pivotally connected to a pair of collars 62 which locate on respective ones of the front legs 14. A stop member 70 is provided on each front leg 14 for engagement by the respective collar 62. When the chair is moved from the in-use position to a storage position, upward movement of the front edge of the seat 40 is permitted by movement upwardly of the collars 62 on the legs 14. While in the in-use position, any downward load applied to the seat causes closer engagement of the collars 62 with the stops 70, thereby increasing the rigidity of the chair.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FOLDING CHAIRS The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to folding chairs especially, but not exclusively, folding chairs for use as commodes, toilet chairs and the like.

Folding chairs are well-known; they are intended to fold from an in-use position where they present a substantially horizontal seat, four legs and a chair back, to a flattened storage position. Normally this is achieved by pivoting a rear leg assembly on a frame comprising of front legs and the chair back, with the chair seat pivotally mounted to the front frame and having spigots projecting outwardly from its sides near its rear edge slidable in channels formed in the inner facing faces of the rear legs. Abutment of the spigots with the top of the channels when the rear legs are pivoted away from the front legs holds the seat in its in-use position, the abutment of the spigots with the top of the channels being maintained and enhanced when the user's weight is applied to the seat in front of the pivot axis of the seat on the front legs.

A disadvantage of existing folding chairs of this type is that if, for any reason, greater weight is applied behind the pivot axis than in front of it there is a tendency for the rear of the seat to move downwardly thus causing the chair to collapse to its folded condition. This collapsing movement is often resisted by the frictional engagement of the legs on the floor, nevertheless, even if the chair does not collapse when it is loaded in this abnormal way it can feel unstable.

It is one object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate this disadvantage.

Disabled people, in certain instances, have difficulty using normal toilets, for example, because of the relatively low height of a toilet bowl they have difficulty in raising themselves off it. This problem is presently overcome in a number of ways, for example, raised toilet seats can be fitted to the toilet bowl but these are normally, to a greater or lesser extent, permanent fixtures and the disabled person may have difficulty when using the toilets away from home.

One existing arrangement provides the disabled person with a portable toilet chair which can be fitted over any existing toilet bowl, the seat of the chair forming a raised toilet seat which, in use, is located over the normal toilet bowl. Another existing solution is to provide a portable chair incorporating a commode in its seat.

In the past portable raised toilet chairs or commode chairs have been cumbersome to transport as a result of their size and relatively heavy weight, bearing in mind that they often have to be carried by disabled people.

It is a further object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate disadvantages in existing portable toilet chairs and commodes.

Clearly, a disabled person in possession of a portable toilet chair or commode wishes to obtain maximum use from the chair, for example, it may be desirable to use it in the shower or when washing or bathing. Existing chairs have not been suitable because, in the main, they are made of or include steel components which can corrode and are difficult to clean. Additionally, the versatility of changing from a toilet chair mode to a commode mode is not presently available.

It is a further object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding chair comprising a frame member providing a front leg assembly and a chair back, a rear leg assembly comprising a pair of legs each of which is pivotally mounted at its top to the frame and includes a cross-bar intermediate its ends and a seat pivotally mounted to said rear legs at or near its rear edge and having sliding means pivotally attached to its sides and projecting outwardly therefrom at locations spaced rearwardly of the front edge of the chair and slidably mounted to the front legs of the frame, stop means being provided on the front legs of the frame to prevent movement of the sliders towards the lower ends of the front legs beyond a predetermined point.

Preferably the seat is pivotally mounted to the rear legs about the crossmember extending therebetween.

Preferably the seat member is formed from plastics material and incorporates a toilet seat opening or a commode. Preferably the seat is blow moulded, rotationally moulded1 injection moulded or formed by any suitable plastics material forming technique.

Preferably a downwardly directed channel is provided extending transversely across the seat at its rear edge and is adapted to accommodate the said cross-member, re-moveable clamping means being provided on the seat to retain the cross-member in the channel.

Preferably each sliding means comprises a collar adapted to fit around a front leg in sliding engagement therewith and a bush integrally formed with the collar and projecting inwardly of the front leg towards the other front leg, the underside of the seat being formed with a channel to receive said bush and means being provided to retain the bush within the channel. Preferably the sliding member is injected moulded from plastics material.

Preferably flanges are provided at each end of the bush to restrict axial movement of the bush relative to the seat.

Preferably the front frame member comprises a first substantially Ushaped member forming the front legs and a cross-member at the base thereof and a second substantially U-shaped member attached to the top of the first member, these U-shaped members being interconnected to each other by pivot members to which they are attached.

Preferably the first and second U-shaped members are formed from tubular aluminium alloy.

Preferably the pivot member incorporates a body having a spigot projecting from each end thereof, each spigot being adapted to receive an open end of the first and second U-shaped members. Preferably the second member may have a covering of a resilient material which preferably takes the form of a tube of a foamed rubber-like material.

Preferably two flanges depend downwardly from the pivot member and are adapted to receive therebetween the upper end of a rear leg which is pivotally mounted therein by a bushed member passing through each flange and a transverse passage through the top of the rear leg.

Preferably the stop means for preventing movement of the sliding means down the front legs beyond said predetermined point comprise further collars fitted around the front legs and permanently attached thereto by screws passing through the further collars and the front legs.

Preferably all screw members are formed from stainless steel.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a portable toilet chair or commode having a front frame member comprising a pair of front legs and a chair back, a rear frame member comprising a pair of rear legs and a cross member therebetween pivotally mounted at the top of the legs to the front frame member, the frame members being fabricated from tubular aluminium alloy members and a seat forming a toilet seat or commode pivotally fixed to one of the front and rear frame members and slidably mounted on the other of the front and rear frame members and movable between a first position in which the chair in collapsed to a storage position to a second position in which the chair is in an in-use position, the seat being formed from a relatively lightweight material, for example, plastics material.

Preferably the seat is hollow.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding portable toilet or commode chair all the components of which are corrosion resistant.

Still further according to the present invention, there is provided a sliding means for a collapsible chair of the type having a front frame member forming the front legs and back of the chair and rear legs pivotally mounted to the front member about their upper ends and movable from a storage position in which the rear legs lie alongside the front legs to an in-use position in which the rear legs lie at an angle to the front legs, the chair including also a seat pivotally mounted to one of the front members and rear legs and incorporating sliding means by which it is slidably attached to the other of the front member and rear legs, the sliding means comprising a collar slidable over the member or leg on which it is mounted and having a bush formed integrally therewith, the bush being pivotally mounted to a side of the seat intermediate its front and rear edges.

Preferably the sliding means is injection moulded from plastics material.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a side view of a folding chair in its in-use condition; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the chair in its folded condition; Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the chair from the front and one side; Fig. 4 shows a view of the chair from above; Fig. 5 a view of the chair from below; Figs. 6,7 and 8 are detailed views of a pivot member of the chair frame the side, one end and below respectively; Figs. 9 and 10 are detailed views of a sliding means for the chair from above and in sectional elevations respectively; and Figs. 11 and 12 show two components of a stop member.

In the embodiment illustrated and described below the folding chair takes the form of a raised toilet chair. It comprises a frame member 10 including a first U-shaped member 12 incorporating a pair of front legs 14 interconnected at their base by a cross-member 16 and formed from a suitably coated circular cross-section tubular aluminium member deformed to the Ushape. The frame member including also a second tubular aluminium alloy Ushaped member 18 covered with a resilient, closed cell foam tubular member 20.

The first and second U-shaped tubular members 12,18, are interconnected by a plastics material pivot member 22 formed from plastics material by injection moulding. The pivot is illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 and comprises a body portion 24 from each end of which projects a cylindrical spigot 26, one of which is adapted to receive the upper end of the first tubular member 12 the other, the lower end of the second tubular member 18 so that when the tubular members are fitted to the pivot member 22 and fixed thereto by stainless steel fixing screws (not shown) passing through the tubular members and the spigots the front member takes the form of a cranked open rectangle.

The body of the pivot member 22 has downwardly directed flanges 28 from each of its sides and the upper ends of the legs 30 of a rear frame member 32 are located therebetween and pivotally mounted thereto by a screw and bush assembly 34 passing through each flange 28 and a transverse passage through the top of the rear leg. Conveniently, the end of the screws are capped by a plastics material cap. The rear frame member 30 is also formed from circular cross-section tubular aluminium and incorporates two straight rear legs 32 interconnected by a cross-member 36 welded thereto.

The seat 40 of the chair is a hollow plastics material member having a toilet opening 42 therethrough. As the design of the seat top is of a relatively conventional design and does not form part of the present invention it will not be described in detail but it is important to note from the drawings that a transverse channel 44 having a semi-circular base is formed from the under side of the seat adjacent its rear edge 46 and accommodates the cross-member 36 of the rear member 30, the member 36 being imprisoned therein by a pair of plate members 48 having a part circular deformation therein attached by stainless steel self locking screws 50 at each of their ends so that the crossmember is pivotally mounted in the channel thereby allowing the seat to pivot relative to the assembled frame of the chair about an axis near its rear edge a downwardly projecting flange 52 is provided along each side of the seat and at a point which is just forward of the mid-point of the side a groove 54 having a semi-circular base is formed in the flange 52. A plate member 56 similar to the plate members described above is removably fixable by two stainless steel self tapping screws 58 across the top of the grooves in the flange to imprison a sliding means (illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10) therein, the sliding means being rotatable in the groove.

A sliding means 60 is provided on each front leg 12 and each comprises a collar 62 surrounding the leg and being a dimension so that it has a sliding fit on the leg. A circular cross-section bush 64 extends inwardly from the collar and, as described above, is imprisoned in the groove 54 in the flange 52 on the underside of the seat 40. The bush 64 has flanges 66,68, at its inner and outer ends to restrict its axial movement relative to the flange.

Each front leg 12 is provided with a stop member 70, the position of which on the leg is chosen such that the sliding means 60 abuts the stop member (illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12) and is prevented from further movement towards the bottom of the leg when the seat is in the horizontal position as shown in Fig. 1. Each stop member comprises two similar semicircular members 72,74, injection moulded from plastics material and each having an internal diameter approximately equal to the external diameter of the leg 12. At the appropriate point a circular hole is drilled through the leg, and the members 72,74, of the stop member each have inwardly projecting spigots 76,78, which are intended to penetrate into the circular hole to positively resist axial movement of the assembled stop member along the leg. A passage 80 for a fixing nut and bolt assembly (not shown) is formed through the spigots 76,78, the ends of the passage 82,84 being formed to accept respectively a nut and bolt head which can be capped off by plastic caps.

To move the chair from the in-use position shown in Fig. 1 to the storage position shown in Fig. 2, it is necessary only to cause upward movement of the front edge of the seat 40 relative to the front frame 10. This is permitted by movement of the sliding means 60 upwardly over the front legs 10 and pivotal movement of the rear legs 30 about their upper pivotal attachment to the front frame towards the front legs.

It has to be appreciated that in the in-use position any downward load applied to the seat irrespective of the point of application of the load causes closer engagement of the sliding means 60 with a stop 70 thereby increasing the rigidity of the chair. This contrasts with existing folding chairs where the sliding arrangement is between the rear of the seat and the rear legs so that downward movement of the rear of the seat can cause the chair to collapse.

It is also to be appreciated that all the components of the chair are resistant to corrosion from moisture so that the chair can be readily cleaned and used as a shower chair, or used when bathing. Because of the assembly from tubular aluminium and plastics material the chair is relatively light and consequently easily carried even by a disabled person. It is manufactured from relatively few components and can be readily assembled it has a pleasing appearance.

As a result of the temporary fitment of the seat 40 to the rear crossmember 36 and the bushes 64 of the sliding means 60, it is possible to substitute one seat for an alternative seat, for example, a standard plastic seat member could be used in place of the toilet seat illustrated in the drawings or a modified seat incorporating a commode could be used.

Various other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, the means for pivotally attaching the rear legs to the front frame may be modified. The front frame could be fabricated from a single piece of tubular aluminium suitably deformed to provide a pivot point for the rear assembly. The circular cross-section of the tubular members could be replaced by a square or rectangular cross-section, the means for imprisoning the bushes of the sliding means and the cross-members of the rear frame to the seat could be modified. For example, inwardly directed protrusions could be moulded near the top of the respective channels and grooves such that the members could be imprisoned therein after push fitting them through the deformable protrusions.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A folding chair comprising a frame member providing a front leg assembly and a chair back, a rear leg assembly comprising a pair of legs each of which is pivotally mounted at its top to the frame member and includes a crossbar located intermediate its ends and a seat pivotally mounted to said rear legs at or near its rear edge and having sliding means pivotally attached to its sides and projecting outwardly therefrom at locations spaced rearwardly of the front edge of the chair and slidably mounted to the front legs of the frame, stop means being provided on the front legs of the frame to prevent movement of the sliders towards the lower ends of the front legs beyond a predetermined point.

2. A folding chair as claimed in claim 1, in which the seat is pivotally mounted to the rear legs about the cross-member extending therebetween.

3. A folding chair as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the seat member is formed from plastics material and incorporates a toilet seat opening or a commode.

4. A folding chair as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the seat is blow moulded, rotationally moulded, injection moulded or formed by any suitable plastics material forming technique.

5. A folding chair as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, in which a downwardly directed channel is provided extending transversely across the seat at its rear edge and is adapted to accommodate the said cross-member, re-moveable clamping means being provided on the seat to retain the cross-member in the channel.

6. A folding chair as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which each sliding means comprises a collar adapted to fit around a front leg in sliding engagement therewith and a bush integrally formed with the collar and projecting inwardly of the front leg towards the other front leg, the underside of the seat being formed with a channel to receive said bush and means being provided to retain the bush within the channel.

7. A folding chair as claimed in claim 6, in which the sliding member is injection moulded from plastics material.

8. A folding chair as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, in which flanges are provided at each end of the bush to restrict axial movement of the bush relative to the seat.

9. A folding chair as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the front frame member comprises a first substantially U-shaped member forming the front legs and a cross-member at the base thereof and a second substantially U-shaped member attached to the top of the first member, these U-shaped members being interconnected to each other by pivot members to which they are attached.

10. A folding chair as claimed in claim 9, in which the first and second Ushaped members are formed from tubular aluminium alloy.

11. A folding chair as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, in which the pivot member incorporates a body having a spigot projecting from each end thereof, each spigot being adapted to receive an open end of the first and second Ushaped members.

12. A folding chair as claimed in claim 11, in which the second member has a covering of a resilient material which preferably takes the form of a tube of a foamed rubber-like material.

13. A folding chair as claimed in any of claims 9 to 12, in which two flanges depend downwardly from the pivot member and are adapted to receive therebetween the upper end of a rear leg which is pivotally mounted therein by a bushed member passing through each flange and a transverse passage through the top of the rear leg.

14. A folding chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the stop means for preventing movement of the sliding means down the front legs beyond said predetermined point comprise further collars fitted around the front legs and permanently attached thereto by screws passing through the further collars and the front legs.

15. A folding chair as claimed in claim 14, in which all screw members are formed from stainless steel.

16. A portable toilet seat or commode having a front frame member comprising a pair of front legs and a chair back, a rear frame member comprising a pair of rear legs and a cross member therebetween pivotally mounted at the top of the legs to the front frame member, the frame members being fabricated from tubular aluminium alloy members and a seat forming a toilet seat or commode pivotally fixed to one of the front and rear frame members and slidably mounted on the other of the front and rear frame members and movable between a first position in which the chair in collapsed to a storage position to a second position in which the chair is in an in-use position, the seat being formed from a relatively lightweight material, for example, plastics material.

17. A portable toilet chair or commode as claimed in claim 16, in which the seat is hollow.

18. A folding portable toilet chair or commode, all the components of which are corrosion resistant.

19. A sliding means for a collapsible chair of the type having a front frame member forming the front legs and back of the chair and rear legs pivotally mounted to the front member about their upper ends and movable from a storage position in which the rear legs lie alongside the front legs to an in-use position in which the rear legs lie at an angle to the front legs, the chair including also a seat pivotally mounted to one of the front members and rear legs and incorporating sliding means by which it is slidably attached to the other of the front member and rear legs, the sliding means comprising a collar slidable over the member or leg on which it is mounted and having a bush formed integrally therewith, the bush being pivotally mounted to a side of the seat intermediate its front and rear edges.

20. A sliding means as claimed in claim 19, which is injection moulded from plastics material.

21. A folding chair substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A portable toilet chair or commode substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. A sliding means for a collapsible chair, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A folding chair comprising a frame member providing a front leg assembly and a chair back, a rear leg assembly comprising a pair of legs each of which is pivotally mounted to the frame member and includes a cross-member located intermediate its ends, and a seat pivotally mounted to said rear leg assembly and having pivotally attached sliding means projecting outwardly therefrom and slidably mounted on front legs of the frame member, stop means being provided to prevent movement of the sliding means towards lower ends of the front legs beyond a predetermined point.

2. A folding chair as claimed in claim 1, in which the seat is pivotally mounted to the rear leg assembly by way of the cross-member extending therebetween.

3. A folding chair as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the seat is formed from plastics material and incorporates a toilet seat opening or a commode.

5. A folding chair as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, in which a downwardly directed channel is provided in the seat to extend transversely thereacross and accommodate the cross-member, removable damping means being provided on the seat to retain the cross-member in the channel.

6. A folding chair as daimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the sliding means comprises a collar adapted to fit around each front leg in sliding engagement therewith, a bush being integrally formed with the collar and projecting inwardly of the respective front leg towards the other front leg, and the underside of the seat being formed with a channel to receive each bush, with means being provided to retain each bush within the respective channel.

8. A folding chair as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, in which flanges are provided at each end of each bush to restrict axial movement of the bush relative to the seat.

9. A folding chair as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the front leg assembly comprises a first substantially U-shaped member fonning the front legs and a cross-member at the base thereof, and a second substantially U-shaped member attached to the top of the first member, these U-shaped members being interconnected to each other by pivot members to which they are attached.

11. A folding chair as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, in which the pivot member incorporates a body having a spigot projecting from each end thereof, each spigot being adapted to receive an open end of the respective first and second U-shaped members.

13. A folding chair as claimed in any of claims 9 to 12, in which two flanges depend downwardly from each pivot member and are adapted to receive therebetween the upper end of a respective one of the rear legs which is pivotally mounted therein by a bushed member passing through each flange and a transverse passage through the upper end of the rear leg.

14. A folding chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the stop means (for preventing movement of the sliding means down the front legs beyond said predetermined point) comprises a collar fitted around a respective one of the front legs and permanently attached thereto by screws passing through the collar and the front leg.

17. A portable toilet chair or commode as daimed in claim 16, in which the seat is hollow.

19. A slide component for a folding chair comprising a frame member providing a front leg assembly and a chair back, a rear leg assembly comprising a pair of legs each of which is pivotally mounted to the frame member and includes a cross-member located intermediate its ends, and a seat pivotally mounted to said rear leg assembly and having pivotally attached sliding means projecting outwardly therefrom and slidably mounted on front legs of the frame member, stop means being provided to prevent movement of the sliding means towards lower ends of the front legs beyond a predetermined point, the chair being movable from a storage position in which the rear leg assembly lies alongside the front leg assembly to an in-use position in which the rear leg assembly lies at an angle to the front legs, the slide component comprising a collar adapted to slide over a respective one of front legs of the front leg assembly and a bush formed integrally therewith, the bush being adapted to be pivotally mounted to the seat.