GB2318727A - Foldable chair - Google Patents

Abstract

A foldable chair 10 comprises a seat 12 pivotally attached between a first pair of inclined members 14 which provide a back rest 16 and front legs 18, which chair 10 further comprises a second pair of inclined members 20 pivotally attached to the first pair 14, whereby the second pair of members 20 are slidably movable along a track 30 in an underside of seat 12. Chair 10 may be collapsed to its folded position by lifting the front of seat 12 so as to bring together the pairs of members 14, 20. Preferably, members 14 are formed outside of the second pair 20, wherein either pair may be formed with hollow leg portions 18, 20. The second pair 20 may also include a pin element (42, Fig. 3) which may be slidably movable along track 30. A stop member 44 may be provided in the track to limit the travel of the element 42 at the front end of seat 12. The chair 10 is typically formed from a plastics material, such as polypropylene.

Description

DESCRIPTION TITLE: FOLDABLE CHAIR BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a chair and, more specifically, to a folding chair adapted for storage when not in use.

There are a great many chairs in the world, in all probability, in many countries far more chairs than there are people. Chairs are used in large numbers in outdoor occasions and other large meetings, concerts or gatherings where people may wish to congregate. Chairs used on such occasions are more often than not stored after use awaiting the next occasion. Similarly, in domestic situations, chairs may be brought out for special occasions, or for outdoor use, only to be subsequently stored when they are no longer required. It is therefore desirable that such chairs can be stored easily, and preferably with a minimum of storage space being taken up and many chairs have been designed with this in mind.

However, it is also desirable that such chairs should be constructed so as to be comfortable and stable in use and also economical to manufacture.

The present invention has been designed with the aforementioned criteria in mind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, according to a first aspect of the present invention, although it need not be the broadest nor indeed the only aspect, there is provided a folding chair, the: chair comprising: - a seat; - a first pair of inclined members arranged one on either side of said seat, the first pair of inclined members extending forwardly and downwardly so as to provide a back rest at an uppermost part of the members and front legs at a lowermost part of the member, the seat being pivotally attached at a rearmost side thereof to each of the first pair of inclined members at a position intermediate the back rest portion of the members and the front leg portion of the members; - a second pair of inclined members, each of the second pair of members being pivotally attached to the first pair of members at a link position between the ends of front leg portions of the first pair of members and between ends of the second pair of inclined members; whereby in use the second pair of inclined members are releasably connectable to an underside of the seat adjacent a front edge thereof to thereby form a chair, the second pair of inclined members being receivable at an upper end and slidably movable along a track provided in an underside of the seat to thereby allow the seat to be pivoted upwardly around the point of connection of the seat to the first pair of inclined members and to allow the first and second pairs of inclined members to be brought together around the link position, thereby producing a folded position in the chair.

By providing two pivoting positions the seat and legs are able to be independently folded to a shape where the chair is readily stacked or folded. Moreover, by providing a guide track in an underside of the seat in which the second pair of inclined members are receivable and slidably movable, closure of the chair is swiftly achieved by simply lifting the chair by the front of the seat and the chair collapses to the folded condition. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that rapid closure operation is desirable, and that it is also preferable to avoid a situation in which pivotally connected members are able to move too freely thereby creating a situation in which the various elements of the chair have to be realigned prior to folding of the chair.

Preferably, the second pair of inclined members include at upper ends thereof a pin element being receivable in and slidably movable along a track in the underside of the seat, in such a way providing a secure connection and ease of sliding movement.

Preferably, the first pair of inclined members are arranged one on either side of said second pair of inclined members, and are conveniently formed in one piece with an integral uppermost joining portion extending therebetween, the joining portion forming an upper end of the back rest. Moreover, further portions extending between the first pair of inclined members can also be placed to act as a back rest, and in some forms the back rest may be a solid panel extending between the inclined members.

Preferably, the chair of the invention is formed of a suitable all-weather material such as polypropylene or other plastics material. If formed in such a way it is possible for the various members to be formed of hollow or open construction, and to include strengthening webs within the sections as may be required to reconcile the need for lightness of the article, efficient use of materials in manufacture and ruggedness of the finished article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG 1 illustrates a perspective of a chair in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention; FIG 2 illustrates the chair of FIG 1 in a folded condition; and FIG 3 illustrates a detail of the seat portion of the chair of FIG 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Shown in the drawings is a folding chair 10, the chair comprising: - a seat 12; - a first pair of inclined members 14 arranged one on either side of said seat, the first pair of inclined members extending forwardly and downwardly so as to provide a back rest 16 at an uppermost part of the members and front legs 18 at a lowermost part of the member, the seat 12 being pivotally attached at a rearmost side thereof to each of the first pair of inclined members 14 at a position intermediate the back rest portion 16 of the members and the front leg portion of the members 18; - a second pair of inclined members 20, each of the second pair of members 20 being pivotally attached to the first pair of members 14 at a link position 22 between the ends of front leg portions 18 of the first pair of members 14 and between ends of the second pair of inclined members 20; whereby in use the second pair of inclined members 20 are releasably connectable an underside of the seat 12 adjacent a front edge 26 thereof to thereby form a chair, the second pair of inclined members 20 being receivable at an upper end 28 and slidably movable along a track 30 provided in an underside of seat 12 to thereby allow the seat 12 to be pivoted upwardly around a point of connection 32 of the seat to the first pair of inclined members 14 and to allow the first and second pairs of inclined members 14, 20 to be brought together around the link position 22, thereby producing a folded position in the chair.

By providing two pivoting positions, that is the link position 22 and the point of connection 32 of the seat 12 to the first pair of inclined members 14, the seat 12 and legs 18, 20 are able to be independently folded to a shape where the chair is readily stacked or folded.

Conveniently, the link position 22 is located below the seat allowing the first and second inclined members 14, 20 to form a cross-over thereby stabilizing the structure in use. The leg portions 18, 20 of the chair structure are, in the embodiment under consideration formed of hollow plastics material as is the seat 12. It is of course apparent that the chair 10 can be made of any of a number of suitable materials, and also that strengthening web structures may be incorporated into plastic constructions without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The first pair of inclined members 14 are arranged one on either side of the second pair of inclined members 18, and are conveniently formed in one piece with an integral uppermost joining portion 19 extending therebetween, the joining portion 19 forming an upper end of the back rest 24. Further slats 25 extending between the first pair of inclined members 14 can also be placed to reinforce the back rest 16. In some forms of the invention the back rest may be a solid panel extending between the inclined members.

The seat 12 is of typical plastic construction and includes a base 34 having slots 36 cut thereinto, the base 34 having a surrounding wall 38. As can be seen in the cut out view in FIG 3, the wall 38 extends below the level of the base 34, the inner surface of the wall 38, under surface of the base 34 and an inwardly directed lip 40 formed on a lower edge of the wall 38 together defining the track 30. At an uppermost end thereof the second pair of inclined members 18 a pin element 42 being receivable in and slidably movable along the track 30. The travel of the pin 42 in the track 30 is limited at the front of the seat 26 by means of a stopper 44 in the track 30.

By providing a guide track 30 in an underside of seat 12 in which the pins 42, and therefore second pair of inclined members 18 are slidably movable, closure of the chair 10 is swiftly achieved by simply lifting the chair by the front of the seat base 34 and the chair collapses to the folded condition shown in FIG 2. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that rapid closure operation is desirable, and that it is also preferable to avoid a situation in which pivotally connected members are able to move too freely thereby creating a situation in which the various elements of the chair have to be realigned prior to folding of the chair.

The chair includes a number of further elements, in the form of cross braces 46 and 48 in each of the front and back leg portions 18, 20. Still further additional elements might include hoofs on the ends of each leg.

Modifications and variations of the present invention, such as would be apparent to a skilled addresses are deemed to be within the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. A folding chair (10), the chair comprising: - a seat (12); - a first pair of inclined members (14) arranged one on either side of said seat (12), the first pair of inclined members (14) extending forwardly and downwardly so as to provide a back rest (16) at an uppermost part of the members and front legs (18) at a lowermost part of the member, the seat (12) being pivotally attached at a rearmost side thereof to each of the first pair of inclined members (14) at a position intermediate the back rest (16) portion of the members and the front leg portion of the members (18); - a second pair of inclined members (20), each of the second pair of members (20) being pivotally attached to the first pair of members (14) at a link position (22) between the ends of front leg portions (18) of the first pair of members (14) and between ends of the second pair of inclined members (20); whereby in use the second pair of inclined members (20) are releasably connectable to an underside of the seat (12) adjacent a front edge (26) thereof to thereby form a chair (10), the second pair of inclined members (20) being receivable at an upper end (28) and slidably movable along a track (30) provided in an underside of seat (12) to thereby allow the seat (12) to be pivoted upwardly around the point of connection (32) of the seat (12) to the first pair of inclined members (14) and to allow the first (14) and second (20) pairs of inclined members to be brought together around the link position (22), thereby producing a folded position in the chair (it).

2. A folding chair (10) according to claim 1, wherein by providing a guide track (30) in an underside of seat (12) in which the second pair of inclined members (20) are receivable and slidably movable, closure of the chair (10) is swiftly achieved by simply lifting the chair (10) by the front of the seat and the chair (10) collapses to the folded condition.

3. A folding chair (10) according to claim 2, wherein the seat (12) includes a base (34) having a surrounding wall (38), the wall (38) extending below the level of the base (34) and an inner surface of the wall (38), under surface of the base (34) and an inwardly directed lip (40) formed on a lower edge of the wall (38) together defining the track (30).

4. A folding chair (10) according to claim 2 or claim 3 in which the first (14) and second (20) inclined members and seat (12) are arranged so as to be pivotally movable with respect to each other to form a generally flat article in a folded condition.

5. A folding chair (10) according to claim 4, wherein the first pair of inclined members (14) are formed outside of the second pair of inclined members (20).

6. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the second pair of inclined members (20) include at upper ends thereof a pin element (42) being receivable in and slidably movable along a track (30) in the underside of the seat (12) , in such a way providing a secure connection and ease of sliding movement.

7. A folding chair (10) according to claim 6, in which the track (30) is formed below the edges of the seat (12).

8. A folding chair (10) according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the travel of the pin element (42) in the track (30) is stopped at a front end (26) of the seat (12) by a stop member (44) located in the track (30).

9. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the first pair of inclined members (14) are arranged one on either side of said second pair of inclined members (20), and are conveniently formed in one piece with an integral uppermost joining portion (19) extending therebetween, the joining portion (19) forming an upper end (24) of the back rest (16).

10. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein further portions extending between the first pairs of inclined members (14) can also be placed to act as a back rest (16).

11. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the back rest (16) may be a solid panel extending between the first pair of inclined members (14).

12. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the chair (10) is formed of a suitable all-weather material such as polypropylene or other plastics material.

13. A folding chair (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first (14) or second (20) pair of inclined members is formed with hollow leg portions (18, 20).

14. A folding chair (10) substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.