GB2333035A

GB2333035A - Seat stick

Info

Publication number: GB2333035A
Application number: GB9800329A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Arthur Chanin
Original assignee: LINDEN LEISURE Ltd
Current assignee: LINDEN LEISURE Ltd
Priority date: 1998-01-09
Filing date: 1998-01-09
Publication date: 1999-07-14
Also published as: GB9800329D0

Abstract

A seat stick comprises an extendable shaft 10 having at its upper end a seat 11 which may be opened from a folded position, where it lies along the axis of the shaft, into a position where it extends across the top of the shaft. Folding support struts 23 extend between the underside of the seat 11 and the shaft 10 when the seat is opened. At the lower end of the shaft are two folding stabilisers 34 which may be swung outwards and locked to engage the ground on each side of the shaft. The folding seat 11 is formed with hand grips 28 at its opposite side edges, and the overall width of the seat, when in the open position, is greater than 280 mm. These features make the seat stick particularly stable for disabled or infirm users, who may more easily rise from the seat by holding the handgrips and using their arms to push themselves up.

Description

A Seat Stick The invention relates to seat sticks of the kind comprising a shaft having mounted at the upper end thereof a support which may be adjusted between a folded position where it lies substantially along the axis ofthe shaft, and an open position where it extends transversely across the top of the shaft.

In a common form of such a seat stick, usually referred to as a shooting stick, the adjustable support at the upper end of the shaft comprises two seat halves which are pivotally mounted at the upper end of the shaft so that when they are folded together along the axis of the shaft the two seat halves form a handle. For use as a seat, the seat halves are folded down so as extend away from the upper end of the shaft on opposite sides thereof. In another known form of seat stick the support is in the form of a onepiece "saddle" which may be adjusted from a position where it lies alongside the upper end of the shaft to a position where it extends transversely across the top of the shaft.

Such seat sticks are very popular for use outdoors in any situation where a temporary seat may be required for short periods. However, since the seat usually comprises just a single support shaft which rests on the ground, the seat stick is comparatively unstable in use and may therefore be unsuitable for use by the elderly or by persons having some physical disability, particularly in the legs. In such cases, there may a risk of the seat stick tipping sideways. Also, it may be difficult for the user to rise from the seat stick without assistance from a third party since, with conventional seat sticks, there is no means whereby the user can obtain support by using the hands while rising from the seat.

The present invention sets out to provide a novel form of seat stick where these problems may be reduced or overcome and which also may have other advantages.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a seat stick of the kind first referred to above wherein there is provided at the lower end of the shaft a structure which, in use, may engage the ground at two or more spaced locations.

Since, in use, the lower end of the shaft engages the ground at a number of spaced locations, the stability of the seat stick in use is enhanced.

In a preferred arrangement according to the invention the shaft has mounted adjacent the lower end thereof at least one stabiliser which may be adjusted between a folded position where it lies alongside the shaft, and an extended position where it extends away from the shaft so as, in use, to engage a location on the ground which is spaced from the location engaged by the lower end of the shaft itself.

Preferably the part of the stabiliser which engages the ground, when in the extended position, is at substantially the same level as the lower end of the shaft.

Preferably there are provided two or more such stabilisers arranged to engage different locations on the ground. For example, there may be provided two such stabilisers located diametrically opposite one another with respect to the shaft.

Each stabiliser may comprise a leg the upper end of which is pivotally mounted on the shaft, or a member connected thereto, so that the leg may be swung outwardly away from the shaft so as to be inclined at an angle thereto, means being provided to limit the outward swinging movement of the leg.

Said limiting means may comprise a link connected between the shaft and a part of the leg. The link may be pivotally connected at one end to the leg and at the other end to the shaft, or a member connected thereto.

The upper end of the leg may be pivotally connected to a member which is longitudinally displaceable, for example slidable, along the shaft as the leg swings inwardly and outwardly with respect to the shaft. In this case a detent is preferably provided to retain the displaceable member in a position where the leg extends angularly away from the shaft. Said detent may comprise a projection on the shaft which is engageable with said displaceable member in one position thereof. The projection may be releasable to allow the member to be displaced past the projection. For example, the projection may comprise a spring-loaded stud which may be pressed into the shaft to allow the displaceable member to move past the stud.

In any ofthe above arrangements the adjustable support at the upper end of the shaft may comprise two seat halves pivotally mounted on a mounting part at the upper end of the shaft, the seat halves being pivotable between a folded position where they lie substantially along the axis of the shaft and an open position where they extend transversely away from the upper end ofthe shaft on opposite sides thereof. Preferably the seat halves extend upwardly beyond the upper end of the shaft when in the folded position.

The surfaces of the seat halves which are uppermost in the open position are preferably concavely curved and the mounting part is formed with an upwardly projecting ridge between the two halves and extending generally parallel to the pivot axis thereof Preferably the ridge forms a smooth continuation of the concave upper surfaces of the seat halves. It is found that this configuration provides a particularly comfortable form of seat.

The mounting part may be provided with a row of parallel slots along each side thereof, the seat halves being formed with a corresponding number of spaced projections which are received in said slots.

In any of the above arrangements, or in any seat stick of the general kind first referred to, the seat support which extends transversely across the top of a shaft may be formed with a hand grip at each side edge thereof, and the overall width of the seat support, when in the open position, may be greater than 280 mm. Preferably the overall width of the seat support is greater than 350 mm, and more preferably greater than 400 mm.

By providing the seat support which has hand grips at its side edges, and making it of greater width than has been the case hitherto, the person seated on the seat stick may easily raise themself from the seat by gripping the hand grips at the side edges of the seat and levering themself upwards. This is not possible with known seat sticks due to the absence of the hand grips and due to the fact that the small size of the seat support means that it does not project sufficiently, in use, to enable it to be gripped.

Each hand grip may be provided by an elongate aperture in the seat support, extending generally transversely thereof and spaced inwardly from the side edge of the seat support to leave an edge portion of the seat support which may be gripped by passing the user's fingers through the aperture.

A bracing strut may be provided to give additional support to each seat half when in the open position, each bracing strut extending angularly from a location on the underside of the seat half spaced away from the shaft to a location on the shaft spaced below the seat half For example, the lower end of each strut may be pivotally mounted on a member which is displaceable longitudinally of the shaft, for example the member may encircle the shaft to slide along it. In this case means are provided to limit the downward movement of the member along the shaft.

The following is a more detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a seat stick in accordance with the invention, shown in the open position, for use, Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing the seat stick in the closed or folded poSition, and Figure 3 is a top view of the support structure at the top of the seat stick.

Referring to the drawings: the seat stick comprises a shaft 10 having mounted at its upper end a support structure 11 on which the user sits when the lower end of the shaft rests on the ground.

The shaft 10 is formed from two telescoping tubes 12, 13 of aluminium or other suitable metal. The lower tube 13 slides within the upper tube 12 and is provided at its upper end with two diametrically opposed spring-loaded pins 14 which may engage with opposed pairs of longitudinally spaced holes 15 in the wall of the upper tube 12. The pins 14 may be pressed inwardly with the fingers so as to allow the lower tube 13 to slide to various positions within the upper tube 12 to adjust the length of the shaft 10.

When the shaft is of the required length the pins 14 are allowed to snap outwardly to engage the appropriate holes 15 in the upper tube 12.

The seat structure 11 comprises two seat halves 16 which are pivotally mounted on a mounting part 17 secured to the upper end ofthe shaft 10. The seat halves 16 and mounting part 17 may be formed from any suitable material, although they may conveniently be moulded from glass nylon. The mounting part 17 is generally of inverted T-shape in cross section, so as to provide a central ridge 18 and support ledges 19. As best seen in Figure 3, the inner side of each seat half 16 is formed with a number of projections 20, in this case eight projections, which engage within corresponding slots 21 in the central ridge 18 of the mounting part 17. A steel pivot pin 22 passes through the interengaged projections and slots. This arrangement enables each seat half 16 to be folded upwardly from the open position shown in Figure 1 to the closed position shown in Figure 2.

The ledges 19 on the mounting part 17 provide some support for the seat halves 16 when in the open position. However, in order to provide further support a bracing strut 23 extends at an angle from the underside of each seat half 16 to the upper tube 12 of the shaft 10. The upper end of each strut 23, which may be formed from aluminium tube, is pivotally mounted between brackets 24 integrally moulded on the underside of the seat half The lower end of each tube 23 is pivotally mounted to a metal or plastics sleeve 25 which encircles the tube 12 so as to be slidable up and down on the tube.

When the seat is in the open position, as shown in Figure 1, the sleeve 25 bears against an abutment collar, which encircles the tube 12 and is riveted to it, so that downward loads on the seat halves 16 are transmitted by the struts 23 to the main shaft 10. When the seat halves 16 are folded upwardly to the closed position shown in Figure 2, the sleeve 25 simply slides along the shaft 12 upwardly away from the collar 26.

The upper surface of each seat half 16 is concavely curved and the upper surface of the ridge 18 is shaped so as to provide a central raised surface which is a smooth continuation of the concave surfaces of the seat halves. It is found that this arrangement provides a particularly comfortable seat for the user.

Hitherto, in shooting sticks and other seat sticks, the folding seat structure at the upper end of the shaft has been comparatively small and it has been common for the posterior of the user to overlap the sides of the seat structure in use.

In the seat stick according to the present invention, however, the overall width of the seat structure 11, comprising the two seat halves 16 and the mounting part 17, is at least 280 mm and is preferably more than 400 mm. For example the overall width of the seat structure may be about 440 mm.

By providing a seat structure of such width, the side edges of the seat structure will generally project sideways to a small extent beyond the posterior of the user and thus may be gripped by the hands to assist the user to lever themself upwardly.

In order to facilitate this, each seat half 16, as best seen in Figure 3, is formed adjacent its outer side edge with an elongate aperture 27 so as to provide at the side extremity of the seat hand grips 28 which may be gripped by passing the fingers through the apertures 27. The hand grips 28 come together when the seat structure is folded as shown in Figure 2, and then provide a handle by which the folded seat may be conveniently carried.

The seat halves 16 may be moulded so as to be only a few millimetres in thickness, added strength and comfort and improved appearance being provided by integrally moulding curved walls around the outer periphery of each seat half and around the inner periphery of each aperture 27, as well as providing reinforcing ribs, in any suitable pattern, integrally moulded on the undersurface of the seat half The lower end of the shaft 10 may be provided with a rubber ferrule as indicated at 29 in Figure 1, or may be provided with a conventional "point and plate" fitting having a point which can dig into the ground and a transverse plate, possibly hinged, which prevents the shaft from sinking too far into the ground.

In order to provide extra stability to the seat stick, as previously described, a stabilising structure 30 is mounted on the lower end of the tube 13. The stabilising structure comprises a lower collar 31 fixedly mounted on the tube 13 and an upper collar 32 which is slidable up and down along the tube. At each side ofthe upper collar 32 there are pairs of ears 33 between which is pivotally mounted the upper end of a stabiliser leg 34 which may be formed from half inch diameter aluminium tubing or any other suitable material. A connecting link 35 is pivotally connected between ears 36 on the lower collar 31 and a point 37 on the leg 34 intermediate the ends thereof.

To limit the upward movement of the upper collar 32 the lower tube 13 is provided with diametrically opposed spring-loaded pins 38 which are engageable with holes in the collar 32.

The arrangement is such that when the collar 32 is engaged by the pins 38 the legs 34 are inclined outwardly away from the tube 13 at an angle so that the lower end of each leg 34 is at approximately the same level as the lower end ofthe tube 13. The lower end of the legs 34 may be provided with rubber ferrules 39 as shown, or may be provided with point and plate end pieces.

In this open position, shown in Figure 1, the legs 34 engage the ground at locations spaced from the lower end ofthe tube 13 on each side thereof, and therefore serve to stabilise the seat stick in use, and thus minimise the risk of it tilting sideways.

This not only makes the seat more comfortable to use, but also makes it particularly suitable for use by elderly or partly disabled persons.

When use of the stick as a seat is no longer required, the pins 38 may be pressed inwardly to release them from the upper collar 32 and the collar may then be slid upwardly on the tube 1 3, thereby swinging the legs 34 inwardly so that they lie against the lower end of the tube 13, as shown in Figure 2.

The particular form of construction described above and shown in the drawings is strictly by way of example only, and it will be appreciated that other forms of construction may be employed within the scope of the invention. For example, the stabiliser legs 34 may be pivotally mounted, at their upper ends, to a fixed location on the shaft 10, any suitable linkage, such as an over-centre linkage, being connected between the shaft and legs below the pivot point to allow the pivoting movement of the legs while at the same time locking them in the extended position when required.

The stabiliser structure 30 may be used with a seat stick having any other type of support at its upper end and, conversely, the above described support structure 11 may be used in seat sticks not fitted with the stabiliser structure, if required.

Claims

1. A seat stick comprising a shaft having mounted at the upper end thereof a support which may be adjusted between a folded position where it lies substantially along the axis ofthe shaft, and an open position where it extends transversely across the top of the shaft, wherein there is provided at the lower end of the shaft a structure which, in use, may engage the ground at two or more spaced locations.

2. A seat stick according to Claim 1, wherein the shaft has mounted adjacent the lower end thereof at least one stabiliser which may be adjusted between a folded position where it lies alongside the shaft, and an extended position where it extends away from the shaft so as, in use, to engage a location on the ground which is spaced from the location engaged by the lower end of the shaft itself.

3. A seat stick according to Claim 2, wherein the part ofthe stabiliser which engages the ground, when in the extended position, is at substantially the same level as the lower end of the shaft.

4. A seat stick according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein there are provided two or more such stabilisers arranged to engage different locations on the ground.

5. A seat stick according to Claim 4, wherein there are provided two such stabilisers located diametrically opposite one another with respect to the shaft.

6. A seat stick according to any of Claims 2 to 5, wherein the or each stabiliser comprises a leg the upper end of which is pivotally mounted on the shaft, or a member connected thereto, so that the leg may be swung outwardly away from the shaft so as to be inclined at an angle thereto, means being provided to limit the outward swinging movement of the leg.

7. A seat stick according to Claim 6, wherein said limiting means comprise a link connected between the shaft and a part of the leg.

8. A seat stick according to Claim 7, wherein said link is pivotally connected at one end to the leg and at the other end to the shaft, or a member connected thereto.

9. A seat stick according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the upper end of the leg is pivotally connected to a member which is longitudinally displaceable along the shaft as the leg swings inwardly and outwardly with respect to the shaft.

10. A seat stick according to Claim 9, wherein a detent is provided to retain said displaceable member in a position where the leg extends angularly away from the shaft.

11. A stick seat according to Claim 10, wherein said detent comprises a projection on the shaft which is engageable with said displaceable member in one position thereof.

12. A seat stick according to Claim 11, wherein the projection comprises a spring-loaded stud which may be pressed into the shaft to allow the displaceable member to move past the stud.

13. A seat stick according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the adjustable support at the upper end of the shaft comprises two seat halves pivotally mounted on a mounting part at the upper end of the shaft, the seat halves being pivotable between a folded position where they lie substantially along the axis of the shaft and an open position where they extend transversely away from the upper end of the shaft on opposite sides thereof.

14. A seat stick according to Claim 13, wherein the seat halves extend upwardly beyond the upper end of the shaft when in the folded position.

15. A seat stick according to Claim 13 or Claim 14, wherein the surfaces of the seat halves which are uppermost in the open position are concavely curved and the mounting part is formed with an upwardly projecting ridge between the two halves and extending generally parallel to the pivot axis thereof, the ridge forming a smooth continuation of the concave upper surfaces of the seat halves.

16. A seat stick according to any of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the mounting part is provided with a row of parallel slots along each side thereof, the seat halves being formed with a corresponding number of spaced projections which are received in said slots.

17. A seat stick according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the seat support which extends transversely across the top of a shaft is formed with a hand grip at each side edge thereof, and the overall width of the seat support, when in the open position, is greater than 280 mm.

18. A seat stick according to Claim 17, wherein the overall width of the seat support is greater than 350 mm.

19. A seat stick according to Claim 17, wherein the overall width ofthe seat support is greater than 400 mm.

20. A seat stick according to any of Claims 17 to 19, wherein each hand grip is provided by an elongate aperture in the seat support, extending generally transversely thereof and spaced inwardly from the side edge of the seat support to leave an edge portion of the seat support which may be gripped by passing the user's fingers through the aperture.

21. A seat stick according to any of Claims 13 to 20, wherein two bracing struts are provided to give additional support to each seat half when in the open position, each bracing strut extending angularly from a location on the underside of the seat half spaced away from the shaft to a location on the shaft spaced below the seat half.

22. A seat stick according to Claim 21, wherein the lower end of each strut is pivotally mounted on a member which is displaceable longitudinally of the shaft.

23. A seat stick according to Claim 22, wherein the member which is displaceable longitudinally of the shaft encircles the shaft to slide along it.

24. A seat stick according to Claim 22 or Claim 23, wherein means are provided to limit the downward movement of the displaceable member along the shaft.

25. A seat stick substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.