JP2012521847A - Infant chair with foldable legs - Google Patents

Abstract

  The infant chair 1 includes a chair unit 2 including a seat portion 4 and a backrest portion 3 attached to the seat portion 4. The chair unit 2 includes a front pair of legs 20 and a rear pair of legs 20. The rear pair of legs is folded between a support position in which these pair of legs extend from each other and a retracted position in which these pairs of legs are retracted toward each other It is arranged to be able to. The rear pair of legs is carried by a journal-supported coupling mechanism 15 in the chair unit 2 having an upper portion for rotation about a horizontal axis. The locking device 7 is provided so that the coupling mechanism 15 can be locked and the pair of legs on the rear side can be locked at the extended end position of the coupling mechanism 15.

Description

  The present invention relates to an infant chair according to the preamble of claim 1.

  The infant chair must be relatively high so that the infant can sit at a level just below the level of the dining table or kitchen table, and in particular is highly secure to prevent tipping over. There must be. Therefore, it is preferably directed to be supported on the floor in a widely spaced position, which means that the infant chair requires a relatively large space. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the pair of legs of the infant chair so as to be rotatable between the retracted first retracted position and the expanded second use position, which are close to the position of the other pair of legs. preferable. Of course, it is preferable to be able to ensure an effective lock of the folding leg in the extended position where the lock can be released. In addition, it is preferable to be able to sell and distribute an infant chair in the form of minimized packaging, partially comprising legs that are not partly assembled and a chair unit to which the legs can be attached. The chair leg is attached by firmly attaching the end of the leg to each socket on the chair unit.

  One object of the present invention is to provide a highly secure and fully extended and locked position when the pair of folding legs is extended from the retracted position in addition to securely locking the pair of folding legs in the extended position. It is to provide a locking mechanism for an infant chair.

  It is a further object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism that is easy to disengage so that the pair of foldable legs can be swung back to the retracted position.

  One or several of these objectives may be fully or partially achieved by the present invention.

  The invention is defined in the appended independent claims.

  Embodiments of the invention are defined in the appended dependent claims.

  Accordingly, the present invention is an infant chair comprising a pair of foldable legs and a lock mechanism that automatically locks the pair of foldable legs when the legs move to the extended end position. The mechanism provides an infant chair having control means capable of disengaging a pair of foldable legs to move the legs back to the retracted position.

  In addition, a block device is provided that is arranged to hold the pair of folding legs in the retracted position to a specific limit on the torque applied to the pair of folding legs around the pivot bearing. When the user applies a torque larger than the above limit value to the pair of folding legs, the pair of folding legs are suddenly released, and the legs (and the user's arms) are generated by the locking mechanism. The blocking device is arranged such that a moment that exists up to the lock end position of the folding leg is provided.

  The infant chair includes a strong chair unit having a seat, a backrest portion firmly attached to the seat, and a footrest that is firmly attached to the seat. Located at a certain distance below the level of the chair unit so that the chair unit is carried by the front pair of legs and the rear pair of legs which extend from each other. Can be folded back and forth between the supporting position being retracted and the retracting position in which these pairs of legs are retracted towards each other. The front pair of legs can be permanently attached to the chair unit in the area of the footrest. The rear pair of legs can be attached to the lower part of the coupling mechanism, which is a transition region between the seat and the backrest for pivoting movement about the horizontal axis in the upper part. It is rotated in the chair unit so as to be rotatable. The length of the coupling mechanism is suitably adapted to utilize uniform and equal length infant chair legs. This minimizes the length of the legs so that, in practical embodiments, the length of the legs substantially corresponds to the largest dimension of the chair unit, for example the length of the package in the symmetry plane of the chair unit. Means that the length of the packaging is substantially determined and the chair unit provides space within the dimensions of the cardboard, for example in the form of a parallelepiped suitable for the chair unit.

  The infant chair of the present invention will be described together with embodiments with reference to embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

The side view of the infant chair of the present invention is shown. The figure seen from the back of the infant chair of the present invention is shown. The front view of the infant chair of the present invention is shown. The fragmentary sectional view which expanded and looked at the locking mechanism for the pair of legs of the rear side of the infant chair in the extended position is shown. FIG. 5 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 4 of the pair of legs on the rear side of the infant chair in the retracted position.

  1-3 comprises a backrest part 3, a seat part 4, and a footrest 5 attached integrally to the front edge region of the seat part 4 through a substantially vertical mounting wall 6. 1 shows a chair unit 1 with an injection molded plastic chair unit 2. The safety device 10 includes a central column 11 that is rotatable in a vertical symmetry plane of the infant chair, and a transition region between the seat 4 and the mounting wall 6 at the lower end of the central column 11. Is supported by a journal (reference number 12). A table 13 having a concave side surface facing the backrest 3 is disposed at the upper end of the central support column 11.

  The central support column 11 can be restrained in an upright position by block means not shown in the drawing.

Furthermore, the chair unit 1 is provided with a connection mechanism 15 and the upper part of this connection mechanism is journaled around a horizontal axis located in the vicinity of the transition area between the backrest 3 and the seat 4 (reference number 16). ) Is shown. The lower end of the coupling mechanism 15 is shown in an expanded end position near the same level as the footrest 5. The plurality of lower side edge portions of the chair unit are branched downward from each other.
The coupling mechanism 15 has a plurality of side edges that branch downward. The lower edge of the chair unit in the area of the footrest 5 is a separate chair leg which is shown to have a round foot 21 with the side edge of the connection mechanism at the lower end of the connection mechanism 15. 20 in the form of a receiving sleeve or socket. This foot reduces the risk of the leg 20 being caught by any object on the ground or floor and the risk of the infant chair falling over.

  The legs 20 can have block springs that engage the corresponding recesses in each socket 17 to ensure that the foot 21 is correctly oriented. Legs 20 having feet 21 are preferably similar and equal in length to one another. The four legs 20 of the infant chair converge toward a point above the seat 4.

  1 that the cover 30 is mounted on the lower surface of the chair unit in the region of the mounting wall 6 and the footrest 5 in order to partition the space 31 between the mounting wall 6 and the footrest 5. Can do. As shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the disengageable locking device 7 is attached between the lower end of the coupling mechanism 15 and a cover 30 attached to the chair unit 2. Thus, the cover 30 has a substantially vertical wall 32 with an opening 33 for the guide rail 40 journaled in the lower end of the coupling mechanism 15 through a bearing 41 having a substantially horizontal axis. it can. The locking element 44 is journaled in the lower part of the coupling mechanism 15 through a bearing 41 having a substantially horizontal axis. The locking element 44 is journal-supported on the guide rail 40, for example, around the axis of the bearing 41. The free end 47 of the locking element extends through the opening 33 in the wall 32 when the rear pair of legs is expanded. A spring 46 is arranged between the guide rail 40 and the locking element 44. Alternatively, the locking element itself may be flexible around the support member 43 on the guide rail 40 with elasticity. Thereby, the function of the spring 46 is realized. The locking element further cooperates with the inner edge of the opening 33 to prevent the rear pair of legs from being retracted or folded in the extended position of the locking element when the rear pair of legs is expanded. It has a contact surface 45 of the form. By rotating the locking element 44 towards the guide rail 40, the abutment surface 45 can be passed through the opening 33.

  The locking element has a tip 49 that engages behind the wall 32 in the region below the opening 33. The cover has a substantially horizontal bottom unit 37 with a guide cam 38 for the lower end of the tip 49.

  By manually applying pressure downward on the locking element 44, the locking element 44 approaches the guide rail 40 and the abutment surface 45 of the locking element can be moved together with the guide rail 40 through the opening 33; The lower edge of the guide rail 40 and the upper part of the locking element 44 can slide relative to the opening 33 under each upper edge while pushing into the space 31. As shown in FIG. 5, in the vicinity of the retracted position for the coupling mechanism 15, the tip 49 slides to the guide cam 38 and fits into the recess 51 downward. It is obvious that this ramp has an end face 39 which is rotated towards the side face 54 of the tip facing the end face 39. These surfaces are inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the guide rail, and the guide rail 40 is arranged flexibly with elasticity. When the user wants to bend the rear coupling mechanism 15 together with the rear leg 20 toward the extended end position shown in FIG. 1, in order to move the tip 49 away from the recess 51, the user A relatively high force must be applied in the longitudinal axis direction of the rail 40. Of course, the user cannot stop the applied force and accelerates the coupling mechanism 15, the leg 29 and the guide rail 40, and the moment is applied to the upper and lower edges of the opening 33, respectively. Enough to reliably overcome the friction between the locking element 44 and the guide rail 40, the locking element abutment surface 45 reliably passes through the opening 33 and under the influence of the spring 46, the block Energized to position.

  Naturally, the spring-loaded locking element 44, which is not intended to prevent the coupling mechanism 15 from collapsing and preventing the rear pair of legs 20 from going to the storage position, is naturally provided with a lock that is not operable by the child.

Claims (8)

The chair unit (2) includes a seat part (4) and a backrest part (3) attached to the seat part (4), and the chair unit (2) includes a pair of front legs (20). And in the infant chair (1) supported by the rear pair of legs (20),
The pair of legs on the rear side are arranged so that they can be folded between a supporting position where the legs of the pair extend from each other and a folding position where the legs of the pair are retracted toward each other. In the infant chair (1)
The rear pair of legs is carried by a journal-supported coupling mechanism (15) in the chair unit (2) having an upper portion for pivoting about a horizontal axis;
The locking device (7) is provided so that the coupling mechanism (15) can be locked and the pair of legs on the rear side can be locked at the extended end position of the coupling mechanism (15). An infant chair (1) characterized in that The locking device (7) includes a guide rail (40) rotatably attached to the coupling mechanism (15),
The guide rail extends through an opening (33) provided in a wall (32) attached to the chair unit,
The guide rail (40) carries a locking element (44) that is movable with respect to the guide rail (40);
A biasing spring (46) for biasing the locking element (44) to the end position in a direction away from the guide rail (40);
The locking element is located adjacent to the wall (32) and outside the edge of the opening (33) when the coupling mechanism and the rear pair of legs (20) are in the extended end position. A contact surface (45) facing the wall (32);
When the locking element under the action of the biasing spring (46) is moved toward the guide rail (40), the locking element can be passed through the opening together with the guide rail. The infant chair according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening (33) in the wall is arranged.   The locking element (44) comprises a rod arranged to extend along the guide rail (40), the locking element (44) at the end facing the coupling mechanism (15) at the guide 3. An infant chair according to claim 2, characterized in that it is journaled with respect to a rail (40) and the free end of the rod forms the abutment surface (45). The guide rail (40) and the end facing away from the coupling mechanism are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail to prevent the guide rail from being pulled through the opening (33) in the wall. Having a tip (49) that is oriented transversely to and located beyond the wall (32) with respect to the coupling mechanism;
The infant chair includes an operation cam (38) for the tip (49) of the guide rail,
The operation cam (38) includes a recess (51) for the tip (49) of the guide rail at the storage position of the coupling mechanism (15),
The surface (54) of the tip facing the coupling mechanism (15) and the surface (39) of the recess cooperating with the surface (54) of the tip are shaped to provide a wedge action. Has been
This wedge action allows the tip (49) to abruptly leave the recess when a predetermined pulling force is applied to the guide rail (40), and the resulting moment is caused by the expanded end. The infant chair according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the chair is substantially higher than a force acting on the rotational movement of the pair of folding legs toward the position. The tip (49) is a biased spring (46) that is movable in each of a direction engaging with the recess and a direction away from the recess;
The infant chair according to claim 4, wherein the direction extends substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis direction of the guide rail.   The infant chair according to claim 5, characterized in that the guide rail (40) is elastic and flexible in order to provide a biasing movement of the spring to the tip of the guide rail. The chair unit (2) includes a footrest (5) that is strong and firmly attached to the chair unit with respect to the seat portion;
The rear pair of legs are attached to the lower portion of the coupling mechanism (15);
The upper part of the coupling mechanism is journal supported in a transition region between the seat (4) and the backrest (3);
The infant chair according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein all the legs (20) of the chair unit (1) have the same length.   The infant chair according to claim 7, characterized in that the length of the leg (20) substantially corresponds to the largest dimension of the chair unit (2).

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