US20160242565A1

US20160242565A1 - Collapsible Restaurant and Public Eating Area High Chair

Info

Publication number: US20160242565A1
Application number: US14/628,265
Authority: US
Inventors: John Ross Van den Akker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Lazy Baby LLC
Priority date: 2015-02-22
Filing date: 2015-02-22
Publication date: 2016-08-25

Abstract

A restaurant and public eating area high chair is a high chair intended for use by infants and small children in restaurants and public eating areas. A restaurant and public eating area high chair consists of two front legs, two back legs, a seat, a backrest, a front bar, and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling off of the seat. The collapsible restaurant and public eating area high chair is comprised of the same parts as prior art restaurant and public eating area high chairs, but is built in such a way so that it can fold flat. Folding flat makes the restaurant and public eating area high chair easy to carry, easy to store, and safer to use than prior art restaurant and public eating area high chairs.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to high chairs used for seating infants and toddlers in restaurants and public eating areas.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure will refer to restaurant and public eating area high chairs as restaurant high chairs and it will be assumed that they are also intended for use in public eating areas.
High chairs are used to seat infants and toddlers at a level where they can be fed by an adult or at a level so that when the high chair is pushed up to a table, the child is able to use the table surface. Most home high chairs include a permanent or detachable tray for the child to use and do not require a table or additional surface for the child. High chairs used in restaurants usually resemble the one shown in FIG. 5. This design is popular because it is simple, safe, and stackable. Most restaurant high chairs do not contain a tray because it would take up more space, be harder to clean, and be more difficult to store.
Refer to FIG. 5. Prior art restaurant high chairs usually resemble the one shown in FIG. 5 and consist of a frame formed by two front legs 31 and two back legs 32 connected at the base by two horizontal support pieces 39. The horizontal support pieces 39 aid in stability, joint durability, and ease of stacking. The front legs 31 and back legs 32 often have additional support pieces 33 connecting both front legs 31 and back legs 32. Some restaurant high chairs have a footrest 34, which provides extra structural support. The front legs 31 and back legs 32 support a flat seat 36, a backrest 38, two side railings 40, and a front bar 41 to ensure that the child does not fall out. The front bar 41 may have a crotch strap 37 connected to the front of the seat 36 that goes in between the child's legs, so that the child does not slide under the front bar 41.
Prior art restaurant high chairs, like the one shown in FIG. 5, are safe for children, easy to use, and stackable. However, they are difficult to carry, take up a large amount of space when stored, and break easily.
Because restaurant high chairs do not collapse, they are difficult to carry. Unlike a home high chair, which is often left in one place or stored near where it is used, restaurant high chairs must be stored out of the dining space and moved to and from tables as necessary during meal service. Other prior art includes a high chair similar to the one in FIG. 5 without the horizontal support pieces 39 connecting the front legs 31 with the back legs 32. This version claims to be easier to carry, such that when carrying the high chair on a person's side, the horizontal support pieces 39 would have to rest against the person's leg. Without these pieces, carrying the high chair is supposed to be more ergonomic, however, it neglects to consider that the person carrying the high chair would have to walk partially between the front legs 31 and back legs 32, which could result in tripping and injury.
Additionally, restaurant high chairs must be stored in areas that are often difficult to access, like restrooms or back storage areas. Transporting high chairs from these areas is inefficient and inconvenient for employees seating customers. Seating tables quickly is important because it leads to increased restaurant sales and improved customer service. In most restaurants, if a high chair is needed, the information is relayed to another host, manager, or server, who must walk to where the high chairs are stored, walk back to the table, set it at the table, and then inform the host who seats the customer.
Finally, traditional restaurant high chair designs are not generally conducive to safe storage and transport. Restaurant high chairs are often stored in stacks, with one chair on top of the other. Because current restaurant high chairs do not collapse, it is difficult to bend one's legs while lifting them, creating the potential for back injury. Moreover, it is easy for hands and fingers to get pinched in between restaurant high chairs when they are being stacked. In addition, stacking increases wear and damages joints, reducing the safety of the chairs and necessitating frequent replacement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is intended to provide restaurants and public eating areas with a collapsible high chair that is easy and safe to carry, convenient to store, and safe for a child to use.
Refer to FIGS. 1-4. The present invention contains two resting forms. The resting forms are herein referred to as: opened FIG. 1 and collapsed FIGS. 2-4. This present invention identifies a restaurant high chair FIG. 1 as a chair intended for use by an infant or toddler wherein two front legs 11 and two back legs 10 support a seat 17 with a backrest 14, a front bar 16, and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling off of the seat. Here, the upper portion of the front legs 11 create the side rails. The seat 17 is at a height that allows the child to use a table when the front bar 16 is pushed against it. A crotch strap 18 may connect the front bar 16 to the front of the seat 17, passing between the child's legs to keep the child from sliding under the front bar 16. The present invention also includes a seatbelt that is not shown.
The high chair's depth is less than six inches thick when collapsed FIG. 2. This distance is measured between the outer side of the front legs 11 and outer side of the back legs 10. When collapsed, the high chair can be lifted by the front bar 16.
From an ergonomic standpoint, lifting an item with a center of gravity that is close to one's own center of gravity is both safe and easy. Holding the collapsed restaurant high chair close to one's body, the chair can be lifted with one's legs, reducing the risk of back injury, and a restaurant employee can easily grab and transport the collapsed chair while walking without stopping.
Storage of the high chair is both convenient and safe. In contrast to non-collapsible chairs, the high chair can be stacked horizontally, instead of vertically FIG. 6. When stacked horizontally, transport is easy and safe because it does not require the high chair to ever be lifted more than a few inches off of the floor. In addition, the option to stack horizontally, as opposed to vertically, reduces the risk of pinching, or otherwise injuring, fingers. This is because when stacking horizontally, each high chair is resting on the floor, and only a portion of the high chair's weight is resting on each additional horizontally stacked high chair.
Storage is also more convenient because once the high chair is collapsed, it occupies a much smaller amount of floor space. This allows for more discrete placement throughout restaurants (for example, next to a host stand or a service counter), and the collapsed chair's slim profile allows for many chairs to be stacked without obstructing views or reducing the aesthetic appeal of the space.
Most importantly, the disclosed invention is safe for the child. Once the child is on the seat 17, the downward force exerted by the child's weight keeps the high chair from collapsing. In addition, when the crotch strap 18 is connected to the seat 17, the high chair is unable to collapse.
Lastly, the high chair will remain sturdy and undamaged over time because, unlike non-collapsible models, stacking does not subject joints to additional wear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the high chair in its opened form standing upright.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright.

FIG. 3 is a back view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of prior art standing upright.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of two of the restaurant high chairs horizontally stacked standing upright.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Refer to FIGS. 1-4. As defined by the text and drawings in the present disclosure, a restaurant and public eating area high chair contains two front legs 11, two back legs 10, a seat 17 with a backrest 14, a front bar 16, and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling out of the seat 17; here, the side rails are created by the top portion of the front legs 11. Not shown is a seat belt connected to the seat that buckles and tightens over the child's waist. When the high chair is opened and placed so that the front bar 15 meets the edge of a table, the child is able to use the table surface.
The present invention has parts that are joined by both permanent joints and moveable joints. The permanent joints connect parts of the high chair that remain fixed in the opened and collapsed forms. The permanent joints are: the horizontal support bar 12 connecting both of the back legs 10, the horizontal support bar 12 and foot rest 13 connecting both of the front legs 11, the front bar 16 connecting to the front bar supports 15, and the backrest 14 connecting to both back legs 10. The moveable joints connect parts of the high chair that change position in relation to one another in the opened and collapsed forms. These joints are represented in FIGS. 1-4 by 20, 21, 22, 23. These joints allow for a pivoting motion connecting the back legs 10 and front bar supports 15, the back legs 10 and front legs 11, the front bar supports 15 and seat 17, and the front legs 11 and seat 17. Pivotal joint movement resulting from external force causes the different parts of the high chair to move in a circular motion in relation to one another.
Assume that the quick-release buckle 24 connecting the crotch strap 18 to the seat 17 is connected when the high chair is in its opened form FIG. 1. To change from the opened form FIG. 1 to the collapsed form FIGS. 2-4, the child must first be removed from the high chair. Then, the quick release buckle 24 connecting the crotch strap 18 to the seat 17 must be unbuckled. Once unbuckled, one can place one's hand on the backrest 14 and another hand on the front bar 16. While tilting the high chair on its front legs 10 and pulling the front bar 16 back towards the top of the backrest 14, the seat 17 rotates forward ninety degrees, until it is perpendicular with the floor. When the seat 17 has rotated forward ninety degrees, the high chair has reached its collapsed form FIGS. 2-4. In its collapsed form, the front legs 11 touch the horizontal support bar 12 that is connected to the back legs 10 while the front bar supports 15 touch the top of the backrest 14. Refer to FIG. 3. At this point, the crotch strap 18 can be re-buckled to the second female quick release buckle 25 that is permanently connected to the back of the backrest 14, securing the high chair in its collapsed form.
Refer to FIGS. 2-4. Assume the quick release buckle 24 connecting the crotch strap 18 to the backrest 14 is connected when the high chair is in its collapsed form. To change from the collapsed form FIGS. 2-4 to the opened form FIG. 1, the high chair must be placed close to where it is intended for use. Once placed, the quick release buckle 25 connecting the crotch strap 18 to the backrest 14 must be unbuckled. At this point, one can place one's hand on the backrest and another hand on the front bar 16. While balancing the high chair on its front legs 11 and pushing the front bar away from the backrest 14, the seat 17 is forced to rotate ninety degrees back, until it is parallel with the floor FIG. 1. As the seat 17 rotates, the bottom of the back legs 10 and the bottom of the front legs 11 are forced apart. Once the seat 17 has rotated ninety degrees, the back legs 11 and front legs 10 are at their maximum distance from each other, and the back legs 10 can be rested on the floor. To ensure that the seat 17 does not continue to rotate forward past ninety degrees, there are front bar support stoppers 19 that protrude from the inside of the upper portion of the front legs 11.
Refer to FIG. 1. The rotating joints 21 and the rotating joints 23 are the pivot points of a circular motion, where the rotating joints 21 and the rotating joints 23 rotate around the rotating joints 22. Since the distance between the rotating joints 21 and the rotating joints 22 are stationary, and the distance between the rotating joints 22 and the rotating joints 23 is stationary, when the rotating joints 21 and the rotating joints 23 are at their farthest from each other, the high chair has reached its opened form, and cannot open anymore FIG. 1. At this point, the rotating joints 21, the rotating joints 22, and the rotating joints 23 converge into a straight line. When the disclosed invention is collapsing, the rotating joints 21 and the rotating joints 23 are pushed towards each other, pivoting around the rotating joints 22. At this point, the back legs 10 and the front legs 11 move together and the seat 17 rotates forward, until it reaches its collapsed form. FIGS. 2-4.
When the restaurant high chair is opened, the distance of the crotch strap 18, from the front bar 16 to the female end of the quick release buckle 24, is the same as the distance from the front bar 16 to the female end of the quick release buckle 25 on the back of the backrest 14 when the restaurant high chair is closed. This allows the crotch strap 18 to be buckled and unbuckled in both the opened form FIG. 1 and collapsed form FIGS. 2-4 without having to adjust length of the crotch strap 18.
When a child is using the high chair, it must be in its opened form FIG. 1. When open, the crotch strap connects from the front bar 16 to the front of the seat 17 with a quick release buckle 24. When the high chair is opened FIG. 1, the crotch strap 18 must be fastened to the female end of the quick release buckle 24. This protects the child from sliding under the front bar 16. This also protects the child by ensuring that the high chair does not collapse while moving the child to and from the seat. After disconnecting the crotch strap 18 from the front seat 17, the chair can be collapsed. Once collapsed, the crotch strap 18 is connected to the female end of the quick release buckle 25 on the back of the backrest 14. This keeps the high chair in its collapsed form when not in use. When collapsed FIG. 2, the crotch strap keeps the high chair from opening by connecting to the female end of the quick release buckle 25 on the back of the backrest 14 FIG. 3.

Claims

1. A restaurant and public eating area high chair comprised of

Two front legs and two back legs that support a seat that allows an infant or toddler to use a table when the high chair is placed at one.

A backrest, front bar, and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling out while sitting.

A crotch strap that connects the front bar to the seat so that the child cannot slide under the front bar when each leg is placed on either side of said crotch strap.

2. The restaurant and public eating area high chair of claim 1 that collapses flat so that multiple restaurant high chairs can be stacked horizontally next to one another.

3. The restaurant and public eating area high chair of claim 1 that collapses by pulling back the front bar. Pulling back the front bar forces the seat to rotate ninety degrees forward and forces the front legs to come together so that the restaurant/public eating area high chair of claim 1 collapses to a flat form.

4. The restaurant and public eating area high chair of claim 1 with a crotch strap that is detachable and doubles as a strap to hold the high chair in its collapsed form.

5. The restaurant public eating area high chair of claim 1 with two front legs wherein the top portion of the front legs double as side rails.