US20210112986A1

US20210112986A1 - Type of simple folding chair

Info

Publication number: US20210112986A1
Application number: US16/656,819
Authority: US
Inventors: Andrew David Frankel; Shi-Ping Zheng; Tian-Xia Zheng
Original assignee: Zenithen USA LLC
Current assignee: Zenithen USA LLC
Priority date: 2019-10-18
Filing date: 2019-10-18
Publication date: 2021-04-22

Abstract

A folding chair that includes a frame and seat and back fabric supported by the frame. The frame includes primary leg frames and secondary leg frames that cross-hinge on both sides, and the lower sections hinge to a pair of backrest bars of the secondary leg frames. There is a support ring or armrest bars at the hinges between the primary leg bars and the backrest bars to form traction to the backrest bars and to provide armrest function.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention is to the folding chair category. Specifically, it refers to a type of simple folding chair, and the backrest area of this folding chair has an optional embodiment having of woven straps.

Technical Background

There are many types of folding chairs currently available in the market and they provide diverse options. One such chair is shown in published pre grant application number 201120038961.3, which shows a type of simple folding backrest chair that includes leg frames, seat area, and backrest. The leg frame are two rectangular steel tube frames with both sides cross-hinged at the center, forming a foldable structure that opens into an X-shaped support. The seat area is a square canvas placed horizontally above the two leg frames and are firmly fastened to the top of the two leg frames. The inner part of the upper backrest has a bow-shaped steel tube frame for the rectangular canvas. The bow of the backrest curves upwardly at an inclination and the lower part is firmly fastened to the upper part of both sides of the leg frames, such that support must be provided for the backward leaning position to maintain the inclination of the backrest and to be able to withstand the backward leaning force. The patent is to a traditional folding stool with a backrest.
Patent application number 201621117245.3 discloses a stable, portable folding chair, which simply replaces the square canvas in the aforementioned patent with straps in order to achieve a breathable effect.
Small structure and simplicity are the biggest advantages of this type of folding chair. It can satisfy the needs for temporary seating, but the lack of armrests significantly impacts its level of comfort. How to improve the shortcomings of available folding chairs is an object of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A purpose of this invention is to design a simple folding chair with armrests located at the connections between the front of the seat area and the backrest.
A technical solution of this invention is implemented with the following method: a simple folding chair that includes a frame and a seat fabric supported by the frame. The frame includes primary leg bars, secondary leg bars, and backrest bars. The primary leg bars and the secondary leg bars both form a U-shaped structure, and the leg bars on both sides cross-hinge to form the support. The lower sections of a pair of backrest bars hinge to the top sections of the second leg bars. A special feature is that it is also equipped with a support ring, where the front part of the support ring hinges to the top sections of the primary legs and the back part hinges to the top sections of the pair of backrest bars to form armrests on both sides. The hinges of the backrest bars and the secondary leg bars can be lifted and closed toward the front part of the support ring to form a folded structure. The seat fabric is divided into seat area and backrest area. The front edge of the seat area and the upper edge of the backrest area hangs on to the front and back edges of the support ring, respectively.
The U-shaped bottom bars of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars rest on the ground, and the hinges between the upper sections of the secondary leg bars have a horizontal bar. The connection between the seat area and the backrest area of the seat fabric is anchored to the horizontal bar, and the horizontal bar forms the support and shape of the seat.
The seat fabric is formed by an arrangement of multiple woven straps, and form one of the following structures: 1) Seat area and backrest area having a continuous strap, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring, respectively; 2) Seat area and backrest area having a continuous strap, and the woven strap wraps around the horizontal bar and is sewn into a cover, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring, respectively; 3) Seat area and backrest area having independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, the two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the front part the support ring and the horizontal bar, and all the seat woven straps near the horizontal bar are cross woven to a side-oriented woven strap. One end of each of the backrest woven straps is woven to the side-oriented woven strap, while the other end is anchored to the back part of the support ring, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the side-oriented woven straps; and 4) Seat area and backrest area have independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, the two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the front part the support ring and the horizontal bar, the two ends of the backrest woven straps are anchored to horizontal bar and the back part of the support ring, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the horizontal bar.
The support ring is a closed circle or an oval structure. The two hinge points between the front part of the support ring and the primary legs form an area where the seat cloth fabric is located as a transition. One end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap is directly sewn to the edge of the seat cloth fabric. The hinge point between the back part of the support ring and the pair of backrest bars forms an area where the backrest cloth fabric is located as a transition. One end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap is directly sewn to the edge of the backrest cloth fabric.
There are also chain stoppers at the two sides of the hinge points of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars. The chain stoppers have one of the following structural options: double hinge plates, traction chains, or woven straps.
A simple folding chair that includes a frame and seat fabric supported by the frame. The frame includes primary leg bars, secondary leg bars, and backrest bars. The primary leg bars, the secondary leg bars, and the backrest bars form a U-shaped structure, and the leg bars on both sides of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars cross-hinge to form the support. The lower sections of the pair of said backrest bars hinge to the top sections of the secondary leg bars. Its special feature is that it is also equipped with a pair of armrest bars, where the front parts of the armrest bars hinge to the top sections of the primary legs and the back part hinges to the top sections of the backrest bars. The hinges of the backrest bars and the secondary leg bars can be lifted and closed toward the front parts of hinges between the primary leg bars and the armrest bars to form a folded structure. The seat fabric is divided into seat area and backrest area. The seat area is anchored between the upper sections of the primary leg bars and the secondary leg bars, and upper edge of the backrest area hangs on to the upper section of the pair of backrest bars.
The primary leg bars and the secondary leg bars are part of a closed rectangular structure that includes a U-shaped structure.
The seat fabric is made of woven straps. The seat area and the backrest area are independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, respectively. The two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the U-shaped bottom bars of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars, the two ends of the backrest woven straps are anchored to the U-shaped bottom bars of the secondary leg bars and the backrest bars, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the U-shaped bottom bar of the secondary leg bars.
This invention adds a support ring or armrest bars between the front edge of the seat area and the backrest area to form a traction backrest bar and to have a larger design for the backrest inclination angle for longer sitting time. The design also provides an armrest function for resting the arms to improve the level of comfort. In addition, woven straps with good breathability are used as the seat fabric. In addition to a simple parallel design, the woven straps can also add a crisscross form to have more varieties of woven patterns to provide personalized options.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the simple folding chair.

FIG. 2 is a magnified illustration of selection A from FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B is partial illustration of woven strap configuration II.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side-view of the simple folding chair.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the simple folding chair support frame.

FIG. 5 is an illustrated of the folded simple folding chair.

FIG. 6 is a partial illustration of woven strap configuration Ill.

FIG. 7 is a partial illustration of woven strap configuration IV.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of simple folding chair II.

FIG. 9 is a magnified illustration of selection B from FIG. 8.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. Namely, in the drawings the following reference numbers refer to the following part:

1—frame
11—primary leg bar
111—U-shaped bottom bar
12—secondary leg bar
13—backrest bar
14—support ring
15—horizontal bar
16—armrest bar
2—seat fabric
21—seat area
211—sea area woven strap
212—seat cloth fabric
22—backrest area
221—backrest woven strap
222—backrest cloth fabric
23—side-oriented woven strap
24—anchoring woven strap
3—chain stopper

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Example 1

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a simple folding chair includes support frame 1 and seat fabric 2 supported by the support frame.
Frame 1 includes primary leg frames 11, secondary frames 12, backrest bars 13, and support ring 14. Both primary leg frames 11 and secondary leg frames 12 form a U-shaped structure and thus have leg bars on both sides and U-shaped bottom bar 111. The ideal process is by bending a bar. The leg bars on both sides of the primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12 cross-hinge to form the support, so the main body forms an X-shaped cross which can be opened or folded up. The lower sections of a pair of backrest bars 13 hinge to the top sections of the second leg bars 12. The front part of the support ring 14 hinges to the top sections of the primary legs 11 and the back part hinges to the top sections of the backrest bars 13 thus connecting to the pair of backrest bars 13 and form armrests on both sides to provide seating comfort. The folding direction is shown in FIG. 3, where it is lifted forward from the hinges between secondary leg bars 12 and backrest bars 13, such that the primary leg frames 11 and support ring 14 close to form a folded structure. The folded and flat shape of frame 1 is shown in FIG. 5.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, to further strengthen the structure, the U-shaped bottom bars 11 of the primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12 rest on the ground, and the hinges between the upper sections of the secondary leg bars have a horizontal bar 15, thus forming a rectangular structure. It can also be understood that the secondary leg bars 12 an be bent into the rectangular frame. Both upper and lower sections have a U-shaped bottom bar 111, and the upper part of the U-shaped bottom bar 111 is identical to the horizontal bar 15. The function of the horizontal bar 15 is the strengthen the hinges between the secondary leg bars 12 and the backrest bars 13, such that they will not collapse due to weight, and it also serves as an anchor for seat fabric 2.
Seat fabric 2 is divided into two functional areas, namely, seat area 21 and backrest area 22. The front edge of the seat area 21 and the upper edge of the backrest area 22 hang on to the front and back edges of the support ring, respectively, and the armrests on both sides are hollow and are not enclosed by fabric to form a simple sitting style. Furthermore, the connection between seat area 21 and backrest area 22 of the seat fabric is anchored to backrest bar 15, and the horizontal bar forms the support and shape of the seat and back, such that a good seat shape can be obtained from the soft fabric.
In this example, the seat fabric 2 is formed by the arrangement of multiple woven straps with the following specific structures:
1) Seat area 21 and backrest area 22 have a continuous strap, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring 14, respectively. In this structure, the woven straps are in a hanging form, and the shape of the seat fabric 2 is relatively hard to maintain in a stable shape. Therefore, the bottom part of each section of the seat area that corresponds to each woven strap is further stabilized by an anchoring woven strap 24. The top section of the anchoring woven strap 24 is fastened to the horizontal bar 15, thus providing a shape-forming function to the seat area 21 and improving the weight bearing capacity of the seat area, as shown in FIG. 6.
2) Seat area 21 and backrest area 22 have a continuous strap, and the woven strap wraps around the horizontal bar 15 and is stitched into a cover, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring 14, respectively. The woven strap process in this structure is the simplest, but the connection between the seat area 21 and the backrest area 22 has a significant corner, as shown in FIG. 9.
3) Seat area 21 and backrest area 22 have independent seat woven straps 211 and backrest woven straps 221, the two ends of the seat woven straps 211 are anchored to the front part the support ring 14 and the horizontal bar 15, and all the seat woven straps 21 near the horizontal bar 15 are cross woven to a side-oriented woven strap 23. One end of each of the backrest 221 woven straps is woven to the side-oriented woven strap 23, while the other end is anchored to the back part of the support ring 14, i.e., the side-oriented woven strap 23 is the anchoring point of the lower section of the backrest woven strap. In this structure, the backrest woven straps 221 may have a certain curve to match the buttocks of the user and to provide a curved form. In addition, the seat woven straps 211 and backrest woven straps 221 crisscross with each other to present an aesthetic appearance. Thus, it is the preferred solution, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The woven straps in this solution can utilize an aligned orientation, as shown in FIG. 2B. Specifically, backrest woven straps 221 and seat woven straps 211 are aligned, and the lower section is directly anchored to the seat woven straps 221, which can also maintain the curved shaped of backrest woven straps 221. In structure, the side-oriented woven strap 23 can be maintained to connect all the seat woven straps 211, or it can be omitted.
4) Seat area 21 and backrest area 22 have independent seat woven straps 211 and backrest woven straps 221, the two ends of the seat woven straps 211 are anchored to the front part the support ring 14 and the horizontal bar 15, the two ends of the backrest woven straps 221 are anchored to horizontal bar 15 and the back part of the support ring 14, and the seat woven straps 211 and the backrest woven straps 221 are alternatively distributed on the horizontal bar, as shown in FIG. 7.
The aforementioned woven straps are in a vertical and parallel format and are in the same direction as a pair of backrest bars 13. The seat woven straps 211 and the backrest woven straps 221 can either be aligned or staggered to provide the best appearance. However, solutions such as a checkered pattern can also be implemented, e.g., anchor multiple side-oriented woven straps 23 on seat woven straps 211 and backrest woven straps 221 to form checkers. Or, mesh fabric can be used directly to form a simple folding chair with a different appearance.
Furthermore, this application preferably uses a support ring 14, which has a closed circle or oval structure. The two hinge points between the front part of the support ring 14 and the primary legs 11 form an area where the seat cloth fabric 212 is located as a transition. One end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap 211 is directly sewn to the edge of the seat cloth fabric 212. The hinge point between the back part of the support ring 14 and the pair of backrest bars 13 forms an area where the backrest cloth fabric 222 is located as a transition. One end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap 221 is directly sewn to the edge of the backrest cloth fabric 222. The circle ring or oval ring is preferred for its moderate shape. In addition, it forms additional spaces at the front edge of the seat and the top of the backrest, so that the legs and the back will not directly touch the bars after eating. Both sides curve outward to match the natural form of resting arms, making it more comfortable. As shown in FIG. 1, the seat cloth fabric 212 and backrest cloth fabric 222 have horizontal weight bearing capacity and a certain level of flexibility, and are not hard on the legs and back, and thus are more preferred. In addition, the multiple woven straps are equal in length, making it easier to process as well as aesthetically more pleasing.
In addition, there are also chain stoppers 3 at the two sides of the hinge points of the primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12. The chain stoppers 3 has one of the following structures: double hinge plates, traction chains, or woven straps. They serve as stoppers and have a weight bearing function; they alleviate the range of extension of the lower part of the hinge between primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12.

Example 2

In FIGS. 8 and 9, the design is similar to the aforementioned example, but the support ring 14 is directly replaced two armrest bars 16 to form a more compact structure. Specifically, a type of simple folding chair is shown that includes a frame 1 and seat fabric 2 supported by the frame. The frame 1 includes primary leg bars 11, secondary leg bars 12, backrest bars 13, and armrest bars 16. The primary leg bars 11, the secondary leg bars 12, and the backrest bars 13 form a U-shaped structure, so the structure has leg bars on both sides and U-shaped bottom bars 111. The leg bars on both sides of the primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12 cross-hinge to form the support. The lower sections of a pair of backrest bars 13 hinge to the top sections of the secondary leg bars 12. The front parts of the armrest bars 16 hinge to the top sections of the primary leg bars 11 and the back part hinges to the top sections of the backrest bars 13. The hinges of the backrest bars 14 and the secondary leg bars 12 can be lifted and closed toward the front parts of hinges between the primary leg bars 11 and the armrest bars 16 to form a folded structure.
In this structure, the preferred solution for the primary leg bars 11 and the secondary leg bars 12 is a closed rectangular structure, i.e., a rectangular framed is formed by connecting the ends of bent bars. The rectangular frame can be understood as both upper and lower sections having a U-shaped bottom bar 111, and the upper part of the U-shaped bottom bar 111 is identical to the horizontal bar 15. The advantage of choosing a rectangular frame is that it 1) Provides convenient anchoring to seat fabric 2; and 2) Support frame 1 rests more stably on the ground. The process of the seat fabric 2 is the same as that in Example 1, i.e., the structure in Example 1 is applicable to this example.
The seat fabric 2 is divided into seat area 21 and backrest area 22. The seat area 21 is anchored between the upper sections of the primary leg bars 11 and the secondary leg bars 12, i.e., between the upper parts of the two U-shaped bottom bars 111. The upper edge of the backrest area 22 hangs on to the upper section of the pair of backrest bars 14; more specifically, on the U-shaped bottom bars 111 of the backrest bars 14.
Additionally, the seat fabric 2 is made of woven straps. The seat area 21 and the backrest area 22 are independent seat woven straps 211 and backrest woven straps 221, respectively. The two ends of the seat woven straps 211 are anchored to the U-shaped bottom bars 111 of the primary leg bars 11 and secondary leg bars 12, the two ends of the backrest woven straps 221 are anchored to the U-shaped bottom bars 111 of the secondary leg bars 12 and the backrest bars 13, and the seat woven straps 211 and the backrest woven straps 221 are alternatively distributed on the U-shaped bottom bar 111 of the secondary leg bars 12, as shown in FIG. 7.
In this example, the secondary leg frame 12 is a bent U-shaped structure and is formed into a closed rectangular frame by a separate horizontal bar. Therefore, the aforementioned U-shaped bar and the horizontal bar 15 are the same part, or in other words, the upper and lower sections of the primary leg bars 11 and the secondary leg bars 12 that form the rectangular frame structure have both the U-shaped bottom bar 111 or the horizontal bar 15.
To summarize, woven straps are the preferred seat fabric 2, but regular fabrics such as nylon straps, mesh cloth and oxford cloth are not excluded. In terms of the sewing and fastening of the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps, solutions such as heat fusion, metal hoop or rivet locking can be used. These are all regular anchoring solutions and are applicable to this structure.

Claims

I claim:

1. A folding chair that includes a frame and seat fabric supported by the frame;

the frame includes primary leg bars, secondary leg bars, and backrest bars;

the primary leg bars, the secondary leg bars, and the backrest bars form a u-shaped structure, and the leg bars on both sides of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars cross-hinge to form the support;

the lower sections of a pair of said backrest bars hinge to the top sections of the secondary leg bars;

it is also equipped with a support ring, where the front part of the support ring hinges to the top sections of the primary legs and the back part hinges to the top sections of the backrest bars, and both ends form the armrests;

the hinges of the backrest bars and the second leg bars can be lifted and closed toward the front parts of hinges between the primary leg bars and the armrest bars to form a folded structure;

the seat fabric is divided into seat area and backrest area; and

the front edge of the seat area and the upper edge of the backrest area hang on to the front and back edges of the support ring.

2. The chair in claim 1, wherein the u-shaped bottom bars of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars rest of the ground, and the hinges between the upper sections of the secondary leg bars have a horizontal bar; and the connection between the seat area and the backrest area of the seat fabric is anchored on the horizontal bar, and the horizontal bar forms the support and shape of the seat.

3. The chair in claim 2, wherein the seat fabric is formed by the arrangement of multiple woven straps, and forms one of the following structures:

a) seat area and backrest area have a continuous strap, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring, respectively;

b) seat area and backrest area have a continuous strap, and the woven strap wraps around the horizontal bar and is sewn into a cover, and the two ends are anchored to the front part and back part of the support ring, respectively;

c) seat area and backrest area have independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, the two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the front part the support ring and the horizontal bar, and all the seat woven straps near the horizontal bar are cross woven to a side-oriented woven strap;

one end of each of the backrest woven straps is woven to the side-oriented woven strap, while the other end is anchored to the back part of the support ring, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the side-oriented woven straps; and

d) seat area and backrest area have independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, the two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the front part the support ring and the horizontal bar, the two ends of the backrest woven straps are anchored to horizontal bar and the back part of the support ring, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the horizontal bar.

4. The chair in claim 3, wherein:

the support ring is a closed circle or oval structure;

the two hinge points between the front part of the support ring and the primary legs form an area where the seat cloth fabric is located as a transition;

one end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap is directly sewn to the edge of the seat cloth fabric;

the hinge point between the back part of the support ring and the pair of backrest bars forms an area where the backrest cloth fabric is located as a transition;

one end of the woven strap or seat back woven strap is directly sewn to the edge of the backrest cloth fabric.

5. The chair in claim 2, wherein there are also chain stoppers at the two sides of the hinge points of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars; and the chain stoppers have one of the following structural options: double hinge plates, traction chains, or woven straps.

6. A folding chair includes a frame and seat fabric supported by the frame;

the frame includes primary leg bars, secondary leg bars, and backrest bars;

the primary leg bars, the secondary leg bars, and the backrest bars both form a u-shaped structure, and the leg bars on both sides of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars cross-hinge to form the support;

its special feature is: it is also equipped with a pair of armrest bars, where the front parts of the armrest bars hinge to the top sections of the primary legs and the back part hinges to the top sections of the backrest bars;

the hinges of the backrest bars and the secondary leg bars can be lifted and closed toward the front parts of hinges between the primary leg bars and the armrest bars to form a folded structure;

the seat fabric is divided into seat area and backrest area; and

the seat area is anchored between the upper sections of the primary leg bars and the secondary leg bars, and upper edge of the backrest area hangs on to the upper section of the pair of backrest bars.

7. The chair in claim 6, wherein the primary leg bars and the secondary leg bars is a closed rectangular structure that includes a U-shaped structure.

8. The chair in claim 6, wherein:

the seat fabric is made of woven straps;

the seat area and the backrest area are independent seat woven straps and backrest woven straps, respectively; and

the two ends of the seat woven straps are anchored to the u-shaped bottom bars of the primary leg bars and secondary leg bars, the two ends of the backrest woven straps are anchored to the u-shaped bottom bars of the secondary leg bars and the backrest bars, and the seat woven straps and the backrest woven straps are alternatively distributed on the u-shaped bottom bar of the secondary leg bars.