US2816598A - Child's high chair - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 17, 1957 i s. M. SHONE 2,816,593

' CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR Filed April 4, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet l SAMUEL M. SHONE,

INVENTOR.

. ,lrraepsy Dec. 17, 1957 s. M. SHONE CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1955 54/1/1051. M, SHONE) INVENTOR.

Dec. 17, 1957 s. M. SHONE CHILD'S HIGH (:HAIR

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1955 gn/waaz. M, .S'HaA/E,

INVENTOR.

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CHILDS HIGH CHAIR Samuel M. Shone; Los Angeles County, Calif.

Application April 4, 1955, Serial No. 498,953

Claims. (Cl; 155-144) The present invention relates to anew and improved childs high chair. More specifically itrelates to a foldable high chair of the class described.

Virtually, every adult'in the United States at the present time is familiarwith one or more types ofhigh chairs designed for use with young children. Virtually, every adult in the United States is also familiar with the limitations of such various priorhigh chair constructions.

To be completely acceptable. in the modern day, and age a childs high chairmust present appearancewhich is essentially pleasing to-theeye. It must also-be designed in such a manner thatit may-befolded intov a'rather compact unit which may be. transportedby parents with a minimum of difiiculty from onelocationto; another, as, for example, when'a child is taken out forrdinnen; Fur? ther, to be acceptable in the present-day marketia high chair must be of comparatively simple construction so that it does notrtake a mechanicalengineer to erect the high chair into an operative position from afoldedposi tion and further it must be comparativelyeasy tofoldthe high chair into a compact unit. Itgoeswith thesaying that a high chair to be'acceptable in'themodernmarket must also be comparatively light in weight-and must'in clude some provisionfor a food'tray so that this food tray may be easily moved froma position immediately adjacent to a child seated in the high chair to 'astorage position. This storage position is preferablyina location where the food tray is readily accessible. The foodtray must however be manufactured in such a way that no great amount of space. is required in order tomove it from a position where it is used for the purpose intended to a storage position.

It is a broad object of the present inventionto provide new and improved folding high chairs. for childrenmeeting the above requirementsso as to be, completelyacceptable in themodern-marken A furtheruobject-of the:p resent invention is to provide high chairs of the'class described. which are comparatively light, simply constructed, easy to fold and unfold, and.which are comparatively; re sistant to damage caused by rough handling. Another object of theinvention is to providefolding highzchairs or the class described utilizingnovel storage means for a food tray, and employing novel locking means servingrto hold the high chair, in 'What may be termed, a 1locked;posi tion when it is foldedrso thataccidental unfoldingrofi the chair itself is prevented; ltrmay be-consideredFanobject of the invention to provide a design for achilds high chair which is exceedingly pleasing totheieyeiand which is of decided utility. Further objectsof the present in= vent as Well as many advantages of it will beapparent from the remainder of this specificationincludi'ng' the appended claims and the accompanying drawings-in'which:

Fig; 1 is a perspective-view ofa high chair of the present invention in an operativeposition;

Fig; 2 is aside elevation'alviewof a*high*chair*of "this invention;

nited States Patent 0 Fig. 3 is a partial front elevational view of a high chair as herein described;

Fig. 4 is a partialsideelevational view showing a food tray used with a high chair of the-invention in the storage position;

Fig. 5 is a side view of' the high chair of the invention in a folded position;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectionalview taken at line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of partof the high-chair of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken at line. 8-8 of Fig.2 of the drawings;

Fig. 9 is across-sectional view taken at 'line 9-9 of Fig. 3 of the drawings;

Fig. 10 is. a diagrammatic. view illustrating the operation of the locking means employed with this invention.

In all figures of. the drawings like numbers have been employed to designate like parts.

This invention is summarized in detail by'the appended claims formingwpart of this description. If desired,- however, the invention may be briefly summarized as required by theRules of- Practiceof the United States Patent Ofiice inpatent cases as being concerned with a chair of the class described in which include: two first side legs having upper and lower ends and center sections; two secondside legs havingupper and lower ends and center sections, said secondside legs being positioned so that each. of said second side legs is located-adjacent toone of said=firstr side legs;first pivotmeans connecting the center sections of said adjacent side legs; back support means. connecting said-upper ends of said second side legs; a seat back. positioned adja-centto-said back support I means; second pivot means connectingsaid back support means: andsaid seat :back; aseat bottom positioned'above said side legs was to have an'endlocated adjacent to said seat back; third pivot means connecting said seat bottom and said seatback; arms projecting generally parallel to said seat bottom; fourth pivot means connecting said arms to said seat back; a support bracket having sides and a center sectionpositioned with said center section located beneath said seat bottom and with said sides projecting around said seat bottom to adjacent said arms; fifth pivot means connecting said sides of said support bracket and saidarms; and-sixth pivot meansconnecting the upper ends of said first side legs, said sides of said support bracket and said seat bottom. Unfortunately a brief summary of this category is not considered to be sufliciently self-explanatory so as-to-fully apprise those skilled in theart to which'this invention pertains as tothe precise nature of the invention or of its operation.

In Figs. 1, 2 and-4 of the drawings there is shown a childs high chair of the. present invention 10which in cludes first side legs 12 having lower ends 14, centersec= tions 16, and upper ends 18. Positioned adjacent to these first side legs are secondsidelegs 20 having lower ends 22; center sections 24 and upper ends 26. The center sections 16 and 24 of the adjacent'sidelegs 12 and 20 are secured together by means of rivets 28 serving as pivot means connecting these adjacent side legs.

Preferably with-the invention the side legs 12 and 2t) oneach sideof the chair 10 are bowed or bent slightly towards the center of the chair as illustratedin Fig. 3 of the drawings so as to provide an amount of sideways stability to the chair 10. The lower ends 14 and22 ofthe legs 12 and 20 are preferablyprovided with rubber caps 30 serving to prevent'marring of a floor uponwhich the chair 10 is located. Further, the lower ends 14 of the legs 12' andlower ends 22 of the legs 20 are-attached to each other by means of projecting-rods 32so'as to hold the ends of these two sets of side legs in a fixed relationship with respect to one another.

Attached to the upper ends of the second side legs 20 is a generally U-shaped back support 34, having an upper center section 36 and sides 38. These sides are attached directly to the upper ends 26 of the second side legs 20. It is preferred to form the second side legs 20 and the back support 34 out of a single length of material so as to avoid any difficulty in connecting this back support 34 to the second side legs 20. Small plates 40 are secured as by rivets or the like to the sides 38 of the back support 34 so as to project therefrom in such a manner that these plates may be used to carry rivets 42 serving as pivots carrying above a seat back 44. This seat back preferably consists of a generally U-shaped member 46 to which is secured a back board 48. This back board may be if desired covered with any type of plastic material, or padding or the like. It is seen from the examination of the drawings that the rivets 44 are located along the sides 50 of the U-shaped member 40 adjacent to but spaced from the ends of these sides. Thus, with this construction a certain folding action may take place as will be subsequently described in such a manner that the center section 36 of the back support 34 will be the upper member of the entire chair when folded.

A seat or seat bottom 52 is located directly beneath the seat back 44 so as to project therefrom above the first and second side legs 12 and 20. This seat bottom 52 is of substantially the same construction as the seat back 44. Thus, it includes a U-shaped member 54 to which there is secured a board 56 which may, if desired, be covered with appropriate plastic material, padding, or the like. To the sides 58 of the seat bottom 52 adjacent to the ends of these sides there are secured through conventional means two triangular plates 60 which are adapted to carry rivets 62 so as to secure the seat bottom 52 to the seat back 44 at a point below the rivets 42 previously described. Thus, the rivets 62 are located substantially at the ends of the sides 50 while the rivets 42 are located at a short distance from the ends of these sides 50. If desired, the rivets 62 may be termed pivot means since they operatively connect the seat back 44 with the seat bottom 52, so that these two members may be folded with respect to one another as will be subsequently described.

It is preferable with the instant invention to include arms 64 located generally parallel to the seat bottom 52 above the sides 58 thereof. These arms are preferably secured to the center area of the sides 50 by means of other rivets 66, serving to pivotally connect these arms 64 to the seat back 44. Each of the arms 64 normally bears against the back support 34. Upon each of the arms 64 adjacent to the ends thereof there are normally secured by conventional means brackets 68 of a construction such as is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. These brackets include a flap top section 70 and a side Wall 72 having formed thereon a number of trapezoidal openings 74. These openings are preferably positioned in line with respect to one another so as to be parallel to the arms 64.

The side walls 72 of the brackets 68 also include projecting tabs 76 which are adapted to be pivotally connected through the use of rivets 78 to a generally U- shaped support bracket 70 which is disposed in a plane roughly parallel to the back support 34 and the seat back 44. This U-shaped support bracket 80 includes a center section 82 positioned beneath the seat bottom 52 and sides 84 projecting up around the seat bottom 52 to within the vicinity of the arms 64 where these sides 84 are attached through the use of the rivets 78 to the tabs 76. The construction of the invention may, if desired, be such that the ends of these sides 84 are located immediately beneath the arms 84 when the chair 10 is in position such as is indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, so as to provide support to the arms 64.-

The sides 84 are attached to the sides 58 of the seat bottom 52 and to the upper ends 18 of the side legs 12 in a manner indicated in Fig. 8 of the drawings through the use of bolts 86 projecting through all three of these parts. It is considered obvious in Fig. 8 of the drawings that the portions of these sides 84 traversed by the bolts 86 are immediately adjacent to a center section 82 of the U-shaped support bracket. By virtue of this construction the U-shaped support bracket, in effect, serves as a member acting much in the manner of a truss preventing bending of the upper ends 18 of the side legs 12 towards one another and preventing undesirable bending of the seat bottom 52. This may in certain instances be quite important, particularly when in order to lessen the weight of the chair 10 the strengths of the materials employed for the seat bottom 52 are closely calculated.

It is readily seen from Fig. 2 of the drawings that the bolts 86 are connected to the sides 58 of the seat bottom 52 within the center sections of these sides slightly towards the front of the seat bottom 52. Between the bolts 86 and the front of the seat bottom 52 a foot rest support 88 is attached to the sides 58 through the use of rivets 90 serving to pivotally mount this foot rest support. The support 88 itself is, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, of generally U-shaped configuration. It includes adjacent to a central section 92 a pattern of a number of holes 94 which are adapted to be used in connecting a foot rest 96 to this foot rest support. The manner in which the foot rest 96 is connected to the support 88 is best seen in Fig. 9 of the drawings, where it is shown that the foot rest 96 includes a center board 98 to the ends of which there are attached angle brackets 100 which are adapted to fit against sides 102 of the foot rest support 88 so that bolts 104 may be passed through these angle brackets and through holes 94 securing the foot rest to the foot rest support 88. Thus with this construction it is very easy for a householder to move the foot rest 96 with respect to the seat bottom 52 so as to obtain proper adjustment for a child of any height by merely moving the bolts 102 and the foot rest 96 itself into position adjacent to the various holes 94 formed in the sides 102.

Small links 106 are attached through the use of rivets 108 to the sides 102 of the foot rest support 88 a short distance beneath the seat bottom 52. These links 106 are also connected through the use of rivets 110 to the sides 84 or the U-shaped support bracket 80 immediately above the bolts 86. Thus, the rivets 110 are located be tween the bolt 86 and the rivets 78.

All of the various elements of the parts described in the preceding co-act together in such a manner that the high chair 10 may be readily folded into a compact unit such as is illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. At the start of this folding action the seat back 44 is rotated in the direction of the arrow at the top of Fig. 2 of the drawings. If desired the center section 36 of the back support 34 may be held during such rotation as it is considered obvious that the rotation of the seat back 44 is about the rivets 42. As this rotation occurs the arms 64 tend to turn with respect to the seat back 44 and, further, the seat bottom 52 tends to turn with respect to the seat back in essentially the same manner as the arms 64. The movement of the arms 64 and the seat bottom 52 during the folding of the chair 10 approximates the movement of two parallel sides of a cardboard box having no ends as the two sides are pushed towards one another. In essence, this may be termed essentially a parallelogram type of action, the two legs of the parallelogram being the sides 84 of the U-shaped support bracket 80 between the bolts 86 and the rivets 78, and the portion or the sides 50 of the seat back 44 between the rivets 62 and rivets 66.

As the motion of the seat back 44 continues the upper ends 18 of the first side legs 12 follow along in movement with the seat bottom 52 in such a manner that this seat bottom turns about the rivets 42 so as to fold the legs 12 and 20 into the position illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawamazes ings. It isseenthat in this position theplates 60a re'located above the rivets 42 beneath the'center section ofzthe back support 34. If desired this center section 36 maybe offset slightly so as to be located directly above the center of gravity of the folded chair 10 shown in Fig. of the drawings.

During the rotation of the seat back .44 by virtue of the movement of the U-shaped bracket 80 the foot rest support 88 is moved about the rivets 90, this rotationbeing caused as a consequence of the links 106 moving with the sides 84 of this U-shaped support bracket 80. The net effect of the rotation of the links 106 and the foot rest support 88 is to collapse the foot rest support 88 into a position as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings where it is between the legs 12 and 20.

An exceedingly important feature of the instant invention lies in the fact that the various members employed in the chair are assembled so that when the chair is folded it is locked in what may be termed an over-center position so that the chair 10 will not become unfolded while being handled or moved. This over-center position is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 10 of the drawings. At the top of Fig. 10 a pivot point representing one of the rivets 42 is shown. At the center of this figure a pivot point is shown representing one of the bolts 86 and these two pivot points are illustrated as being connected by a line representing the portion of the chair when in a folded position. Further, at the bottom of Fig. 10 a pivot point is shown which represents one of the rivets 28 connected to the bolt 86 through a part of one of the side legs 12. The lengths of these members connecting these two rivets and this bolt are a slight bit longer than the length of a straight line drawn between the rivets 28 and 42 when the chair 10 is in a folded position. Thus, a certain amount of force is required so as to snap the seat back 44 of the chair 10 into a folded position so that the various parts are held as indicated in Figs. 5 and 10 of the drawings. A similar amount of force is required to unfold the chair 10.

Another important feature of the present invention relates to the use of a food tray 112 with this invention. This food tray is preferably formed of an appropriate easily cleaned resinous material so as to include a rolled edge 114. Directly beneath this food tray there are located two latch support housings 116. These housings are secured to the food tray 112 and include a central cavity 118, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, within which there are held springs 120. In the sides of the housings 116 adjacent to the edge of the tray 112 there are located holes 122 through which there project latch members 144 having formed thereon handles 126 and trapezoidal shaped ends 128. These ends are of such a dimension that the springs 120 are incapable of slipping around them when these springs 120 are positioned as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Further, these ends 128 are located so as to be pointed out through trapezoidal shaped openings 130 within the housing 116 in such a manner that the ends 128 are urged from these housings by the springs 120. Thus, with this construction the latch members 124 are normally urged into engagement with the brackets 68 when the food tray 112 is employed for the intended purpose with the ends 128 fitting within the openings 74 in the brackets 68.

When it is desired to store the food tray 112 this food tray is removed from the operative position shown in Pig.

l of the drawings by the handles being pulled outward. The food tray 112 may then be secured in an inoperative position such as is indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When being located in this position the food tray 112 is merely slipped over the center section 36 of the back support 34 so that the latch members 124 engage the curved ends 132 of this center section forcing the ends 128 of the latch members 124 against the pressure of the springs 120 into the latch support housings 116. The food tray 112 is slid along the sides 38 of the back support 34 until such time .as'theends 128 are opposite openings 134 corresponding in shape tothe opening 74 in the brackets 68. At this time the springs will urge the ends 128 into these openings, automatically locking the food tray 112 in the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. In this position the .food tray may readily be stored until such time as it is to be used again.

Those skilled in the art will realize that the instant invention constitutes a very ingenious mechanism accomplishing the objectives set forth in the initial portion of this specification. While the precise nature of the kinematics of all of the moving parts has not been set forth in detailin this description it is believed that the description itself is .suficiently complete so as to apprise those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains of the precise nature of the instant invention. Those individuals skilled in the art will undoubtedly realize that individual features of the instant invention which contribute very highly to the utility of the invention such as, for example, the locking means alone or the means for storing the food tray may be adapted to various chair construction. They will further realize that it is possible to depart from the precise details of the construction illustrated without departing from the essential nature of the mechanical inventive concept present in this application. For this reason, the mechanical aspects of the instant invention are only to be considered as being limited by the appended mechanical claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A foldable chair which includes: two first side legs having upper and lower ends and center sections; two second side legs having upper and lower ends and center sections, said second side legs being positioned so that each of said second side legs is located adjacent to one of said first side legs; first pivot means connecting the center sections of said adjacent side legs; back support means connecting said upper ends of said second side legs; a seat back positioned adjacent to said back support means; second pivot means connecting said back support means and said seat back; a seat bottom positioned above said side legs so as to have an end located adjacent to said seat back; third pivot means connecting said seat bottom and said seat back; arms projecting generally parallel to said seat bottom; fourth pivot means connecting said arms to said seat back; a support bracket having sides and a center section positioned with said center section located beneath said seat bottom and with said sides projecting around said seat bottom to adjacent said arms; fifth pivot means connecting said sides of said support bracket and said arms; and sixth pivot means connecting the upper ends of said first side legs, said sides of said support bracket and said seat bottom.

2. A foldable chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said back support means includes sides and a top and wherein said sides are connected to the upper ends of said second legs and wherein said second pivot mean are located along said sides between said top and said upper ends of said second legs.

3. A foldable chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the distance from said first pivot to said second pivot is greater than the distance from said first pivot to said sixth pivot plus the distance from said sixth pivot to said second pivot when said chair is folded by rotating said seat back about said second pivot causing said seat bottom and said arms to be moved to a folded position whereby said chair may be locked in a folded over-center position.

4. A foldable chair which includes: two first side legs having upper and lower ends and center sections; two second side legs having upper and lower ends and center sections, said second side legs being positioned so that each of said second side legs is located adjacent to one of said first side legs; first pivot means connecting the center sections of said adjacent side legs; back support means connecting said upper ends of said second side legs; a seat back positioned adjacent to said back support means; second pivot means connecting said back support means and said seat back; a seat bottom positioned above said side legs so as to have an end located adjacent to said seat back; third pivot means connecting said seat bottom and said seat back; arms projecting generally parallel to said seat bottom; fourth pivot means connecting said arms to said seat back; side members positioned between said seat bottom and said arms; fifth pivot means connecting said side members and said arms; and sixth pivot means connecting the upper ends of said first side legs, said side members and said seat bottom.

5. A foldable chair as defined in claim 4 wherein the distance from said first pivot to said second pivot is greater than the distance from said first pivot to said sixth pivot plus the distance from said sixth pivot to said second pivot when said chair is folded by rotating said 8 seat back about said second pivot causing said seat bottom and said arms to be moved to a folded position whereby said chair may be locked in a folded over-center position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,399,835 Willems Dec. 13, 1921 1,621,930 Hoy Mar. 22, 1927 1,656,675 Lindsley Jan. 17, 1928 1,943,037 Overbey Jan. 9, 1934 2,278,414 Carlson Apr. 7, 1942 2,281,813 Uline May 5, 1942 2,517,004 Little et al Aug. 1, 1950 2,699,817 Adler et al. Jan. 18, 1955

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