US3663058A

US3663058A - Collapsible stool

Info

Publication number: US3663058A
Application number: US61579A
Authority: US
Inventors: Irving C Hirsch
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-08-06
Filing date: 1970-08-06
Publication date: 1972-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-16

Abstract

A collapsible stool is disclosed including an outer side wall which is expandable to form a shell for receiving a central brace in the form of a number of leaves bound together along a central line. A cushion fits into an upper recess. When collapsed, the three members are compact and easily carried.

Description

United States Patent Hirsch [4 1 May 16,1972

[ COLLAPSIBLE STOOL [72] Inventor: Irving C. Hirsch, 4212 W. Golf, Skokie,

[22] Filed: Aug. 6, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 61,579

[52] U.S. Cl ..297/439, 297/462 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47c 9/12, A47c 3/00 [58] Field of Search ..297/17, 439, 440, 461, 462;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,023,050 2/1962 Jensen ..297/462 2,749,012 6/1956 Beach ..229/14 C 3,403,835 10/1968 Schwaner 2,456,964 12/1948 Ledure ..297/442 X Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Dawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus [57] ABSTRACT A collapsible stool is disclosed including an outer side wall which is expandable to form a shell for receiving a central brace in the form of a number of leaves bound together along a central line. A cushion fits into an upper recess. When collapsed, the three members are compact and easily carried 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEHMM 16 I972 I is? COLLAPSIBLE STOOL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a portable stool; and more particularly, it relates to a stool which is collapsible for convenience of carrying.

Portable chairs and stools are known in the art, and for the most part, the portable chairs which are commercially available are made from tubular aluminum, fitted with webs; and they fold into a compact position for carrying. These types of chairs and folding lawn chairs are rather awkward to carry because they are not very compact when folded, and they are relatively expensive. Various cardboard or paper chairs have been suggested, but none of these have achieved commercial acceptance.

SUMMARY The present invention relates to a collapsible stool which is comprised 'of three individual parts which, when separate, form a compact unit which is easily carried. One part is a continuous side wall having a plurality of straight wall sections joined together with tape to form a flexible joint between adjacent straight sections. When opened, the adjacent side wall sections are angularly inclined to form a corner, and the side wall provides a shell for the stool. The side wall folds so that all of the straight sections lie flat aside one another.

A second part of the stool is a brace which includes a number of flat hardboard leaves hinged together along a common edge in book fashion. When expanded, the brace is received in the side wall with each leaf extending outwardly, and the distal end of each leaf fits snugly in a corner ofthe side wall so that the brace holds the side wall in its expanded position and, in turn, is held in its expanded position by the side wall.

The third part of the stool is a seat which is received in an upper recess formed when the brace is inserted into the side wall. The combination of center brace and side wall forms a structure which is highly resistant to crushing, and it therefore makes a very sturdy, yet economical seat or stool.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment wherein identical reference numerals will refer to like parts in the various views.

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive seat in a folded condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the seat of FIG. 1 wherein the three parts are exploded showing assembly; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the inventive stool in assembled condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Turning first to FIG. 1, there are shown the three separate elements of the inventive stool or seat, and they are respec tively a cushion or seat member generally designated 10, a brace member generally designated 11 and a side wall or shell generally designated 12. In the illustrated embodiment, in horizontal cross section, the stool has a hexagonal shape, and, therefore, so does the cushion member 10. The cushion includes a flat hexagonal support 13 which may be formed of cardboard, hardboard, or any other fairly rigid material. To the top of the base board 13 there is secured (as with adhesive) a cushion or seat pad 14 which may be made of flexible plastic foam, such as polyethylene.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the side wall 12 includes six separate flat panels designated respectively 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d, 15e, and 15f. Adjacent of the panels 15a-15f are hinged together with elongated pieces of flexible tape, designated respectively l6a-l6b. The panels 15a-15f are hinged so that the outer wall formed thereby may be folded in half and then folded twice again on itself, as shown in FIG. 1, to collapse into a relatively small, compact element for carrying. For example, the outside wall 15 may be folded first about the tape hinges 16b and 16e so that the inner surfaces of the

panels

15a and 15b engage as well as the inner surfaces of

panels

15f, 15c and 15c, 15d. Next, the panels are folded about the hinge 160 so that the outer surfaces of panels 15b and are brought into contact, and the panels are also folded about the hinge tape 16f so that the outer surface of

panels

15c and 15f are brought into contact, thus forming the compact structure shown in FIG. 1.

When the outer wall 12 is expanded, as shown in FIG. 2, adjacent ones of the panels are angularly inclined so as to form a corner, see for example the corner denoted by reference numeral 18 which is formed between the

adjacent panels

15d and 15e.

Turning now to the brace member 11, it includes six flat panels designated respectively 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20c, and 20f in FIG. 2. Each of the panels 20a-20f is joined together by means of a central hinge 21 from which they extend radially. The central hinge 21 may again be formed of elongated strips of flexible pressure sensitive tape, and it will be observed that each of the panels 20a-20f forms a leaf so that when the leaves are closed, in book-fashion as illustrated in FIG. 1, they form a compact structure similar to the folded, collapsed side wall 12.

When the side wall 12 is opened as illustrated in FIG. 2, it forms an outer shell for the stool, and it is adapted, then, to receive the brace 11 as indicated by the direction of the arrows in FIG. 2 in telescoping relation. Each of the distal edges of the leaves 20a-20f are received respectively in the corners between adjacent ones of the side panels in the side wall 12. Thus, when the brace 11 is inserted in the side wall 12, the brace member, extended in the shape of a star with equal angular displacement between adjacent leaves act to hold the side wall 12 in its opened state. Conversely, the side wall 12 cooperates with the opened brace to maintain it in its extended or open position. That is, for example, the outer distal edge of the leaf 202 is received in the corner 18, and the outer distal edges of other leaves are similarly received in corners formed by adjacent panels of the side wall member 12, and the fit is preferably a snug one so that the structural rigidity of the combined elements is enhanced.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the overall length of the leaves 20a-20 is preferably slightly less than the overall length of the panels 15a-15f to form an upper recess for receiving the baseboard 13 of the seat 10, thus locking it in place.

The stool of the present invention is highly resistant to crushing that is, it will bear relatively large loads without collapsing because of the vertical positioning of the leaves of the brace member 11. The material used for the panels of the side wall 12, the leaves of the brace 11, and the base panel 13 of the seat 10 will depend upon the application and the desired cost. However, inexpensive cardboard has been found to be desirable; and preferably has the thickness in the range of about one-fourth to three-eighths in. Other sheet material may equally well be employed, such as plastic, hardboard, wood, etc.

Having thus described in detail a preferred embodiment of the inventive stool, persons skilled in the art will be able to modify certain of the structure which has been illustrated and to substitute equivalent elements for those which have been disclosed; and it is, therefore, intended that all such modifications and substitutions be covered as they are embraced within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible stool comprising: a side wall member ineluding a plurality of panels of elongated rigid sheet material; means for hinging each longitudinal edge of each panel of said side wall member with associated edges of adjacent panels while permitting all of said panels to fold together in superposed relation; whereby when said side wall is expanded adjacent panels define a corner along a joint; a brace member ineluding a plurality of leaves of rigid sheet material, means for hinging one edge of each of said leaves together along a common hinge line while permitting said leaves to open in book fashion, whereby when said leaves are opened and said side wall is expanded, said side wall forms a shell having a closed cross section and adapted to receive said brace member in snug engagement with an outer free edge of each leaf received in a corner provided by adjacent ones of said panels; and a cushion member adapted to engage said brace member when inserted into said side wall for being supported thereby.

2. The stool of claim 1 wherein each of said panels of said side wall and each of said leaves of said brace member is elongated in the direction of attachment of their associated hinge means, and wherein the elongation of said side wall member is slightly greater than the elongation of said brace member to define a recess for receiving and locking said cushion member when said brace member is received-in said side wall.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said first-named hinge means for connecting adjacent panels of said side wall comprises flexible pressure-sensitive tape securing adjacent panels along a common joint, and wherein said last-named hinge means for securing said leaves along a common hinge line is flexible pressure-sensitive tape.

Claims

1. A collapsible stool comprising: a side wall member including a plurality of panels of elongated rigid sheet material; means for hinging each longitudinal edge of each panel of said side wall member with associated edges of adjacent panels while permitting all of said panels to fold together in superposed relation; whereby when said side wall is expanded adjacent panels define a corner along a joint; a brace member including a plurality of leaves of rigid sheet material, means for hinging one edge of each of said leaves together along a common hinge line while permitting said leaves to open in book fashion, whereby when said leaves are opened and said side wall is expanded, said side wall forms a shell having a closed cross section and adapted to receive said brace member in snug engagement with an outer free edge of each leaf received in a corner provided by adjacent ones of said panels; and a cushion member adapted to engage said brace member when inserted into said side wall for being supported thereby.

2. The stool of claim 1 wherein each of said panels of said side wall and each of said leaves of said brace member is elongated in the direction of attachment of their associated hinge means, and wherein the elongation of said side wall member is slightly greater than the elongation of said brace member to define a recess for receiving and locking said cushion member when said brace member is received in said side wall.