Collapsible chair with resilient support elements

Abstract

A collapsible chair (10), having a frame assembly (12) including a number of angled frame members (24). The upper ends of the angled frame members (24) are pivotally attached to upper connectors (64), and the lower ends are pivotally attached to feet (20). The frame assembly (12) as a whole is configured to expand outwardly from a central area (58). The frame assembly (12) further includes back support uprights (34) and rear corner upright members (32). Each of the upright members (32) has an upper end which is pivotally connected to one of said back support uprights (34) at a flexible joint (48). The chair (10) also includes a support surface (16), having a back portion (38) which is held in position by the back support uprights (34). The flexible joint (48) includes a resilient support assembly (30) which biases the back portion (38) to an upright position. This resilient support assembly (30) may include a number of different biasing mechanisms including an external spring (44), an internal spring (46), an internal strut (47), one or more resilient rods (70), a ball-and-socket joint (74), a hinge (76), a leaf-spring (80) or a resilient sleeve (72). The back support uprights may be joined together by a cross bar (54) or there may be two separate back support posts (52).

Description

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/238,663, filed Oct. 4, 2000.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates generally to recreational furniture, and more particularly to collapsible chairs.

BACKGROUND ART

[0003] Collapsible chairs have been used for recreational purposes for many years and have become popular for their portability and ease of storage. There have been many varieties of collapsible chairs from the very early folding lawn chairs to more stylish modern designs. One modern example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,605 to Chang which shows a foldable chair with a cup holder.

[0004] Although these chairs are generally very convenient, they must necessarily utilize a rigid framework which is capable of withstanding the wear-and-tear of being collapsed and reassembled, and must still provide a solid structural support for the weight of a user. Consequently, the framework, once assembled, is generally unyielding and does not easily conform to the anatomy of an individual user. Even those models using fabric portions which are stretched between the frame elements have limited flexibility, and provide only small variation in comfort positions.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for collapsible furniture which has flexible portions to adapt to a variety of users.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

[0006] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chair which is collapsible to a compact configuration.

[0007] Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible chair which has flexible elements, including back-support elements.

[0008] And another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible chair which is adaptable to the body shapes and weights of a variety of users.

[0009] Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a collapsible chair, having a frame assembly including a number of angled frame members. The upper ends of the angled frame members are pivotally attached to upper connectors, and the lower ends are pivotally attached to feet. The frame assembly as a whole is configured to expand outwardly from a central area. The frame assembly further includes back support uprights and rear corner upright members. Each of the rear corner upright members has an upper end which is pivotally connected to one of said back support uprights at a flexible joint. The chair also includes a support surface, having a back portion which is held in position by the back support uprights. The flexible joint includes a resilient support assembly which biases the back portion to an upright position. This resilient support assembly may include a number of different biasing mechanisms including an external spring, an internal spring, an internal strut, one or more resilient rods, a ball-and-socket joint, a hinge, a leaf-spring or a resilient sleeve.

[0010] The back support framework may include a cross bar linking the two sides or there may be two separate back support posts.

[0011] An advantage of the present invention is that it includes a flexible back portion which adapts to the users weight and body shape.

[0012] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The purposes and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a detail view of the resilient assembly of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a further detail view of the resilient assembly of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a detail exploded view of the elements of a resilient assembly;

[0018] FIG. 5 is a detail view of the assembled resilient assembly, as seen later in detail circle D of FIG. 7;

[0019] FIG. 6 shows an isometric view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 7 shows an isometric view of the framework of the second embodiment of the present invention from which the fabric covering has been removed;

[0021] FIG. 8 is a detail view of the foot shown in detail circle A of FIG. 7;

[0022] FIG. 9 is a detail view of the rear upper corner connector shown in detail circle B of FIG. 7;

[0023] FIG. 10 is a detail view of the front upper corner connector shown in detail circle C of FIG. 7; and

[0024] FIGS. 11A-D show detail views of various resilient support assemblies in use wit the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0025] A preferred embodiment of the present invention is a chair with a resilient back portion. As illustrated in the various drawings herein, and particularly in the view of FIG. 1, a form of this preferred embodiment of the inventive device is depicted by the general reference character 10.

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a chair with resilient support elements 10. It generally includes a framework 12 and a fabric covering 14. The framework 12 includes a lower framework 16 having four feet 20, which include pivot assemblies 22, and a number of angled frame members 24 having pivots 26 located at or near the midpoints of the angled frame members 24. Arm supports 28 are formed from the upper ends of the angled frame members 24. Rear corner uprights 32 are attached at the rear feet 20, and extend in a generally vertical direction. A back support framework 18 includes a pair of back support uprights 34. Where the rear corner uprights 32 and the back support uprights 34 meet, they are joined by resilient assemblies 30, to form a flexible joint 48 which will be described in more detail below.

[0027] The fabric covering 14 includes a seat portion 36, a back portion 38 and arms 40, all of which are stretched or extend between various frame members.

[0028] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate detail views of a resilient assembly 30, including one or more resilient members 42, which in the pictured embodiment is an external steel spring 44. Also included, but not visible in these views, is an internal spring 46 which is positioned inside portions of the rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34.

[0029] As better seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rear corner uprights 32 and back support uprights 34 are preferably hollow steel tubes. The internal springs 46 are then chosen of an appropriate diameter to fit inside the internal diameter of the rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34, where they lend additional resiliency to the resilient assemblies 30. It should be understood that there may be many possible variations in the resilient assembly 30 and the resilient members 42 that are used. For example, there may be only an external spring 44 used or only an internal spring 46 used, rather than both. The resilient members 42 could also be implemented by using hard rubber rods inside the rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34, or alternately, a hard rubber sleeve could be used on the exterior of the resilient assembly 30.

[0030] Also, the preferred embodiment 10 uses a rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34 whose ends merely abut each other to form a flexible joint 48. Optionally, an internal strut 47 may be included having pivots 49 at each end. These pivots 49 extend through to the rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34, and can be seen in FIG. 5. This internal strut 47 thus can be useful in limiting the angle of flex that the flexible joint 48 can travel, somewhat in the manner of a hinge. The internal strut 47 is preferably of narrow thickness, so that there is room for the flexible joint 48 to travel a sufficient amount before the internal strut 47 is encountered. It should be understood that this is but one variation that can be used.

[0031] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a variation in frame structure 12. This embodiment 50 has a back support framework 18 that terminates in two separate support posts 52 rather than extending in a cross-bar 54, as seen in FIG. 1. This allows for more independent movement of each support post 52 in response to weight distribution, and thus is even more adaptable to variations in body shape and contour. This variation can make greater use of the omni-directional spring 78 variations (to be discussed below), although this is not a requirement. The tips of the separate support posts 52 have optional caps 56 which protect the user from accidental abrasions.

[0032] FIG. 7 shows the frame 12 without the fabric covering 14. The lower framework 16 and its included pivot assemblies 22 and pivots 26 work to collapse as a unit towards a central point 58 when force in that direction is applied to any of the angled frame members 24.

[0033] FIG. 8 shows a detail view of the foot 20, one variety of pivot assembly 22, shown in detail circle A of FIG. 7. Angled frame members 24, rear corner upright 32 and pivot 26 are also visible.

[0034] FIG. 9 shows a detail view of the rear upper corner connector 60, which is also a pivot assembly 22 and an upper connector 64, shown in detail circle B of FIG. 7. Angled frame members 24, rear corner upright 32 and pivot 26 can also be seen.

[0035] FIG. 10 shows a detail view of the front upper corner connector 62, also a type of pivot assembly 22 and upper connector 64, shown in detail circle C of FIG. 7. Angled frame members 24, and pivot 26 are also visible.

[0036] In reference to both embodiments 10, 50, seen in FIGS. 1 and 7, the pivot assemblies 22, including the feet 20, and the upper corner connectors 64, (rear upper corner connectors 60 and front upper corner connectors 62), connect all the angled frame members 24 to each other, so there are no loose pieces to be gathered and assembled. The frame assembly 12 can be thought of as an extended scissors-frame assembly 90 since the tops and bottoms of each pair of frame members scissor together or apart, hinged at pivots 26. These scissor pairs 88 are then joined in an extended scissor assembly 90 where the ends of multiple pairs are joined at the pivot assemblies 22. They also allow the frame assembly 12 as a whole to be collapsed or expanded in a very easy and efficient manner. Force directed at any one of the corners causes movement in all the other corners, so that there is movement of the whole frame assembly 12 in either an inward or outward direction, relative to the central area 58. The pivots 26 allow the frame assembly 16 to move towards a central area 58 from all sides as a unit when the frame 12 is to be collapsed, and to move away from this central area 58 when expanding.

[0037] This configuration will be spoken of as “expanding outwardly from a central area”, although it is to be understood that one of the feet may actually remain in fixed position, while the remainder of the feet move outward. In other words, the central reference area from which the feet move, may itself move laterally. One example of this occurs when the collapsed support frame is placed in the corner of a yard, where, say, the left rear foot of the frame is in the left rear corner of the yard, and thus is constrained from movement in a further leftward or rearward direction. When the frame expands, all the other, non-constrained feet will expand outwardly from a central area to the right, or forward, or both, even as the central area itself will move to the right and forward, relative to the immobile left rear foot.

[0038] It should also be understood that all the lines of direction of the movement of the feet are not expected to intersect at a precise point. The central area 58 is thus a relatively small region from which the feet 20 move outwardly, but there should be no inference that all feet must move in a specific lines, such as radially from a single specific center point. Thus, the expansion is considered to move outwardly from a central area or region, and should not be construed to imply any particular lines of direction, other than generally outward from this central area. The direction arrows and central area 58 shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, are therefore not provided to show specific lines of movement which must be followed, but merely a general direction of movement towards, or away from, a general central area 58.

[0039] FIGS. 11A-D show cross-sectional views of some variations in the resilient support assembly 30 having varying resilient members 42. In some variations, as in FIG. 11A, no “hinge” as such exists, except as members of the resilient assembly 30 perform that function. The resilient member 42 can thus be one or more resilient rods 70, perhaps made of hard rubber, which then function as a form of internal spring 46. If a rod 70 which is circular in cross-section is used, then each back support upright 34 is free to pivot in all directions normal to a longitudinal axis 8, and is able to rotate as required by the demands of weight and user shape. Such a spring will be referred to as an omni-directional spring 78. Alternatively, the resilient member 42 can be a flat strip, in the manner of a leaf-spring 80. In this case, there would be a preferred direction of movement towards the thinner dimension, and the spring would not be said to be omni-directional. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that a resilient member 42 configured as a rod 70 could have many cross-sectional shapes including rectangular, circular, elliptical, or any regular or irregular geometric shape.

[0040] A similar result may be produced by using a resilient sleeve 72, shown in FIG. 11B, which then acts as a form of external spring 44. This resilient sleeve 72 may also be made of hard rubber, fiberglass, etc. The resilient sleeve 72 may be used alone, with an internal spring 46, resilient rod 70 or in combination with a ball-and-socket joint 74, shown in FIG. 11C. A ball and socket component 74 that joins the rear corner upright 32 and back support upright 34, could keep them from separating, while resilient sleeve 72 acts to bias the chair back to an upright position.

[0041] Many of these variations can be configured as omni-directional springs 78. However, as shown in FIG. 11D, it is also possible that a conventional-style hinge 76 at this joint may be used, such a hinge limiting motion to within a plane. The two hinges of the back support framework 18 would then preferably be parallel so that the back 38 will tilt backwards in the manner of a reclining chair, but with the advantage that there is a biasing force which acts to return the back to an upright position, thus giving support. As discussed above, a similar result occurs when using a leaf-spring 80 (FIG. 11A).

[0042] While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0043] The present collapsible chair with resilient support elements 10, 50 is well suited for application in the home, backyard, or on camping trips and picnics.

[0044] The collapsible chair with resilient support elements 10, 50 has a frame assembly 12 which includes angled frame members 24, the upper ends of the angled frame members 24 being pivotally attached to upper connectors 64, and the lower ends being pivotally attached to feet 20. The frame assembly 12 also includes upright members 32 and as a whole expands outwardly from a central area 58. A back support framework 18 includes a pair of back support uprights 34. Where the rear corner uprights 32 and the back support uprights 34 meet, they are joined by resilient support assemblies 30, to form a flexible joint 48. The resilient support assembly 30 may include any of a number of varying resilient members 42 including an external spring 44, an internal spring 46, an internal strut 47, one or more resilient rods 70, a ball-and-socket joint 74, a hinge 76, a leaf-spring 80 or a resilient sleeve 72.

[0045] When the chair 10, 50 is to be used, it is set up so that it rests on its feet 20. Force is then directed at any one of the corners, causing movement in all the other corners, so that there is movement of the whole frame assembly 12 in either an inward or outward direction, relative to the central area 58. The pivots 26 allow the frame assembly 16 to move towards a central area 58 from all sides as a unit when the frame 12 is to be collapsed, and to move away from this central area 58 when expanding. Thus in one swift motion, the chair 10, 50 is expanded and ready to use.

[0046] The resilient support assemblies 30 allow the back portion to flex somewhat in response to the weight and bodily configuration of a user. By allowing the back to deform slightly, while still maintaining good back support, the chair 10, 50 is more adaptable to a larger range of body sizes and types than a conventional chair. The chair 10 which has a cross bar 54 is generally constrained to a hinge motion in one plane which allows the back portion 38 to lean back slightly. The second embodiment of the chair 50 has separate support posts 52 for more independent movement of each support post 52 in response to weight distribution, and thus is even more adaptable to variations in body shape and contour. This variation can make use of the omni-directional spring 78 variations.

[0047] The present collapsible chair with resilient support elements 10, 50 can be set up very quickly, has no loose parts to keep track of, and is uniquely adaptable to a great variety of shapes and sizes of users. It has many uses in the home, backyard, or on camping trips and picnics.

[0048] For the above, and other, reasons, it is expected that the collapsible chair with resilient support elements 10, 50 of the present invention will have widespread industrial applicability. Therefore, it is expected that the commercial utility of the present invention will be extensive and long lasting.

Claims

1. A collapsible chair, comprising:

a frame assembly including a plurality of angled frame members, the upper ends of said angled frame members being pivotally attached to upper connectors, and the lower ends being pivotally attached to feet, such that said frame assembly as a whole expands outwardly from a central area;

said frame assembly further including back support uprights and rear corner upright members, each of said upright members having an upper end which is pivotally connected to one of said back support uprights at a flexible joint;

a support surface, having a back portion, said back portion being held in position by said back support uprights; and

each of said flexible joints including a resilient support assembly which biases said back portion to an upright position.

2. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said angled frame members of said frame assembly are grouped into a plurality of scissor pairs which are joined near their midpoints by pivots;

ends of said frame members of said scissor pairs are joined at pivot assemblies to form an extended scissors-frame assembly, such that the frame assembly moves towards a central area from all sides as a unit when the frame is to be collapsed, and moves away from this central area when expanding.

3. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes an external spring.

4. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes an internal spring.

5. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes an internal strut

6. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes an omni-directional spring.

7. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes a leaf-spring.

8. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes at least one resilient rod.

9. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes a ball-and-socket joint.

10. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes a hinge.

11. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes a resilient sleeve.

12. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said back support uprights are joined together by a cross bar.

13. The collapsible chair of claim 1, wherein:

said back support uprights include two separate back support posts.

14. A frame for a collapsible chair, comprising:

a plurality of angled frame members, the upper ends of said angled frame members being pivotally attached to upper connectors, and the lower ends being pivotally attached to feet, such that said frame as a whole expands outwardly from a central area;

said frame further including back support uprights and rear corner upright members, each of said upright members having an upper end which is pivotally connected to one of said back support uprights at a flexible joint;

a support surface, having a back portion, said back portion being held in position by said back support uprights; and

said flexible joint including a resilient support assembly which biases said back portion to an upright position.

15. The frame for a collapsible chair of claim 14, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes elements chosen from a group consisting of external springs, internal springs, internal struts, omni-directional springs, leaf-springs, resilient rods, ball-and-socket joints, hinges and resilient sleeves.

16. The frame for a collapsible chair of claim 14, wherein:

said back support uprights are joined together by a cross bar.

17. The frame for a collapsible chair of claim 14, wherein:

said back support uprights include two separate back support posts.

18. A collapsible chair, comprising:

a frame assembly including a plurality of angled frame members, the upper ends of said angled frame members being pivotally attached to upper connectors, and the lower ends being pivotally attached to feet, said plurality of angled frame members being grouped into a plurality of scissor pairs which are joined near their midpoints by pivots, the ends of said frame members of said scissor pairs being joined at pivot assemblies to form an extended scissors-frame assembly, such that the frame assembly moves towards a central area from all sides as a unit when the frame is to be collapsed, and moves away from this central area when expanding;

said frame assembly further including back support uprights and rear corner upright members, each of said upright members having an upper end which is pivotally connected to one of said back support uprights at a flexible joint;

a support surface, having a back portion, said back portion being held in position by said back support uprights; and

said flexible joint including a resilient support assembly which biases said back portion to an upright position.

19. The collapsible chair of claim 18, wherein:

said resilient support assembly includes elements chosen from a group consisting of external springs, internal springs, internal struts, omni-directional springs, leaf-springs, resilient rods, ball-and-socket joints, hinges and resilient sleeves.

20. The collapsible chair of claim 18, wherein:

said back support uprights are joined together by a cross bar.

21. The collapsible chair of claim 18, wherein:

said back support uprights include two separate back support posts.