PORTABLE POOLSIDE CHAIR

Abstract

A portable poolside chair for allowing at least one user to sit partially submerged in a pool is disclosed. The portable poolside chair comprises a water container having a top surface, a bottom surface, a front end wall, a rear end wall and a pair of opposing side walls, a tubular seat support frame structure comprising a bottom tubular frame member and two flanking tubular members, a back support having a front surface and a rear surface, and a seat member featuring a rotatable seat and a support element having a proximal end and a distal end; wherein the proximal end attached to a connecting member in the bottom tubular frame member and the distal end attached to a flange at a center portion of a bottom surface of the rotatable seat. The back support secured with the two flanking tubular members provides support to back of the user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to poolside chairs, and more particularly to a portable poolside chair apparatus having a rotatable seat with a lazy susan mechanism.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

Swimming is a popular recreational sport and the availability of accessories to permit a swimmer to rest in a comfortable sitting position in a stable seat within a swimming pool has become increasingly desirable especially for more elderly swimmers who desire to rest temporarily while still remaining in the swimming pool. The accessories include poolside chair, tables, floatation devices and lounge chairs. The pool side chairs are designed for offering personal recreation and relaxation in homes, apartments, motels, water theme parks, clubs, resorts etc.

Various swimming pool side chairs have been devised for offering personal recreation and relaxation to the user. One prior art device, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,869 to Simmon on Jun. 13, 1989 discloses a chair supported on the coping and side of a swimming pool, spa or other aquatic body. The chair is held by a support arm which rests on the surface of the coping. The chair also has a leg which extends to the side of the swimming pool below the water line to hold the seat of the chair away from the side of the pool. Although portable, neither the seat nor the frame is adjustable for the user's orientation or comfort in the water. Thus the user is fixed in a position facing into the pool thereby restricting the enjoyment of refreshments or company on the deck.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,527 to Schober on May 3, 1994 provides a pool chair adapted to be partially submerged in water in a swimming pool. It includes a frame having a seat and an upper cross member adapted to rest along the perimeter of the pool to hold the pool chair upright in the pool in a stationary position which enables a user to sit on the seat with the user's lower torso and legs submerged in the water and the user's head above the water. The chair is upright in the pool with the seat fixed in position facing the pool from between the tubular members. After approaching the seat, the user has to twist around from approaching the chair and move backwards into the seat. Like other fixed frame chairs, the user is forced to sit facing into the pool. The stretched fabric seat is not comfortable to all persons. Also, the narrow spacing between the tubular members limits movement and comfort of the user. Such a device cannot be folded into a small unit. Moreover, the device is not readily transportable and not easily storable.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,343 to Wisniewski on Nov. 6, 2001 describes a swimming pool lounge chair is provided for use in an above ground or in-ground swimming pool to provide stationary seating for the occupant. The swimming pool lounge chair has a reclining back portion, telescopically adjustable legs to rest on the bottom of the pool at the option of the user, and a pool perimeter mounting portion that is also telescopically adjustable to permit the user to adjust his or her level of submersion in the pool. The chair is collapsible, portable, and is not permanently affixed to or within the swimming pool. However, the user is still limited in motion within the arms of the seat so the user is again forced into a fixed position of facing the pool without access to or viewing of the deck behind the user. Furthermore, the lower telescoping portion is mechanically complicated. Another problem is that the legs slip on the pool floor as the user moves in the chair. Such a seat is not conducive to facing the deck to enjoy refreshments or company on the deck.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,045 to Larsen on Oct. 28, 2003 provides a portable poolside chair apparatus for permitting a user to sit partially submerged in a pool adjacent the pool wall. The portable poolside chair apparatus includes a plurality of frame sections. A pool deck portion that is placed on the pool deck surface adjacent the pool wall and is designed to support the structure. A backrest portion that includes armrests contacts the pool wall and supports the user's back. A seat portion is positioned at the lower end of the backrest portion protrudes outwardly into the pool and is designed for supporting the user. The aforementioned portions are pivotally coupled making the unit foldable. The backrest and seat portions each include a selectively couplable cushion member for comfort. Such a seat arrangement is not conducive to face the deck to enjoy refreshments or company on the deck. Furthermore, such a device does not include an accessory feature such as cup holders, thereby restricting the person residing within the chair enjoying their favorite beverage in order to enhance the pleasure while resting.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved poolside chair apparatus that would be reliable and foldable. Further, such a device would have a adaptable seating unit which provides the swimmer comfort seating and enjoy refreshments and company at the deck. Such an adaptable seating unit would have a rotatable seat which may incorporate a lazy susan mechanism to make the chair suitable for sitting by facing any direction. Moreover, such a portable and economical device would have a water container with accessory feature such as cup holder, so that a person residing within the chair may enjoy their favorite beverage while resting. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a portable poolside chair apparatus attachable to a poolside for allowing at least one user to sit partially submerged in a pool. The poolside chair apparatus comprises a water container having a top surface, a bottom surface, a front end wall, a rear end wall and a pair of opposing side walls, a tubular seat support frame structure, a back support having a front surface and a rear surface and a seat member featuring a rotatable seat and a support element. The tubular seat support frame structure includes a bottom tubular frame member and two flanking tubular members, each formed from a continuous length of tubing. End portion of the two flanking tubular members substantially extends from at least one terminal end of the front end wall to form side rails and the bottom tubular frame member extends transversely to define a bottom rail. The back support secured with the two flanking tubular members provides support to back of the at least one user.

A proximal end of the support element is attached to a connecting member in the bottom tubular frame member and a distal end of the support element is attached to a flange at a center portion of a bottom surface of the rotatable seat. The water container may be designed for supporting arms of the at least one user and may also include an opening on the top surface thereof to function as a cup holder. The bottom surface of the water container adheres the poolside chair apparatus to the poolside and the bottom surface may contain a resilient stop member to allow the water container to grip the concrete thereby positioning the poolside chair apparatus along the poolside for allowing the user to sit anywhere along the poolside. The water container may be filled with water to weigh down the poolside chair apparatus thereby allowing the holding up of approximately 250-300 pound. The support element of the seat member may incorporate a lazy susan mechanism for facilitating the rotation of the seat member. The water container that sits on the poolside may be folded down against the rear surface of the back support and the seat member may be folded up against the front surface of the back support thereby making the poolside chair apparatus portable and be folded up to fit compactly in a pool bag. At least one of the two flanking tubular members of the tubular seat support frame structure may serve as a handle to carry the poolside chair apparatus.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a poolside chair apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the poolside chair apparatus in a folded position; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the poolside chair apparatus of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention illustrating a poolside chair apparatus 10 attachable to a poolside 60 for allowing at least one user (not shown) to sit partially submerged in a pool (not shown). The poolside chair apparatus 10 comprises a water container 12 having a top surface 14, a bottom surface, a front end wall 16, a rear end wall and a pair of opposing side walls 18, a tubular seat support frame structure 20, a back support 30 having a front surface 32 and a rear surface and a seat member 40 featuring a rotatable seat 42 and a support element 44. The tubular seat support frame structure 20 includes a bottom tubular frame member 22 and two flanking tubular members 24, each formed from a continuous length of tubing. End portion of the two flanking tubular members (not shown) substantially extends from at least one terminal end of the front end wall 28 to form plurality of side rails and the bottom tubular frame member 22 extends transversely to form at least one bottom rail. The back support 30 secured with the two flanking tubular members 24 may be made of mesh provides support to back of the at least one user (not shown). The water container 12 may be filled with water to weigh down the poolside chair apparatus 10 thereby allowing the holding up of approximately 250-300 pound. The water container 12 may also be designed for supporting arms of the at least one user (not shown) and may also include an opening 62 on the top surface of the water container 14 to function as a cup holder.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of a poolside chair apparatus 10 in a folded position. The poolside chair apparatus 10 may be folded up to fit compactly in a pool bag (not shown) and may be unfolded to put into the pool (not shown). A proximal end 46 is attached to a connecting member 48 in the bottom tubular frame member 22 and the distal end 50 is attached to a flange 52 at a center portion of a bottom surface of the rotatable seat 54. The bottom surface of the water container adheres the poolside chair apparatus 10 to the poolside 60 and the bottom surface may contain a resilient stop member to allow the water container 12 to grip the concrete thereby positioning the poolside chair apparatus 10 along the poolside 60 for allowing the user to sit anywhere along the poolside 60. The support element of the seat member 44 may incorporate a lazy susan mechanism for facilitating the rotation of the seat member 40 which may be made of foam. The water container 12 that sits on the poolside 60 may be folded down against the rear surface of the back support and the seat member 40 may be folded up against the front surface of the back support 30 thereby making the poolside chair apparatus 10 portable. FIG. 3 is a side view of the poolside chair apparatus 10 of FIG. 2. In order to be portable, the poolside chair apparatus 10 is designed to be less in weight. At least one of the two flanking tubular members of the tubular seat support frame structure 24 may serve as a handle to carry the poolside chair apparatus 10.

While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, various types of seating configurations and mechanisms may be incorporated to contemplate the apparatus defined in the art. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A portable poolside chair for allowing at least one user to sit partially submerged in a pool, the poolside chair comprising:

a water container having a top surface, a bottom surface, a front end wall, a rear end wall and a pair of opposing side walls;

a tubular seat support frame structure comprising a bottom tubular frame member and two flanking tubular members, each formed from a continuous length of tubing wherein end portion of the two flanking tubular members being substantially extending from at least one terminal end of the front end wall and the central tubular frame member extends transversely to form a bottom rail;

a back support having a front surface and a rear surface, the back support being secured with the two flanking tubular members thereby providing support to back of the at least one user; and

a seat member featuring a rotatable seat and a support element having a proximal end and a distal end; wherein the proximal end being attached to a connecting member in the bottom tubular frame member and the distal end attached to a flange at a center portion of a bottom surface of the rotatable seat;

2. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the water container may function as an armrest.

3. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the water container may include an opening on the top surface thereof to function as a cup holder.

4. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the water container may be filled with water to weigh down the poolside chair.

5. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the water container may have resilient stop member to allow the water container to grip concrete.

6. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the seat support frame structure may be made of mesh.

7. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the seat member may be made of foam.

8. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the water container may be folded down against the rear surface of the back support.

9. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the seat member may be folded up against the front surface of the back support.

10. The portable poolside chair of claim 1 wherein the support element of the seat member may incorporate a lazy susan mechanism.