Collapsible chair wrap

Abstract

A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair may include a flexible base sheet for wrapping around the collapsible chair and a fastener device to fasten the flexible base sheet to the collapsible chair. The fastener device may include a first material having a hook. The fastener device may include a second material having a loop to cooperate with the hook. The flexible base sheet may include a third material having no hook and no loop.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is collapsible furniture and a wrap for the collapsible furniture.

BACKGROUND

Folding chairs are relatively popular, in part because they can be stored at considerably reduced space requirements when compared to non-folding chairs. Exemplary folding chairs with solid arm rests and seat support rods are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,185 to Marchesini et al. (Sep. 23, 1986), U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,525 to Tseng (May 4, 1999), U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,553 to Tseng (Sep. 7, 1999), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,639 to Hill (May 16, 2000), all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Nevertheless, previously known folding chairs still take up a relatively large space when folded since the dimension of the folding chair is generally reduced only along one space coordinate (e.g., reduced length). To further reduce the space requirement, collapsible chairs have been developed in which further size reduction is achieved by folding the chair along at least two space coordinates (e.g., length and width). Various collapsing chairs are known in the art.

In U.S. Pat. No. Des 247,618 (Mar. 28, 1978), for example, Sparkes describes a collapsible stroller with solid armrests and seat support rods that are first folded in a front to back motion and then folded in a side-to-side motion. Although the Sparkes' stroller provides substantial space saving over non-collapsible strollers, the collapsing is relatively cumbersome since both halves of the chair have to be rotated relative to each other. Improved collapsibility can be achieved by including a detachable connector element into a structure that couples foldable halves of the stroller as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,581 to Kassai (Mar. 2, 1982). Uncoupling of the detachable element advantageously simplifies side-to-side folding of the stroller. However, Kassai's stroller nevertheless requires at least two folding operations to collapse the stroller.

To avoid at least some of the problems associated with multiple operations of collapsible chairs, Mann describes in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,950 (Oct. 22, 1991) the use of hinges in both armrests and seat support rods. Mann's chair can be collapsed in a single side-to-side and front-to-back motion, however, the hinges in the armrests may be uncomfortable for at least some of the users. Moreover, due to the particular configuration of movable elements in the chair, front and back seat support rods are perpendicular to the legs of a person sitting in the chair, which will likely restrict blood flow in the legs of almost all users over a prolonged period.

None of the documents describe a wrap which is capable of carrying a collapsible chair which may be known as a quad chair.

SUMMARY

A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair may include a flexible base sheet for wrapping around the collapsible chair and a fastener device to fasten the flexible base sheet to the collapsible chair.

The fastener device may include a first material having a hook.

The fastener device may include a second material having a loop to cooperate with the hook.

The flexible base sheet may include a third material having no hook and no loop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a quad chair;

FIG. 2 illustrates another perspective view of the quad chair;

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the folding chair carrying device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a back view of the folding chair carrying device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the folding chair carrying device of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the folding chair carrying device of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the folding chair carrying device and the quad chair;

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of the folding chair carrying device and the quad chair;

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the folding chair carrying device and the quad chair;

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of the folding chair carrying device and the quad chair;

FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of the folding chair carrying device and the quad chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The quad chair wrap (which may be referred to as Victor's Wrap) of the present invention is to provide ease in storage and carrying a quad chair and provides recreational and or advertising functions. The wrap may be made from durable fabric and may be rectangular in shape. The quad chair wrap may be available in different sizes which may depend on the size of the quad chair. Several different attachment materials could be used on the quad chair wrap. For example, hook and loop material (Velcro) may be used for attaching the quad chair wrap to the chair as well as securing the wrap around the folded quad chair. This material may be used in the form of layers in order to provide versatility by being able to apply hook material to one side of the The present invention solves the problem of transporting a chair or example a collapsible chair/quad chair to sporting or recreational event. The present invention provides advantages over placing the chair in an oversized bag in order to be transported and provides a way of sending and message or advertising. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 illustrates indicia 302 which may be a banner to display a logo or example for a company, a team or other appropriate organization while the folding chair 100 is in use. In addition, the folding chair carrying device 200 holds the chair 100 together in its folded contained position.

FIG. 1 illustrates a collapsible chair/quad chair which may include a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, and a pair of solid arm rests. The collapsible chair may further include a backrest and a first cross brace coupled to the front legs, a seat and a second cross brace coupled to the rear legs. The solid armrest may be slidably coupled to at least one of the front legs, the rear legs, the first cross brace, and the second cross brace, such that the chair collapses in a single movement in which the front legs approximate each other when the front legs and the rear legs pivot towards each other.

The collapsible chair 100 may include a pair of front legs 110 (only one front leg shown), a pair of rear legs 120 (only one rear leg shown), and a pair of solid arm rests 130. A first cross brace 140 is coupled to the front legs, and a second cross brace 150 is coupled to the rear legs. A tensioned seat 160 is coupled to the rear legs, and a back rest 170 may be coupled to the front legs, wherein the tensioned seat 160 and the back rest 170 are coupled to each other to form a continuous supporting surface.

A preferred manner of coupling the solid armrest, the front legs, the rear legs, and the cross braces is depicted in FIG. 2, which is a detail view of the chair of FIG. 1. Here, each front leg 210 may be rotatably coupled to a rear leg 220, and a pair of first cross braces 240 may couple the front legs to the rear legs (on the laterally opposing sides of the chair. Each of the first cross braces may be rotatably coupled to a lower portion of a front leg, and rotatably and may be slidably coupled to a rear leg (on a frontal side of the chair). A second pair of cross braces 250 may couple the rear legs to the front legs (on the laterally opposing sides of the chair). Each of the second cross braces may be rotatably coupled to a lower portion of a rear leg, and may be rotatably and slidably coupled to a front leg (on a rear side of the chair). Thus, the front legs and the rear legs may be coupled to each other via the first and second pairs of cross braces to form a quad. Each of the arcuate solid arm rests 230 may be coupled to the respective front and rear legs via a first and a second arm rest support, 232 and 234, respectively. The first arm rest support 232 may be rotatably coupled to the front leg, and the second arm rest support 234 may be coupled to the rear leg. The first armrest support 232 may slidingly engage with the solid armrest, while the second armrest support rotatably may retain the solid armrest in a fixed position.

The seat and the backrest may be fabricated from a weather resistant material or fabric, preferably a woven synthetic polymer (e.g., Nylon) and is uniformly colored (e.g., blue). However, it should be appreciated that various alternative materials, colors, and sizes are also appropriate.

FIG. 3 illustrates the folding chair carrying device 200 which may include a base sheet 201 which may be formed from flexible material such as fabric, cloth which may be woven, plastic or other appropriate material. The base sheet 201 may be substantially rectangular, may be oval, may be circular or may be any other appropriate shape. The base sheet 201 may be formed from multiple layers of flexible material or may be a solid flexible material. The folding chair carrier device 200 may include a flexible strap 209 which may extend from the side edge 203 and may be attached to the top edge 205 of the base sheet 201 by sewing, gluing or other fastening devices. A strap portion 207 may be formed into a handle in order to carry the folding chair carrying device 200 and which may be an inverted U-shaped handle. The flexible strap 209 may be used to be inserted into an aperture such as at aperture defined by the armrest 232 and may be fastened to the base sheet 201 by a fastener 209. The fastener 209 may be a layer of first material having hooks which extend out from the surface of the layer of first material in order to cooperate with a layer of second material having loops which may extend out from the surface of the layer of second material. The first layer may extend over a first section 221 which may be connected to a second section 223 may be formed from the third material having no hooks or loops, and the second section 223 may be connected to the third section 225 which may include the first material having hooks. The first material, a second material and the third material may be formed from canvas, cloth, plastic or other suitable material. The third section 225 may be connected to a fourth section 227 which may extend to the opposing side of the base sheet 201. The fourth section 227 may be formed from a layer of third material having no hooks and loops. The remaining area of the base sheet 201 maybe formed from a layer of third material having no hooks or loops.

FIG. 4 additionally illustrates a buckle 230 which may be connected to the top edge 205 and which may be connected to the bottom edge 231 to provide a connection point for the strap 209 or to be a connection point for a shoulder harness (not shown).

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the base 201 and illustrates the side edge 203, the top edge 205, and the bottom edge 231.

Additionally the base sheet 201 may include a first end section 229 which may be formed from a layer of first material having hooks which may extend from the top edge 205 to the bottom edge 231 and may extend across the base sheet 201 or a predetermined distance. The base sheet 201 may include a fifth section 233 which may extend from the first end section 229 and may be formed from a layer of the first material having hooks, and the fifth section 223 may be connected to a sixth section 235 which may extend to the side edge 203 and maybe formed from a layer of the third material having no hooks or loops.

FIG. 4 illustrates a back view of the base sheet 2011 and illustrates the flexible strap 209 which may include a seventh section 241 which may have a layer of the second material having loops and which may extend from the end of the flexible strap 209. The seventh section 241 may be connected to an eight section 243 which may include a layer of third material having no hooks or loops and may be connected to an ninth section 245 which may include a layer of second material having loops. The ninth section 245 may be connected to a tenth section 247 which may include a layer of third material having no loops or hooks. FIG. 6 illustrates an eleventh section 249 which may be connected to the tenth section 247 which may include a layer of second material having loops. The eleventh section 249 may be connected to a twelve section 251 which may include a layer of third material having no hooks or loops, and the twelve section 251 may extend to the side edge 203 and may include a layer of the second material having loops. FIG. 4 illustrates a second end section 234 which may be connected to the side edge 203 and extend into the base sheet 201 a predetermined distance and may include a layer of the second material including loops.

The second material shown in FIG. 4 may cooperate with the first material shown in FIG. 3 when the base sheet 201 is wrapped around a collapsible chair 100. Other types of fasteners such as buttons, hooks releasable adhesive may work equally well.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the base sheet 201 and the flexible strap 209. FIG. 6 illustrates the first section 221, the second section 223, the third section 225, the fourth section 227, the fifth section 233, the sixth section 235, the seventh section 241, the eighth section 243, the ninth section 245 and the tenth section 247.

FIG. 7 illustrates the collapsible chair 100 and the folding chair carrying device 200 in an open position.

FIG. 8 illustrates the collapsible chair 100 and the folding chair carrying device 200 in a closed position (carrying position).

FIG. 9 illustrates the flexible strap 301 which may be Velcro being placed on a portion (the left leg) of the chair 100 which may be in an open position.

FIG. 10 illustrates the folding chair carrying device 200 being looped around the leg of the chair 100 and the folding chair carrying device 200 is attached to the flexible strap 301

FIG. 11 illustrates that the folding chair carrying device 200 is wrapped around the chair 100 when the chair 100 is positioned in a closed position.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 illustrates indicia 302 which may be a banner to display a logo or example for a company, a team or other appropriate organization while the folding chair 100 is in use. In addition, the folding chair carrying device 200 holds the chair 100 together in its folded contained position.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.

Claims

1. A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair, comprising:

a flexible base sheet for wrapping around the collapsible chair;

a fastener device to fasten the flexible base sheet to the collapsible chair.

2. A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair as in claim 1, wherein the fastener device includes a first material having a hook.

3. A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair as in claim 2, wherein the fastener device includes a second material having a loop to cooperate with the hook.

4. A folding chair carrying device for carrying a collapsible chair as in claim 1, wherein the flexible base sheet includes a third material having no hook and no loop.