Chair and attachable ottomon that converts to a slide

Abstract

A combination chair and ottoman is adapted to convert to a slide, with the chair having a seat supported directly on a floor; and an ottoman supported directly on the floor in front of the seat, the ottoman including a lower wedge shaped section and an upper wedge shaped section hingedly connected together at common edges thereof, with the upper wedge shaped section adapted to assume a first position on top of the lower wedge shaped section to form the ottoman, and a second position pivoted upwardly on top of the seat while the lower wedge shaped section remains positioned in front of the seat to form a slide; and a first securing arrangement for securing the lower wedge shaped section to the seat when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat.

Claims

1. A combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, the combination comprising: a chair having a seat and a seat back, the chair adapted to be supported directly on a floor; an ottoman adapted to be supported directly on the floor in front of the seat, the ottoman including a lower wedge shaped section and an upper wedge shaped section hingedly connected together at common edges thereof, with the upper wedge shaped section adapted to selectively assume each of the following positions when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat and directly supported on the floor: a first position on top of the lower wedge shaped section to form the ottoman, or a second position pivoted upwardly on top of the seat while the lower wedge shaped section remains positioned in front of the seat such that the lower wedge shaped section and the upper wedge shaped section together form a slide with each of said upper and lower wedge shaped sections including an upper inclined surface in the second position that together form an upper surface of the slide that is inclined relative to the floor on which the chair is supported; and a restraining arrangement for releasably restraining the slide to the chair when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat.

2. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein the upper inclined surfaces of said upper and lower wedge shaped sections in the second position, are coplanar.

3. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein the upper inclined surfaces of said upper and lower wedge shaped sections in the second position, being one of convex or concave.

4. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein the chair further includes side arms that function to restrain said upper wedge shaped section on said seat in the second position.

5. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein said restraining arrangement includes a first securing arrangement having a first securement member connected with the lower wedge shaped section and a second securement member connected with the chair for releasable engagement with the first securement member.

6. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 5, wherein said first securement member is connected with a bottom surface of the lower wedge shaped section and said second securement member is connected with a bottom surface of the chair, and one of said first and second securement members are movable to the other of said first and second securement members for releasable engagement therewith.

7. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 5, wherein said first securement member includes one of hooks and loops and the second securement member includes the other of hooks and loops for releasable engagement with said one of hooks and loops when engaged with each other.

8. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein the restraining arrangement includes a securing arrangement for securing the upper wedge shaped section to the seat back when the upper wedge shaped section is pivoted upwardly to the position on top of the seat.

9. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 8, wherein said securing arrangement includes a first securement member connected with the upper wedge shaped section and a second securement member connected with the seat back for engagement with the first securement member.

10. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 9, wherein said first securement member includes one of hooks and loops and the second securement member includes the other of hooks and loops for engagement with said one of hooks and loops.

11. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 1, wherein said restraining arrangement includes interlocking shapes of said seat and slide that engage with each other to restrain movement of the slide on the seat.

12. A combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, the combination comprising: a chair having a seat and a seat back, the seat adapted to be supported directly on a floor; an ottoman adapted to be supported directly on the floor in front of the seat, the ottoman including a lower wedge shaped section and an upper wedge shaped section hingedly connected together at common edges thereof, with the upper wedge shaped section adapted to assume each of the following positions when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat and directly supported on the floor: a first position on top of the lower wedge shaped section to form the ottoman, or a second position pivoted upwardly on top of the seat while the lower wedge shaped section remains positioned in front of the seat to form a slide; a restraining arrangement for restraining the slide to the seat when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat; and a step secured to a rear surface of said seat back for enabling a child to reach the top of the slide in the second position.

13. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 12, wherein said step is removably secured to said rear surface of said seat back.

14. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 13, wherein said seat back includes an opening for storing said step when said step is removed from said seat back.

15. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 12, wherein said step is hingedly secured to said rear surface of said seat back by a hinge.

16. The combination chair and ottoman that is adapted to convert to a slide, according to claim 13, wherein said seat back includes an opening for storing said step when said step is pivoted about said hinge.

17. An ottoman adapted to convert to a slide for use with a chair having a seat and a seat back, the ottoman comprising: a lower wedge shaped section adapted to be supported directly on the floor in front of the seat; and an upper wedge shaped section hingedly connected together with the lower wedge shaped section at common edges thereof, with the upper wedge shaped section adapted to selectively assume each of the following positions when the lower wedge shaped section is supported directly on the floor in front of the seat: a first position on top of the lower wedge shaped section to form the ottoman, or a second position pivoted upwardly on top of the seat while the lower wedge shaped section remains positioned in front of the seat such that the lower wedge shaped section and the upper wedge shaped section together form a slide with each of said upper and lower wedge shaped sections including an upper inclined surface in the second position that together form an upper surface of the slide that is inclined relative to the floor on which the chair is supported; and a first securing arrangement for releasably securing the lower wedge shaped section to the chair when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat.

18. The ottoman according to claim 17, wherein the upper inclined surfaces of said upper and lower wedge shaped sections in the second position, are coplanar.

19. The ottoman according to claim 17, further comprising a second securing arrangement for securing the upper wedge shaped section to the seat back when the upper wedge shaped section is pivoted upwardly to the position on top of the seat.

20. A method of converting an ottoman to a slide for use with a chair adapted to be supported directly on a floor, the chair having a seat and a seat back, the ottoman having a lower wedge shaped section and an upper wedge shaped section hingedly connected together with the lower wedge shaped section at common edges thereof, the method comprising the steps of: positioning the ottoman with the upper wedge shaped section positioned on top of the lower wedge shaped section, such that the lower wedge shaped section sits directly on the floor in front of the chair, releasably restraining the lower wedge shaped section to the chair when the lower wedge shaped section is positioned in front of the seat; and pivoting the upper wedge shaped section relative to the lower wedge shaped section around the common edges thereof when the lower wedge shaped section is restrained to the seat such that the upper wedge shaped section rests on top of the seat while the lower wedge shaped section remains positioned in front of the seat, such that the lower wedge shaped section and the upper wedge shaped section together form a slide with each of the upper and lower wedge shaped sections including an upper inclined in the second position that together form an upper surface of the slide that is inclined relative to the floor on which the chair is supported.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of securing the upper wedge shaped section to the seat back when the upper wedge shaped section is pivoted upwardly to the position on top of the seat.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of removably securing a step to a rear surface of said seat back.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing the chair with the ottomon positioned in front of the chair;

(2) FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the chair with the ottomon converted to a slide;

(3) FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the chair and slide of FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the chair and slide of FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the chair and slide of FIG. 2;

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the ottomon alone in its slide configuration;

(7) FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the chair and slide of FIG. 2, with the rear step removed;

(8) FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the chair and slide of FIG. 7;

(9) FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the chair and slide of FIG. 7;

(10) FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the chair with the ottomon positioned in front of the chair and the ottomon detached from the chair;

(11) FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the chair with the ottomon of FIG. 10;

(12) FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of the chair and slide of FIG. 2 with a modification of the step;

(13) FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 12, showing the hinged nature of stepped;

(14) FIG. 14 is a front perspective view showing the chair with the ottomon positioned in front of the chair, but without any arms;

(15) FIG. 15 is a front perspective view showing the chair of FIG. 12, with the ottomon converted to a slide; and

(16) FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the chair and slide of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(17) Referring to the drawings in detail, and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a chair 10 according to the present invention, which is supported on a floor 11, includes a seat 12, a seat back 14 extending upwardly from the floor at the rear of the seat 12, and left and right arm rests 16 and 18 extending upwardly from the floor at left and right sides of the seat 12. Left and right arm rests 16 and 18 each extend from the front face of the seat back 14 to the front edge of seat 12. Preferably, seat 12 is formed as a cushion seat although the present invention is not limited thereby.

(18) An ottoman 20 is positioned in front of seat 12 and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is also positioned directly on floor 11. Ottoman 20 is formed by two wedge shaped sections 22 and 24 connected together at a common edge so that sections 22 and 24 can pivot relative to each other.

(19) Specifically, as shown best in FIGS. 1-6, when in the ottoman configuration, lower wedge shaped section 22 includes a square or rectangular bottom surface 26 which rests on the floor 11 in front of seat 12, two triangular side surfaces 28 and 30 that extend upwardly from left and right side edges of bottom surface 26 and are inclined upwardly front to rear, a rectangular rear surface 32 that is connected between the rear edge of bottom surface 26 and the rear edges of triangular side surfaces 28 and 30. Finally, an upper square or rectangular inclined surface 34 is connected between the top edge of rear surface 32 and the front edge of bottom surface 26, and is also connected to the top inclined edges of triangular side surfaces 28 and 30. It will therefore be appreciated that upper surface 34 is inclined downwardly from the rear edge thereof to the front edge thereof, that is, in a direction away from chair 10.

(20) In like manner, when in the ottoman configuration of FIG. 1, upper wedge shaped section 24 includes an upper square or rectangular surface 36, two triangular side surfaces 38 and 40 that extend downwardly from left and right side edges of surface 36, a rectangular front facing surface 42 that is connected between the front edge of upper surface 36 and the front edges of triangular side surfaces 38 and 40. Finally, a lower square or rectangular inclined surface 44 is connected between the bottom edge of front facing surface 42 and the rear edge of upper surface 36, and is also connected to the bottom inclined edges of triangular side surfaces 38 and 40. It will therefore be appreciated that lower surface 44 is inclined downwardly from the rear edge thereof to the front edge thereof.

(21) Further, the rear edges of inclined surfaces 34 and 44 are connected together along a hinge line 46 so that they can be pivoted relative to each other.

(22) Thus, in FIG. 1, inclined surface 44 rests on inclined surface 34 so that together, wedge shaped sections 22 and 24 together form a rectangular parallelepiped configuration to function as an ottoman, whereby a person seated on seat 12 can place his or her feet on surface 36.

(23) It will be appreciated that the height of rectangular rear section 32 of lower wedge shaped section 22 is substantially equal to the height of seat 12. Further, the width of each wedge shaped section 22 and 24 is substantially the same as the width of seat 12.

(24) When it is desired to convert the ottoman to a slide, it is merely necessary to pivot upper wedge shaped section 24 about hinge line 46 such that upper rectangular surface 36 is inverted and sits on the upper surface of seat 12, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. In such case, upper rectangular surface 36 becomes a lower surface, and lower inclined surface 44 is inverted and becomes an upper inclined surface that forms a continuation of upper inclined surface 34 of lower wedge shaped section 22, that is, inclined surfaces 34 and 44 become coplanar at the same inclination angle.

(25) Alternatively, one or both of inclined surfaces 34 and 44 can have a slight convex or concave curvature, rather than the surfaces being coplanar.

(26) Further, as shown in FIG. 2, front facing surface 42 now faces rearwardly and abuts against the front facing surface of seat back 14.

(27) Also, in the slide configuration of FIG. 2, wedge shaped section 24 is restrained between left and right arm rests 16 and 18 for further stability.

(28) It will be appreciated that, in such slide configuration, the top of the slide is substantially flush or even with the top of the seat back 14.

(29) In order to restrain wedge shaped sections 22 and 24 in the ottoman configuration of FIG. 1, a flexible fabric tab 50 has one end connected centrally to the lower edge of front facing surface 42. The free end portion 52 of tab 50 includes either small hooks or loops (not shown) 53 on a first surface 55 thereof, and a small fabric section 54 adhered to bottom surface 26, as shown in FIG. 3, includes the other of small hooks or loops 57 for engaging with the small hooks or loops 53 of the tab 50, to prevent pivoting of wedge shaped section 24 relative to wedge shaped section 22. The arrangement of hooks and loops is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO.

(30) In like manner, to prevent movement of the slide on chair 10 when in use, flexible fabric tab 50 also includes small hooks or loops 56 on the second, opposite side 59 of free end portion 52, as shown best in FIG. 3, for engaging with the other of small hooks or loops 58 on a small fabric section 60 adhered to the rear surface of seat back 14 at the upper end thereof.

(31) To further prevent movement of the slide on chair 10 when in use, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface of seat 12 includes two rectangular pieces of fabric 61 fixedly secured at opposite sides thereof, with each piece of fabric 61 including one of said hooks or loops 62. Two rectangular pieces of fabric 64 are hingedly secured to bottom surface 26 only at the rear edge of bottom surface 26. Each piece of fabric 64 includes the other of hooks or loops 66. In this manner, each piece of fabric 64 can be pivoted to be in overlapping relation to the respective piece of fabric 61 so that the hooks and loops engage each other to secure lower wedge shaped section 22 to seat 12. The arrangement of hooks and loops is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO.

(32) In like manner, bottom surface 26 includes two rectangular pieces of fabric 70 fixedly secured at opposite sides thereof, with each piece of fabric 70 including one of said hooks or loops 72. Two rectangular pieces of fabric 74 are hingedly secured to the lower surface of seat 12 only at the front edge of seat 12. Each piece of fabric 74 includes the other of hooks or loops 76. In this manner, each piece of fabric 74 can be pivoted to be in overlapping relation to her respective piece of fabric 70 so that the hooks and loops engage each other to secure lower wedge shaped section 22 to seat 12. The arrangement of hooks and loops is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO.

(33) It will be appreciated that, when used as an ottoman, pieces of fabric 61, 64, 70 and 74 can be disconnected from each other, so that the ottoman can be moved away from chair 10, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

(34) In order to aid a child to climb to the top of the slide at the upper edge of seat back 14, as shown in FIG. 3, in order to slide down the slide, a rectangular parallelepiped step 90 is provided at the rear surface of seat back 14. As shown in FIG. 7, step 90 includes one of hooks and loops 92 on one surface thereof, and a piece of fabric 94 which is secured to the rear surface of seat back 14 includes the other of hooks and loops 96 so that step 90 can be removably secured to the rear surface of seat back 14. In such case, the bottom surface 95 of step 90 sits on the floor. The arrangement of hooks and loops is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO.

(35) When the arrangement is not used as a slide, but rather, as an ottoman, step 90 can be removed from seat back 14, and stored within seat back 14 in an opening 98 (FIG. 3) provided at the lower end of seat back 14, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

(36) Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, step 90 can be secured to the rear of seat back 14 by a hinge 91 at the upper edge thereof, in covering relation to an opening 93 in seat back 14. In the position shown in FIG. 12, the bottom of step 90 rests on the floor to support a child climbing up the back of the chair. When not in use, step 90 can be pivoted about hinge 91 two opening 93 for the storage, and thereby also closing off opening 93.

(37) It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims. For example, in place of the VELCRO arrangements discussed above, other securing means can be used such as snaps, ties, zippers, buckles and the like.

(38) As another alternative, a restraining arrangement can be provided, for example, seat 12 can have a slight depression and surface 36 can be slightly convex to fit within the depression so as to prevent movement of the ottoman when converted to the slide configuration. It will be appreciated that other complementary shapes, other than convex and concave, can be used to provide such restraining arrangement.

(39) It will be appreciated that, although the present invention has been discussed in relation to a chair with arms 16 and 18, the present invention is not so limited. Specifically, the slide of the present invention can be used with a chair having no arms, as shown in FIGS. 14-16.

(40) Having described a specific preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to that precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.