Foldable Chair
20180116403 ยท 2018-05-03
Inventors
Cpc classification
A47C5/10
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
A47C4/20
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A47C5/10
HUMAN NECESSITIES
Abstract
A foldable chair includes a foldable frame and a reinforcing joint. The foldable frame includes a supporting frame and a seat frame pivotally connected with each other via the reinforcing joint, wherein the reinforcing joint includes a first joint member, a second joint member, and a connecting member connecting the second joint member with the first joint member. The first joint member, having an engaging cavity, is coupled at the seat frame. The second joint member is coupled at the supporting frame and is received at the engaging cavity to frictionally couple with the first joint member. The reinforcing joint serves as a supporting shaft to support between the supporting frame and the seat frame and serves as a rotatable shaft to enable the second joint member to be rotated at the first joint member for a pivotal movement between the supporting frame and the seat frame.
Claims
1. A foldable chair, comprising: a foldable frame which comprises a supporting frame and a seat frame; and at least one reinforcing joint for pivotally connecting said supporting frame with said seat frame, wherein said reinforcing joint comprises: a first joint member, having an engaging cavity, coupled at said seat frame; a second joint member coupled at said supporting frame and received at said engaging cavity to frictionally couple with said first joint member, wherein said first and second joint members serve as a supporting shaft to support between said supporting frame and said seat frame and serve as a rotatable shaft to enable said second joint member to be rotated at said first joint member for a pivotal movement between said supporting frame and said seat frame; and a connecting member extended from said second joint member through said first joint member to ensure an engagement therebetween.
2. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 1, wherein said first joint member has a tubular shape defining said engaging cavity therein, such that said second joint member is inserted into said engaging cavity at a position that an outer circumferential surface of said second joint member is frictionally engaged with an inner circumferential surface of said engaging cavity.
3. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 2, wherein said engaging cavity is a conical cavity and said second joint member has a corresponding conical shape to enlarge a frictional contacting area between said first joint member and said second joint member.
4. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 3, wherein a depth of said engaging cavity matches with a length of said second joint member.
5. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 1, wherein said supporting frame has a first coupling hole and said seat frame has a second coupling hole, wherein said connecting member has two ends rotatably coupled at said first and second coupling holes through said first and second joint members.
6. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 4, wherein said supporting frame has a first coupling hole and said seat frame has a second coupling hole, wherein said connecting member has two ends rotatably coupled at said first and second coupling holes through said first and second joint members.
7. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 1, wherein said reinforcing joint further comprises a first attachment panel and a second attachment panel securely affixing to said seat frame and said supporting frame respectively, wherein said first and second joint members are integrally extended from said first and second attachment panels respectively.
8. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 6, wherein said reinforcing joint further comprises a first attachment panel and a second attachment panel securely affixing to said seat frame and said supporting frame respectively, wherein said first and second joint members are integrally extended from said first and second attachment panels respectively.
9. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 1, wherein said supporting frame comprises a front leg frame and a rear leg frame, wherein said seat frame is pivotally coupled at said front and rear leg frames via said reinforcing joints respectively.
10. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 8, wherein said supporting frame comprises a front leg frame and a rear leg frame, wherein said seat frame is pivotally coupled at said front and rear leg frames via said reinforcing joints respectively.
11. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 9, wherein said supporting frame further comprises a back frame upwardly extended from said front leg frame, and a joint stopper coupled at an upper end of said rear leg frame, wherein said joint stopper has a front stopping surface configured for biasing against said back frame to retain said foldable frame at an unfolded position and a rear joining surface arranged in such a manner that when two of said foldable chairs are stacked with each other, said rear joint surface of one foldable chair is engaged with said back frame of another foldable chair so as to retain said foldable chairs in a stacked manner.
12. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 10, wherein said supporting frame further comprises a back frame upwardly extended from said front leg frame, and a joint stopper coupled at an upper end of said rear leg frame, wherein said joint stopper has a front stopping surface configured for biasing against said back frame to retain said foldable frame at an unfolded position and a rear joining surface arranged in such a manner that when two of said foldable chairs are stacked with each other, said rear joint surface of one foldable chair is engaged with said back frame of another foldable chair so as to retain said foldable chairs in a stacked manner.
13. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 12, wherein said front stopping surface and said rear joining surface are configured to have a contour matching with a contour of a rear side of said back frame and a contour of a front side of said back frame respectively.
14. A reinforcing joint for pivotally connecting first and second construction tubes of a foldable chair, comprising: a first joint member, having an engaging cavity, arranged for coupling at the first construction tube; a second joint member arranged for coupling at the second construction tube, wherein said second joint member is received at said engaging cavity to frictionally couple with said first joint member, such that said second joint member serves as a supporting shaft for supporting between the two construction tubes and serves as a rotatable shaft to enable said second joint member to be rotated at said first joint member for a pivotal movement between the two construction tubes; and a connecting member extended through said first joint member and said second joint member to ensure an engagement therebetween.
15. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 14, wherein said first joint member has a tubular shape defining said engaging cavity therein, such that said second joint member is inserted into said engaging cavity at a position that an outer circumferential surface of said second joint member is frictionally engaged with an inner circumferential surface of said engaging cavity.
16. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 15, wherein said engaging cavity is a conical cavity and said second joint member has a corresponding conical shape to enlarge a frictional contacting area between said first joint member and said second joint member.
17. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 14, wherein a depth of said engaging cavity matches with a length of said second joint member.
18. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 16, wherein a depth of said engaging cavity matches with a length of said second joint member.
19. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 14, further comprising a first attachment panel and a second attachment panel for securely affixing to said seat frame and said supporting frame respectively, wherein said first and second joint members are integrally extended from said first and second attachment panels respectively.
20. The reinforcing joint, as recited in claim 18, further comprising a first attachment panel and a second attachment panel for securely affixing to said seat frame and said supporting frame respectively, wherein said first and second joint members are integrally extended from said first and second attachment panels respectively.
21. A foldable chair, comprising: a foldable frame which comprises a supporting frame and a seat frame, wherein said supporting frame comprises a front leg frame, a rear leg frame and a back frame upwardly extended from said front leg frame; at least a joint pivotally coupled at said front leg frame and said rear leg frame for pivotally connecting said supporting frame with said frame such that said foldable frame is adapted to move between a folded position that said supporting frame supports said seat frame at a vertical manner, and an unfolded position that said support frame is moved at a predetermined angle to support said seat frame at a horizontal manner; and a joint stopper, which is coupled at an upper portion of said rear leg frame, having a front stopping surface configured for biasing against said back leg frame to retain said foldable frame at said unfolded position and a rear joining surface arranged in such a manner that when two of said foldable chairs are stacked with each other, said rear joint surface of one of said foldable chairs is engaged with said back frame of another said foldable chair so as to retain said foldable chairs in a stacked manner.
22. The foldable chair, as recited in claim 21, wherein said front stopping surface and said rear joining surface are configured to have a contour matching with a contour of a rear said of said back frame and a contour of a front side of said back frame respectively.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031]
[0032]
[0033]
[0034]
[0035]
[0036]
[0037]
[0038]
[0039]
[0040]
[0041]
[0042]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0043] The following description is disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Preferred embodiments are provided in the following description only as examples and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined in the following description would be applied to other embodiments, alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0044] Referring to
[0045] As shown in
[0046] The seat frame 20 is constructed by a U-shaped construction tube defining two parallel side seat members 21 and a rear seat support 22 integrally extended between two rear ends of the seat members 21. Accordingly, the reinforcing joints 30 are pivotally coupled the two seat members 21 of the seat frame 20 with the front legs 111 of the supporting frame 11 respectively. It is appreciated that the reinforcing joints 30 are pivotally coupled the two side seat members 21 of the seat frame 20 with the rear legs 121 of the supporting frame 11 respectively.
[0047] As shown in
[0048] The foldable chair further comprises a seat panel 23 supported by the seat frame 20 and a back panel 14 supported by the back support members 131 of the back support frame 13. Accordingly, a rear edge portion of the seat panel 23 is supported by the rear seat support 22 of the seat frame 20 and two side edge portions of the seat panel 23 are supported by the two side seat members 21 of the seat frame 20. In other words, the front edge portion of the seat panel 23 is suspendedly supported by the seat frame 20. In particular, the seat panel 23 is ergonomically design to ensure the sitting posture of the user. The seat panel 23 has a butt supporting portion 231 formed indentedly and thigh supporting portion 232 frontwardly extended from the butt supporting portion 231. When the user sits on the seat panel 23, the butt and thighs of the user will be supported by the butt supporting portion 231 and the thigh supporting portion 232 to ensure the proper sitting posture of the user in which the back of the user is straight and supported by the back panel 14. The thigh supporting portion 232 has an upward curving configuration to substantially match with the shape of the thigh of the user. It is worth mentioning that the thigh supporting portion 232 of the seat frame 20 is defined at the front portion thereof, wherein the thigh supporting portion 232 is suspendedly supported by the seat frame 20, such that the thigh supporting portion 232 is free from the seat frame 20 to provide a predetermined flexibility so as to generate an upward bounding force to the thighs of the user. Preferably, the seat panel 23 is made of mesh fabric or mesh plastic for enhancing the air circulation. When the user sits on the foldable chair, as shown in
[0049] As shown in
[0050] The first joint member 31 has an engaging cavity 311 that the second joint member 32 is received at the engaging cavity 311. In particular, the first joint member 31 has a tubular shape defining the engaging cavity 311 therein, such that the second joint member 32 is inserted into the engaging cavity 311. Once the second joint member 31 is received in the engaging cavity 311, an outer circumferential surface of the second joint member 32 is frictionally engaged with an inner circumferential surface of the engaging cavity 311 of the first joint member 31.
[0051] In order to enhance the friction between the first and second joint members 31, 32, the engaging cavity 311 has a conical shape that a size of the engaging cavity 311 is gradually increasing from the seat frame 20 to form an enlarged opening. Correspondingly, the second joint member 32 has a conical shape having a size gradually reducing from the supporting frame 10 to fit into the engaging cavity 311 through the enlarged opening thereof. In particular, a depth of the engaging cavity 311 matches with a length of the second joint member 32.
[0052] Therefore, when the second joint member 32 is received in the engaging cavity 311, the first and second joint members 31, 32 serve as a supporting shaft to support between the supporting frame 10 and the seat frame 20 for effectively distributing a loading force from the seat frame 20 to the supporting frame 10. In other words, when the user sits on the seat frame 20, the loading force, i.e. the weight of the user, will transfer to the supporting frame 10 through the first and second joint members 31, 32. Since the second joint member 32 is a solid and rigid member, the second joint member 32 forms a supporting shaft to replace the conventional rivet to support the foldable chair. Furthermore, the first and second joint members 31, 32 also serve as a rotatable shaft to enable the second joint member 32 to be rotated at the first joint member 31 within the engaging cavity 311 thereof for a pivotal movement between the supporting frame 10 and the seat frame 20.
[0053] As shown in
[0054] It is worth mentioning that no washer is required for coupling between the supporting frame 10 and the seat frame 20. Since the second joint member 32 has a predetermined length to be received in the engaging cavity 311 of the first joint member 31, the distance between the two construction tubes, i.e. the seat member 21 and the front leg 111, can be substantially retained by the length of the second joint member 32. Therefore, the seat frame 20 can only be pivotally moved with respect to the supporting frame 10 via the reinforcing joint 30 to prevent any unwanted lateral movement therebetween during the folding and unfolding operations and especially when the foldable chair is moved at the unfolded position for the user to sit thereon.
[0055] According to the preferred embodiment, the connecting member 33 is embodied as a rivet to couple between the first and second joint members 31, 32. However, the connecting member 33 is not used for supporting the folding chair. In other words, since the loading force will be transferred to the first and second joint members 31, 32, the loading force will not be applied to the connecting member 33. It is appreciated that the connecting member 33 can be a screw or other fastening elements.
[0056] Accordingly, the supporting frame 10 has a first coupling hole 101 and the seat frame 20 has a second coupling hole 201 aligned with the first coupling hole 101, wherein the first and second coupling holes 101, 201 is slightly larger than a diameter of the connecting member 33. The connecting member 33 has two ends rotatably coupled at the first and second coupling holes 101, 201 through the first and second joint members, 31, 32. It is worth mentioning that the second joint member 32 has a through channel 320 aligned with the first and second coupling holes 101, 201, such that the connecting member 33 extended between the first and second coupling holes 101, 201 through the through channel 320 of the second joint member 32. It is appreciated that the connecting member 33 can be integrally extended from the second joint member 32 to engage with the first coupling hole 101 after the second joint member 32 is received in the engaging cavity 111 of the first joint member 31, such that no second coupling hole 201 and the through channel 320 will be required.
[0057] As shown in
[0058] Accordingly, the first attachment panel 34 has a first attachment surface configured to match with a contour of the seat member 21 of the seat frame 20, wherein the first attachment surface of the first attachment panel 34 is affixed to the seat member 21 of the seat frame 20. Likewise, the second attachment panel 35 has a second attachment surface configured to match with a contour of the front leg 111 of the supporting frame 10, wherein the second attachment surface of the second attachment panel 35 is affixed to the front leg 111 of the supporting frame 10. Therefore, the reinforcing joint 30 can be incorporated with the two construction tubes with different cross sections. It is worth mentioning that the first attachment panel 34 and a second attachment panel 35 are securely affixed to the seat frame 20 and the supporting frame 10 respectively via fasteners, such as pins or nails. In addition, the first and second attachment panels 34, 35 will enlarge the force transmitting surfaces for the seat frame 20 and the supporting frame 10 to enhance the loading force to effectively transmit from the seat frame 20 to the supporting frame 10.
[0059] When the foldable chair is moved between the unfolded position and the folded position, the rear legs 121 are pivotally moved with respect to the front legs 111, such that the second joint member 32 is frictionally rotated within the engaging cavity 311 of the first joint member 31. It is worth mentioning that the frictional engagement between the first and second joint members 31, 32 will generate the frictional force to retain the foldable chair at the folded position. In other words, the user must apply the force to overcome the frictional force in order to move the foldable chair from the folded position to the unfolded position. Likewise, the frictional engagement between the first and second joint members 31, 32 will generate the frictional force to retain the foldable chair at the unfolded position to prevent the foldable chair from being folded accidentally.
[0060] It is worth mentioning that the reinforcing joint 30 of the present invention is able to pivotally connect two construction tubes of any foldable furniture, such as foldable table. In addition, the reinforcing joint 30 can also connect two construction tubes of the foldable chair at any location for pivotal movement. Accordingly, the reinforcing joint 30 can solve the problems of the existing rivet connection structure for pivotally connecting two construction tubes. The width of the reinforcing joint 30 will retain the distance between the construction tubes to stabilize the structure of the foldable frame to prevent any unwanted lateral movement between the construction tube. The reinforcing joint 30 is more rigid than the rivet to support the foldable frame and to effective distribute the loading force. Since the first and second joint members 31, 32 are frictionally engaged with each other, there is no clearance formed therebetween to create any wobbling movement of the foldable chair especially when it is unfolded.
[0061] As shown in
[0062] Each of the joint stoppers 16 further has a joining surface 162, as a rear joining surface, formed opposite to the stopping surface 161, as shown in
[0063] It is worth mentioning that the contour of the joining surface 162 matches with the contour of the front side of the back supporting member 131 for maximizing the contacting area therebetween when two foldable chairs are stacked. In one embodiment, the joining surface 162 has a concave configuration to bias against the front side of the back supporting member 131 of another foldable chair.
[0064] According to the preferred embodiment, each of the joint stoppers 16 further comprises an inner join wall 163 and an outer join wall 164 spacedly and rearwardly extended to define the joint surface 162 between the inner and outer join walls 163, 164. In particular, the inner and outer join walls 163, 164 are rearwardly extended from two sidewalls of the joint stopper 16 respectively. In other words, the back supporting member 131 of second folded chair will engage with the joining surface 162 of the joint stopper 16 between the inner and outer join walls 163, 164.
[0065] Preferably, a height of the outer join wall 164 is larger than a height of the inner join wall 163. Therefore, the two outer join walls 164 of the joint stoppers 16 of each of the foldable chair form two boundary walls to guide and couple the back supporting member 131 of second folded chair so as to retain the foldable chairs in a stacked manner. Preferably, each of the outer join walls 164 has a trapezoid shape and each of the inner join walls 163 has a rectangular shape. Preferably, one side edge of the outer join wall 164 is a slanted side edge and another side edge of the outer join wall 164 is a curved side edge. It is appreciated that the height difference between the outer joint wall 164 and the inner joint wall 163 can be modified and the shape of the outer joint wall 164 and the inner joint wall 163 can be altered as shown in
[0066] In one embodiment, in order to couple the joint stoppers 16 at the upper ends of the rear legs 121 respectively, each of the joint stoppers 16 further comprises an joint connector 165 extended downwardly to slidably insert into the upper end of the rear leg 121, as shown in
[0067] One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
[0068] It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.