U.S. patent application number 11/866094 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-03 for folding high chair.
Invention is credited to Shu-Chen CHENG.
Application Number | 20080079291 11/866094 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38740666 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080079291 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHENG; Shu-Chen |
April 3, 2008 |
FOLDING HIGH CHAIR
Abstract
A folding high chair has a seat assembly, a connection assembly,
a support assembly and a rear stand assembly. The seat assembly has
a seat and a backrest connecting pivotally to the seat. The
connection assembly is mounted on the seat. The support assembly is
mounted pivotally on the connection assembly. The rear stand
assembly connects pivotally to the support assembly. The seat
assembly, support assembly and rear stand assembly are
substantially parallel to one another when the folding high chair
is folded. Therefore, the folding high chair may be changed into a
compact folded configuration convenient for carrying and
storage.
Inventors: |
CHENG; Shu-Chen; (Taipei
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Hershkovitz & Associates, LLC
2845 Duke Street
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
38740666 |
Appl. No.: |
11/866094 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/159.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47D 1/004 20130101;
A47D 1/023 20170501; A47D 1/002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/159.1 |
International
Class: |
A47D 1/02 20060101
A47D001/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 3, 2006 |
TW |
095217646 |
Claims
1. A folding high chair comprising: a seat assembly having a seat
having an upper surface, a bottom surface, a front end, a rear end,
two opposite sides and two armrests formed respectively on and
protruding respectively from the upper surface at the sides; and a
backrest being mounted pivotally on the rear end of the seat, being
capable of pivoting forward to fold onto the seat and having a
front, a rear, a top end, a bottom end connecting pivotally to the
rear end of the seat and a locking protrusion being formed on and
protruding away from the rear at the bottom end; a connection
assembly being mounted securely on the bottom surface of the seat
of the seat assembly and having a connection member being mounted
on the bottom of the seat and having a bottom; a rear end; two
opposite sidewalls and each sidewall having an inside surface; a
longitudinal recess defined in the bottom of the connection member
between the inside surface of the sidewalls; and multiple pairs of
positioning notches, and the positioning notches of each pair being
oppositely defined respectively in the inside surfaces of the
sidewalls; and a lock being mounted slidably on the connection
member and having a top end and a resilient hook mounted on the top
end of the lock and hooking detachably on the locking protrusion; a
support assembly being retractable, connecting pivotally to the
connection member of the connection assembly and having an outer
cylinder being hollow and having a top end; a bottom end; a
mounting hole being defined axially in the top end of the outer
cylinder; and two opposite positioning blocks being formed on and
protruding radially from the outer cylinder near the top end of the
outer cylinder; an inner cylinder mounted telescopically in the
mounting hole of the outer cylinder and having a top end; and a
connecting element mounted on the top end of the inner cylinder,
connecting pivotally to the connection member and having a pivot
member formed on the connecting member, being mounted securely on
the top end of the inner cylinder and being mounted rotatably in
the longitudinal recess of the connection member between the inside
surfaces of the sidewalls; and a positioning member being mounted
slidably on the connecting element, mounted in the recess in the
connection member and having a rear end, two opposite sides and two
opposite positioning projections formed oppositely on and
protruding respectively from the sides of the positioning member
and corresponding respectively to the pairs of positioning notches,
wherein each positioning projection engages detachably with one of
the positioning notches of a corresponding pair; and a rear stand
assembly being connected pivotally to the support assembly.
2. The folding high chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear
stand assembly has a linkage being connected pivotally to the outer
cylinder of the support assembly and having a connecting end being
connected pivotally to the outer cylinder; an engaging end; and an
engaging rod formed transversely on the engaging end and having two
opposite ends; and a rear stand being U-shaped, being connected
pivotally to the engaging end of the linkage and having two
opposite legs formed on the rear stand and each leg having an
inside surface; a pivot slot being defined in the inside surface of
the leg, rotatably and detachably holding one end of the engaging
rod on the linkage; and multiple positioning slots being defined in
the inside surface of the leg, arranged longitudinally and one of
the positioning slots engaging detachably with one of the
positioning blocks.
3. The folding high chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein: each
sidewall of the connection member is hollow and further has a
chamber defined in the sidewall and having an inner surface; and a
guide slot being Y-shaped, defined in the inner surface of the
chamber in the sidewall and having two branching slots; the lock of
the connection assembly further has two opposite abutment tabs
mounted on the lock; the connection assembly further has a biasing
member being resilient and Y-shaped, mounted slidably in the guide
slot and having a biasing branch being curved, extending slidably
out of one branching slot and pressing against one of the abutment
tabs on the lock to bias the lock in an upper position; and a latch
branch being straight and extending out of the other branching
slot; and each positioning projection of the positioning member of
the connecting element is held selectively by one of the latch
branches on the biasing members.
4. The folding high chair as claimed in claim 3, wherein: the outer
cylinder further has two opposite friction surfaces formed on the
outer cylinder respectively adjacent to the positioning blocks and
each friction surface having multiple friction ribs; and the inside
surface of each leg of the rear stand selectively contacts one of
the friction surfaces.
5. The folding high chair as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer
cylinder further has a foot formed transversely on the bottom end
of the outer cylinder.
6. The folding high chair as claimed in claim 3, wherein: the seat
further has a crossbar mounted on the bottom of the seat near the
front end; and the seat assembly further has a leg rest mounted
detachably on the crossbar on the seat and has multiple mounting
slots being defined transversely through the footrest and arranged
longitudinally; and a footrest being detachably mounted
perpendicularly in one of the mounting slots in the leg rest.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a chair, and more
particularly to a folding high chair that may be folded into a
compact configuration for carrying and storage of the folding high
chair.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] High chairs are used for young children or infants and
comprise long legs to ensure children are in view, at a convenient
height for feeding and participating in activities, especially
during meals.
[0005] Conventional high chairs are foldable and have a folding
mechanism. However, the folding mechanism comprises many components
so is complicated to use, the legs are long so prevent easy storage
and transportation and are not easily height adjustable so are
inconvenient to use.
[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a folding high chair to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The main objective of the invention is to provide a folding
high chair that may be folded into a compact configuration for
carrying and storage of the folding high chair.
[0008] A folding high chair in accordance with the present
invention comprises a seat assembly, a connection assembly, a
support assembly and a rear stand assembly. The seat assembly has a
seat and a backrest being connected pivotally to the seat. The
connection assembly is mounted on the seat. The support assembly
connects pivotally to the connection assembly. The rear stand
assembly connects pivotally to the support assembly. The seat
assembly, support assembly and rear stand assembly are
substantially parallel to one another when the folding high chair
is folded. Therefore, the folding high chair may be transformed
easily into a compact folded configuration, convenient for carrying
and storage.
[0009] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a folding high chair in
accordance with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the folding high chair
in FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the folding high
chair in FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the folding high
chair in FIG. 2;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a side view of the folding high chair in FIG.
1;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a side view in partial section of the folding high
chair in FIG. 5, showing positioning slots of a leg;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a side view in partial section of the folding high
chair in FIG. 5, showing a friction surface of an outer
cylinder;
[0017] FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the
folding high chair in FIG. 5;
[0018] FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the
folding high chair in FIG. 5, showing internal elements of a
connecting element;
[0019] FIG. 10 is another enlarged side view in partial section of
the folding high chair in FIG. 5, showing internal elements of a
connection member;
[0020] FIG. 11 is an operational side view of the folding high
chair in FIG. 1, shown partially folded seat assembly; and
[0021] FIG. 12 is an operational side view of the folding high
chair in FIG. 11, shown completely folded.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a folding high chair in
accordance with the present invention comprises a seat assembly
(10), a connection assembly (20), a support assembly (30) and a
rear stand assembly (40).
[0023] With further reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 8 the seat assembly
(10) comprises a seat (11), a backrest (12) and may further have a
leg rest (13).
[0024] The seat (11) has an upper surface, a bottom surface, a
front end, a rear end, two opposite sides and two armrests and may
further have a crossbar (113). The armrests are formed respectively
on and protrude respectively from the upper surface at the sides.
The crossbar (113) is mounted on the bottom of the seat (11) near
the front end.
[0025] The backrest (12) is mounted pivotally on the rear end of
the seat (11), is capable of pivoting forward to fold onto the seat
(11) and has a front, a rear, a top end, a bottom end and a locking
protrusion (121). The bottom end is mounted pivotally on the rear
end of the seat (11). The locking protrusion (121) is formed on and
protrudes away from the rear at the bottom end.
[0026] The leg rest (13) is mounted detachably on the crossbar
(113) on the seat (11) and has multiple mounting slots (131) and a
footrest (132). The mounting slots (131) are defined transversely
through the footrest (13) and are arranged longitudinally. The
footrest (132) is detachably mounted perpendicularly in one of the
mounting slots (131) in the leg rest (13) and may be mounted closer
to the seat (11) for smaller children and further from the seat
(11) for larger children.
[0027] The connection assembly (20) is mounted securely on the
bottom surface of the seat (11) of the seat assembly (10) and has a
connection member (21) and a lock (22) and may further have a
biasing member.
[0028] With further reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the connection
member (21) is mounted on the bottom of the seat (11) and has a
bottom, a rear end, two opposite sidewalls, a longitudinal recess
(211) and multiple pairs of positioning notches (212).
[0029] Each sidewall may be hollow and have a chamber, an inside
surface and a guide slot (217). The chamber is defined in the
sidewall and has an inner surface. The guide slot (217) is
Y-shaped, is defined in the inner surface of the chamber in the
sidewall and has two branching slots.
[0030] The longitudinal recess (211) is defined in the bottom of
the connection member (21) between the inside surfaces of the
sidewalls.
[0031] The positioning notches (212) of each pair are oppositely
defined respectively in the inside surfaces of the sidewalls.
[0032] The lock (22) is mounted slidably on the connection member
(21), has a top end and a resilient hook (221) and may further have
two opposite abutment tabs (222) mounted on the lock (22). The
resilient hook (221) is mounted on the top end of the lock (22) and
hooks detachably on the locking protrusion (121) to lock and hold
the backrest (12) in an unfolded position relative to the seat
(11). To release the backrest (12), a user pulls back and bends to
disengage the resilient hook (221) from the locking protrusion
(121) so that the backrest (12) may pivot forward.
[0033] The biasing member is resilient and Y-shaped, is mounted
slidably in the guide slot (217) and has a biasing branch (214) and
a latch branch (215). The biasing branch (214) is curved, extends
slidably out of one branching slot and presses against one of the
abutment tabs (222) on the lock (22) to bias the lock (22) in an
upper position. The latch branch (215) is straight and extends out
of the other branching slot.
[0034] The support assembly (30) is retractable, may be a pneumatic
cylinder assembly, connects pivotally to the connection member (21)
of the connection assembly (20) and has an outer cylinder (31), an
inner cylinder (32) and a connecting element.
[0035] With further reference to FIG. 7, the outer cylinder (31) is
hollow, may be an inverted T-shape, stands on the ground and has a
top end, a bottom end, a mounting hole and two opposite positioning
blocks (312) and may further have two opposite friction surfaces
(313) and a foot. The mounting hole is defined axially in the top
end of the outer cylinder (31). The positioning blocks (312) are
formed on and protrude radially from the outer cylinder (31) near
the top end of the outer cylinder (31). The friction surfaces (313)
are formed on the outer cylinder (31) respectively adjacent to the
positioning blocks (312) and each friction surface (313) has
multiple friction ribs. The foot is formed transversely on the
bottom end of the outer cylinder (31) and stands stably on the
ground.
[0036] The inner cylinder (32) is mounted telescopically in the
mounting hole in the outer cylinder (32) and has a top end.
[0037] The connecting element is mounted on the top end of the
inner cylinder (32), connects pivotally to the connection member
(20) to pivot the inner cylinder (32) and the outer cylinder (31)
on the seat (11). The connecting element has a pivot member (33)
and a positioning member (34).
[0038] The pivot member (33) is formed on the connecting member, is
mounted securely on the top end of the inner cylinder (32) and is
mounted rotatably using a pivot pin in the longitudinal recess
(211) of the connection member (20) between the inside surfaces of
the sidewalls.
[0039] The positioning member (34) is mounted slidably on the
connecting element, is mounted in the recess (211) in the
connection member (21), has a rear end, two opposite sides and two
opposite positioning projections (341) and may further have a lever
handle (343) when the support assembly (30) is a pneumatic cylinder
assembly. The positioning projections (341) are formed oppositely
on and protrude respectively from the sides of the positioning
member (34) and correspond respectively to the pairs of positioning
notches (212). Each positioning projection (341) engages detachably
with one of the positioning notches (212) of a corresponding pair
of positioning notches (212) to position the seat assembly (10) at
a specific angle relative to the support assembly (30). The user
may pull and slide the positioning member (34) to disengage the
positioning projections (341) from the positioning notches (212) in
the connection member (21) to adjust the angle of the seat assembly
(10). Each positioning projection (341) may be held selectively by
one of the latch branches (215) on the biasing members. When the
lock (22) is slid down and compresses the biasing members, the
latch branches (215) retract into the guide slots (217) and the
positioning projections (341) are released to allow the support
assembly (30) to pivot toward and fold onto the seat (11) of the
seat assembly (10). The lever handle (343) connects pivotally to
the inner cylinder (32) and may be operated to change a
longitudinal position of the inner cylinder (32) relative to the
outer cylinder (31).
[0040] With further reference to FIG. 5, the rear stand assembly
(40) is connected pivotally to the support assembly (30) and may
have a linkage (42) and a rear stand (41).
[0041] The linkage (42) is connected pivotally to the outer
cylinder (31) of the support assembly (30) and has a connecting
end, an engaging end and an engaging rod. The connecting end
connects pivotally to the outer cylinder (31). The engaging rod is
formed transversely on the engaging end and has two opposite
ends.
[0042] With further reference to FIG. 6, the rear stand (41) is
U-shaped, being connected pivotally to the engaging end of the
linkage (42) and has two opposite legs (411). The legs (411) are
formed on the rear stand (41) and each leg (411) has an inside
surface, a pivot slot and multiple positioning slots (412). The
inside surface may selectively contact one of the friction surfaces
(313) to prevent the legs (411) from inadvertently pivoting. The
pivot slot is defined in the inside surface of the leg (41),
rotatably and detachably holds one end of the engaging rod on the
linkage (42) so that the rear stand (41) may pivot on the linkage
(42). The positioning slots (412) are defined in the inside surface
of the leg (411), are arranged longitudinally and one of the
positioning slots (412) engages detachably with one of the
positioning blocks (312) to hold the rear stand (41) at a specific
angular position relative to the support assembly (30).
[0043] With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, when the folding high
chair is folded, the resilient hook (221) of the lock (22) is
pulled back and bent to disengage from the locking protrusion (121)
and the lock (22) is slid down. Simultaneously, the biasing branch
(214) and the latch branch (215) of each biasing member are
retracted into the guide slot (217) in the connection member (21)
to release both the backrest (12) and the support assembly (30).
The backrest (12) and the support assembly (30) pivot toward the
seat (11) so that the seat assembly (10) and the support assembly
(30) are folded substantially parallel to one another, as shown in
FIG. 11. Then, the rear stand (41) is detached from the inner
cylinder (32). The linkage (42) and rear stand (41) are pivoted
substantially parallel to the seat assembly (10) and the support
assembly (30), as shown in FIG. 12.
[0044] The seat assembly (10), support assembly (30) and rear stand
assembly (40) are substantially parallel to one another when the
folding high chair is folded. Therefore, the folding high chair may
be folded into a highly compact configuration, convenient for
carrying and storage at home or even carried in a vehicle and
opened for use in restaurants or other's homes. Furthermore,
sliding down the lock (22) simultaneously releases the backrest
(12) and the support assembly (30) relative to the seat (11) so
that folding the folding high chair is easy, simple and fast.
[0045] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made
in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *