Collapsible Stool

Abstract

A plurality of part-cylindrical legs are pivotally joined to a like plurality of struts so that the legs and struts extend away from each other in diverging directions for respectively resting on the earth and supporting a seat. When the struts are in a collapsed position they form a cylindrical seat nesting tube telescopically received by the tube formed by the legs when collapsed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to stoollike supports and more particularly to a folding or collapsible stool.

While camping or attending sporting events, or the like it is desirable to have available some means for forming a seat or stoollike support. For convenience it is desirable that such a stool be easily transported which is best accomplished by forming the stool so that it may be collapsed. One of the requirements of a collapsible stool is that it be relatively light in weight and occupy a minimum of space when collapsed. The small space feature is accomplished by forming the stool in sections so that one section is telescopically received by the other section.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Folding or collapsible stools are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 661,036; 1,355,944; 2,736,366 and 1,545,054.

The principal distinction of this invention over the stools shown by these patents is that all of its components remain interconnected while not in use and when folded or collapsed to a carrying position, thus eliminating the necessity of assembly and disassembly of its parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The stool comprises a plurality of part-cylindrical legs forming an outer cylindrical tube when in collapsed position which telescopically receives a like plurality of part-cylindrical struts forming an inner tube when in collapsed position. In its stool forming position the upper ends of the legs are surrounded by a retaining ring with the depending end of the legs contacting the earth in diverging relation. The plurality of struts, when telescopically extended with their depending ends arranged in abutting relation adjacent the upper limit of the legs, are pivotally connected with the respective upper end portion of the legs by a tongue and groove means so that the struts diverge upwardly and horizontally support a fabric seat. The stool is collapsed by pivoting the upper end portion of the struts toward each other wherein the seat is nested within the confines of the struts. The struts and seat are then telescopically received by the outer cylindrical tube formed by the legs when they are moved toward each other. A removable cap, enclosing the depending end portion of the legs, cooperates with a ring in maintaining the stool in collapsed position.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a relatively small compact seat or stool when in collapsed position which may be easily expanded to form a seatlike support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the stool in collapsed position;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, to a larger scale, taken substantially along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, to a different scale, of two opposed legs and struts in stool forming position illustrating, by dotted lines, the collapsed telescopically extended position of the legs and struts;

FIG. 4 is a top view with portions of the seat broken away for clarity;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, to another scale, of one strut and its supporting leg in stool forming position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the upper end portion of one leg; and,

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the depending end portion of one strut rotated, about its longitudinal axis, to illustrate the tongue formed on its outer surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole, which is cylindricallike when in its collapsed position comprising a cylindrical leg section 12 which telescopically receives a cylindrical strut section 14. The depending end of the leg section 12, as viewed in FIG. 1, is surrounded by a cap 16 while the upper end portion of the leg section 12 is loosely surrounded by a retaining ring 18. The leg section 12 comprises a plurality of part-cylindrical legs 20, three in the example shown, formed by longitudinally splitting or dividing a tube section so that the respective longitudinal side edges of the legs 20 are arranged in contiguous contact, as shown in FIG. 1. The retaining ring 18 is secured to each leg 20 by a loop or eye 22. The depending end of the inner surface of each of the legs 20 is secured to a segment 24 of an end plate formed by dividing the end plate in thirds. Each of the legs 20 is provided with a longitudinally extending inwardly spaced liner 26 which is imbedded at one end portion into the end segment 24 with its other end portion arcuately curved, as at 28, and joined to the inner surface of the leg adjacent its upwardly disposed end. The liner is longitudinally divided to form a guide slot 30 for the reasons presently explained. The upper end portion of each leg is bifurcated to form a support slot 32 extending longitudinally from its free end to the juncture of the liner 28 with the inner surface of the leg providing communication between the slots 30 and 32.

The strut section 14 comprises a like plurality of similarly formed part-cylindrical elongated struts 34 having a length slightly less than the length of the legs 20. The depending end portion of each of the struts 34 is secured to a longitudinally extending segmental lug 36 having beveled edges cooperatively and contiguously contacting each other when the struts 34 are positioned together in cylindrical tube forming position. The depending end portion of the lugs 36 is divergingly beveled, as at 38, for cooperative engagement with like oppositely disposed surfaces of the lugs on the other struts. Opposing sides of the lugs 36 and the strut are provided with longitudinally extending recesses 40 forming opposing shoulders 42, for inserting the lug into the support slot 32, as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the inner surface of the bifurcated end of the leg contacts the shoulders 42 in supporting relation. The outer surface of each strut is provided with a T-shaped tongue 44 which is connected to its end portion between the shoulders 42 and its adjacent end. The tongue 44 is slidably received by the liner slot 30 with the crossbar of the T-shaped tongue slidably received in the spacing between the inner surface of the legs 20 and the adjacent surface of the liner 26. The tongue assists the bifurcated end of the leg and shoulders 42 in limiting the diverging relation of the struts 34 and pivotally connects the strut to the leg. A spring member 45, connected with the strut adjacent the tongue 44, bears against the liner 26 tending to pivot the struts 34 toward their seat-forming diverging relation.

The upper free end portion of each strut 34 is provided with a plug segment 46 which is secured to the inner surface of the strut. The plug segment 46 is transversely apertured for receiving a flexible cord 48 which has secured thereto a section of fabric material forming a seat 50. The central portion of the seat 50 is connected to one of the lugs 36 by resilient means such as a spring 52 for the purposes presently explained.

Each of the side edge surfaces of the strut 34 is longitudinally cut away, as at 54, to form a longitudinally extending slot 56 when the struts 34 are in a collapsed position for the reasons presently explained.

OPERATION

In operation the device is expanded to stool position from its collapsed position of FIG. 1 by manually removing the cap 16 and telescopically extending the struts 14 to the position shown by dotted lines FIG. 3, wherein the springs 45 tend to pivot the struts outwardly in diverging relation, as shown by solid lines (FIGS. 3 and 4) with the outwardly diverging movement limited by the tongues 44 within the liner slots 30 and the horizontally expanded position of the seat 50. The legs 20 are manually positioned in downwardly diverging relation with such movement being limited by the tongues 44 and contact of the bifurcated ends of the legs with the lug shoulders 42. The ring 18, surrounding the upper end portions of the legs, maintains them in contact with the lug shoulder 42. The seat is then ready for use.

The stool is collapsed by manually pivoting the struts 34 toward each other wherein the resilient member 52 pulls the central portion of the seat toward the lugs 36 for a folded position of the seat to be encompassed by the struts when folded together. Small portions of the seat may protrude through the strut slots 56 thus insuring complete contiguous contact of the lug segments 36 and plug segments 46. The seat-folding action is further assured by a resilient member, such as a rubber strand 57, secured in series to the plug segments 46, tending to draw the seat-supporting ends of the struts together. A pin 58, secured to one surface of each strut segment 36, enters a cooperating socket 60 formed in the adjacent surface of the respective juxtaposed segment 36 to lock the depending end portion of the struts together when in collapsed position. The strut section 14 is then telescopically inserted into the outer tube forming leg section 12 which is achieved by manually moving the legs 20 toward each other to be surrounded, at their depending end portions, by the cap 16.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations without defeating its practicability, therefore, I do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein.

Claims

I claim:

1. A collapsible stool, comprising:

a first tubular member longitudinally divided to form a plurality of legs,

each said leg having a longitudinally extending tongue groove formed in its inwardly disposed surface;

a second tubular member telescopingly received by said first tubular member and being longitudinally divided to form a like plurality of struts;

a T-shaped tongue secured to the outer surface of the depending end portion of each said strut slidably received by the respective tongue groove;

means connecting each said strut with a respective one of said legs permitting upwardly diverging movement of said struts when disposed above said legs;

ring means surrounding and holding one end portion of said legs and said struts together and permitting downwardly diverging movement of said legs; and,

a fabric seat secured to the upper end portion of said struts.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in which the upper end portion of each said leg is bifurcated to form an upwardly open slot for nesting an intermediate portion of each respective said strut, and

a lug secured to the depending end portion of each said strut,

said lugs each having convergent side surfaces contiguously contacting like surfaces of adjacent lugs when said struts are disposed in said second tubular member forming position,

said lugs each having divergent depending end surfaces contacting like end surfaces of the next adjacent juxtaposed lugs when said struts are disposed in upwardly diverging seat-forming position.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 in which each said strut and said leg is provided with laterally open recesses forming opposing shoulders, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strut, for engaging the inner surfaces of the respective bifurcated end portion of said legs in strut supporting relation.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3 and further including: resilient means connected with said fabric seat and at least one said strut for collapsing said fabric seat toward a folded position when said struts are pivoted toward said second tubular member forming position.