US20160166068A1

US20160166068A1 - Chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people

Info

Publication number: US20160166068A1
Application number: US14/571,230
Authority: US
Inventors: Billy Joe Holzhauzer
Original assignee: FTI Group Holding Co Ltd
Current assignee: FTI Group Holding Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-12-15
Filing date: 2014-12-15
Publication date: 2016-06-16

Abstract

A chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people includes a chair body and a foldable element provided with an opening. The chair body includes a seat and a backrest connected to a rear edge of the seat. The foldable element has an edge connected to the chair body and another opposite edge being a free edge, such that the foldable element is convertible between an extended slanting position, in which the free edge of the foldable element is detachably fixed to the ground, and a folded position, in which the foldable element is folded and attached to one side of the chair body for convenient storage. The foldable element in the extended slanting position can be used to play, for example, a toss game for people to mutually interact with one another in the game and have a lot of fun. Therefore, the chair has increased usability.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a chair, and more particularly, to a chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Living in the modern society, leisure activities have become very important to people who are fatigued with hard work everyday and accumulated pressure. People try to remove their pressure and fatigue through contact with the nature during leisure activities. Therefore, various kinds of products in connection with leisure and outdoor activities have been designed and developed for consumers.
FIG. 1 shows a folding leisure chair 1, which is very common in the market. The folding leisure chair 1 includes a collapsible chair frame 11 formed of four sets of sequentially pivotally connected scissor linkages 10. Each of the scissor linkages 10 is formed of two link bars 12, which cross each other and are pivotally connected at the intersection. Two upper ends of a front one of the four scissor linkages 10 are upward extended and then laterally outward bent to provide two armrest supports 13. A canvas seat 14 is assembled to a top of the chair frame 11 and two canvas armrests 15 are located above two lateral sides of the chair frame 11 to form the folding leisure chair 1.
While the currently commercially available folding leisure chair 1 is collapsible to largely reduce its volume for convenient storage and good portability, it serves only as a chair without other functions, such as providing games for mutual interaction between people and therefore fails to satisfy the users in terms of its use in outdoor leisure activities.
It is therefore desirable to develop a leisure chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people, so that the leisure chair is more practical for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a chair with increased functions, so that the chair is more practical for use.
To achieve the above and other objects, the chair with entertaining device according to the present invention includes a chair body, a base and a foldable element. The chair body is made of a soft material and includes a first fabric sheet serving as a seat and a second fabric sheet upward extended from a rear edge of the first fabric sheet to serve as a backrest. And, the backrest of the chair body is provided with a first connection element.
The base is in the form of a collapsible frame, such that the chair body is convertible between an extended state for a user to sit in and a folded state for convenient storage. The base is mounted to below the seat of the chair body to support the seat at a predetermined height from the ground.
According to an operable embodiment, the collapsible frame includes four sets of scissor linkages and two back poles. The four sets of scissor linkages correspondingly form a front, a rear, a left and a right side of the base; and the four sets of scissor linkages are pivotally connected with one another by pivotally connecting their lower ends to four foot supports and their upper ends to four pivotal joints, so as to form the collapsible frame. The back poles respectively have a lower section and an upper section; the lower sections of the back poles are downwardly extended through two rear ones of the four pivotal joints to connect to two rear ones of the foot supports.
The upper ends of the front one of the four scissor linkages are extended to provide two armrest supports. The first fabric sheet is located above the four pivot joints with two front corners of the first fabric sheet fitted on around the two upper ends of the front scissor linkage and two rear corners fitted on around the two back poles, such that the first fabric sheet forms the seat. The second fabric sheet has two lateral sides fitted on around the upper sections of the two back poles, such that the second fabric sheet forms the backrest.
The chair body further includes two pieces of third fabric sheets; and the third fabric sheets are connected at front ends to the armrest supports of the front scissor linkage and at rear ends to the two back poles.
The foldable element includes a first turnable panel, a second turnable panel, and a folding line section located between the first and the second turnable panel. The first turnable panel is connected at an edge to the chair body and is provided with an opening and a second connection element that is corresponding to the first connection element, and the second turnable panel is pivotally turnable about the folding line section for the foldable element to change between an extended slanting position, in which a free edge of the second turnable panel is detachably fixed to the ground, and a folded position, in which the first and the second turnable panel are attached to one side of the chair body for convenient storage.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the foldable element is in the folded position, the first and the second turnable panel are attached to a rear side of the backrest, and the first and the second connection element are connected to each other.
The chair of the present invention is characterized in that, when the foldable element is in the extended slanting position with the free edge of the second turnable panel fixed to the ground, the chair can be used for a toss game, so that people taking part in the toss game may throw some tossing objects to the surface of the foldable element or through the opening provided on the foldable element. Through the toss game, people mutually interact with one another to have a lot of fun. Therefore, the chair of the present invention has increased applicability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional leisure chair;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a foldable element provided on the chair of the present invention is convertible between an extended slanting position and a folded position; and

FIG. 5 shows an example of application of the chair of the present invention with the foldable element in the extended slanting position for use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and by referring to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3, in which a chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. For the purpose of conciseness, the present invention is also briefly referred to as the chair herein and generally denoted by reference numeral 2. As shown, the chair 2 includes a base 20, a chair body 30 and a foldable element 40.
The base 20 is in the form of a collapsible frame 21, which includes four sets of scissor linkages 211, four foot supports 212, four pivotal joints 213, and two back poles 214. The four sets of scissor linkages 211 correspondingly form a front, a rear, a left and a right side of the base 20. The upper ends of the front one of the scissor linkages 211 are extended to provide two armrest supports 211 a. The four foot supports 212 and the four pivotal joints 213 are pivotally connected to lower ends and upper ends, respectively, of the four sets of scissor linkages 211, so that the four sets of scissor linkages 211 are pivotally connected to one another. The back poles 214 respectively have a lower section 214 a and an upper section 214 b. The lower sections 214 a of the back poles 214 are downwardly extended through two rear ones of the pivotal joints 213 to connect to two rear ones of the foot supports 212.
The chair body 30 includes a first fabric sheet 31, a second fabric sheet 32 upward extended from a rear edge of the first fabric sheet 31, and two pieces of third fabric sheets 33. All of the first, the second and the third fabric sheets 31, 32, 33 are made of a soft material.
As shown, the first fabric sheet 31 is located above the four pivot joints 213 with two front corners of the first fabric sheet 31 fitted on around the two upper ends of the front scissor linkage 211 and two rear corners fitted on around the two back poles 214, such that the first fabric sheet 31 forms a seat 34 above the base 20. The second fabric sheet 32 has two lateral sides fitted on around the upper sections 214 b of the two back poles 214, such that the second fabric sheet 32 forms a backrest 35. The third fabric sheets 33 are connected at their front ends to the armrest supports 211 a of the front scissor linkage 211 with their rear ends fitted on around the two back poles 214. With the collapsible frame 21, the soft first fabric sheet 31 and the soft second fabric sheet 32, the chair body 30 is convertible between an extended state for a user to sit in and a folded state for convenient storage. Further, the backrest 35 of the chair body 30 is provided at a rear side with a first connection element 351.
The foldable element 40 includes a folding line section 41, a first turnable panel 42 having an edge connected to the folding line section 41 and another opposite edge to the chair body 30, and a second turnable panel 43 located opposite to the first turnable panel 42 with an edge connected to the folding line section 41 and another opposite edge being a free edge. The first turnable panel 42 is provided with an opening 421 and a second connection element 422 for correspondingly connecting to the first connection element 351.
Please refer to FIG. 4. The foldable element 40 is pivotally turnable about the folding line section 41 to change between an extended slanting position, in which the second turnable panel 43 is fixed at the free edge to the ground, and a folded position, in which the first and the second turnable panel 42, 43 are brought to flatly attach to each other and locate behind the backrest 35 of the chair body 30 at the same time. When the foldable element 40 is in the folded position, the first connection element 351 is connected to the second connection element 422.
The first connection element 351 and the second connection element 422 can be two magnetic elements that magnetically attract to each other, two fastening elements that are detachably fastened to each other, two adhesive elements that are detachably adhered to each other, or two male and female connectors that are detachably engaged with each other.
FIG. 5 shows an example of application of the chair 2 to play a toss game. To do so, the second turnable panel 43 of the foldable element 40 is fixed at the free edge to the ground, so that the foldable element 40 is in the extended slanting position. Two players throw tossing objects 50 toward the extended foldable element 40 in turn. Each player gets three points when the tossing object 50 passes through the opening 421 or one point when the tossing object 50 falls on the surface of the extended foldable element 40; and the toss game ends when any of the players gets 21 or more points. The chair 2 not only provides a seat, but also includes the foldable element 40 to enable some games, such as the toss game, which allows users to mutual interact with one another and have a lot of fun, making the chair more practical for use.
The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A chair with entertaining device for mutual interaction between people, comprising a chair body for a user to sit in and including a seat and a backrest connected to a rear edge of the seat; the chair being characterized in that:

a foldable element provided with an opening is connected at an edge to the chair body and has another opposite edge being a free edge, such that the foldable element is convertible between an extended slanting position, in which the free edge of the foldable element is detachably fixed to the ground, and a folded position, in which the foldable element is folded and attached to one side of the chair body for convenient storage.

2. The chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foldable element includes a first turnable panel, a second turnable panel, and a folding line section located between the first and the second turnable panel; the first turnable panel being connected at an edge to the chair body, and the second turnable panel being pivotally turnable about the folding line section for the foldable element to convert between the extended slanting position and the folded position.

3. The chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and the second turnable panel are attached to a rear side of the backrest when the foldable element is in the folded position.

4. The chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein the backrest of the chair body is provided with a first connection element and the first turnable panel of the foldable element is provided with a second connection element corresponding to the first connection element; and the first and the second connection element being connected to each other when the foldable element is in the folded position.

5. The chair as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a base mounted to below the seat of the chair body to support the seat at a predetermined height from the ground.

6. The chair as claimed in claim 5, wherein the chair body is made of a soft material, and the base is in the form of a collapsible frame, such that the chair body is convertible between an extended state for a user to sit in and a folded state for convenient storage.

7. The chair as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base includes four sets of scissor linkages, which correspondingly form a front, a rear, a left and a right side of the base; and the four sets of scissor linkages being pivotally connected with one another by pivotally connecting their lower ends to four foot supports and their upper ends to four pivotal joints, so as to form the collapsible frame.

8. The chair as claimed in claim 7, wherein the collapsible frame further includes two back poles, which respectively have a lower section and an upper section; the lower sections of the back poles being downwardly extended through two rear ones of the four pivotal joints to connect to two rear ones of the foot supports.

9. The chair as claimed in claim 8, wherein the upper ends of the front one of the four scissor linkages are extended to provide two armrest supports.

10. The chair as claimed in claim 9, wherein the chair body includes a first fabric sheet and a second fabric sheet upward extended from a rear edge of the first fabric sheet; the first fabric sheet being located above the four pivot joints with two front corners of the first fabric sheet fitted on around the two upper ends of the front scissor linkage and two rear corners fitted on around the two back poles, such that the first fabric sheet forms the seat; and the second fabric sheet having two lateral sides fitted on around the upper sections of the two back poles, such that the second fabric sheet forms the backrest.

11. The chair as claimed in claim 10, wherein the chair body further includes two pieces of third fabric sheets; and the third fabric sheets being connected at front ends to the armrest supports of the front scissor linkage and at rear ends to the two back poles.