US2777503A - Folding high chair - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 15, 1957 w. J. GRACE FOLDING HIGH CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9, 1955 INVENTOR. WILLIAM J. GRACE BY lliow a Jan. 15, 1957 w. J. GRACE FOLDING HIGH CHAIR Filed May 9, 1955 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 FIG.

FIG. 4

INVENTOR. WILLIAM J- GRACE aliow a A TTORN FOLDING HIGH CHAIR William .l'. Grace, Santa Monica, Calif.

Application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 506,805

4 Claims. (Cl. 155-147) This invention relates generally to chairs for seating and/ or feeding young children, and more particularly to an improved high chair which may be conveniently folded into a compact structure when not in use.

The advantages of a reliable and inexpensive folding type high chair for children, especially in crowded living conditions, are apparent. It is important that such a high chair not collapse unintentionally as some prior art type of conventional chairs are prone to do. Further it is desirable that the chair be rugged, inexpensive, and simple to operate.

A primary object of the present invention accordingly, is to provide a folding high chair which is sturdy and dependable when in unfolded, operative position, and yet one which may be easily folded without the use of special tools and the like.

More particularly, an object is to provide a folding high chair of the above type which is adapted to stand by itself when folded, or be easily carried about while in such position.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a folding high chair which employs a minimum number of standard movable pieces whereby its cost of manufacture is minimized.

These and further objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing seven basic elements or pieces which may each be mass produced and which, when coupled together, form a sturdy and secure foldable high chair for children.

Two of the basic elements comprise first and second inverted U shaped members having their legs respectively pivoted together in scissors fashion to form a supporting structure for the remaining elements. Three other mem-' bers respectively provide a back rest, seat, and foot rest. The front edge of the seat member is coupled to the upper edge of the foot rest and to the central portion of the second inverted U shaped member. The rear edge of the seat is similarly coupled to the lower edge of the back rest and to the upper portion of the first inverted U shaped member.

A third U shaped member is horizontally positioned to encircle the rear portion of the back rest to which it is pivoted. The free ends of this third U shaped member extend forward above the seat to form arm rests terminating in downturned ends adapted to rest on the top front edge corners of the seat. A tray member is slidably secured between the arm rests. curing means are provided for holding the downturned end portions of the arm rests securely to the seat, and a further locking means is provided on the foot rest and arranged, upon downward swinging movement of the foot rest to operative position, to secure the central portion of the first U shaped member in position.

To fold the chair, it is only necessary to remove the Temporary se- 2,777,593 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 ice temporary securing means from the arm rests, swing the foot rest upwardly to unlock the second U shaped memher, and then scissor the structure together. The tray and arm rests swing downwardly into a compact position with the first and second U-shaped members, and the upper central U shaped portion of the first U shaped member provides a convenient carrying handle.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the folding high chair of this invention in unfolded, operative position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of that portion of Fig. 1 enclosed by the circular arrow 2;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of that portion of Fig. 1 enclosed in the circular arrow 3;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the chair of Fig. 1, during an initial stage of the folding operation; and,

Fig. 5 is another side view of the chair in its completely folded position.

Referring to Fig. 1, the high chair is shown in unfolded operative position as comprising first and second inverted U-shaped members 10 and 11. The free ends of these U members form the four supporting legs for the chair. A third U shaped member 12 is in a generally horizontal position. These three U members are preferably formed from metallic tubing and each may be inexpensively mass produced in its own particular shape.

The remaining elements of the chair comprise a back rest 13, a seat member 14, a foot rest 15, and a tray 16. These latter four elements may be formed from metal, wood, plastic or any other suitable material. As in the case of the U shaped members, each may be inexpensively mass produced in its own form. In accordance with the invention, these seven basic elements are coupled together to form a reliable, simple, and inexpensive folding high chair. I,

As will be clear from Fig. 1, the second inverted U- shaped member 11 is made shorter and narrower than the first member 10 whereby it may be nestled between the legs of the first member. As shown, the respective legs of the members 10 and 11 are pivoted intermediate their ends in scissors fashion as at 17 and 18. The central U shaped portion of the third U member 12 is arranged to encircle the rear of the back rest 13 and is pivoted thereto by means of small metal strips 19 and 20 encircling the central portion of the U member 12 and fixedly secured to the back rest. This pivoted connection is spaced above the lower edge of the back rest 13 whereby the central U portion serves to support the back rest. I

The free ends of the U member 12 extend forward above the seat 14 to form arm rests terminating in downwardly turned ends adapted to rest on the top front edge corners of the seat 14. The tray 16 may be slidably secured to these arm rest portions by means of small metal bands 21 and 22 which encircle portions of the arm rests and have their ends fixedly secured to the underside of the tray. The downwardly turned end portions of the arm rests are adapted to be held against the top of the seat by temporary screw means.

A first coupling means is provided for pivotally con necting the front edge of the seat 14, and upper edge of the foot rest 15 to the central portion of the second.

inverted U-shaped member 11. A second coupling means similarly pivotally connects the rear edge of the seat 14 and lower edge of the back rest13 to the cen tral portion of the first inverted U shaped member 10.

' The first coupling means, as well as the temporary secur- 3 ing means, are shown in greater detail in the enlarged view of Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2, the downwardly turned end por tions of the U shaped member 12 are adapted to threadedly receive the ends of cooperating knurled screw members 23 and 24, passing up respectively through suitable bores in the front edge corners of the seat 14. These knurled screws may be manually operated to securely lock the arm rests to the seat, yet be easily unthreaded by hand to release the arms when it is desired to fold the chair, as will become clearer as the description proceeds.

The first coupling means includes a plate member 26 secured under the front edge of the seat 14 and provided with forward corner tabs 27 and 28 encircling the end portions of a pivot pin 29. A similar plate member 30 is fixedly secured to the upper edge of the foot rest 15 and provided with forward corner tab elements 31 and 32 also encircling portions of the pivot pin 29. The plate member 26 on the underside of the seat 14 has its center forward edge curved downwardly and rearwardly to form a hook 33 adapted to receive the central U shaped portion of the second inverted U shaped member 11. In order to secure this portion within the hook 33, portions of the plate member 30 on the upper edge of the foot rest are bent down to form locking hooks 34 and 35. These hooks are adapted to engage and secure the central portion of the second inverted U shaped member 11 within the hook 33 when the foot rest is swung downwardly in the direction of the arrow into its unfolded operative position. In Fig. 2 the foot rest is shown swung slightly outwardly to illustrate the locking hooks clearly.

It will be evident that with the knurled screws 23 and 24 tightened to hold the arm rests securely to the seat, and with the foot rest swung down into proper position, the chair will be securely locked in unfolded position and cannot be inadvertently collapsed. An infants feet resting on the foot rest in addition to gravity will insure that the foot rest remains in its operative position so that there will be no possibility of the central portion of the second inverted U shaped member 11 coming out of the hook 33.

In Fig. 3, the second coupling means pivotally securing the rear edge of the seat 14, the upper portions of the first U shaped member 10, and the lower edge of the back rest13, are shown in greater detail. Rigidly attached to the lower corner portions of the back rest are strips 36 and 37 having their free ends encircling the end portions of a pivot pin 38. A journalling means 39 rigidly secured along one edge to the underside of the rear edge portion of the seat 14, has its other edge designed to journal the pivot pin 33. Portions of this edge are cut away to accommodate the strips 36 and 37 and to define outer corners 40 and 41, and a central portion 42 journalling the pivot pin.

By the above described arrangement, it will be apparent that once the arm rest securing means in the form of the knurled knobs 23 and 24 are unlocked, the back rest 13, together with the arm rests, may move forward, the lower edge of the back rest pivoting about the pivot pin 38. Additionally, once the second U shaped member 11 is unlocked from under the front edge portion of the seat 14 as described previously, the seat may also pivot about the pivot pin 38 independently of the motion of the back rest.

The operation of the folding high chair will be evident from the above description. When it is desired to fold up the chair from the operative position shown in Fig. 1 to a compact position for storing purposes, the tray member 16 is first moved forward on he arm rests as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 and the knurled knobs 23 and 24 unlocked from the arm rests. The leg rest 15 is then swung outwardly and upwardly to separate the central upper portion of the second U shaped member 11 from the hook 33 as also indicated by arrows in Fig. 4,.

The upper portion of the second U shaped member 11 is then scissored about the pivot points 17 and 18 with respect to the first U shaped member 10 to pass through the first U shaped member to a relative position as indicated in Fig. 5.

With the second U shaped member 11 in the above described position, the seat 14 and leg rest 15 are swung downwardly about the pivot pin 38 along with the back rest 13 and associated arm rests and tray so that all of these elements and members assume the relative positions clearly shown in Fig. 5. By proper dimensioning of the first and second U shaped leg members, the folded structure as shown will stand by itself and the upper central portion of the first U shaped member 10 will serve as a convenient carrying handle.

To assemble the chair to operative position, a reverse procedure is followed, the backrest 13 and associated arm rests and tray 16 along with the seat 14 and leg rest all being swung upwardly about the pivot pin 38 a sufficient distance to permit the second U shaped member 11 to be swung through the first U shaped member and scissored open to the position shown in Fig. 4. The upper central portion of the second U shaped member 11 is then fitted into the hook 33 and the leg rest 15 swung downwardly to lock the member in position. The downwardly turned ends of the arm rests defined by the third U shaped member 12 are then secured by the knurled knobs 23 and 24 to the front corners of the seat 14 thereby securing the back rest in a stable position with respect to the seat.

From the above description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple, safe, and economical folding high chair, comprising only seven basic elements which may be economically manufactured.

What is claimed is:

1. A folding high chair comprising, in unfolded 0p erative position: A first inverted U-shaped member; a second inverted U-shaped member shorter and narrower than said first member; means pivoting together the respective legs of said first and second U-shaped members in scissors fashion whereby said second member may be scissored through said first member; a seat member; a foot rest member; first coupling means pivoting the front edge of said seat and the upper edge of said foot rest members together and to the central portion of said second inverted U-shaped member; a back rest member; second coupling means pivoting the rear edge of said seat and the lower edge of said back rest member together and to the upper portion of said first inverted U- shaped member; and athird horizontally disposed U- shaped member having its central Uportion encircling the rear of said back rest and pivoted thereto at a point spaced above said lower edge of the back rest, the free ends of said third U-shaped member extending forward to form arm rests for said seat and terminating in downwardly turned ends adapted to rest on the front edge corners of said seat.

2. A folding high chair according to claim 1, in which said first coupling means includes a pivot pin; a plate member secured under the front edge of said seat and having forward corner tabs encircling respectively the end portions of said pivot pin; a central front portion of said plate member being curved downwardly and rearwardly into a hook adapted to receive the central portion of said second inverted U-shaped member; tab elements secured to the upper edge of said foot rest and encircling portions of said pivot pin; and locking hooks secured to said upper edge portion of the foot rest adapted to engage and secure said central portion of said second inverted U-shaped member within said hook when said foot rest is swung downwardly about said pivot pin to its operativeposition.

3. A folding chair according to claim 1, in which said second coupling means includes a pivot pin secured between the upper leg portions of said first inverted U- shaped member; strip means secured to said lower edge of the back rest and encircling portions of said pivot pin; and journal means secured to said rear edge of the seat member and encircling other portions of said pivot pin.

4. A folding chair according to claim 2, in which said second coupling means includes a pivot pin secured be- 5 tween the upper leg portions of said first inverted U- shaped member; strip means secured to said lower edge of the back rest and encircling portions of said pivot pin; and journal means secured to said rear edge of the seat member and encircling other portions of said pivot pin. 10

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Swain June 16, 1874 Ness Oct. 8, 1929 Lund Jan. 13, 1942 Bushnell Aug. 21, 1945 Felsher June 21, 1949 Adler et a1. Jan. 18, 1955

Images