Portions of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material which is subject to copyright and/or mask work protection. The copyright and/or mask work owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and/or mask work rights whatsoever. 37 C.F.R. ยง1.71(d).
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to chair-stabilization devices and more particularly to devices (especially removable and portable devices) that stabilize adult-sized and other chairs for children to prevent the chair and the child from falling when leaning backwards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Small children unaccustomed to the world have a tendency to take risks that reflect their ignorance of the risks involved. Especially after mastering certain basic motor tasks, some children may be very adventurous in exploring the world and subject themselves to risk and possible injury. One such risk is the risk of injury that occurs from a toppling chair. A child may be unaware that the chair is unstable when the center of mass goes outside its usually stable position. Unaware that his or her weight (the masculine pronoun is used herein for convenience only), the child may stand on the chair and lean over its back or otherwise redistribute the weight of the child-chair system such that the chair becomes subject to possible toppling and/or tip over.
For example, a child transitioning between a booster seat and a regular adult chair may accidentally fall backwards. The chair may slam to the floor and the back or other part of the child's head may also hit the floor. There is a risk of serious injury and parents may feel desperately helpless. Children may also fall back while trying to situate themselves on adult-sized chairs.
Due to the inherently precious nature of children to their parents, as well as the concern individuals have of the safety of one another, there is a strong motivation to provide a safe environment for children as from the risks from wall sockets, table corners, and the like. This also includes the risks arising from chairs that could possibly topple when the child uses them or clambers upon them in a foreseeable and/or an unforeseeable, unanticipated, unintended, or unusual way.
Prior attempts have been made in the art with respect to stabilizing chairs, protecting individuals (especially children) from toppling their chairs, and otherwise. Brief descriptions of some of such prior attempts are set forth below. While the descriptions are believed to be accurate, no admission is made by them regarding their subject matter which is solely defined by the patent or reference involved.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,928 to Marion, a portable baby chair is suspended from the edge of an ordinary table. A spring-biased set of pivoted locking bars on the chair's undertable supports engage the underside of the tabletop and prevent the chair from slipping. The table is trapped between table tangent sections 44/46 and the abutting sections 24/26 to generally hold the chair in place on the side of the table. Locking bars 54/56 serve to further secure the chair in place. Once the chair is in place, pushing the chair away from the table causes the tops of the locking bars to dig into the undersurface of the table and to hold the chair stationary.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,160,437 to Hill, the table 21 has a tabletop 14 and an undersurface 15. See C-shaped channel 16 mounted to the undersurface by means of screws generally perpendicular to an inward from the edge at about the place where the chairs 22 are to be positioned. This system generally requires permanent changes to the chairs and/or table in contrast to your system.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,035 to Goolsby, the substantially rigid hook serves to hold a highchair in place. Once engaged with the underside of a table, the hook 12 is restrained by a spring 55 and limits the travel of the highchair 19. Bracket 33 engages the hook via the pin 27 and allows pivoting of the hook.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,617 to Bruderer et al, a baby chair is mounted on a table that requires permanent attachment of certain items to the underside of the table to enable the chair to fold into a collapsed position and enable movement of the chair underneath the table. The chair is generally help in place by channel members 29 that slide into the channel tracks 25 by means of support rollers 27. The chair shown in the Bruderer et al. system is not freestanding as it derives support from the underside of the table and would generally be inconvenient to use.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of chair stabilizing systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a chair stabilization system and method wherein the same can be used to protect children by stabilizing adult-type and other child-oversized chairs to prevent them from toppling over or tipping.
The general purpose of the present invention, which is described below in greater detail, is to provide a new chair stabilization system which has many of the advantages of previous stabilization systems mentioned here to form many novel features that result in a new chair stabilizer and method of use therefore, which are not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, taught, or even implied by any of the prior art stabilization systems for chairs in a method that's of use, either alone or in any combination thereof.
The chair stabilization system of the present invention has two basic components with a chair-engaging section and a table-engaging section. The chair-engaging section is removably attachable to a chair, such as a high back chair, that may allow a child to stand up and lean against the back of the chair and create a risk for the toppling over of the chair. A central articulating section provides a central support hub for an upward engaging section that engages the front part of the chair and a rearward extension that engages the back of the chair. The upward and rearward extensions along with their engagement plates enable contact and restriction between four sides of the chair seat: the top, front, rear, and bottom thereof.
The central articulating section generally enjoys a slidable telescoping relationship with the rearward extension. The rearward extension also engages a lower articulating section that is the lower part of the table-engaging section.
The table-engaging section has the lower articulating section as indicated above, as well as an upper table-engaging extension having a table-engagement plate. The lower articulating section also articulates in a manner similar to that for the central articulating section. The upper engaging extension is adjustably disposed to come into contact with the underside of the table should the chair (to which the chair-engaging section is attached) tilts backwards. The table-engagement plate at the upper end at the upper table-engaging extension comes into contact with the underside of the table or other generally flat undersurface as the entire structure at the table end of the present invention rises up according to the tilting of the chair. Once that table-engagement plate comes into contact with the underside of the table, the chair can no longer rotate as it is restrained by the connection between the chair-engaging section portion and the table-engaging portion.
Beyond the functionality as indicated above, the chair stabilization systems collapsibly folds into a very compact form for easy shipping and transport either prior to or after sale. The telescoping portion of the rearward extension and upward extension in the chair-engaging portion as well as the upper table-engaging extension of the table-engaging portion all telescope inwardly to collapse and create generally minimal dispersion of the extendable elements. The extendable elements then fold into a generally linear and parallel form to enable easy transport and storage.
The elements are locked into place by spring pins or the like, including other temporary (or possibly even permanent) fasteners. The geometrical arrangement of the central and lower articulating sections is also generally set forth in a predetermined fashion using spring pins or other fasteners to lock the articulating sections into place for both deployment and storage.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a chair-stabilizing system is provided that prevents a chair from overturning when adjacent to a generally flat undersurface such as that under a table. The chair-stabilizing system has a chair-engaging portion that detachably attaches to the chair. The chair-engaging portion has a front section and a rear section. The chair-stabilizing system also has a table-engaging portion that engages an underside of the table when the chair-engaging portion is engaging the chair and the chair-engaging portion is tilted rearwardly. The table-engaging portion is coupled to the front section of the chair-engaging portion. The chair engaged by the chair-engaging portion cannot (or is much less likely to) topple over rearwardly when the chair-stabilization system is in place as rearward rotation of the chair and the chair-engaging portion is prevented by contact of the table-engaging portion with an underside of the table. The chair-engaging portion prevents rotation of the chair yet the chair remains able to slide and move with respect to the table as it is not attached to the table.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for stabilizing a chair is provided that prevents the overturning of the chair when adjacent to a generally flat surface such as a table. The steps for the method include the providing of a chair-stabilizing system that has a chair-engaging portion and a table-engaging portion. The chair-engaging portion detachably attaches to the chair and the chair-engaging portion has a front section and a rear section. The table-engaging portion engages an underside of the adjacent table when the chair-engaging portion is engaging the chair and the chair-engaging portion is tilted rearwardly. The table-engaging portion is coupled to the front section of the chair-engaging portion. Other steps include engaging the chair with the chair-engaging portion and placing the table-engaging portion beneath the generally flat surface. In this way, the chair is engaged by the chair-engaging portion and cannot topple over rearwardly as rearward rotation of the chair-engaging portion is prevented by contact of the table-engaging portion with an underside of the generally flat surface or table. The chair-engaging portion prevents rotation of the chair while the chair remains able to slide and move with respect to the table as it is not attached to the table.
Other embodiments of the present invention are set forth in more detail, below, and the embodiments set forth above are made for purposes of example only and not of limitation.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently-preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention. The masculine pronoun is generally used herein to indicate the generic individual and as a matter of convention and convenience.
The present invention resides in a chair stabilization system, device, and method to enable chairs to support curious and active children with a much-reduced risk of the chair toppling over due to imbalances created by the child's activities and/or torque about the chair's center of mass. As indicated above, chairs are subject to toppling over when a child climbs on the chair and perhaps leans over the back, taking the center of mass of the child-chair system outside of the four legs of the chair. The chair will initially tilt and may slowly or rapidly fall over, possibly with the legs of the chair sliding out from under the child. This can create the risk of injury as well as frightening the child and his parents. In a worst case scenario, the child's skull may be cracked or fractured and the risk of concussion could be great. As children are unaccustomed to the risks involved in falling and the like, the increased elevation created by the chair for the child's head also creates accompanying risks when that chair falls over with the child. The increase distance allows the child to suffer greater acceleration by gravity and consequently a greater speed at impact.
The present system stabilizes the chair by providing a removable table-engaging portion that is attached to a chair-engaging portion. The entire apparatus is foldable for easy transport and storage. The chair-engaging portion generally attaches to the seat of the chair while the table-engaging portion stands ready to come into contact with the underside of the chair should the chair tilt. The tilting of the chair causes accompanying and corresponding tilting of the chair-engaging portion which then lifts an upward end of the table-engaging portion. As the table-engaging portion has a top end generally close to, but preferably not touching, the underside of the table, the rearward tilting of the chair causes the top end of the table-engaging portion to contact the underside of the table (for example). The table then prevents the table-engaging portion from traveling further upward. This restriction in travel is then transmitted back to the chair-engaging portion and back to the chair.
If the table is light, the table may move with the tilting of the chair. However, this may give a parent, nearby adult, or other individual the time to engage/rescue the child. If the table is heavy, the combined weight of the child and chair may be insufficient to overcome the weight of the table and the chair will be fully stabilized.
Referring to the drawings, where like numerals of reference designate like elements throughout, it will be noted that
The table-engaging portion 120 includes the lower articulating section 104 as well as the upper table-engaging extension 122. The chair-engaging portion 110 is coupled to the table-engaging portion 120 by the rearward extension 106 as indicated further below. Generally, the individual elements are stabilized and locked into place by spring pins, fasteners (temporary or permanent), or otherwise. As shown in
Beginning with the chair-engaging portion 110, the central articulating section 102 has a vertical sleeve 130 in hinged or other articulatable relationship with a horizontal sleeve 132 in the deployment shown in
In one embodiment, a washer 134 or other device may have holes 136 traveling therethrough in order to allow a spring pin 136 or other temporary fastener to travel through the hole and to lock the vertical and horizontal sleeves 130, 132 in relative place. A stop 138 is a generally directly attached to the vertical sleeve 130 to travel with it and to act as a stop for the horizontal sleeve 132. As with many of the components of the present invention 100, the stop 138 is generally made of tubular metal, such as steel, generally having a square cross section. The stop may be connected to the vertical sleeve 130 such that the long axes of these two elements are parallel. The top end of the stop 138 generally acts as an obstruction to the further angular travel of the horizontal sleeve 132 as it deploys from a configuration with the long axes of the vertical and horizontal sleeve 130, 132 being in parallel to that deployment shown in
As shown along the exposed side of the horizontal sleeve 132, holes 140 are present that allow travel and communication between the interior of the horizontal sleeve 132 and the exterior. As the rearward extension 106 at its long bar end 150 travels through the horizontal sleeve 132, the holes 140 in the horizontal sleeve 132 act as receptacles for the corresponding spring pin 152. When the spring pin 152 is set in place and travels through one of the horizontal sleeve holes 140, the rearward extension 106 is locked into place with respect to the central articulating section 102. Note should be taken that the near end 154 (as shown in
As a result of the adjustable relationship between the rearward extension 106, the central articulating section 102 and the lower articulating section 104, the relative positioning of each of these elements can be individually controlled. In this way, the distance between the upward extension 108 and the rear engagement plate 170 can be adjusted according to the chair C involved.
The rear engagement plate 170 holds and supports a rear engagement pad 172 that is made of a generally compressible material that is non-abrasive and does not scratch, mar, or cosmetically injure the chair C. The rear engagement plate and rear engagement pad 170, 172 engage the rear of the chair C in order to hold it in place with respect to the central articulating section 102 and the upward extension 108.
In a manner similar to the rearward extension 106, the upward extension 108, as well as the upper table-engaging extension 122, enjoy similar sliding and telescoping relationships with their respective sleeves and similarly enjoy the same slidably adjustable relationship with their associated articulating sections 102, 104.
In
The traveling bar portion 180 of the upward extension 108 has spring pin(s) 136 in a manner similar to that for the long bar end 150 of the rearward extension 106. Corresponding holes in the vertical sleeve 130 then receive the pins to enable lockably and lockable sliding and telescoping adjustment of the upward extension 108 with respect to the vertical sleeve 130.
Note should be taken that the non-abrasive pads 172, 186 generally face the chair in order to be the portion of the device 100 that comes into contact with the veneers or other surfaces of the chair seat.
As indicated above, the table-engaging portion 120 of the device 100 has a lower articulating section 104 into which the upper table-engaging extension 122 slidably fits. The lower articulating section 104 is constructed in a manner similar to that of the central articulating section 102 with a hinged relationship between the main sleeve 200 and the table sleeve 202. As indicated above, a proximal end 204 of the rearward extension 106 slides through the horizontal sleeve 132 of the central articulating section 102 and emerges out the open end 154 in order to telescope into the main sleeve 200 of the lower articulating section 104. Holes 158 in the main sleeve 200 engage the spring pin 156 in adjustable fashion so that the distances between the lower articulating section 104 and the central articulating section 102 as well as the distance between the lower articulating section 104 and the rear engagement place 170 can be adjusted.
The upper table-engaging extension 122 is constructed in a similar fashion to the upward extension 108. The upper table-engaging extension 122 has a descending bar 210 coupled to a forward extension 212 that is generally disposed at a right angle to the descending bar 210. The forward extension 212 carries on it a table-engagement plate 214 that faces upward and supports a table pad 216.
Unlike the pads and plates for the rearward extension 106 and the upward extension 108, the table-engagement plate 214 and table pad 216 face outwardly in order to better engage the underside of a table T or other flat underside surface such as a countertop or the like. The table-engagement plate 214 is generally disposed perpendicularly to the forward extension 212 so as to better distribute any force applied to it as when the chair C tilts backwards and tilts the chair-engaging portion 110 rearward. The table pad 216 is of similar construction as the upper engagement pad 186 and the rear engagement pad 172. The main and table sleeves 200, 202 operate in a manner similar to that as the central articulating sections 102 with its vertical and horizontal sleeves 130, 132. A washer or other similar device 220 is generally directly attached to the table sleeve 202 and hingeably attached to the main sleeve 200. In conjunction with a stop 222, the washer 220 and hinge 224 (shown in phantom) operate to allow selectable articulation of the main and table sleeves 200, 202 of the lower articulating section 104. The stop 222 generally operates to prevent the main sleeve 200 from going past the perpendicular to the table sleeve 202. However, other embodiments may be realized for other angular configurations in this and the other sections of the present device.
Holes or similar may be present in the table sleeve 202 in order to allow a spring pin 136 in the descending bar 210 to selectably but securably engage and lock the upper table-engaging extension in place with respect to the table sleeve 202.
Note should be taken that the plates and pads for the upward extension 108 and the upper table-engaging extension 122 are offset away from the corresponding bar 180, 210 respectively so that the unit may fold in the compact manner shown in
In summary,
In
With the chair-engaging portion 110 securely in position on chair C and the table-engaging portion 120 securely engaged and associated with the chair-engaging portion 110 via the rearward extension 106, the chair stabilizer 100 is in place and properly deployed to protect a child who might shift his or her weight sufficiently on chair C to topple it over.
In
When the chair stabilizer 100 is folded into its collapsed configuration, both the hinges 224, 240 are generally flat with the stops 222, 138 generally standing proud from the underside of the chair stabilizer 100. In conjunction with the washers 220, 134, spring pins (not shown in
As can be seen by inspection of the drawings, the collapsed, folded, or undeployed configuration of the chair stabilizer 100 requires significantly less space than that when it is deployed as shown in
Similarly, as the upper hinge plate 250 extends past the side of the main sleeve 200, when the table sleeve 202 and main sleeve 200 are brought together so that their long axes are parallel, the top side of the upper hinge plate 250 then stops the further rotational motion of the table sleeve 202 past parallel with respect to the main sleeve 200.
In a similar manner, the central articulating section 102 operates with its hinge 240 and stop 138.
As shown in
A spring pin 136 shown in phantom within the stop 222 engages an associated hole in the washer 220 for each of the two positions (parallel and perpendicular) for the two sleeves 200, 202 as the stop 222 travels with the table sleeve 202. As can be determined by careful observation, the washer 220 must be attached to the main sleeve 200 much in the same way relatively that the stop 222 is attached to the table sleeve 202.
As indicated above, the same is similarly true for the washer or other stop mechanism 134 and stop 138 of the central articulating section 102.
The utility of the present invention lies in its reduction of risk of chairs toppling over and the accompanying diminishment of risk of injury to children by the same. The deployment of the chair is indicated above. Many materials may be used to construct the chair stabilizer of the present invention with cost possibly being a significant factor with regards to the materials involved. Expensive lightweight materials such as carbon fiber or titanium could be used, however economy may dictate that steel of sufficient thickness is adequate to protect children from chairs that might tip over, such chairs being the subject workpieces of the present invention.
These and other advantages, utilities, applications, and solutions provided by the present invention will be apparent from a review of the specification herein and accompanying drawings. The foregoing are some of but a few of the goals sought to be attained by the present invention and are set forth for the purposes of example only and not those of limitation.
While the present invention has been described with regards to particular embodiments, it is recognized that additional variations and embodiments of the present invention may be devised without departing from the inventive concept.