1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a collapsible/foldable and portable chair that can be transformed into a cart for storing and transporting items.
2. Description of Related Art
Collapsible chairs, including collapsible beach chairs, are well known in the art. They provide the advantage of space efficient transport and storage by being collapsible while also offering simple conversion into an effective configuration for sitting.
Similarly, collapsible wagons and carts, including beach wagons and carts, are well known in the art. They provide the advantage of space efficient transport and storage by being collapsible while also offering simple conversion into an effective configuration for towing items for outdoor recreational use.
Heretofore for beach goers, a collapsible beach chair is nonetheless a bulky and relatively heavy item for a person to carry, along with other articles and items such as a cooler, food containers, an umbrella, etc., from one location to another over the soft sand on the beach. These items may be carried in a beach wagon or cart. The chair adds to the overall load to be handled by the person to travel over the soft sand. The person may be worn out by the time this person reached a desired spot on the beach, which could put a damper at the start of a beach day.
It is therefore desirable to design a new and improved collapsible chair that can be transformed into a cart to carry items, thus eliminating the need for separate chair and cart.
The present invention eliminates the need for separate chair and utility cart. The present invention is directed to a collapsible/foldable and portable chair that can be transformed or converted between a chair and a cart for carrying items, and can be collapsed to a compact form for stowing.
The present invention is directed to a chair cart, comprising: a foldable chair, which comprises: a seat base; a seat back pivotally attached to the seat base; and a leg rest pivotally attached to the seat base, wherein the chair is foldable from a collapsed configuration for stowing the chair, to a chair configuration for seating a person, to a cart configuration for holding articles, wherein in the collapsed configuration, the seat base, the seat back and the leg rest are folded to collapse the chair into a compact form, wherein in the chair configuration, the seat base, seat back and the leg rest are unfolded to extend the chair to provide support surfaces for the person's back, buttock and legs, and wherein in the cart configuration, the leg rest is folded upwards with respect to the seat base to define a storage space above the seat base and between the foot rest and the seat back.
In the collapsed configuration, the seat base is folded upwards towards the seat back with the support surfaces of the seat back and seat base facing each other, and the foot rest is folded downwards towards the seat base with the support surfaces of the seat base and leg rest facing away from each other. In the cart configuration, the leg rest is folded upwards with the support surfaces of the leg rest and seat back facing each other.
The seat base has a base frame, the seat back has a back frame, and the leg rest has a rest frame. The base frame is pivotally attached to the back frame, and the rest frame is pivotally attached to the base frame. The base frame, the back frame and the rest frame support a flexible web material to provide the support surfaces. The web material extends continuously from the rest frame to the base frame and to the back frame.
In the cart configuration, a flexible basket is provided in the storage space for holding the articles. In the cart configuration, the flexible basket is attached to the back frame and the rest frame, and rest on the support surface of the seat base, thereby forming a container for securely holding the articles. The chair further comprising a pair of arm rests pivotally attached to opposing edges of the seat back, whereby in the cart configuration, the arm rests provide lateral support for the flexible basket.
The chair further comprises legs pivotally attached to the seat base, and having ends pivotally attached to the respective arm rests, thereby providing support of the seat base and the arm rests in the chair configuration. The legs are interconnected to form a leg frame.
A pair of wheels are rotatably attached to the base frame near the pivot joint between the back frame and the base frame. Struts are provided, each having one end slidably coupled to the respective legs and another end pivotally attached to the base frame near the pivot joint between the base frame and the rest frame, so as to improve rigidity and/or structural integrity of the base frame with respect to the leg frame when the chair is in the chair configuration or the cart configuration.
A handle is attached to the back frame, thereby facilitating tilting the cart. The handle is further attached to the base frame. The handle is pivotally attached to the back frame and the base frame. The handle comprises a handle bar pivotally attached to the back frame, and an extendible handle strut pivotally attached to the handle bar and pivotally attached to the base frame. In the chair configuration, the handle bar is pivoted to adjacent the seat back with the handle strut retracted, and in the cart configuration, the handle bar is pivoted to extend above the back frame with the handle strut extended and secured to the handle bar, thereby facilitating tilting and pulling or pushing the cart.
In one embodiment, the inventive chair cart is substantially as described and illustrated.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, as well as the preferred mode of use, reference should be made to the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following drawings, like reference numerals designate like or similar parts throughout the drawings.
This invention is described below in reference to various embodiments with reference to the figures. While this invention is described in terms of the best mode for achieving this invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the invention.
The inventive chair cart 10 comprises: a foldable chair 11, which comprises: a seat base 12; a seat back 14 pivotally attached to the seat base 12; and a leg rest 16 pivotally attached to the seat base 12 by pivot bracket 23, wherein the chair is foldable from a collapsed configuration as shown in
In the collapsed configuration shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the seat base 12 has a base frame 12f, the seat back has a back frame 14f, and the leg rest 16 has a rest frame 16f. The base frame 12f is pivotally attached to the back frame 14f (at the wheel area), and the rest frame 16f is pivotally attached to the base frame 12f by the pivot brackets 23. The base frame 12f, the back frame 14f and the rest frame 16f support a flexible web material W to provide the support surfaces. The web material W is in a stretched or taut state when in the chair configuration shown in
In the cart configuration shown in
The chair 11 further comprises legs 20 pivotally attached to the opposing sides of seat frame 12f, and having ends pivotally attached to the respective arm rests 18, thereby providing support of the base frame 12f and the arm rests 18 in the chair configuration shown in
To facilitate moving the cart, a pair of wheels 22 are rotatably attached to the base frame near the pivot joint between the back frame 14f and the base frame 12f. Struts 24 are provided, each having one end slidably coupled to the respective legs 20 by a slidable bracket 25 and another end pivotally attached to the base frame 12f by the pivot bracket 23 that provides the pivot joint between the base frame 12f and the rest frame 16f, so as to improve rigidity and/or structural integrity of the base frame 12f with respect to the leg frame 20f when in the chair configuration in
A handle H is attached to the back frame 14f, to facilitate tilting the cart to roll the cart on its wheels 22. The handle H is further attached to the base frame 12f. In the illustrated embodiment, the handle H is pivotally attached to the back frame and the base frame. The handle H comprises a handle bar Hb pivotally attached to the top section of the back frame 12f, and an extendible handle strut Hs having an end pivotally attached to the handle bar Hb and an opposite end pivotally attached to a cross section of the base frame 12f. In the chair configuration in
The chair cart can be conveniently stowed when not in use and/or transported in the collapsed configuration shown in
In use, a person, e.g., a beach goer, initially configures the chair cart in the cart configuration shown in
If no articles need to be transported, the user may still set the chair cart in the cart configuration shown in
The chair cart is not limited for use for beach outings. The chair may be in the form of a beach chair, patio chair, lounge chair, or chairs for other applications and uses. The materials for various components of the chair cart may be chosen for the intended application. For example, for beach application, the web material W may be made of a synthetic (e.g., plastic) or canvas or cloth material, the frames may be made of metal or hard plastic, and the basket may be made of plastic or cloth material.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit, scope, and teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the disclosed invention is to be considered merely as illustrative and limited in scope only as specified in the appended claims.
This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/591,681 filed on Nov. 28, 2017. This application is fully incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. All publications noted below are fully incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
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