Patent Application
20240374033
The disclosure relates to a foldable chair, and more particularly to a foldable chair with a cushion mechanism.
The support unit 93 is disposed rearwardly of the backrest unit 92, and includes a spine rod 94, a first link rod unit 95, a second link rod unit 96, and two rod connectors 97. The first link rod unit 95 includes a first hinge seat 951 that is mounted to a top end of the spine rod 94, and two first rods 952 each of which is pivotally connected between the first hinge seat 951 and an upper portion of a respective one of the backrest rods 921. The second link rod unit 96 includes a second hinge seat 961 that is mounted to a bottom end of the spine rod 94, and two second rods 962 that are respectively and pivotally connected to left and right ends of the second hinge seat 961. An end of each of the second rods 962 is fixed to a respective one of the rod connectors 97 in a non-rotatable manner. Each of the rod connectors 97 is connected to the lower portion of a respective one of the backrest rods 921 so as to limit the respective one of the backrest rods 921. The armrest unit 99 includes two armrest bodies 991 each of which is pivotally connected to a respective one of the backrest rods 921, a respective one of the front leg rods 912, and a respective one of the rear leg rods 913.
When the conventional foldable chair is in the unfolded state, the seat cover 914 is unfolded between the seat rods 911, and the backrest cover 922 is unfolded between the backrest rods 921. As a result, a seating space 90 is formed by the conventional foldable chair. To operate the conventional foldable chair from the unfolded state to the folded state, the first rods 952 are pivotally rotated relative to the first hinge seat 951 so as to move toward each other and the spine rod 94, and the second rods 962 are pivotally rotated relative to the second hinge seat 961 so as to move toward each other and to extend downwardly relative to the spine rod 94. The rod connectors 97 are driven by rotation of the second rods 962 to respectively bring the backrest rods 921 to move toward each other with respect to the spine rod 94. As the seat rods 911 are driven to move upwardly and rearwardly to the backrest unit 92, the front leg rods 912 and the rear leg rods 913 connected to the seat rods 911 are brought together to lean on the armrest bodies 991. The conventional foldable chair is transformed from the unfolded state to the folded state.
However, since the support unit 93 and the backrest cover 922 are spaced apart from each other, when a user sits in the conventional foldable chair, only the user's head or back may be supported by the backrest cover 922.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a foldable chair that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, a foldable chair includes a chair frame mechanism and a cushion mechanism.
The chair frame mechanism is operable between an unfolded state and a folded state, and includes a seat unit, a backrest unit, and a support unit. The backrest unit extends upwardly from the seat unit, and cooperates with the seat unit to define a seating space when the chair frame mechanism is in the unfolded state. The support unit is mounted to the backrest unit, and includes a spine rod disposed rearwardly of the backrest unit and being upwardly and downwardly movable for driving operation of the chair frame mechanism between the folded state and the unfolded state.
The cushion mechanism is connected to the support unit, and includes a movable seat and a cushion pad. The movable seat is sleeved on and slidable along the spine rod. The cushion pad is connected to the movable seat and is disposed between the movable seat and the backrest unit.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that various features may not be drawn to scale.
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.
Referring to
The seat unit 3 includes two seat rods 31, two front leg rods 32, two rear leg rods 33, a scissor link assembly 34, a seat cover 35, and two positioning pins 36. The two seat rods 31 are spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction and extend in a front-rear direction. The two front leg rods 32 are opposite to each other in the left-right direction, and are respectively and pivotally connected to the seat rods 31. The two rear leg rods 33 are opposite to each other in the left-right direction, and are respectively and pivotally connected to the seat rods 31 at positions rearwardly from where the front leg rods are pivotally connected to the seat rods 31 (see
The backrest unit 4 extends upwardly from the seat unit 3, and includes two backrest rods 41 and a backrest cover 42. The backrest rods 41 are respectively and pivotally connected to rear portions of the seat rods 31. The backrest cover 42 is connected between the backrest rods 41.
Since the structures of the seat unit 3 and the backrest unit 4 are well known in the prior art, details are omitted herewith.
The support unit 5 is mounted to the backrest unit 4, and includes a spine rod 51, a first link rod unit 52, a second link rod unit 53, and two rod connectors 54.
The spine rod 51 is disposed rearwardly of the backrest unit 4, and is upwardly and downwardly movable for driving operation of the chair frame mechanism 1 between the folded state and the unfolded state.
The first link rod unit 52 includes a first hinge seat 521 and two first link rods 522. The first hinge seat 521 is pivotally connected to a top end of the spine rod 51. Each of the first link rods 522 is connected between the first hinge seat 521 and a respective one of the backrest rods 41. The first hinge seat 521 has a U-shaped cross section that is open upwardly. In this embodiment, an end portion of each of the first link rods 522 is pivotally received in and limited by a respective one of a left end portion and a right portion of the first hinge seat 521, and another end portion of each of the first link rods 522 is pivotally connected to an upper part of the respective backrest rod 41.
The second link rod unit 53 includes a second hinge seat 531 and two second link rods 532. The second hinge seat 531 is pivotally connected to an end of the spine rod 51. Each of the second link rods 532 is connected between the second hinge seat 531 and a respective one of the respective backrest rods 41. The second hinge seat 531 has a U-shaped cross section that is open upwardly. In this embodiment, an end portion of each of the second link rods 532 is pivotally received in and limited by a respective one of a left end portion and a right portion of the second hinge seat 531, and another end portion of each of the second link rods 532 is pivotally connected to a lower part of the respective backrest rod 41.
Each of the rod connectors 54 is fixed in a non-rotatable manner to the end portion of a respective one of the second link rods 532 that is pivotally connected to the respective backrest rod 41. The second link rods 532 and the rod connectors 54 are pivotally rotatable together relative to the lower parts of the backrest rods 41 so that the rod connectors 54 may be respectively engaged with or disengaged from the backrest rods 41.
The armrest unit 6 includes two armrest bodies 61 and two engagement plates 62. The armrest bodies 61 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. Each of the armrest bodies 61 is pivotally connected to the lower part of the respective backrest rod 41, and extends in the front-rear direction. The engagement plates 62 are respectively mounted to bottom ends of the armrest bodies 61, and are elongated in the front-rear direction. Each of the engagement plates 62 has a slide passage 602 and four engagement slots 601 that extends therethrough in the left-right direction. The slide passage 602 is elongated in the front-rear direction. The engagement slots 601 are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and are opening downwardly in communication with the slide passage 602. Each of the engagement plates 62 is situated between the respective front leg rod 32 and the respective rear leg rod 33 so that the respective positioning pin 36 may extend through and slide along the slide passage 602 so as to be adjustably inserted into one of the engagement slots 601.
It should be noted that the number of the engagement slots 601 is not limited to four, and may be one, two, three or greater than five.
Referring to
By virtue of the armrest unit 6 being connected to the backrest unit 4 and the positioning pins 36, since each of the positioning pins 36 may slide along the slide passage 602 of the respective engagement plate 62 to be adjustably inserted into one of the engagement slots 601 of the respective engagement plate 62, an inclined angle of the backrest unit 4 relative to the seat unit 3 is adjustable.
Referring to
The movable seat 21 is sleeved on and slidable along the spine rod 51. In this embodiment, the movable seat 21 has a first end surface 214, a second end surface 215, a connecting surface 216, and two locking slots 20. The second end surface 215 is opposite to the first end surface 214. The connecting surface 216 interconnects the first end surface 214 and the second end surface 215. The locking slots 20 are respectively formed at an intersection of the first end surface 214 and the connecting surface 216 and an intersection of the second end surface 215 and the connecting surface 216. Each of the locking slots 20 has an entry portion 211, a limitation portion 213, and a press portion 212. The entry portion 211 extends from the respective one of the intersection of the first end surface 214 and the connecting surface 216 of the movable seat 21 and the intersection of the second end surface 215 and the connecting surface 216 of the movable seat 21. The limitation portion 213 is disposed away from the entry portion 211. The press portion 212 interconnects the entry portion 211 and the limitation portion 213, and that has a width smaller than those of the entry portion 211 and the limitation portion 213. In this embodiment, the movable seat 21 is sleeved fittingly on the spine rod 51.
The cushion pad 22 is connected to the movable seat 21 and is disposed between the movable seat 21 and the backrest cover 42 of the backrest unit 4. The cushion pad 22 abuts forwardly against the backrest cover 42 of the backrest unit 4 when the chair frame mechanism 1 is in the unfolded state.
The protrusions 23 are spaced apart from each other and are mounted to said cushion pad 22.
In this embodiment, the cushion pad 22 is rotatable relative to the movable seat 21 about an axis perpendicular to the spine rod 51 to convert between a first state and a second state. As shown in
During conversion of the cushion pad 22 from the second state (see
Referring back to
As shown in
Referring to
When the foldable chair is in the folded state, the movable seat 21 is rotated about the axis perpendicular to the spine rod 51 to the second state so that the cushion pad 22 is disposed to be elongated vertically to reduce a distance between the backrest rods 41, thereby further reducing size of the foldable chair in the folded state.
In the second embodiment, the cushion pad 22 of the cushion mechanism 2 has a connection member 221 and two resilient members 223. The connection member 221 is disposed rearwardly of the cushion body 222 in a spaced-apart manner, and is rotatably connected to the movable seat 21. The connection member 221 has a pivotal block 224, a rod body 225, and two sleeves 226. The pivotal block 224 is disposed rearwardly of the cushion body 222 and is rotatably connected to the movable seat 21. The pivotal block 224 is rotatable relative to the movable seat 21 about the axis perpendicular to the spine rod 51. The rod body 225 extends in the left-right direction through the pivotal block 224. The sleeves 226 are respectively sleeved on a left end and a right end of the rod body 225. The resilient members 223 are resiliently connected between the cushion body 222 and the connection member 221. In this embodiment, the resilient members 223 are respectively mounted to the sleeves 226.
When the foldable chair is unoccupied in the unfolded state, the cushion body 222 is resiliently urged by the resilient members 223 to move away from the connection member 221 and directly abut against the backrest cover 42 of the backrest unit 4. As the user sits in the foldable chair, the cushion pad 22 directly abuts against the user through the backrest cover 42, thereby producing a buffering effect and providing support to the user.
In other variants of the second embodiment, when the foldable chair is unoccupied in the unfolded state, the cushion body 222 is designed to be spaced apart from the backrest cover 42 while the cushion body 222 is resiliently urged by the resilient members 223 to move toward the backrest cover 42. As the user sits in the foldable chair, the backrest cover 42 is driven to move backward toward the cushion pad 22, and the cushion pad 22 may also produce a buffering effect and provide support to the user.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
