1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a highchair, more particularly to a foldable highchair.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a foldable highchair that can attract the attention of consumers and that is convenient to use.
Accordingly, a foldable highchair of the present invention comprises a chair frame, a seat unit mounted on the chair frame, and a latch unit provided on the chair frame.
The chair frame is in a form of a four-link mechanism, and is convertible between upright and collapsed states. The chair frame includes a base, a front leg unit, a coupling link unit, and a rear leg unit. The front leg unit has a pivot end part connected pivotally to the base, extends upwardly from the base when the chair frame is in the upright state, and further has a coupling end part opposite to the pivot end part. The coupling link unit is connected pivotally to the coupling end part of the front leg unit, and extends rearwardly and inclines upwardly relative to the front leg unit when the chair frame is in the upright state. The rear leg unit has a pivot end portion connected pivotally to the base, and is spaced apart from and is disposed rearwardly of the front leg unit. The rear leg unit extends upwardly from the base and inclines forwardly when the chair frame is in the upright state. The rear leg unit further has a coupling end portion opposite to the pivot end portion and connected pivotally to the coupling link unit.
The latch unit is operable to prevent pivoting movement of the front leg unit, the coupling link unit and the rear leg unit relative to the base, thereby locking the chair frame in the upright state. The latch unit is further operable to unlock the chair frame and permit pivoting movement of and collapsing of the front leg unit, the coupling link unit and the rear leg unit together with the seat unit on the base, thereby converting the chair frame from the upright state to the collapsed state.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The chair frame 2 is in a form of a first four-link mechanism, and is convertible between upright and collapsed states (see
In this embodiment, the base 3 includes a ring-shaped base member 31, and a rigid metal ring 32 fixed to the base member 31.
The front leg unit 4 has a pivot end part connected pivotally to left and right sections of an intermediate portion of the base 3, extends upwardly from the base 3 when the chair frame 2 is in the upright state (see
The coupling link unit 5 is connected pivotally to the coupling end part of the front leg unit 4, and extends rearwardly and inclines upwardly relative to the front leg unit 4 when the chair frame 2 is in the upright state (see
In this embodiment, the coupling link unit 5 includes a hollow link rod 51 with a leg coupling end, and the front leg unit 4 includes left and right front leg rods 41 that are spaced apart from each other. Each of the front leg rods 41 is connected pivotally to the base 3, has the coupling end part that is connected pivotally to a respective one of left and right sides of the leg coupling end of the link rod 51, and extends upwardly from the base 3 and inclines forwardly when the chair frame 2 is in the upright state. The coupling link unit 5 further includes a positioning seat 52 that is connected to a rear side of the link rod 51, that extends rearwardly and that inclines downwardly from the link rod 51, and that is disposed above the front leg rods 41.
The rear leg unit 6 has a pivot end portion 611 connected pivotally to a rear portion of the base 3. The rear leg unit 6 is spaced apart from and is disposed rearwardly of the front leg unit 4, extends upwardly from the base 3 and inclines forwardly when the chair frame 2 is in the upright state (see
Referring to
In this embodiment, the latch unit 7 includes a spring-loaded hook member 71 mounted pivotally to the link rod 51 of the coupling link unit 5 and biased to engage releasably the latch hole 622 in the latch seat 62, a driving block 72 disposed in the link rod 51 and movable along an axis of the link rod 51, a connecting rod 73 connected to the driving block 72 and extending upwardly from the driving block 72 along the axis of the link rod 51, and an operating component 74 (see
The hook member 71 has a rear side formed with an inclined push surface 711. The driving block 72 abuts against the inclined push surface 711. When the operating component 74 is operated to move the connecting rod 73 and the driving block 72 upwardly in the link rod 51, the hook member 71 is driven to pivot relative to the link rod 51 so as to be disengaged from the latch hole 622 in the latch seat 62, as best shown in
The foldable highchair further comprises a positioning stud 8 passing through the rear leg unit 6 and inserted removably into the positioning seat 52 for enhancing safety when the chair frame 2 is in the upright state. In this embodiment, the foldable highchair further comprises a spring (not shown) for biasing the positioning stud 8 toward the positioning seat 52.
The seat unit 9 includes: a backrest plate 91 mounted on a front side of the upper end of the link rod 51; a seat member 92 connected pivotally to a bottom end of the backrest plate 91 and extending horizontally therefrom; a dish tray 94 having left and right arm portions 941 connected pivotally and respectively to left and right sides of the backrest plate 91, and a tray portion 942 connected to front ends of the left and right arm portions 941 and disposed above and spaced apart from a front side of the seat member 92; a link rod mechanism 95 including a connecting tube 951 connected pivotally to a bottom side of the dish tray 94 and to a front end of the seat member 92, and an extension rod 952 connected telescopically to the connecting tube 951; a pair of pull rods 93 connected pivotally to a bottom side of the seat member 92 and to a respective one of left and right sides of the latch seat 62 of the chair frame 2; and a footrest 96 mounted to the extension rod 952 of the link rod mechanism 95. The backrest plate 91, the seat member 92, the dish tray 94 and the link rod mechanism 95 cooperate to form a second four-link mechanism. The coupling link unit 5 and the pull rods 93 cooperate to collapse the backrest plate 91, the seat member 92, the dish tray 94 and the link rod mechanism 95 toward the base 3 when the chair frame 2 is converted from the upright state to the collapsed state.
When the highchair is disposed in the upright state, the hook member 71 of the latch unit 7 engages the latch hole 622 in the latch seat 62, and the positioning stud 8 is inserted into the positioning seat 52. Accordingly, the front leg unit 4, the coupling link unit 5 and the rear leg unit 6 are prevented from pivoting relative to the base 3, thereby locking the chair frame 2 in the upright state.
Referring again to
As shown in
In the meantime, the backrest plate 91 mounted on the link rod 51 moves rearwardly and downwardly and moves the dish tray 94 and the seat member 92 therewith. Since the seat member 92 is connected to the latch seat 62 through the pull rods 93, the seat member 92 moves toward the latch seat 62, and the dish tray 94 moves toward the seat member 92 so that the connecting tube 951 between the dish tray 94 and the seat member 92 is collapsed on top of the seat member 92. Finally, the extension rod 952 is retracted into the connecting tube 951.
To convert the highchair from the collapsed state back to the upright state, the back rest plate 91 is lifted upwardly relative to the base 3 such that the link rod 51 will cause the seat unit 9 as well as the other components of the highchair to move upwardly. At the upright state, the hook member 71 will engage the latch hole 622 in the latch seat 62 automatically. Then, the positioning stud 8 is inserted into the positioning seat 52 to once again lock the highchair in the upright state.
In this embodiment, the chair frame 2 and the seat unit 9 are in the form of four-link mechanisms, and the pull rods 93 are provided to connect the seat member 92 and the rear leg unit 6. The arrangement as such results in collapsing of the seat unit 9 when the chair frame 2 is collapsed. However, in practice, the structure of the seat unit 9 is not limited to what is disclosed herein. Moreover, although the front leg unit 4 is exemplified to include a pair of front leg rods 41 in this embodiment, in practice, a single front leg rod 41 having a modified connection with the base 3 can be employed without affecting the expanding and collapsing operations of the chair frame 2.
In sum, the chair frame 2 and the seat unit 9 in the form of four-link mechanisms can result in a different foldable highchair construction that can attract the attention of consumers. Moreover, the chair frame 2 and the seat unit 9 can be collapsed in a single and easy operation.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment 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.