This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 110103709, filed on Feb. 1, 2021.
The disclosure relates to a foldable device, and more particularly to a foldable supporting device.
Generally, people who are physically challenged, or people whose bodily functions have declined (e.g. the elderly) do not have enough strength to walk for a long time. When they need to walk for a long distance, they may have to take a break from time to time to regain their strength so that they can keep on walking. Therefore, some manufacturers have produced multifunctional devices (e.g. a conventional foldable supporting device) that are adaptable to user requirements, to serve both as an aid to walking and as a seat for users to rest.
The conventional foldable supporting device is disclosed in Taiwanese Utility Model Patent No. M467398 as a cane chair, and includes a base seat, a plurality of support legs and a seating cloth body. The base seat is in a shape of a quadrangular prism and is formed with a plurality of pivot grooves. Each of the pivot grooves extends through the base seat and is oblique to the base seat so that a top end and a bottom end of each of the pivot grooves are not aligned with each other along a normal vector of the base seat. Each of the support legs extends through a respective one of the pivot grooves and is rotatably connected to the base seat. One of the support legs includes a support block that cooperates with a top end of each of the rest of the support legs to be connected to the seating cloth body (i.e., the seating cloth body is fixedly laid over the support block of the one of the support legs and the top ends of the rest of the support legs).
The conventional foldable supporting device is convertible between a folded state in which the support legs are parallel to each other, and an unfolded state in which the support legs are oblique to each other. In order to make the conventional foldable supporting device serve as a seat, each of the support legs is rotated relative to the base seat with a junction between the support leg and the respective one of the pivot grooves serving as a pivot such that the support block of the one of the support legs and the top ends of the rest of the support legs recede from each other until the support leg abuts against the base seat. At this time, rotation of each of the support legs is restrained by the base seat so that each of the support legs can stand on the ground while being oblique to the ground and to each other (i.e., the conventional foldable supporting device is in the unfolded state). Subsequently, the support block of the one of the support legs and the top ends of the rest of the support legs cooperatively unfold the seating cloth body so that the seating cloth body and the support legs are able to cooperatively serve as a seat to support a user.
The conventional foldable supporting device may be used as a cane when folded, and serves as a seat when converted into the unfolded state. However, during the conversion of the conventional foldable supporting device from the folded state to the unfolded state, or from the unfolded state to the folded state, the support legs need to be individually operated. Although the conventional foldable supporting device may be folded or unfolded as required by a user, the individual operation of the support legs during the conversion could be slow and frustrating for the user. Especially for elderly users who may have to rely on the cane function of the conventional foldable supporting device for support, such users would find the conversion of the conventional foldable supporting device laborious.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a foldable supporting device that can alleviate the drawback of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the foldable supporting device is adapted to be connected to a positioning member, and includes a supporting unit, a linkage unit and a converting unit. The supporting unit includes a main supporting member and at least one auxiliary supporting member. The main supporting member is adapted to be connected to the positioning member and has a first main supporting surface. The at least one auxiliary supporting member is pivotally connected to the main supporting member, and has an inner edge, an outer edge, a first auxiliary supporting surface, a second auxiliary supporting surface and a push block. The inner edge is adjacent to the main supporting member. The outer edge is opposite to the inner edge. The first auxiliary supporting surface extends from the inner edge to the outer edge. The second auxiliary supporting surface is opposite to the first auxiliary supporting surface. The push block has a push surface that extends from the second auxiliary supporting surface, and that has an inner surface end and an outer surface end. The inner surface end and the outer surface end are respectively proximate to and distal from the inner edge. One of the main supporting member and the at least one auxiliary supporting member has a guiding section that corresponds in position to the push block. The linkage unit is connected to the main supporting member of the supporting unit. The converting unit corresponds in position to the push block, has at least one converting part, and is movably connected to the guiding section of the one of the main supporting member and the at least one auxiliary supporting member such that movement of the linkage unit drives the converting unit to move along the guiding section, and drives the converting part to push the push surface of the push block, so as to convert the supporting unit between a folded state in which the first main supporting surface of the main supporting member and the first auxiliary supporting surface of the at least one auxiliary supporting member cooperatively form a first angle, and an unfolded state in which the first main supporting surface of the main supporting member and the first auxiliary supporting surface of the at least one auxiliary supporting member cooperatively form a second angle that is different from the first angle.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
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.
Referring to
The linkage unit 10 includes a slide tube 11, a linking member 12, a pivot seat 13, two support rods 14, a first linking rod 15, a second linking rod 16 and a rail connecting member 17. The slide tube 11 is adapted to be slidably sleeved on the positioning member 1. The linking member 12 is connected to the slide tube 11. The pivot seat 13 is adapted to be pivotally connected to the positioning member 1 and is spaced apart from the slide tube 11. The support rods 14 are pivotally connected to the pivot seat 13. The first linking rod 15 is pivotally connected to the slide tube 11. The second linking rod 16 is pivotally connected to the pivot seat 13 and the first linking rod 15. The rail connecting member 17 is pivotally connected to the second linking rod 16. Specifically, the pivot seat 13 and the rail connecting member 17 are respectively and pivotally connected to two opposite ends of the second linking rod 16. The slide tube 11 is configured to be in a shape of a hollow tube, and has a pivot ear 111. The linking member 12 is formed with a pair of pivot holes 121 and a pair of mounting holes 122 that are located at one side of the pivot holes 121. Each of the pivot holes 121 has a main circular hole portion 123 and an auxiliary hole portion 124 that extends radially outwardly from the main hole portion 123 (see
The supporting unit 20 includes a main supporting member 21 and two auxiliary supporting members 22. The main supporting member 21 is adapted to be connected to the positioning member 1. Specifically, the main supporting member 21 is adapted to be connected to the positioning member 1 via the linkage unit 10 (i.e., the linkage unit 10 interconnects the main supporting member 21 and the positioning member 1). However, in certain embodiments, the main supporting member 21 may be adapted to be directly connected to the positioning member 1. The auxiliary supporting members 22 are pivotally and respectively connected to two opposite sides of the main supporting member 21. The main supporting member 21 has an imaginary axis (L1) that is located between the opposite sides of the main supporting member 21. The main supporting member 21 is pivotable relative to the positioning member 1. The imaginary axis (L1) and the positioning member 1 cooperatively form an angle that changes as the main supporting member 21 pivots. In the first embodiment, the main supporting member 21 has a guiding section 23.
The main supporting member 21 has a guiding rail groove 218, a first main supporting surface 214 and a second main supporting surface 215 opposite to the first main supporting surface 214. The main supporting member 21 further has a first end 211, a second end 212, two spaced-apart connecting edges 213, two pivot protrusions 216 and a plurality of main barrels 217. The first end 211 and the second end 212 are located at two opposite sides of the first main supporting surface 214 along the imaginary axis (L1). Each of the connecting edges 213 interconnects the first end 211 and the second end 212. The linkage unit 10 is pivotally connected to the first end 211 of the supporting member body 26. In this embodiment, the linking member 12 of the linkage unit 10 is pivotally connected to the main supporting member 21 and is adjacent to the first end 211 of the main supporting member 21. Specifically, the pivot protrusions 216 are disposed at the first end 211, and are respectively and pivotally connected to the mounting holes 122 of the linking member 12. The main barrels 217 are disposed on the connecting edges 213 (i.e., some of the main barrels 217 are disposed on one of the connecting edges 213 and the rest of the main barrels 217 are disposed on the other one of the connecting edges 213). In this embodiment, the main supporting member 21 is composed of a supporting member body 26 and a rail base 27. The supporting member body 26 has the first main supporting surface 214. The rail base 27 is located at one side of the supporting member body 26 opposite to the first main supporting surface 214, and is connected to the supporting member body 26 by screws. In this embodiment, the rail base 27 has the second main supporting surface 215 and the guiding rail groove 218. The guiding rail groove 218 of the rail base 27 is indented from the second main supporting surface 215 toward the first main supporting surface 214 of the supporting member body 26. The guiding rail groove 218 extends in the extending direction of the imaginary axis (L1), and has a width that increases away from the second main supporting surface 215. Specifically, the cross section of the guiding rail groove 218 that is perpendicular to the imaginary axis (L1) is configured to be T-shaped and corresponds to the shape of the engaging head 171 of the rail connecting member 17. The engaging head 171 of the rail connecting member 17 is movably connected to the guiding rail groove 218 and is movable along the guiding rail groove 218.
The guiding section 23 of the main supporting member 21 is disposed between the connecting edges 213 and is configured to be a groove that is elongated in the extending direction of the imaginary axis (L1). In the first embodiment, the guiding section 23 is formed at the rail base 27 (see
The auxiliary supporting members 22 are respectively and pivotally connected to the connecting edges 213 of the main supporting member 21. Each of the auxiliary supporting members 22 has an inner edge 221, an outer edge 222, a first auxiliary supporting surface 223, a second auxiliary supporting surface 224, a push block 24 and a plurality of auxiliary barrels 226. The inner edge 221 is adjacent to the main supporting member 21. Specifically, the inner edge 221 of each of the auxiliary supporting members 22 corresponds in position to a respective one of the connecting edges 213 of said main supporting member 21. The outer edge 222 is opposite to the inner edge 221. The first auxiliary supporting surface 223 extends from the inner edge 221 to the outer edge 222. The second auxiliary supporting surface 224 is opposite to the first auxiliary supporting surface 223. Specifically, the second auxiliary supporting surface 224 is disposed on the push block 24. The push block 24 corresponds in position to the guiding section 23 of the main supporting member 21 (i.e., the push block 24 is adjacent to the first end 211 of the main supporting member 21). The auxiliary barrels 226 of each of the auxiliary supporting members 22 are disposed on the inner edge 221 of the auxiliary supporting member 22 and are rotatably connected to the main barrels 217 of the respective one of the connecting edges 213 of the main supporting member 21 so that each of the auxiliary supporting members 22 is pivotally connected to the main supporting member 21. The push block 24 has a push surface 241, an abutting surface 242 and a guiding surface 243 (see
The converting unit 30 extends in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the imaginary axis (L1), is movably connected to the guiding section 23 of the main supporting member 21, and includes a bar member 31, a pair of converting plates 32, a pair of pivoting plates 33, and a pair of hole-connecting parts 34. The bar member 31 is configured to be rod-shaped, extends through the guiding section 23 of the main supporting member 21, has two opposite ends in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the imaginary axis (L1), and is rotatable and movable relative to the guiding section 23. The converting plates 32 are respectively connected to the opposite ends of the bar member 31 and respectively correspond in position to the push blocks 24 of the supporting unit 20. Each of the converting plates 32 has a converting part 321 that is located at the periphery thereof (i.e., the bar member 31 is disposed on one side of the converting part 321 of each of the converting plates 32). The pivot plates 33 are respectively connected to the converting plates 32. The converting part 321 of each of the converting plates 32 and the respective one of the pivoting plates 33 are respectively disposed on two opposite ends of the converting unit 30. The hole-connecting parts 34 are respectively disposed on the pivot plates 33. Each of the pivot plates 33 is pivotally connected to the linkage unit 10 by the respective one of the hole-connecting parts 34. Specifically, each of the hole-connecting parts 34 is rotatably connected to a respective one of the pivot holes 121 of the linking member 12, and has a main circular rod portion 341 and an auxiliary protrusion 342 that extends radially outward from the main circular rod portion 341. For each of the hole-connecting parts 34, during assembly of the converting unit 30 and the linking member 12, the auxiliary protrusion 342 extends through the auxiliary hole portion 124 of the respective one of the pivot holes 121 while the main circular rod portion 341 extends through the main circular hole portion 123 of the respective one of the pivot holes 121. After assembly, the auxiliary protrusion 342 is located at one side of the respective one of the pivot holes 121 opposite to the other one of the pivot holes 121 and is separated from the auxiliary hole portion 124 of the respective one of the pivot holes 121.
Movement of the linkage unit 10 drives the converting unit 30 to move along the guiding section 23 of the supporting unit 20, and drives the converting part 321 of each of the converting plates 32 to push the push surface 241 of the respective one of the push blocks 24 of the supporting unit 20, so as to convert the supporting unit 20 between a folded state (see
In the following description, the advantages provided by the first embodiment of the foldable supporting device of the disclosure are described.
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Referring further to
In
Referring back to
When the foldable supporting device is required to be converted from the unfolded state into the folded state, a user can pull the slide tube 11 of the linkage unit 10 upwardly so that the slide tube 11 slides along the positioning member 1 toward the top end of the positioning member 1. As the slide tube 11 slides toward the top end of the positioning member 1, the rail connecting member 17 of the linkage unit 10 is moved from the second end 212 toward the first end 211 of the main supporting member 21 along the guiding rail groove 218 of the main supporting member 21 so that the second end 212 of the main supporting member 21 is moved toward the pivot seat 13 of the linkage unit 10. Consequently, the foldable supporting device is converted into the folded state.
In summary, by virtue of the connections among the components, the supporting unit 20 is able to be converted from the folded state into the unfolded state by simply moving the second end 212 of the main supporting member 21 away from the pivot seat 13 of the linkage unit 10, and is able to be converted from the unfolded state into the folded state by simply pulling the slide tube 11 of the linkage unit 10 upwardly, and the positioning member 1 and the support rods 14 are able to rotate according to the conversion of the supporting unit 20.
Referring to
Referring further to
By virtue of the bar member 31′ of the converting unit 30′ being rotatable and movable relative to the guiding section 23′ of the main supporting member 21′ that is oblique to the extending direction of the imaginary axis (L1) of the supporting unit 20′, when a user moves the second end 212′ of the main supporting member 21′ away from the pivot seat 13′ of the linkage unit 10′ or pulls the slide tube 11 of the linkage unit 10′ to urge the main supporting member 21′ to pivot relative to the linkage member 12′ of the linkage unit 10′, the converting parts 321′ respectively move along the push surfaces 241′ of the push blocks 24′ so that the supporting unit 20′ is convertible between the folded state and the unfolded state. There will be no further description for the movement between each of the converting parts 321′ and the respective one of the push surfaces 241′ since it is similar to that in the first embodiment.
Thus, the second embodiment has the same functionality and achieves the same results as the first embodiment.
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The fourth embodiment has same the functionality and achieves the same results as the aforesaid embodiments.
Referring further to
In summary, by virtue of the connections among the components, the supporting unit 20 of the foldable supporting device is able to be converted between the folded state and the unfolded state through relatively simple operations. Consequently, the purpose of the disclosure is certainly fulfilled.
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 embodiments. 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, and 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 are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments 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.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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110103709 | Feb 2021 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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9504297 | Pao | Nov 2016 | B2 |
D894585 | Ye | Sep 2020 | S |
11006708 | Hoyes | May 2021 | B1 |
20140034097 | Pao | Feb 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2893830 | Jul 2015 | EP |
M467398 | Dec 2013 | TW |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220240682 A1 | Aug 2022 | US |