Patent Application
20160309903
The subject matter herein generally relates to an apparatus upon which to sit or stand or support an object, and particularly to a folding stool.
It is often desirable to have a foldable and portable stool that may be easily transported from one place to another and used in a variety of outdoor conditions. It is also convenient to provide a portable stool that may be reduced to a small size for ease of carrying and storage. Folding stools have been developed in the past.
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape or other word that substantially modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the like.
The present disclosure is described in relation to a folding stool.
The
Each leg section 20 can be substantially rectangular, and include a bottom 21, a top 22 opposite to the bottom 21, a third connecting hole 23, and a fourth connecting hole 24. The bottom 21 can include a standing surface 211 configured for contacting the ground and a plurality of parallel strengthening portions 212. The plurality of parallel strengthening portions 212 can be perpendicularly connected to standing surface 211. Each strengthening portion 212 can be substantially triangular, and a side of each strengthening portion 212 can be attached to the standing surface 211. The top 22 can include two protuberances 221 configured to abut the top plate 11. The third connecting hole 23 can be positioned on the top 22 adjacent to the protuberances 221, and can be engaged with the first connecting hole 121. The fourth connecting hole 24 can be sandwiched between the bottom 21 and the top 22, and can be engaged with the second connecting hole 122. The width of the leg section 20 can be less than the distance between the two sidewalls 12, therefore the leg section 20 can diametrically resist against the top plate 11. Further, the leg section 20 can be latched between the two sidewalls 12, which can improve the stability of the folding stool 100.
Each leg section 20 can further include a handle 25 adjacent to the top 22, making it convenient to carry the folding stool 100 when in its collapsed position (
The plurality of connecting members 30 can be divided into two parts, a plurality of first connecting members 31 and a plurality of second connecting members 32. Each first connecting member 31 and each second connecting member 32 can be substantially bar-shaped. Two ends of the each first connecting member 31 can be rotationally connected to the first connecting hole 121 and the third connecting hole 23, and two ends of the second connecting member 32 can be rotationally connected to second connecting hole 122 and the fourth connecting hole 24. The plurality of connecting members 30 can be connected to an inner surface of the sidewalls 12, the plurality of connecting members 30 can be covered by the sidewalls 12 upon the folding stool 100 being folded, so the folding stool 100 can have a good appearance.
A length of the second connecting member 32 can be larger than that of the first connecting member 31. The angle between the two leg sections 20 can be in correlation with relationship between the first connecting member 31 and the second connecting member 32. So any angle between the two leg sections 20 can be achieved, just by adjusting the relationship between the first connecting member 31 and the second connecting member 32.
The folding stool 100 can further include a plurality of rivets (not shown), and an diameter of each rivet can be respectively equal to the first connecting hole 121, the second connecting hole 122, the third connecting hole 23, and the fourth connecting hole 24. The plurality of connecting members 30 can be connected to the table surface sections 10 and the leg sections 20 by the plurality of rivets. The folding stool 100 can be made of the aluminum and magnesium alloy, so the folding stool 100 can be lighter than traditional folding stools.
If the folding stool 100 needs to be unfolded the user can pull two handles 25 in opposite directions. The two table surface sections 10 can rotated away from each other, and the angle of the two table surface sections 10 can be 180 degrees. Then, the leg sections 20 can be oriented away from the corresponding top plates 11, and the protuberance 221 of the top 22 can press against the top plates 11. The first connecting member 31 can be adjacent to the inner surface of the corresponding sidewall 12.
The first and second table surface sections 10 and the first and second leg sections 20 can be moveable relative to each other to establish at least first, second, third and fourth positions. The first position is a deployed position in which said first and second table surfaces 10 are substantially parallel, the first and second leg sections 20 abut the first and second tables surface sections 10, and the tops 22 of the first and second table leg sections 20 are closer together than the bottoms 21. The second position is a first partially collapsed position in which the tops 22 of the first and second leg sections 20 are spaced from the first and second table surface sections 10, and the bottoms 21 of the first and second table leg sections 20 are closer together than the tops 22. The third position is a second partially collapsed position in which the first and second leg sections 20 are parallel to the first and second table surface sections 10, respectively, and the bottoms 21 of the first and second table leg sections 20 are closer together than the tops 22. The fourth position is a fully collapsed position, in which the first and second leg sections 20 and the first and second table surfaces 10 are all parallel, and the first and second table surface sections 10 abut each other. In the third and fourth position, the tops 22 of the first and second leg sections 20 extend beyond the table surfaces 10 and define a grip by which the folding stool 100 can be carried.
A volume of the folding stool 100 can be same as that of two table surface sections 10, the folding stool 100 is folded, so it can be easily carried by a user. The folding stool 100 only includes three kinds of structural elements, so it is easy to assemble the folding stool 100. As the folding stool 100 is made of the aluminum and magnesium alloy, the folding stool 100 can be lighter than traditional folding stools, and it can also increase the weight bearing capacity of the folding stool 100.
The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Many details are often found in the art such as the other features of a folding stool. Therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including, the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201510189832.7 | Apr 2015 | CN | national |
