This invention relates generally to a locking mechanism for a folding chair and more particularly to an improved locking mechanism for a folding chair for children.
Locking mechanisms for children's folding chairs are designed to secure the chair in the open or deployed position. One such quick-release type locking mechanism includes a slideable spring-loaded post disposed in the seat frame which engages an opening in the hinge mechanism of the chair. To unlock the chair for folding, a lever connected to the slideable post is pressed to release the post from the opening in the hinge mechanism.
However, this particular locking mechanism can easily fail when a child sits or moves on the chair and/or inadvertently presses the release lever causing the chair to collapse unexpectedly. A child's fingers can become caught or entrapped in the hinge area of the chair resulting in severe lacerations and even finger tip amputations. To date, there have been seven reports of severe lacerations to children's fingers and four reported finger tip amputations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (C.S.P.C.), in cooperation with Atico® International USA Inc., recently announced a voluntary recall of about 1.5 million children's chair having these conventional locking mechanisms. The C.S.P.C. announced that consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Accordingly, the locking mechanism does not, in fact, reliably secure the folding chair in the deployed position. Other locking mechanisms may suffer from the same problem.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved locking mechanism for a folding chair.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a locking mechanism which is safer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a locking mechanism which prevents accidental folding of the chair.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a locking mechanism which prevents injury.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a locking mechanism which is more reliable.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a locking mechanism which cannot be defeated by children.
This invention results from the realization that for folding chairs with a quick-release type lock, safety is improved if a supplemental lock is added in the form of an orifice in the seat frame, an opening in the hinge mechanism alignable with the orifice, and a fastener extending through the opening in the hinge mechanism and into the orifice to more reliably secure the seat frame in the deployed position.
The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or methods capable of achieving these objectives.
This invention features a folding chair includes a seat frame, a leg frame hinged to the seat frame, a hinge mechanism between the seat frame and the leg frame, a quick-release locking mechanism for releasably locking the seat frame with respect to the leg frame, and a supplemental locking mechanism including an orifice in one of the seat frame and the leg frame, an opening in the hinge mechanism aligned with the orifice when the chair is unfolded, and a fastener extending through the opening in the hinge mechanism and into the orifice to secure the seat frame to the leg frame.
In one embodiment, the orifice may include internal threads and the fastener may be a machine screw. The folding chair may further include a tool for threading the screw into the threaded orifice. The hinge mechanism may include a recess. The locking mechanism may include a post connected to one of the seat frame and the leg frame engageable with the recess for locking the seat frame in relation to the leg frame. The orifice may be in the seat frame or in the leg frame. The leg frame may include a rear leg and a front leg. The rear leg frame may be connected to the front leg. The rear leg may include two parallel tubes and a cross bar. The front leg may be U-shaped. The front leg may include a cross bar. The hinge mechanism may be connected between the rear leg and the seat frame. The hinge mechanism may be connected between the front leg and the seat frame. The post may be connected to the seat frame or to the leg frame. The quick-release locking mechanism may includes a second hinge mechanism connected between the seat frame and the leg frame having an opening therein and a slideable post connected through the seat frame engageable with the opening in the second hinge mechanism for locking the seat frame in relation to the leg frame. The slideable post may be pivotally attached to a handle. The second hinge mechanism may include a recess. A second post may be connected to one of the leg frame and the seat frame engageable with the recess in the second hinge mechanism for locking the seat frame in relation to the leg frame.
This invention also features a folding chair for children including a seat frame, a leg frame hinged to the seat frame, a hinge mechanism between the seat frame and the leg frame, and a locking mechanism including an orifice in one of the seat frame and the leg frame, an opening in the hinge mechanism aligned with the orifice when the chair is unfolded, and a fastener extending through the opening in the hinge mechanism and into the orifice to secure the seat frame with respect to the leg frame.
In a preferred embodiment, the orifice may include internal threads and the fastener is a machine screw. The folding chair may further include a tool for threading the screw into the threaded orifice. The hinge mechanism may include a recess. The locking mechanism may include a second post connected to one of the seat frame and the leg frame engageable with the recess for locking the seat frame in relation to the leg frame.
This invention further features a folding chair including a seat frame, a leg frame hinged to the seat frame, a hinge mechanism between the seat frame and the leg frame, a quick-release locking mechanism for releasably locking the seat frame with respect to the leg frame, and a supplemental locking mechanism including an orifice in the seat frame, an opening in the hinge mechanism aligned with the orifice when the chair is unfolded, and a fastener extending through the opening in the hinge mechanism and into the orifice to secure the seat frame to the leg frame.
In a preferred embodiment, the orifice may include internal threads and the fastener may be a machine screw. The folding chair may further include a tool for threading the screw into the threaded orifice.
Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. If only one embodiment is described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment. Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is clear and convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or disclaimer.
As discussed in the Background section above, typical quick-release type locking mechanisms for children's folding chairs can easily fail resulting in serious injury to children. For example, prior art chair 10,
In contrast, folding chair 50,
In a preferred embodiment, chair 50 includes quick-release type locking mechanism 12 described above in reference to
In one embodiment, hinge mechanism 62,
Chair 50 with locking mechanism 52 of this invention provides both a quick-release type locking mechanism to releasably lock the seat frame to the leg frame and an improved locking mechanism with a fastener that extends through opening in the hinge mechanism into the orifice in the seat frame to secure the chair in an unfolded open or deployed position. The result is chair 50 with improved locking mechanism 52 cannot accidentally collapse or fold when a child sits or moves on the chair or inadvertently presses the lever of the quick-release locking mechanism. Hence, chair 50 with locking mechanism 52 is more reliable and prevents accidental injury to children's fingers. Because the tool is used that can be hidden from children, locking mechanism 52 cannot be defeated by children.
Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments. Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims.
In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented in the application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected to draft a claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many equivalents will be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair interpretation of what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the amendment may bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are many other reasons the applicant can not be expected to describe certain insubstantial substitutes for any claim element amended.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/701,548 filed Jul. 22, 2005, incorporated by reference herein.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20070029846 A1 | Feb 2007 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60701548 | Jul 2005 | US |