Patent Application
20170182914
The present invention relates to multi-position chairs and more particularly, is concerned with a multi-position chair with a tiltable, rotatable and slidable seat shell.
Vehicular child seats are mandatory in the United States. They help prevent children from being injured during vehicle collisions and even during normal starts and stops of a vehicle and jostling of its occupants during normal traffic conditions.
A vehicular child seat typically is designed, and rightly so, with safeguards for the child occupant to be able to withstand these normal traffic conditions as well as vehicular collisions. However, in the case of a cramped smaller vehicle, this does make it difficult for a parent to secure or release the child to or from the child vehicular seat.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an innovation that will overcome the deficiencies of past approaches and the problems that remain unsolved with respect to vehicular child seat design.
The present invention is directed to an innovation that overcomes the deficiencies of the past approaches and the problems that remain unsolved by providing a multi-position chair with a tiltable, rotatable and slidable seat shell adaptable to serve as a vehicular child seat and to be able to transfer it from a vehicle to a stroller.
In one aspect of the present invention, a multi-position chair includes:
In another aspect of the present invention, the first interfitted member of the tilt support mechanism includes a single lug affixed to and protruding below an underside of the bottom portion of the seat shell. The second interfitted member of the tilt support mechanism includes a pair of lugs being laterally spaced apart from one another so as to receive and pivotally couple with the single lug between the pair of lugs. Also, the first interengaged member of the swivel support mechanism fixedly supports the second interfitted member of the tilt support mechanism.
In another aspect of the present invention, a multi-position chair includes:
In another aspect of the present invention, the first interengaging member of the swivel support mechanism includes a circular-shaped plate. The second interengaging member of the swivel support mechanism includes a cylindrical-shaped cavity supported by the slide support mechanism and receiving and rotatably coupled to the circular-shaped plate. The second interengaging member also includes a circular-shaped inner rim that overlies a peripheral edge of the circular-shaped plate so as to retain the circular-shaped plate within the cavity.
In another aspect of the present invention, a multi-position chair includes:
In another aspect of the present invention, the second intercoupled member of the slide support mechanism includes a base platform defining a track. The first intercoupled member of the slide support mechanism includes a rectangular-shaped body defining the cylindrical-shaped cavity and being mounted to the track of the base platform for undergoing linear movement in either one of opposite directions relative to the base platform.
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Referring now to
More particularly, the seat shell 102 has a bottom portion 114 and a back portion 116 affixed to and extending upright from the bottom portion 114. Typically, the bottom and back portions 114, 116 are disposed substantially at a right angle to one another. The elongated seatbelts 104 are laterally spaced apart from one another, attached to upper and lower regions of the back portion 116 of the seat shell 102 and extend in generally parallel relationship along a front surface 118 of the back portion 116 of the seat shell 102. The seatbelts 104, being spring-biased to a retracted position by using conventionally known winding mechanisms, will fit over shoulders of the child and secure the child to the seat shell 102, or alternatively secure an infant car seat to the seat shell 102.
The tilt support mechanism 108 of the base assembly 106 has first and second interfitted members 120, 122 being pivotally coupled to one another. The first of the interfitted members 120 of the tilt support mechanism 108 may be in the form of a single lug 120 affixed to and protruding below an underside of the bottom portion 114 of the seat shell 102. The second of the interfitted members 122 of the tilt support mechanism 108 may be in the form of a pair of lugs 122, being laterally spaced apart from one another and supported by the swivel support mechanism 110, so as to receive the single lug 120 therebetween. When the single lug 120 is received between the pair of lugs 122, respective holes therein are aligned with one another so that a pin 124 may be installed therethrough so as to rotatably couple the seat shell 102 upon the base assembly 106 for undergoing pivotal rocking or tilting movement, about a generally horizontally-extending longitudinal axis A defined by the pin 124, between upright and fully tilted, or reclined, positions, as respectively seen in
The swivel support mechanism 110 of the base assembly 106 has first and second interengaged members 126, 128 being rotatably coupled to one another. The first of the interengaged members 126 of the swivel support mechanism 110 may be in the form of a circular- or disc-shaped plate 126. The lugs 122, being the second of the interfitted members of the tilt support mechanism 108, are fixedly supported upon the circular plate 126. The second of the interengaged members 128 of the swivel support mechanism 110 may be in the form of a cylindrical-shaped cavity 128 defined and supported by the slide support mechanism 112 that receives the circular plate 126 therein and has a circular-shaped inner rim 130 that overlies a peripheral edge 132 of the circular plate 126 so as to retain the circular plate 126 within the cavity 128. While retained within the cavity 128, the circular plate 126, and the pair of lugs 122 fixedly supported upon the circular plate 126, are able to rotate about a generally central axis B extending upright through the seat shell 102, as seen in
The slide support mechanism 112 of the base assembly 106 has first and second intercoupled members 134, 136 being linearly displaceable, such as slidable, relative to one another. The first of the intercoupled members 134 may be in the form of a rectangular-shaped body in the form of a_hollow block 134 defining the cylindrical-shaped cavity 128, being the second of the interengaged members of the swivel support mechanism 110. The second of the intercoupled members 136 may be in the form of a platform 136 having a base 138 and pair of opposed sidewalls 140 extending upright at a corresponding pair of opposite peripheral edge portions of the base 138 and between which the block 134 is slidably mounted. The platform 136 may be configured for attachment upon a support surface, such as a rear seat in or the framework of an automobile. The pair of opposed sidewalls 140 of the platform 136 respectively define a pair of enclosed tracks 142 facing toward one another and within which are received and retained a pair of rollers 144 being centrally and rollably mounted and disposed at a corresponding pair of opposite sides of the block 134. The rollers 144 may rollably travel within the enclosed tracks 142 in either one of the opposite directions indicated by arrows C and D, as seen in
It can be readily understood that the platform 136 of the slide support mechanism 112 directly supports the block 134 in a generally upright orientation irrespective of its linearly displaced position. Also, it can be readily understood that the platform 136, via the block 134 of the slide support mechanism 112, indirectly supports the first and second of the interengaged members 126, 128 of the swivel support mechanism 110, the second of the interfitted members 122 of the tilt support mechanism 110, and ultimately the seat shell 102 in the upright orientation when the latter is in its non-tilted, upright position.
The aforementioned base assembly 106, with its pairs of members being capable of tilting, rotating and sliding relative to each other to change the chair 100 between multiple positions, may be powered manually or by use of strategically placed electric motors and one or more batteries. In fact, it would be apparent to any one skilled in the art that any mechanical mechanism on the multi-position chair 100 can be powered or used with electrical components. The clearances between the various members, or parts thereof, that are moved relative to one another may be sufficiently close or snugly fit such that the forces of friction will retain seat shell 102 at the respective position where it is placed by manipulating the tilt, swivel and/or slide support mechanisms 108, 110, 112. Also, the pin 124 may be removable so as to enable the seat shell 102 to be transferred from the multi-position chair in the car and installed onto a stroller or similar apparatus. The multi-position chair 100 may be provided for use by young children (for example, six months to three years), and also can be installed in any of the rear seats of an automobile in a rear facing or front facing position.
The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary illustrations of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations, combinations, modifications or equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all the embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/272,268, filed on Dec. 29, 2015, and is hereby incorporated-by-reference herein its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62272268 | Dec 2015 | US |
