Patent Application
20160058192
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of portable seating devices. Specifically, the present invention is a portable, collapsible chair with a swivel seat and storage that may be transported in the manner of a backpack.
2. General Background
Hunters, birdwatchers, outdoorsmen, and other sports enthusiasts often have a need for a chair to sit it while in the wild or at other outdoor events. Traditional chairs are large, bulky, heavy, and simply not easy to transport or to use once in the field. Moreover, the portable chairs that do exist often lack a swivel seat that allows an outdoorsman to change his field of view without repositioning the chair itself and lack a seat back that allows for more comfort while seated. Additionally, convenient storage is frequently needed that is not always found in traditional seating. Finally, because the surfaces upon which an outdoorsman's chair is placed is often not level, and individuals desire to sit at different heights that are easily adjustable, the chair must be able to provide a flat, stable seating surface at various levels even when the underlying surface is not level. Thus, there is a need for a portable, collapsible chair, with a swivel seat, adjustable length legs, and storage, that may be worn like a backpack for transporting.
The present invention provides a foldable chair generally comprising a lower frame and an upper frame, wherein the lower frame generally consists of a platform with two support members, or legs extending from two perimeters of the platform. The legs are in pairs and are either individual shafts joined into pairs or a U-shaped design. The U-shaped have the closed end of the U distant from the platform when deployed and the open ends of the U slidably connected to stub shafts that connect to the platform. The closed end of the U may further include a slight wave shape to facilitate placement against uneven surfaces. The leg pairs are individually adjustable in length, allowing variation for the disposed length of one or both legs. The legs making up the sides of the U are designed to slidingly engage a stub shaft. The position of each leg, with respect to the stub shafts it is engaged with, is controlled by an adjustment mechanism that allows and controls movement of the legs over the stub shafts.
This adjustment mechanism is comprised of a cylinder that connects between the open ends of the U towards the top of the legs. Inside the cylinder are positioned two rods, and two springs. The springs are centered in the cylinder and the rods connect to the springs and extend from the springs to just beyond the outer ends of the cylinder. A squeeze mechanism consisting of two handles connected to each longitudinal end of the spring extends external to the cylinder and allows the spring to be compressed, thereby retracting the two rods from a position just outside the cylinder to a position just inside of the cylinder.
The stub shafts and the legs have evenly spaced holes that have a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the rods and that are alignable. Thus, the length of the support legs are adjusted by squeezing a pair of finger grips (this may be done using only one hand) which compresses the spring and retracts the rod and allows the legs to slide with respect to the stub shafts. Alternatively, the adjustment mechanism may be designed to be engaged through a twisting motion. Once the desired adjustment is achieved, the user aligns the holes in the legs with the holes in the stub shafts, and allows the spring to expand so that the rods are pushed through the holes and the length of the leg is established. The advantage over traditional height adjustment mechanisms is the ability to independently adjust the legs to the desired height using only one hand—instead of having to use two hands—and the ability to adjust to a variety of heights with one movement instead of multiple movements.
The upper half of the chair is connected to the lower half of the chair via a swivel system that allows the upper half to rotate 360 degrees with respect to the lower half of the chair. The upper half of the chair is comprised of a seat section and a backrest section. The seat section is connected to the swivel and is foldably attached to the backrest section along a rear edge of the seat section and a lower edge of the backrest section. The seat section is designed to allow space for the seat surface to depress when the seat is in use. Swivel stop straps prevent the swivel from engaging when the seat is collapsed for transport. Flexible support straps extend from the front sides of the seat section to the top sides of the rear section and limit the extent that the backrest can move away from the seat section. Backpack strap members attached to the frame allow the seat to be worn like a backpack when collapsed. Additionally, the chair may include a storage compartment/pack that is positionable under the support and between the legs. The storage compartment allows a user easy access to items stored therein while sitting. Additionally, the storage area may include storage pockets exterior to the compartment for additional storage.
In operation, a user collapses the backrest section upon the seat section, and retracts the legs. The backpack strap members are then engaged to allow easy transportation of the seat. Once a desired location is reached, the legs are extended as necessary to create the desired seating position and height and the backrest section is extended to the seating position. The user may then sit on the seat, and may swivel the upper half around the lower half and thereby change the field of view without the noise, disruption, and time of having to reposition the seat itself.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like features and wherein:
The below table provides a ready reference for the reference numbers used in the appended drawings and in this specification:
Referring to
The downward pointing portions of side frames 303 include a plurality of adjusting holes 401 and score marks 402. Adjusting holes 401 are used to adjust the effective length of the seat leg length created by the combination of side frames 303 and seat leg tubes 104 (see
As seen in
Referring to
Bearing plate 304 is supported by, and attached to, a pair of side frames 303 and two crossbars 302, where crossbars 302 connect between side frames to create a structure to which bearing plate 043 is attached. Each side frame 303 is generally U-shaped, positioned in an upside down U position, with the closed end of the U forming a support and connection point for bearing plate 304. Side frames 1 are structural tubing formed from aluminum, or other similar structural material such as HDP or PVC. As shown in
As shown in
As seen in
It will be readily seen by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention fulfills all the objects set forth above. After reading the foregoing specification, one of ordinary skill will be able to effect various changes, substation of equivalents and various other aspects of the invention as broadly disclosed herein. It is, therefore, intended that the protection granted hereon be limited only by he definition contained in the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/870,390 filed Aug. 27, 2013, by Everitt Drew, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
