Patent Application
20060071521
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to forward leaning seating devices, and in particular to a portable stadium seat that can be used by individuals attending spectator events at facilities having backless bench type seats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been a number of attempts to develop a comfortable and easy to carry portable seat for spectator events with varying success. The prevailing designs have attempted to supply support to the human back while sitting at sporting events through a rearward leaning approach. There are many examples of rearward leaning portable stadium seats.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,529 issued to Lippert on Nov. 30, 1976 for a Stadium seat. This early version of a stadium chair assembly included pivot able legs and at least one pivotal holder located to swing downwardly to return the chair to a stadium bench with the legs folded up under the seat. It would not be very comfortable nor easy to handle in a crowded stadium. These designs are ineffective in supplying support to the human spine, while seated at sporting events, because the user of such seating, at such events lean forward to look down from the stadium, thus negating the rearward designed support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,652 issued to Ward on Dec. 29, 1987 for a Portable stadium seat with tray included: a comfortable, lightweight and portable stadium seat with a slidably removable tray for spectator use. The seat contained a back rest and seat bottom portions with cushions attached to interconnected tubular rails so that the seat is collapsible for easy carrying. In addition the tray is mounted under the seat bottom portion in such a manner that it can be pulled out as needed to extend in front of the spectator for holding food and drinks. A safety feature consisting of a spring-loaded hook-like fastener mounted on the bottom of the seat and keeps the seat from tipping over backwards while in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,628 issued to Spear on Dec. 16, 1997 for a Wheelchair exercise and support bar apparatus and method discloses, an exercise and support bar mounted in brackets on a wheelchair and method for using same. The bar can be adjusted to be more or less proximate the occupant by removing the upstanding portions of the bar from the brackets, turning the apparatus end_for_end, and re-inserting the upstanding portions in the bracket. Angular and height adjustments are also provided by the apparatus. Some of the drawbacks of this design include the difficulty in adjusting the support bar and the lacking portability. Also, this bar would prevent anyone from exiting or entering the seat effectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,154 to Davis, Barton B. issued May 20, 2003 approached the dilemma of providing adequate back support through a forward leaning concept. His design accomplished proper support to the torso by allowing the user of the seat apparatus to support his trunk by leaning forward and resting his forearms on the padded frontally placed support. This is a highly effective design for trunk support in a forward leaning posture necessary at sporting events while seated at a stadium on backless bleachers, however, several shortcomings to the forward leaning design, as found in the Davis patent, have become apparent. The first is the forward leaning design prevents the user of the apparatus from being able to pick up beverages or other items from under the bleacher, because of the necessary placement of the arm rest. The second shortcoming is the mechanism to adjust the vertical support armature forward and backward as well as up and down is too complex. Thirdly, the seat frame can slide too easily on the stadium bleacher. Fourthly the padding on the arm rests roll around the horizontal support armature making it uncomfortable for the user of the device.
What is needed is a portable forward leaning stadium seat apparatus that is designed to be used with any type backless bench style bleacher and provide a solid attachment that does not slide, has easier adjusting mechanisms to provide variability of positions for the vertical and horizontal support armatures, ergonomically designed arm rests and a convenient cup holder.
In accordance with the present invention a portable forward leaning stadium seat comprises a seat base connected to a padded seat, which can be firmly attached to a stadium style bleacher, push button quick release adjustable vertical support armature which has padded ergonomic arm rests, convenient cup holder, and nonslip rubberized discs applied to the undersurface of the seat base.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to have an improved adjustable forward leaning seating device to allow the torso of spectators at sporting events to sit comfortably, thereby minimizing back pain.
Another object of the present invention is to have an improved forward leaning designed stadium seat that is portable, lightweight, and more comfortable.
A still further object of the present invention is to have a more easily adjustable stadium seat.
Another object of the present invention is to have a stadium seat that does not slide on the bleacher bench.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stadium seat that has a convenient built in cup holder.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from a careful review of the drawings, description and appended claims of this application.
As shown in
Operation of the improved Portable Forward Leaning Stadium Seat is easy and straight forward. First, connect the seat frame (12) to the bleacher bench by attaching the spring loaded clip (22) to the undersurface of the bleacher making sure the horizontal arm rest (18) is placed at the forward edge of the bench. Next, push the button on the adjustable locking hub (14) to move the vertical torso support sleeve (16) in an open 90 degree or greater aperture to the seat base (12). Sit down on the padded seat (10) with the vertical support sleeve (16) positioned between the user's thighs. Adjust the height of the horizontal arm rest (18) by loosening the quick release lock clasp (20) and move it to the proper height and relock. Place the forearms onto the horizontal arm rest (18), thereby providing support to the user's torso. The spring loaded hook (22) employed to the undersurface of the bleacher more fully secures the device while the occupant stands during the sporting event. The rubberized buttons (26) prevent the forward leaning seating device from sliding on the top surface of the stadium bleacher. Place any standard sized beverage cup into the cup holder (24) for ease of access and avoidance of spillage.
Accordingly, it can be seen that, according to the invention, I have provided a new portable forward leaning seating device which allows a user a more comfortable, safer, easier to use method of forward leaning support while sitting at sporting events on a bleacher type seat. Thereby, the forward leaning seating device has been improved to allow the user to more easily have access to a beverage cup while incorporating the ease of pushbutton quick release control of the ergonomically designed torso support.
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merely providing illustrations of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Various other embodiments and ramifications are possible within its scope. For example, the material used to build the device can be of metal, plastic, vinyl, cloth, nylon, wood, synthetic, or composite. Further, the system used to provide for forward leaning support need not be limited by a single central vertical support sleeve (16), but may be provided by side support struts. Also, the horizontal arm/torso supports (18) need not be flat and fixed, but may be round, curved, foldable, or any other ergonomically shaped configuration. The adjustable locking hub (14) can be configured to allow anterior and posterior movement of the vertical support sleeve (16) utilizing interlocking teeth, cogs, gears, friction, hydraulics or springs.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the approved claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
