1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety device for a folding chair, and in particular to a safety device for a folding chair to keep the chair in an open position.
2. The Prior Arts
A conventional folding chair comprises a seat, a backrest, and front legs and rear legs for folding and unfolding the chair. For convenience of a user, a certain folding chair further includes a spring disposed between the front leg and a frame of the seat. When the user unfolds and sits on the chair, the spring is stretched. When the user leaves the chair, the spring resumes to its original state and automatically folds the chair to a closed position.
The automatic folding chair provides convenience. However, small children are too thin and their weight is not heavy enough to counterbalance the elastic force of the spring. Therefore, small children are often unable to keep the seat at a fully open position, which allows the folding chair to collapse or fold unexpectedly. It results in the children's slipping into the space between the seat and the backrest. This is a serious safety issue to be resolved.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a folding chair, which eliminates a drawback of a conventional folding chair that is incapable of keeping the chair in an open position and is likely to allow small children to fall into the space between a seat and a backrest.
In order to prevent the seat of the folding chair from being unexpectedly lifted, a safety device for a folding chair according to the present invention is provided between a seat and a rear leg. The safety device includes a retaining piece, a base, and a handling piece. The retaining piece is disposed vertically under the seat and provided with a retaining hole. The base includes a receiving groove and the handling piece is pivotally connected inside the receiving groove. The handling piece has a hook and a pressing portion at an upper end and a lower end thereof, respectively. The hook and the pressing portion can rotate about a pivot.
A spring is mounted between the seat and one of the front legs. When no one sits on the chair, elastic force of the spring folds the chair to a closed position. If an adult sits on the chair, the weight of the adult is greater than the elastic force of the spring. The seat is unfolded to an open position. If a child is going to sit on the chair, the weight of the child is not heavy enough to unfold the seat to the fully open position. The seat can be pressed down to an open position by hand. When the seat is unfolded to the open position, the retaining piece slides between the rear leg and the handling piece. The hook of the handling piece engages with the retaining hole of the retaining piece, thereby locking the seat at the open position. When the user leaves the chair, the user just needs to press the pressing portion of the handling piece to disengage the hook from the retaining hole. The seat will be lifted to the closed position by the elastic force of the spring.
The safety device for the folding chair according to the present invention can keep the seat at the open position and prevent the seat from accidentally folded to the closed position, when the chair is in use. The safety device prevents the seat from being accidentally lifted, which can result in small children slipping into and being caught in the space between the seat and the backrest.
The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Referring to
Referring to
When assembling the safety device for the folding chair, first of all, the handling piece 2 is disposed in the receiving groove 13 of the base 1. A torsion spring 8 is disposed between the base 1 and the handling piece 2, and arms of the torsion spring 8 are compressed between the base 1 and the handling piece 2. A screw 9 passes through the fixing holes 121 of the base 1, the pivot holes 211 of the handling piece 2, and the torsion spring 8, thereby pivotally connecting the handling piece 2 with the base 1. Thus, the handling piece 2 can rotate about the pivot holes 211 and the screw 9. A U-shaped horizontal bar 7 is mounted between the two rear legs 6. The fixing plate 11 of the base 1 is mounted on a bended portion of the horizontal bar 7 as shown in
Referring to
The advantage of the safety device for the folding chair according to the present invention is that the safety device can be activated by body weight. When the user sits on the seat 5, the body weight makes the retaining piece 4 slide along the slanted top of the hook 22 and the hook 22 is forced to engage with the retaining hole 421 of the retaining piece 4. Thus, the seat 5 is connected with the rear leg 6 and the folding chair is kept at the open position. If a small child or a thin user is going to sit on the chair, the body weight is not heavy enough to unfold the chair to the fully open position. He or she can press down the seat 5 to engage the retaining piece 4 with the handling piece 2 by hand. The safety device keeps the seat 5 in the open position and prevents the seats 5 from being accidentally lifted. Because the body weight of the child is light, the seat of a conventional folding chair is likely to partially tilt. Thus, the child is likely to slide into and be caught in the space between the backrest and the seat. The safety device can prevent this hazard. When trying to unfold the folding chair, it only needs to press the pressing portion 23 of the handling piece 2. The elastic force of the spring 54 will lift the seat 5 and fold the chair.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3319997 | Clement | May 1967 | A |
6056354 | Tseng | May 2000 | A |
6305742 | Spendlove et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
7338116 | Lin et al. | Mar 2008 | B1 |