Patent Application
20110062754
This invention relates generally to lightweight chairs and, more specifically, to stackable lightweight chairs.
Stackable lightweight chairs have become very popular. Increasingly popular are stackable lightweight chairs having a rack, such as a book rack, disposed below the seating surface of the chair. Such a stackable chair with a rack disposed below the seating surface is illustrated in
A problem with such stackable chairs having a rack disposed below the seating surface is that, once the rack is attached to the chair, the chair becomes relatively “non-stackable.” This is because the racks prevent each chair from closely nesting with an identical chair. This problem is illustrated in
The relatively “non-stackable” nature of stackable chairs having a rack disposed below the seating surface is especially important to those responsible for shipping large quantities of such stackable chairs in bulk. Because of the relative “non-stackability”of such chairs, the cost of shipping large quantities of such chairs in bulk is unduly large.
Attempts have been made to avoid the shipping difficulties caused by the aforementioned lack of stackability by shipping chairs separate from “slip-on” wire book racks—flexible wire book racks which can be flexed and installed into leg holes by the end user. However, such slip-on wire book racks are typically retained loosely within a chair, so that the book racks tend to rattle. Also, such slip-on wire book racks can be easily removed from chairs by mischievous students, thereby resulting in safety issues.
Accordingly, there is a need for a stackable lightweight chair designed for use with a rack disposed below the seating surface which avoids the above-mentioned problem with the prior art.
The invention satisfies this need. The invention is a stackable chair comprising (a) a seating surface, (b) at least three legs disposed generally vertically below the seating surface, the at least three legs being disposed at an angle slightly less than 90° with respect to the vertical, such that the chair is capable of stacking onto an identical chair, and (c) a rack attachment member attached to each of the at least three legs. Each rack attachment member comprises (i) a leg attachment portion attached to one of the at least three legs, and (ii) a rack attachment portion capable of reversibly securing a portion of a rack to one of the at least three legs below the seating surface.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:
The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention and several variations of that embodiment. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments. Practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well.
In one aspect of the invention, the invention is a stackable chair 10 comprising a seating surface 12, at least three legs 14 and a rack attachment member 16 attached to each of the legs 14. This aspect of the invention is illustrated in
The seating surface 12 is typically disposed in an approximately horizontal orientation. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the seating surface 12 is integral with a back member 18. In such an embodiment, it is typical that the seating surface 12 and the back member 18 are made from a plastic material.
The at least three legs 14 are disposed generally vertically below the seating surface 12. However, each of the legs 14 is disposed at an angle slightly less than 90° with respect to the vertical, such that the chair is capable of stacking onto an identical chair. Typically, the at least three legs 14 comprise four legs 14, as shown in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. Also typically, each of the legs 14 is made from a tubular metal material such as steel.
Each rack attachment member 16 comprises a leg attachment portion 20 and a rack attachment portion 22 as illustrated in
As illustrated in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the rack attachment portion 22 of each rack attachment member 16 can define a continuous hollow cylinder. Such continuous hollow cylinder is sized and dimensioned to snugly attach around a portion of the rack 23 and to thereby firmly be retained to the rack 23.
Also, as illustrated in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the leg attachment portion 20 is adapted to attach to one of the legs 14. As seen in the drawings, the leg attachment portion 20 can define a clamp having a first clamp member 24 and a spaced apart second clamp member 26. The first clamp member 24 and the second clamp member 26 are attachable to one another by one or more fasteners 28, such as nuts and bolts. Preferably, the first clamp member 24 and the second clamp member 26 are attachable to one another by a single fastener.
As best seen in
Typically, the stackable chair 10 further comprises a rack 23, such as a horizontally disposed book rack, attached to each of the rack attachment members 16 as illustrated in
Contrary to the user of “slip-on” wire book racks, the racks 23 are securely attached to each chair 10 such that the racks 23 do not rattle and are not easily removed from the chair 10 by mischievous students.
As illustrated in
The stackable chairs 10 illustrated in
The stackable chair 10 of the invention is contrasted with stackable chairs of the prior art 110.
In a second aspect, the invention is a kit 40 comprising one or more racks 23 and at least three rack attachment members 16 for each rack 23. One embodiment of such a kit 40 is illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the kit 40 can further comprise a plurality of fasteners 28, such as nuts and bolts or rivots.
Having thus described the invention, it should be apparent that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope and fair meaning of the instant invention as set forth hereinabove and as described hereinbelow by the claims.
