GB1593981A

GB1593981A - Chairs for infants

Info

Publication number: GB1593981A
Application number: GB12302/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: MOTHERCARE Ltd
Current assignee: MOTHERCARE Ltd
Priority date: 1978-03-31
Filing date: 1978-03-31
Publication date: 1981-07-22
Also published as: GB1593982A

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO CHAIRS FOR INFANTS (71) We, MOTHERCARE LIMITED, a British Company of Cherry Tree Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD2 5JH, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to chairs for infants.

The invention includes a body shell for an infants chair, said shell having engagement means on its rear by which together with engagement means adjacent its front the shell can be secured with releasable slotted engagement to a low stand for forming therewith a low chair, said engagement means adjacent the front of the shell comprising. slot means provided in lug means depending from the bottom of the shell and arranged to locate a cross-piece of the low stand.

In order that the invention may be well understood an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a body shell of an infant chair; Figure 2 is a top plan view of a tray attachable to the shell; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the shell, with the tray attached, mounted on a high stand to form a high chair; Figures 3A and 3B are views of a modification to the shell, Figure 3A being taken in the direction of the arrow 3A in Figure 3B and Figure 3B being taken along the line 3B in Figure 3A Figure 3C is a side elevation of another modification to the shell; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the shell, with the tray attached, mounted on a low stand to form a low chair; and Figure 5 schematically illustrates engagement of part of the low frame with the shell.

In more detail, there is shown (see particularly Figure 1) a moulded integrally formed plastics body shell I having a back portion 2, a bottom portion 3, wing portions 4, and arm portions 5.

A tray 6 (see Figure 2) is formed with two integral attachment arms 7 arranged to fit on top of the arm portions 5 and having bifurcated free ends 8 which fit either side of the wing portions 4. The tray is attached to the shell by means of two locating arrangements associated with each arm 7 and corresponding arm portion 5.These two arrangements locate in transverse directions and as illustrated comprise (see Figures 3 and 4) a first arrangement 12 comprising a lug 13 on the tray, depending from the tray arm and an aperture 14 in the front of the arm portion 5 for receiving a rearwardly extending portion 15 of the lug 13, and a second arrangement 9 comprising a lug 10 extending outwardly from the shell where the arm portion 5 merges with the wing portion 4 and an aperture 11 in the outer fork of the bifurcated free end 8 of the tray into which the lug 10 fits. As will be noted the first arrangement 12 locates the tray relative to the shell and the second arrangement 9 prevents pivotal movement of the tray relative to the shell about an axis extending through the arrangement 12.

To mount the tray on the shell, the lugs 13 are inserted in the apertures 14 and the tray is pivoted on the lugs 13 until the apertures 11 snap engage with the lugs 10. To assist this snap engagement the outer forks of the bifurcated free ends 8 of the tray each have an outwardly flared portion 10a. To remove the tray, the above procedure is reversed, the outwardly flared portions IOa being pulled outwardly to release the snap engagement between the lugs 10 and apertures 11.

Referring now particularly to Figure 3, the shell is shown mounted on a high stand 16 to form therewith a high chair. The stand 16 comprises two frames 17 and 18 which are interconnected by pivotal means which enable the frames to be pivoted apart (as shown) into an operative condition to form a stand or to be pivoted together into an inoperative condition for storage etc., when not in use.

As shown one frame 17 is pivoted at an end portion thereof to a portion of the other frame 18 which is spaced from its end portion and cross-pieces 19 and 20 at the end portions of the frames locate in respective spaced engagement means 21 and 22 on the back of the shell. The engagement means 22 is provided adjacent the top of the shell and is shown as a downwardly opening slot formed between a downturned flange 23 at the top of the shell's rear and the rear of the shell.

Advantageously, the engagement means 22 may be provided with a series of transversely spaced apart substantially Ushaped ribs 23a extending between the downturned flange 23 and the rear of the shell as illustrated in Figures 3A and 3B.

The ribs are dimensioned to tightly engage the cross-piece 20 which is of flattened tubular metal and thus provide a secure location for it, and furthermore they hinder the use of the flange 23 as a carrying handle for the shell which it is considered could be dangerous.

The engagement means 21 comprises rearwardly opening slot means spaced downwardly from the flange 23 on the rear of the shell. More specifically, the slot means comprises two spaced slots (see Figure 1) on respective spaced ribs 24 extending down the rear of the shell. The slots include downwardly extending projections 25 across their openings to retain the cross-piece 19 therein in use, and advantageously the projections may be arranged such that the cross-piece 19 has to be snapped therepast in order to locate within the slots.

A preferred arrangement is illustrated in Figure 3C, and includes an upwardly extending projection 25a which defines the opening of the slot with the downwardly extending projection 25, and a forwardly extending projection or pip 25b on the projection 25. With this arrangement, the cross-piece 19 is normally retained in theportion of the slot below the pip 25b.

In the embodiment each frame is substantially U-shaped. The bridge portion of the U-shaped frame 18 forms its crosspiece 20. The free ends of the U-shaped frame 17 are pivoted to the frame 18 by respective pivot devices 26 and the crosspiece 19 is a separate frame member extending between the legs of frame 17.

Two connecting links 27 pivotally connected together and to the frames 17, 18, extend between opposed legs of the frames to limit the relative pivoting apart of the frames as shown in Figure 3.

As will be appreciated, it is a relatively simple matter to assemble the shell and high stand together to form a high chair - the shell is easily and positively secured to the stand without the need for securing catches or other fasteners. The stand may also be employed with the shell to form a swing, the shell being suspended from the cross-piece 19 by rope means 28 in a position schematically indicated in chain-dotted line in Figure 3.

Referring now particularly to Figure 4, the shell 1 is shown mounted on a low stand 29 to form therewith a low chair. The stand 29 comprises two frames 30 and 31, which in the embodiment are formed as closed loops and are pivoted together by means of at least one C-shaped elongate member 32 in which respective cross-pieces 33 and 34 of the frames are located. The frame 30 is provided with a further cross-piece 35 by which it is connectable to the shell in slots 36 of two spaced lugs 37 depending from the bottom of the shell adjacent the front thereof. This connection allows limited pivotal movement of the frame 30 with respect to the shell. The other frame 31 is also provided with a further cross-piece 38 by which it is connectible to the shell.

In order to position the shell in a substantially upright position, the crosspiece 38 is located (as shown in Figure 4) in the slots 21 provided on the spaced ribs 24.

However, further rearwardly opening slots 39 are provided spaced apart on the ribs for receiving the cross-piece 38 so that the shell may be selectively positioned in any one of a number of different predetermined inclined positions, it being appreciated that in such positions, the frame 30 would be pivoted relative to the shell in the slots 36 as shown in Figure 4, and the frame 31 would be pivoted relative to the frame 30 in the member 32 from the position shown in Figure 4.

When the cross-piece 38 is located in the slots 21 it is retained therein by the projections 25b, when provided, past which it advantageously must be snapped. The other slots 39 are also advantageously provided with projections in the form of pips 40 (as best shown in Figure 5) which the cross-piece 38 has to snap past to locate in the slots and which serve to retain the crosspiece within the slots 39.

It is to be understood that whilst the provision of two ribs 24 and their slots is preferred a single such rib or more than two with corresponding slots may be provided.

Furthermore the ribs may take forms other than the channel shaped constructions illustrated in Figures 1 and 5.

It will be appreciated that the low stand is readily fitted to the shell and easily adjustable so as to support the shell in any one of a number of predetermined positions.

It will also be appreciated that both the high stand and the low stand are completely separated from the shell until assembled therewith to form either a high chair or a low chair. This is very convenient for storage and transportation and greatly assists cleaning.

Attention is directed to the claims of the complete specification of our co-pending Application No. 2415/80 .(Serial No.

1593982) which is divided from this application.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A body shell for an infants chair, said shell having engagement means on its rear by which together with engagement means adjacent its front the shell can be secured with releasable slotted engagement to a low stand for forming therewith a low chair, said engagement means adjacent the front of the shell comprising slot means provided in lug means depending from the bottom of the shell and arranged to locate a cross-piece of the low stand.

2. A shell as claimed in claim 1, said shell having engagement means adjacent its top by which together with said engagement means on its rear the shell can be secured with releasable slotted engagement to a high stand for forming therewith a high chair.

3. A shell as claimed in claim 2, wherein said engagement means adjacent its top comprises slot means at the top of the rear of the shell above said engagement means on its rear and arranged to locate a crosspiece of the high stand.

4. A shell as claimed in claim 3, wherein said slot means at the top of the rear of the shell is formed between a downturned flange at the top of the rear of the shell and the rear of the shell.

5. A shell as claimed in claim 4, including transversely spaced apart substantially Ushaped ribs extending between the downturned flange and the rear of the shell.

6. A shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said engagement means on the rear of the shell comprise a series of slot means spaced apart up the rear of the shell such that the shell may be selectively secured to the low stand in different inclined positions.

7. A shell as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of said series of slot means are arranged to provide snap-engagement with a cross-piece of the low stand.

8. A shell as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein said series of slot means comprises at least one slot the opening of which is defined between upwardly and downwardly extending projections.

9. A shell as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 when claim 6 is appended to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the shell is securable to a high stand by means of said engagement means adjacent the top of the shell and one of said series of slot means.

10. A shell as claimed in claim 6, 7, 8 or 9, and a low stand therefor comprising two frames pivoted together and having first cross-pieces for engagement in the slot means in said lug means and any selected one of said series of slot means respectively.

11. A shell and low stand therefor as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of said frames is formed as a closed loop, and said frames are pivoted together by means connecting second cross-pieces of said frames together.

12. A shell as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5, and a high stand therefor comprising two frames interconnected together by pivotal means enabling them to be pivoted apart into an operative condition and together into an inoperative condition and having cross-pieces for engagement in said slot means at the top of the rear of said shell and said engagement means on the rear of the shell.

13. A shell and high stand therefor as claimed in claim 12, wherein one of said frames is pivoted at an end portion thereof to a portion of the other frame spaced from a cross-piece at an end portion of said other frame, which cross-piece is engageable in said slot means at the top of the rear of said shell.

14. A shell and high stand therefor as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cross-piece engageable in said engagement means on the rear of the shell is provided by said one of said frames.

15. A shell as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and a tray therefor having two arms each adapted to be fitted on respective arm portions of the shell and attached thereto by two locating arrangements associated with each arm and corresponding arm portion.

16. A shell and tray as claimed in claim 15, wherein one of said arrangements comprises an aperture in the arm portion and a cooperating lug on said tray, and the other of said arrangements comprises cooperating snap-engagement means on the arm portion and arm.

17. A body shell for an infants chair substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings either alone or with a low stand substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings, and/or with a high stand substantially as herein

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Claims

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readily fitted to the shell and easily adjustable so as to support the shell in any one of a number of predetermined positions.

It will also be appreciated that both the high stand and the low stand are completely separated from the shell until assembled therewith to form either a high chair or a low chair. This is very convenient for storage and transportation and greatly assists cleaning.

Attention is directed to the claims of the complete specification of our co-pending Application No. 2415/80 .(Serial No.

1593982) which is divided from this application.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A body shell for an infants chair, said shell having engagement means on its rear by which together with engagement means adjacent its front the shell can be secured with releasable slotted engagement to a low stand for forming therewith a low chair, said engagement means adjacent the front of the shell comprising slot means provided in lug means depending from the bottom of the shell and arranged to locate a cross-piece of the low stand.
2. A shell as claimed in claim 1, said shell having engagement means adjacent its top by which together with said engagement means on its rear the shell can be secured with releasable slotted engagement to a high stand for forming therewith a high chair.
3. A shell as claimed in claim 2, wherein said engagement means adjacent its top comprises slot means at the top of the rear of the shell above said engagement means on its rear and arranged to locate a crosspiece of the high stand.
4. A shell as claimed in claim 3, wherein said slot means at the top of the rear of the shell is formed between a downturned flange at the top of the rear of the shell and the rear of the shell.
5. A shell as claimed in claim 4, including transversely spaced apart substantially Ushaped ribs extending between the downturned flange and the rear of the shell.
6. A shell as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said engagement means on the rear of the shell comprise a series of slot means spaced apart up the rear of the shell such that the shell may be selectively secured to the low stand in different inclined positions.
7. A shell as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of said series of slot means are arranged to provide snap-engagement with a cross-piece of the low stand.
8. A shell as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein said series of slot means comprises at least one slot the opening of which is defined between upwardly and downwardly extending projections.
9. A shell as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 when claim 6 is appended to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the shell is securable to a high stand by means of said engagement means adjacent the top of the shell and one of said series of slot means.
10. A shell as claimed in claim 6, 7, 8 or 9, and a low stand therefor comprising two frames pivoted together and having first cross-pieces for engagement in the slot means in said lug means and any selected one of said series of slot means respectively.
11. A shell and low stand therefor as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of said frames is formed as a closed loop, and said frames are pivoted together by means connecting second cross-pieces of said frames together.
12. A shell as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5, and a high stand therefor comprising two frames interconnected together by pivotal means enabling them to be pivoted apart into an operative condition and together into an inoperative condition and having cross-pieces for engagement in said slot means at the top of the rear of said shell and said engagement means on the rear of the shell.
13. A shell and high stand therefor as claimed in claim 12, wherein one of said frames is pivoted at an end portion thereof to a portion of the other frame spaced from a cross-piece at an end portion of said other frame, which cross-piece is engageable in said slot means at the top of the rear of said shell.
14. A shell and high stand therefor as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cross-piece engageable in said engagement means on the rear of the shell is provided by said one of said frames.
15. A shell as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and a tray therefor having two arms each adapted to be fitted on respective arm portions of the shell and attached thereto by two locating arrangements associated with each arm and corresponding arm portion.
16. A shell and tray as claimed in claim 15, wherein one of said arrangements comprises an aperture in the arm portion and a cooperating lug on said tray, and the other of said arrangements comprises cooperating snap-engagement means on the arm portion and arm.
17. A body shell for an infants chair substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings either alone or with a low stand substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings, and/or with a high stand substantially as herein

described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings, and/or with a tray substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.