GB2391801A

GB2391801A - Multi-function foldable highchair

Info

Publication number: GB2391801A
Application number: GB0218741A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shun-Min Chen; Mei-Lin Lee
Original assignee: WONDERLAND NURSERYGOODS Co Ltd; Wonderland Nurserygoods Co Ltd Taiwan
Current assignee: WONDERLAND NURSERYGOODS CO Ltd
Priority date: 2002-08-10
Filing date: 2002-08-12
Publication date: 2004-02-18
Also published as: GB0218741D0; DE20218013U1; US20040026976A1

Abstract

A multi-function foldable highchair (1) comprises front legs (11) and rear legs (12); a height adjustment mount (21) provided on the front legs; a back (41) of the seat provided with seat inclination adjustment means (61, figure 4); armrests (31) and a seat support (42) pivotally connected to the back and a footrest (44) pivotally connected to the seat support - all adapted to rotate upwards during the folding operation; and an adjustable tray (51) which can be detached during the folding operation or adapted to rotate upwards. Preferably, a crotch pillar (46) is provided for preventing a seated child from falling down. The highchair is completely foldable making it easy to carry or store and is also provided with adjustment functions for tray position and the height or inclination of the seat.

Description

2391 801

MULTI-FUNCTION HIGHCHAIR

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a multi-function highchair. More S particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-function highchair configured to be completely folded for carrying and storage.

BackEround of the Invention Highchair is a popular apparatus for seating babies or children owing to its safe 10 and convenient characteristics.

In order to enhance the practicability of highchairs, many manufacturers have endeavored to design the foldable-type highchairs. So far, the designs of foldable highchairs may be found in, for example, USP 5,507, 550, USP 5,707,104, USP 6,129,414, USP 6,161,898, etc.. However, the highchairs disclosed in the above 15 documents still occupied large space, due to, for example, the extruded tray, seat and footrest. Furthermore' the prior highchairs were usually provided with limited functions, for example' the height-adjustable chair, the inclination-adjustable chair, the adJustabic tray, etc.; while none of those highchairs integrated all of the various functions into one single unit.

Summary of the Invention

In view of the above drawbacks, one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a multi-function highchair with various adjustment functions, so that the most convenient highchair is achieved. Further, another purpose of the present 25 invention is to provide a completely foldable highchair, so that the problems of prior highchairs, for example' difficult to carry or store, are solved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a multi-funclion highchair comprises: front legs and rear legs, connected to the folding mechanisms with folding and expanding functions; height-adjusting mount, provided on the front legs for 30 adjusting the height of the seat; a back of the seat, provided with seat inclination adjusting device tor adjusting the inclination of the seat; armrests, pivotally connected to the back and provided with an adjustable tray, wherein the tray is detached from the armrests and then the armrests are rotated upwards, during the folding operation; a seat support' pivotally connected to the back and adapted to be rotated upwards to the 35 upright position during the folding operation; and a footrest, pivotally connected to the seat support and adapted to be rotated upwards during the folding operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a multi-function highchair comprises: front legs and rear legs, connected to the folding mechanisms

with folding and expanding functions; height-adjusting mount, provided on the front legs for adjusting the height of the seat; a back of the scat, provided with seat inclination adjusting device for adjusting the inclination of the seat; armrests, pivotally connected to the back and provided with an adjustable tray, wherein the tray 5 and the armrests are rotated upwards together, during the folding operation; a seat support, pivotally connected to the back and adapted to be rotated upwards to the upright position during the folding operation; and a footrest, pivotally connected to the seat support and adapted to be rotated upwards during the folding operation.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will 10 become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with

the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the expanded status of the multifunction 15 highchair according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the completely folded status of the multi-finction highchair according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a diagram of the height-adjusting mount according to the present invention; 20 Figure 4 is a perspective view of the seat inclination adjusting device according to the present invention; Figure 5A and 5B are the perspective views of the adjustable tray according to the present invention; and Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the partly folded status of the multi- function 25 highchair according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Refer firstly to Figure 1, which illustrates the expanded status of the multi-function highchair I according to the present invention. The multifunction 30 highchair I mainly comprises: the front legs 11, the rear legs 12, a height-adjusting mount 21, the armrests 31, a back 41 of the seat, a seat support 42, a footrest 44. a crotch pillar 46, a tray 51 and the decorative covers 71. The folded status of the multi-function highchair I is shown in Figure 2.

The front legs 11 and rear legs 12, referring to Figure 3, are fixed to the 35 expanded status (as shown in Figure 1) or the folded status (as shown in Figure 2) by means of the folding mechanisms (not shown) inside of the decorative covers 71.

The front legs 11 are further provided with a plurality of notches 112. Figure 3 shows that the height-adjusting mount 21 includes a heightadjusting unit 212, which

is attached through a pivot 214 to the height-adjusting mount 21. In adjusting the height of the seat, the height-adjusting unit 212 is pressed in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 3. thereby separating a stick 216 on the height-adjusting unit 212 from the notch 112 and causing the height-adjusting unit 212 to move up and down 5 freely along the front legs 11. When the proper height of the seat is determined, the height-adjusting unit 212 is released so that the stick 216 is, by the resilience of the spring provided inside ofthe height- adjusting unit 212, lodged in the proper notch 112 to fasten the heighl- adjusting mount 21.

Figure 4 illustrates the components of a seat inclination adjusting device 61 and 10 the operation thereof. The scat inclination adjusting device 61 comprises a pull bar 612, an adjustment piece 614, a compression spring 615, a circular plate 616, and a plurality of recessions 618 provided on the circular plate 616. In adjusting the inclination of the seat. the pull bar 612, which is exposed to the outside of upper part of the back 41, is pulled in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 4 and held.

15 One corner of the adjustment piece 614 is then driven by the pull bar 612, thereby causing the adjustment piece 614 to turn with point A as an axis and to come off the recessions 618 (as shown by the dotted line in Figure 4). Next, the back 41 is rotated with point B as an axis to the proper inclination angle. Finally, the pull bar 612 is released and returned to its original position by the effect of the compression spring 20 615, so that the adjustment piece 614 turns (again with point A as an axis) until it engages with one of the recessions 618. Thus the proper inclination of the seat is obtained. Refer now to Figure 5A and 5Fl, which show the perspectives of the reverse and lateral sides of the tray 51, respectively. The tray adjustment means comprises: a 25 recession 510 provided on the reverse surface of the tray Sl, a handle 512 attached to a connecting rod 514, two adjustment blocks 5 18 with fingers 519, and a plurality of notches 312 provided on the reverse surface of the armrests 31. In adjusting the position of the tray S l, the handle 512 is pressed and held in the direction of the arrow Y (as shown in both Figure SA and 5B), thereby moving the connecting rod 514 in the 30 same direction. Both ends of the connecting rod 514 have triangular protrusions for acting on the knobs 516 of the adjustment blocks 518. As the connecting rod 514 is moved, the knobs 516 are pressed by the protrusions of the connecting rod 514, thereby causing the adjustment blocks 518 to move in the directions of x and x' of Figure SA, respectively, so that the fingers 519 are disengaged from the notches 312 35 on the armrests 31 (as shown in the dotted line in Figure SA). At this time, the springs 515 provided inside of the adjustment blocks 518 are compressed. Since the fingers 519 are disengaged from the notches 312, the tray Sl is allowed to move forwards or backwards along the armrests 31 freely. When a desired position of the

tray 51 is determined, the handle 512 is released. Without the pressure from the protrusions of the connecting rod 514, the adjustment blocks 518 are then returned to their original positions by the resilience of the springs 515. Thus the fingers 519 are engaged again with the proper notches 312 to lock the tray 51 in position.

5 The other feature of the present invention is that the armrests 31, the seat support 42 and the footrest 44 arc all adapted to be rotated upwards to facilitate the complete folding of the multi-function highchair 1. Referring again to Figure 1, the folding operation of the multi-function highchair I is further described as follows. Firstly, the tray 51 is detached t'rom the armrests 31 by the above-mentioned tray adjustment 10 means. Then, the armrests 31, the seat support 42 and the footrest 44 are easily rotated upwards since they are pivotally fixed through a pivot 32, a pivot 47 and a pivot 48, respectively, as illustrated in Figure 6. Next, the seat is lowered to a suitable height for folding by means of the height-adjusting mount 21. Finally, the front legs 11 and rear legs 12 are folded by means of the folding mechanisms, as the I S completely folded status illustrated in Figure 2.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses that, by downsizing the tray 51, the tray S1 is rotated upwards together with the armrests 31 without being detaching during the Folding operation.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred 20 embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 3(

Claims

What We Claim Is:

I. A multi-function highchair comprising: the front legs (11) and the rear legs (12), connected to the folding mechanisms 5 with folding and expanding "'unctions; a height-adjusting mount (21), provided on said front legs (11) for adjusting the height of the seat; a back (41) ofthe seat, provided with a seat inclination adjusting device (61) for adjusting the inclination of the seat; 10 the armrests (31), pivotally connected to said back (41) and provided with an adjustable tray (51), wherein said tray (51) is detached from said armrests (31) and then said armrests (31) are rotated upwards, during the folding operation; a seat support (42), pivotally connected to said back (41) and adapted to be rotated upwards to the upright position during the folding operation; and 15 a footrest (44), pivotally connected to said seat support (42) and adapted to be rotated upwards during the folding operation.
2. The multi-function highchair (1) according to claim 1, wherein said seat inclination adjusting device (61) comprises: a pull bar (612), an adjustment piece (614), a compression spring (615), a circular plate (616) , and a plurality of 20 recessions (618) provided on said circular plate (616).
3. The multi-function highchair (1) according to claim I or claim 2, wherein said seat support (42) is provided with a crotch pillar (46) for preventing the seated child from falling down.
4. A multi-function highchair comprising: 25 the front legs (11) and the rear legs (12), connected to the folding mechanisms with folding and expanding functions; a height-adjusting mount (21), provided on said front legs (11) for adjusting the height of the seat; a back (41) of the seat, provided with a seat inclination adjusting device (61) for 30 adjusting the inclination of the seat; the armrests (31)' pivotally connected to said back (41) and provided with an adjustable tray (51)' wherein said tray (51) is rotated upwards together with said armrests (31) during the folding operation; a seat support (42), pivotally connected to said back (41) and adapted to be 35 rotated upwards to the upright position during the folding operation; and a footrest (44), pivotally connected to said seat support (42) and adapted to be rotated upwards during the folding operation.
5. The multi-function highchair ( 1) according to claim 4, wherein said seat inclination adjusting device (61) comprises: a pull bar (612), an adjustment piece (614), a compression spring (615), a circular plate (616) , and a plurality of recessions (618) provided on said circular plate (616).

5
6. The multi-function highchair (1) according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein said seat support (42) is provided with a crotch pillar (46) for preventing the seated child from falling down.