WO2010114458A1

WO2010114458A1 - High chair with folding legs

Info

Publication number: WO2010114458A1
Application number: PCT/SE2010/050062
Authority: WO
Inventors: Håkan BERGKVIST
Original assignee: BabyBjörn AB
Priority date: 2009-03-30
Filing date: 2010-01-22
Publication date: 2010-10-07
Also published as: AR076064A1; TW201105273A; SE533613C2; SE0900414A1

Abstract

A high chair (1) comprising a rigid chair unit (2), which comprises a seat (4), and a back rest (3) attached to the seat, wherein the chair unit (2) is carried by a front pair of legs (20) and a rear pair of legs (20), wherein the chair unit (2) comprises a foot rest (5) rigidly attached to the seat (4). The pairs of legs are mutually foldable between a support position, in which the pairs of legs are extended from each other, and a storage position, in which the pairs of legs are retracted towards each other. The legs of the front pair of legs are attached to the chair unit (2) in the area of the foot rest (5). The legs of the rear pair of legs are mounted in the lower part of a link (15), which with an upper part are journalled (16) at the chair unit (2) in a transition area between the seat (4) and the back rest (3) for pivoting around a horizontal axis.

Description

HIGH CHAIR WITH FOLDING LEGS

Field of Invention

The invention relates to a high chair according to the preamble of claim 1.

Background

A high chair should be relatively high in order to allow the child to sit at a level slightly underneath the level of a dining table/kitchen table and should also have a high security, among other things against tipping over. Therefore the legs are preferably directed to be supported on the floor at widely distanced points, which means that the high chair requires a comparatively large space. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange one pair of the legs of the high chair pivotal between a first retracted storage position, in vicinity of the position for the other pair of legs, and a second, extended user position. It is of course desirable to be able to guarantee an effective locking of the folding legs in the extended position, which locking can be disengaged. Further it is desirable to be able to sell and distribute the high chair in the form of a minimized package comprising partly unassembled legs, partly a chair unit to which the legs can be attached. The legs of the chair are mounted by rigidly attaching their ends to a respective socket on the chair unit.

Normally the rear legs of the chair are mounted on the chair unit in the area of the seat of the chair unit, which means that the legs will be comparatively long and will define the largest dimension of the package.

The Invention

One object of the invention is accordingly to provide a high chair, the structure of which admits a reduction of the length of the legs of the high chair and preferably also admits the same length and the same design for all the legs of the chair. The size of a package comprising the chair unit and the unassembled legs can thereby be brought down, preferably so that the largest dimension of the package is determined by the chair unit, not by the length of the legs. Further, the attachment of the legs is facilitated. A further object of the invention is to provide a locking mechanism for the folding pair of legs having two distinct end positions, whereby in the extended position the locking mechanism has to be manipulated in order to disengage the extended pair of legs for obtaining a high security level.

A further object is to provide a high chair with which one or several of the above discussed objects are achieved.

One or several of these objects are achieved, completely or partly with the invention.

The invention is defined in the appended independent claim.

Embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the appended independent claims.

Accordingly, the invention relates to a rigid chair unit, which comprises a seat, a back rest rigidly attached to the seat, and a foot rest rigidly attached to the seat, which foot rest is located at a distance underneath the level of the seat, wherein the chair unit is carried on a front pair of legs and a rear pair of legs, wherein the two pair of legs are mutually foldable between a support position in which the pairs of legs are extended from each other, and a storage position, in which the pairs of legs are retracted towards each other. The legs of the front pair of legs are mounted on the chair unit in the area of the foot rest. The legs of the rear pair of legs are mounted in a lower part of a link, which with an upper part is journalled in view of the chair unit in a transition area between the seat and the back rest for pivoting motion around a horizontal axis. The length of the link is adapted to allow use of mutually like and equally long legs for the high chair. The length of the legs will thereby be minimized, which in practical embodiments can imply that the length of the legs substantially corresponds to the largest dimension of the chair unit, so that the length of a package, in the symmetry plane of the chair unit substantially determines the length of the package and so that the chair unit finds room within the size of a carton, e.g. with a form of a parallelepiped, adapted to the chair unit.

The locking mechanism is according to the invention so designed that it allows the folding pair of legs to be detained in retracted end position up to a determined limit of a torque applied around its pivotal bearing, at which a detainment catch is overcome in such a way that the pair of legs (and the arm of the user) is given a momentum which overcomes friction in the locking device and the catch and which with certainty admits the pair of legs to enter into a locked extended end position, and any risk for that the folding pair of legs would end up in a non-barred position in-between, is thereby almost non-existent.

Short Description of the Drawings

The high chair according to the invention as well as embodiments thereof, will be described with reference to embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, on which:

Fig. 1 shows a side view of the high chair according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a view from behind of the high chair according to the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a front view of the high chair according to the invention;

Fig. 4 shows, in enlarged scale, a view, partially as a cross section, of a locking mechanism for the rear pair of legs of the high chair in extended position;

Fig. 5 shows a view corresponding to the view in Fig. 4 with the rear pair of legs in retracted position

Fig. 6 shows a partial view of a link for the rear pair of legs; and

Fig. 7a, b show an upper part of a leg and a catch element, respectively.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention

The Figs. 1 to 3 show a chair 1, which comprises a chair unit 2 made from injection-moulded plastic, which comprises a back rest 3, a seat 4, and a foot rest 5, which is integrally attached to the front edge area of the seat 4 through a substantially vertical attachment wall 6. A safety device 10 comprises a central post 11, which is pivotal in a vertical symmetry plane of the high chair and is at a lower end journalled 12 at the transition area between the seat 4 and the wall 6. At the upper end part of the post 11 is arranged a table 13 with a concave side facing the back rest 3. A blocking means not shown in the drawing makes possible the arrest of the post 11 in erected position.

Further is shown that the chair unit 1 comprises a link 15, the upper part of which is journalled at 16 around a horizontal axis, which is situated in the vicinity of the transition area between the back rest 3 and the seat 4. The lower end of the link 15 is shown in an extended end position at about the same level as the foot rest 5. The lower side edges of the chair unit diverge from each other in a direction downwards. The link 15 has side edges which also diverge in a direction downwards. The lower side edges of the chair unit in the area of the foot rest 5 as well as the side edges of the link 15 at the lower end of the link 15 have the form of receiving sleeves or sockets, which receive separate chair legs 20, which are shown to have rounde3d feet 21, which limits the risk for the legs 20 to hook onto any object on the ground surface/floor, with the risk that the high chair thereby tips over.

The legs 20 can have a blocking spring, which engages in a corresponding recess in the respective socket 17 in order to guarantee a correct orientation of the feet 21. The legs 20 with feet 21 are preferably mutually alike and equally long. The four legs 20 on the high chair converge upwards towards a point above the seat 4.

From Fig. 1 it can be concluded that a cover 30 is mounted on the underside of the chair unit in the area of the wall 6 and the foot rest 5 for screening off of a space 31 there between. A disengageable locking device 7 is shown attached between the lover end part of the link 15 and to the cover 30 attached to the chair unit 2, as is shown more in detail in Fig. 4 and 5.

Accordingly it can be seen that the cover 30 has a generally vertical wall 32 with an opening 33 for a guide rail 40, which is journalled in the lower end part of the link 15 through a bearing 41 with a substantially horizontal axis. A locking element 44 is journalled in the lower part of the link 15 through a bearing 41 with a substantially horizontal axis. A locking element 44 is journalled on the guide rail 40, e.g. journalled around the axis of the bearing 41.

The free end 47 of the locking element extends through the opening 33 of the wall 32 when the rear pair of legs is extended. A spring 46 is shown to be placed between the guide rail 40 and the locking element 44. Alternatively, the locking element per se may be resiliency flexible around the shown support 43 on the guide rail 40, whereby the function of the shown spring 46 is achieved. The locking element is further shown to have an abutment surface 45 in the form of a step, which in the extended position of the locking element, when the rear pair of legs is extended, prevents, through the cooperation with the upper edge part of the opening 33, a retraction or folding-in of the rear pair of legs. By swivelling the locking element 44 towards the guide rail 40 the abutment surface 45 can be passed through the opening 33.

The locking element has a tip 49, which engages behind the wall 32 in the area under the opening 33. The cover has a generally horizontal bottom unit 37 with a guide cam 38 for the lower end of the tip 49.

By manual application of a pressure in a direction downwards against the locking element 44 the locking element 44 will approach the guide rail 40 so that the abutment surface 45 of the locking element together with the guide rail 40 can be displaced through the opening 33, whereupon the lower edge of the guide rail 40 and the upper side of the locking element 44 can slide against the opening 33 underneath the respective upper edge during pushing into the space 31. In the vicinity of the retracted position for the link 15 the tip 49 will slide up onto the guide cam 38 and then snap down into a recess 51, as is shown in Fig. 5. It is clear that the ramp has a steep end surface 39, which is turned towards the side 54 of the tip facing there against. These surfaces are inclined in relation to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail and further the guide rail 40 is arranged resiliently flexible. When a user wishes to fold out the rear link 15 together with the rear legs 20 towards the extended end position shown in Fig. 1, the user has to apply a relatively high force in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 40 in order to make the tip 49 leave the recess 51 , which then will occur abruptly. The user can of course not stop the applied force, but will accelerate the link 15 together with the legs 20 and the guide rail 40 so that the momentum becomes sufficient to surely overcome the friction between the locking element 44 and the guide rail 40, against the upper and lower edge of the opening 33, respectively, and so that the abutment surface 45 of the locking element surely passes out through the opening 33 and is biased up to blocking position under the influence of the spring 46.

The spring biased locking element 44 offers of course also a childproof lock that prevents inadvertent folding-in of the link 15 with the rear pair of legs 20 towards the retracted position, which in this embodiment is achieved thanks to that the spring force is so high that both hands have to be used in order to push the locking element against the guide rail. Each leg 20 may have a groove or protrusion which cooperates with a corresponding protrusion and groove, respectively in the sleeve 17 (not shown) in order to guarantee a correct orientation of the respective leg in relation to the sleeve 17 so that the respective foot 21 takes a predetermined orientation in relation to the high chair. In the Figs. 6 and 7a, b is shown a presently preferred embodiment of the locking of the legs in the respective socket in a fixed position in order to achieve a correct alignment of the respective foot in relation to a support.

In Fig. 6 the link 15 is shown with sleeves 17 for the respective leg. The respective sleeve 17 has an opening 173 in a predetermined position. This opening can be designed with upset or chamfered edges to facilitate access for a finger. When a leg is correctly placed in its sleeve a blocking means 172 locks the leg in this opening, as is explained more in detail below with reference to Figs. 7a, b.

In Fig. 7a is shown the upper end of a leg 20 with a blocking means 172 arranged to resiliently protrude through an opening 173 provided for this purpose. The blocking means 172 is in the shown, presently preferred, embodiment part of a bent wire element 174 formed as a U, which is shown more in detail in Fig. 7b, having a shank 175 intended to abut an inside of the respective leg, diametrically opposed to the opening 173. The bent blocking means 172 is preferably so designed that the wire unit 175 forming its extension in the longitudinal direction of the leg 220 lies at an angle in relation to the longitudinal direction of the leg, so that it has a lower height at the end lying closest to the upper end of the leg. With this the attachment of the leg to the chair unit is much facilitated. Further, it is possible to arrange a guide for entering the legs in a correctly orientated position in relation to the receiving sleeves, e.g. in the form of a recess in the edge of the sleeve, oriented so that the blocking means is guided into the groove and thereby ends up correctly in view of the locking opening in the sleeve.

Claims

1. A high chair (1) comprising a rigid chair unit (2), which comprises a seat (4), and a back rest (3) attached to the seat, whereby the chair unit (2) is carried by a front pair of legs (20) and a rear pair of legs (20), characterized in that the chair unit (2) comprises a foot rest (5) rigidly attached to the seat (4), in that the pairs of legs are mutually foldable between a support position, in which the pairs of legs are extended from each other, and a storage position, in which the pairs of legs are retracted towards each other, in that the legs of the front pair of legs are attached to the chair unit (2) in the area of the foot rest (5), and in that the legs of the rear pair of legs are mounted in the lower part of a link (15), which with an upper part are journalled (16) at the chair unit (2) in a transition area between the seat (4) and the back rest (3) for pivoting around a horizontal axis.

2. The high chair according to claim 1, characterized in that all legs (20) of the chair are mutually alike.

3. The high chair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the length of the legs (20) substantially corresponds to the largest dimension of the chair unit (1).

4. The high chair according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that a releasable locking means (7) is provided to admit a releasable blocking of the link (15) and thus of the rear legs around the pivot axis (16) in the extended position of the link (15).

5. The high chair according to claim 4, characterized in that the releasable locking device has two distinct end positions, a retracted position wherein the pairs of legs are adjacent to each other, and an extended position, wherein in the extended position the locking device has to be manipulated in order to be released, while in the retracted position, the rear pair of legs can be folded out by application of a pulling force which exceeds a predetermined magnitude.

6. The high chair according to any of claims 4-5, characterized in that the locking device (7) comprises a guide rail (40) pivotally attached (41) to the link (15), which is received in and extends through an opening (33) in a wall (32) attached to the chair unit in the area of the foot rest (5), in that the guide rail (40) carries a locking element (44) which is movable in relation to the guide rail (40), in that a biasing spring (46) is provided for biasing the locking element (44) in a direction away from the guide rail (40), and in that the locking element has an abutment surface (45) facing the foot rest (5), which surface is situated adjacent to the wall (32), when the link (15) and thus the rear legs (20) are in the extended end position, and in that the wall opening (33) is arranged to allow the locking element together with the guide rail (40) to pass, when the locking element (44) is swung in towards the guide rail (40) against the action of the biasing spring (46).

7. The high chair according to claim 6, characterized in that the guide rail (40) at its free end has a tip (49), which is directed across the wall (32) and which prevents pulling out of the guide rail through the wall opening (33), and in that the chair unit (2) is provided with a guide cam (38) for the tip (49) of the guide rail, in that the guide cam (38) delimits a recess

(15) for the tip (49) in the retracted end position of the link (15), and in that the tip and accompanying recess has cooperating wedge surfaces (39, 54), which at the application of a predetermined, comparatively large pulling force in the guide rail (40) allows the tip (49) to leave the recess (51), so that the resulting momentum substantially exceeds the force acting against the swinging motion of the pair of legs towards the extended blocked end position.

8. The high chair according to claim 7, characterized in that the tip is spring biased and movable in a direction to engage in and leave, respectively, the recess (51) which extends across the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

9. The high chair according to claim 7, characterized in that the guide rail is resiliency flexible in order to offer a spring biased mobility for the tip.

10. The high chair according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said chair unit (2) and said link (15) have reception sleeves (17) for taking up said legs (20), in that the reception sleeves each has an opening (171), in that in each of said legs is arranged a resilient flexible blocking means (172), whereby said resilient blocking means after the introduction of the respective leg in a receiving sleeve is designed to spring into said opening in the respective reception sleeve (17) in order to lock the leg (20) in the reception sleeve thereby.