Mesh folding chair

• US 8,033,598 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2009
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mity-Lite, Inc. (MITY Holdings of Delaware, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mity-Lite, Inc. (MITY Holdings of Delaware, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Richard D., Farnsworth, Orrin C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Allred; David E
• Application Number:
  US12/422,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20100156148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: 297/55, 297/440.11, 297/60, 297/335, 297/440.2, 297/440.21
• US Class Current: 297/55
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 3/04 Stackable chairs; Nesting chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/28 Folding chairs with flexible coverings for the seat or back elements
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/38 with cross legs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/44 with legs pivotably connected to seat or underframe
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 5/06 Special adaptation of seat upholstery or fabric for attachment to tubular chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/002 Chair or stool bases A47C3/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/282 with mesh-like supports, e.g. elastomeric membranes

Abstract

A folding mesh chair includes a seat and a backrest carried between opposite frame sides. The chair has an unfolded seating position in which the seat pivots to extend from the frame sides and bottoms of front and rear legs move apart, and a folded position in which the seat pivots toward the frame sides and the front and rear legs move together. One or both of the seat and the backrest have a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh or patterned open texture plastic held across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic hoop fixed between the frame sides.

Claims

1. A folding chair, comprising:

a) a seat and a backrest carried between opposite frame sides each with a backrest support, a front leg and a rear leg, and having an unfolded seating position in which the seat pivots to extend from the frame sides and bottoms of the front and rear legs move apart, and a folded position in which the seat pivots toward the frame sides and the front and rear legs move together;

b) the seat having a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh or patterned open texture plastic held across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic seat hoop;

c) a pair of plastic lobes formed as one piece with the seat hoop on opposite sides thereof and extending downwardly from the seat hoop in the unfolded seating position;

d) the seat hoop being pivotally coupled between the frame sides with the front legs pivotally coupled to the pair of plastic lobes and the rear legs pivotally coupled to the all-plastic seat hoop; and

e) a plastic seat-support bar formed as one piece with the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes and laterally traversing the seat hoop and extending from the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes in front of the front legs when the seat hoop is in the unfolded seating position.

2. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the backrest has a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh or patterned open texture plastic held across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic backrest hoop;

and

the all-plastic backrest hoop and the all-plastic seat hoop form the sole structural support between the frame sides above a bottom of the frame sides near a lower end of the front and rear legs.

3. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the backrest has a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh or patterned open texture plastic held across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic backrest hoop;

and

the all-plastic backrest hoop forms the sole structural support between the backrest supports of the frame sides.

4. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the all-plastic seat hoop forms the sole structural support between the frame sides at a middle of the frame sides.

5. A chair in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a space separating the seat and the backrest and defining a gap between the sheet of mesh or plastic of the seat and a sheet of mesh or plastic of the backrest, and into which the seat folds in the folded position.

6. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein the seat-support bar further comprises:

a pair of parallel flanges extending at least partially from each lateral side of the bar adjacent the hoop of the seat forming a tapered profile when viewed from the front which is thicker at the lateral sides and thinner intermediate the lateral sides.

7. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the all-plastic seat hoop is directly coupled to front and rear legs without intervening support members.

8. A chair in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of integral plastic spacers formed with the all-plastic seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes and extending laterally beyond the all-plastic seat hoop and abutting the front legs or the rear legs to form a space between the front legs or the rear legs and the all-plastic seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes.

9. A chair in accordance with claim 8, wherein the spacers further comprise:

a bore therethrough to receive a fastener; and

a recess formed about the bore adjacent to the front legs or the rear legs.

10. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the sheet of mesh is bonded into the all-plastic seat hoop.

11. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the sheet of mesh or plastic is attached to the all-plastic seat hoop without mechanical fasteners.

12. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the sheet of mesh includes an elastomeric material.

13. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the all-plastic seat hoop includes polypropylene or nylon or ABS.

14. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein the all-plastic seat hoop weighs between 1.25-2.5 lbs.

15. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein the backrest has an all-plastic backrest hoop, and wherein the all-plastic backrest hoop weighs between 0.5-1.5 lbs.

16. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein the all-plastic seat hoop and an all-plastic backrest hoop together weigh between 1.75-4 lbs.

17. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein each frame side further comprises:

a link pivotally coupled between the front and rear legs; and

the link, the front leg, the rear leg, and the all-plastic seat hoop forming a four-bar, four-pivot linkage.

18. A chair in accordance with claim 17, wherein

the link, the front leg and the rear leg are formed of non-plastic material and the seat hoop forms a single all-plastic link in the four-bar linkage.

19. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein the backrest support and the front leg are formed of at least 16 gauge metal and the rear leg is formed of at least 18 gauge metal;

and wherein the seat and the backrest are coupled to the opposite frame sides with at least 5/16 inch rivets.

20. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the backrest supports of the frame sides have a tubular configuration with an open top end;

an all-plastic backrest hoop has a pair of shoulders extending from the backrest hoop and over the open top end of the backrest supports to cover the open top end; and

the all-plastic backrest hoop has a pair of opposite side fingers that extend from the pair of shoulders and into the open top end to provide support between the backrest supports.

21. A chair in accordance with claim 20, further comprising a snap lock between the hoop of the backrest and the backrest supports including:

an elongate finger extending from the hoop of the backrest into the open top end of the backrest supports; and

a hook formed on the finger extending into a hole in the backrest support.

22. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the all-plastic hoop of the seat has bearing surfaces that abut the front and rear legs.

23. A chair in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the all-plastic seat hoop has opposite, parallel, substantially straight, hoop sides.

24. A folding chair, comprising:

a) a seat and a backrest carried between opposite frame sides each with a backrest support, a front leg and a rear leg, and having an unfolded seating position in which the seat pivots to extend from the frame sides and bottoms of the front and rear legs move apart, and a folded position in which the seat pivots toward the frame sides and the front and rear legs move together;

b) the seat having a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh held taut across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic seat hoop;

c) a pair of plastic lobes formed as one piece with the seat hoop on opposite sides thereof and extending downwardly from the seat hoop in the unfolded seating position;

d) the seat hoop being pivotally coupled between the frame sides with the front legs pivotally coupled to the pair of plastic lobes and the rear legs pivotally coupled to the all-plastic seat hoop;

e) a plastic seat-support bar formed as one piece with the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes and laterally traversing the seat hoop and extending from the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes in front of the front legs when the seat hoop is in the unfolded seating position; and

f) the backrest having a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh held taut across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic backrest hoop.

25. A folding chair, comprising:

a) a seat and a backrest carried between opposite frame sides each with a backrest support, a front leg and a rear leg, and having an unfolded seating position in which the seat pivots to extend from the frame sides and bottoms of the front and rear legs move apart, and a folded position in which the seat pivots toward the frame sides and the front and rear legs move together;

b) the seat having a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh held taut across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic seat hoop;

c) a pair of plastic lobes formed as one piece with the seat hoop on opposite sides thereof and extending downwardly from the seat hoop in the unfolded seating position;

d) the seat hoop being pivotally coupled between the frame sides with the front legs pivotally coupled to the pair of plastic lobes and the rear legs pivotally coupled to the all-plastic seat hoop;

e) a plastic seat-support bar formed as one piece with the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes and laterally traversing the seat hoop and extending from the seat hoop and the pair of plastic lobes in front of the front legs when the seat hoop is in the unfolded seating position;

f) the seat hoop having an arcuate shape into which the sheet of mesh of the seat is deflectable;

g) the backrest having a continuous sheet of flexible and elastic mesh held taut across and substantially covering an opening in an all-plastic backrest hoop, the backrest hoop fixed between the backrest supports of the frame sides; and

h) the all-plastic backrest hoop and the all-plastic seat hoop form the sole structural support between the frame sides above a bottom of the frame sides near a lower end of the front and rear legs.