JP2003235670A - Folding chair - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a folded-up seat from easily falling and turning by its dead weight while preventing easy assembling of a chair in the folding chair capable of folding up and turning the seat. <P>SOLUTION: Left/right legs are integrally connected by a lateral member and a screw cylindrical bearing 11 is concentrically projected to the inside surfaces of the left/right legs. A support frame 9 comprising the seat is penetrated by a bolt 12 and rotationally supported by screwing the bolt 12 into the bearing 11. A cylindrical synthetic resin braking member 28 is fitted in the bearing 11 and the braking member 28 is formed with a pushing pressure part 28a abutting on the support frame 9 in its deflection deformed state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a folding chair in which a seat is flipped up and rotatably connected to legs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many cases, a folding chair with a seat that can be flipped up generally has a leg having a frame structure made of metal pipes (steel pipes and aluminum pipes). Therefore, many chairs are often stackable in the front-back direction.

In many folding chairs of this type, the seat is held in the flipped up posture by flipping up the seat to a posture slightly tilted backward from the vertical posture in a side view. There is a case where a person touches the seat that has been flipped up, or when the seat is easily vibrated due to an earthquake or the like, the seat easily falls down and turns into a horizontal posture.

With respect to this point, in the case where the rear portion of the seat is fixed to the left and right brackets with screws, and the left and right brackets are rotatably connected to the left and right legs with bolts at a portion above the seat surface. , By fitting a large number of spring washers to the bolts and interposing the spring washers between the seat and the legs in a state of being deformed against its elasticity, friction against rotation of the seat is obtained. Resistance is applied, and thus the seat is held so as not to easily fall down and rotate.

[0005]

In the conventional structure in which the seat is connected to the leg via the bracket, the structure becomes complicated by the provision of the bracket.

Further, in order to prevent the tilted rotation of the seat which has been flipped up, it is necessary that the center of gravity of the seat is located behind the vertical line in a side view while the seat is being flipped up.
When the bracket is connected to the leg at a position above the seat surface as in the conventional case, the center of rotation is separated from the seat surface, so it is possible to prevent the seat from tilting and turning naturally unless the rearward tilt angle of the seat is increased. For this reason, when stacking horizontally in a state where the seat is flipped up, the distance between the front and rear chairs may increase.

The present invention aims to improve the present situation.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a seat formed by connecting a seat to legs arranged on the left and right outer sides of the seat so that the seat can be flipped up and rotatably attached is located at a side surface of the seat. The left and right legs are rotatably connected to each other, and a braking member that gives resistance to the rotation of the seat is interposed at this connecting portion.

According to the invention of claim 2, in claim 1,
The seat includes a seat plate and a support frame that supports the periphery of the seat plate, while the left and right legs are integrally connected, and the rear portions of the left and right legs face toward the outer surface of the support frame. Bearings extending horizontally are concentrically projected.

Then, a through hole extending concentrically with the bearing is formed in the support frame of the seat, and a bolt inserted into the through hole from the inside surrounded by the support frame is screwed into the bearing, whereby The seat is flipped up and supported rotatably, and a cylindrical braking member made of synthetic resin is non-rotatably fitted to the bearing so that one end of the braking member is in contact with the side surface of the support frame. A pressing portion that is fixed and that is elastically deformed and stretches on the support frame is formed on the braking member.

[0011]

When the seat is connected to the leg at the side surface of the seat as in the present invention, brackets can be eliminated and the structure can be simplified accordingly.

Further, since the center of rotation is located below the upper surfaces of the left and right ends of the seat, the seat is tilted up and tilted by its own weight in the side view without being largely tilted backward with respect to the vertical line. Rotation can be prevented, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the front-to-back distance between chairs when stacking the chairs back and forth, and to increase the storage density when storing a large number of chairs.

By interposing a braking member (braking means) at the connecting portion of the seat, the chair has a simple structure and can increase the storage density, but the seat can be easily lifted up. It can be prevented from falling and turning.

Further, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art, since the bracket is attached to the leg in advance and the seat is fixed to the bracket, the work of assembling the chair is troublesome. Further, in the case of the braking means using a large number of spring washers as in the prior art, when the seat is connected to the leg at the side surface, the spring washer is elastically deformed and is concentrically held. It has to be inserted in the gap between the seat and the legs,
This makes the assembly of the chair extremely difficult.

On the other hand, when the braking member has a cylindrical shape as claimed in claim 2, the braking member can be fitted in a supporting member such as a bearing provided on the leg in a stable state. At this time, it is not necessary for the worker to hold the braking member by hand, so that the efficiency of chair assembly work can be improved.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bolt serving as the rotation supporting shaft of the seat is screwed into the bearing of the leg from the inside of the chair, it is necessary to expose the bearing to the outer surface of the leg. Therefore, there is also an advantage that the aesthetics can be improved.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

(1). Outline First, the outline will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 1
(A) is a right side view of the chair, FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a side view in a stacked state, and FIG. 3 is a front view in a folded state (state in which the seat is flipped up). , Left and right legs 1 made of metal pipe (may be made of round bar) and seat (seat)
It has 2 and a backrest 3.

The left and right legs 1 are provided with a front leg 4 and a rear leg 5 which intersect each other in an "in" shape, and they are connected by a joint 6. Casters 7 are attached to the lower ends of both feet 4, 5. Further, the left and right front feet 4 are connected by a lateral rod 8 at an upper portion thereof. The lateral rod 8 is welded to the front foot 4.

The seat 2 is provided with a support frame (seat frame) 9 formed in a square shape with a metal pipe and a seat plate 10 made of synthetic resin fixed to the support frame 9, and the rear portion of the support frame 9 is Bearing 11 provided at the upper end of front foot 4
Are connected (attached) with bolts 12 (details of the connecting structure will be described later). Therefore, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and also shown in FIG. 3, the seat 2 can be flipped up and rotated about the bolt 12 (foldable).

The seat plate 10 is formed with a downwardly projecting ridge 10a surrounding the support frame 9, and a recess 13 for preventing interference with the bearing 11 is provided at the rear of the ridge 10a.
Is formed. A recess 13 is also formed at the front of the ridge 10a.

A supporting rod 14 which is bent upward in a concave shape in a front view is fixed to the supporting frame 9 by welding. The supporting rod 14 is supported by the horizontal rod 8.
In this case, the receiving member 15 made of synthetic resin is fixed to the left and right ends of the supporting rod 14 by screwing or the like.
5 is applied to the horizontal rod 8.

The backrest 3 is made of synthetic resin, and a cylindrical portion 3a having a downward opening is formed at the lower ends of both left and right sides, and the cylindrical portion 3a is fitted on the upper part of the rear foot 5. The tubular portion 3a is fixed to the rear leg 5 with a screw (not shown). As shown in FIG. 19, it is possible to attach a cushion 17 to the backrest 3. In addition, a joint 18 is attached to the left and right tubular portions 3a.
It is also possible to attach the elbow pads 19 using.

The front foot 4 extends substantially vertically when viewed from the front. On the other hand, the hind legs 5 are located slightly outside the hind legs 5 in a front view, and are inclined at a gentle angle so that the hind legs 5 spread outward as they go downward, and the left and right hind legs 5 are in a V shape in a front view. Has become.

Since the rear foot 5 is located outside the front foot 4 (or the front foot 4 is located inside the rear foot 5) in the front view of the chair, as shown in FIG. The chairs can be stacked (stacked) with the legs 1 and 1 fitted in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an intermediate plate 2a and a cushion member 2b are laminated on the upper surface of the seat plate 10. The intermediate plate 2a is made of, for example, a synthetic resin, has appropriate hardness and elasticity, and is bonded to the cushion material 2b with an adhesive. Further, the intermediate plate 2a is attached to the seat plate 10 so as not to separate (details will be described later).

The support frame 9 is formed in a quadrangular shape in plan view as a whole, of which the left and right side portions extending in the front-rear direction and the front portion are formed in series by bending an oval cross section (oval shape). The rear portion 9a is made of another pipe material such as a round pipe. Of course, the entire pipe may be made of one pipe, or four pipes, front and rear and left and right, may be connected. Needless to say, a reinforcing pipe may be connected separately.

When a person sits down, a bending moment about the support rod 14 acts on the left and right side portions of the support frame 9. In this case, if at least the left and right side portions of the support frame 9 are simple circular pipes, the required strength may not be secured unless the diameter is increased.

On the other hand, when at least the left and right side portions of the support frame 9 are formed to have a vertically long oval cross-sectional shape as in the present embodiment, the cross-section coefficient against a load from above becomes extremely high, so There is an advantage that necessary strength can be secured without increasing the area.

(2). Seat Connecting Structure Next, the seat 2 connecting structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 14. 8 is a partially separated plan view with the seat plate omitted, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8, and FIG.
Is a separated perspective view of a main part, (B) is a perspective view of a braking member,
11C is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 11B, FIG. 11 is a plan view of a main part in an assembled state, FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a view taken along line XIII-XIII of FIG. A sectional view and FIG. 14 are sectional views similar to FIG. 13 with the seat 2 being flipped up.

As can be understood from FIGS. 8 to 10, for example, a through hole 21 is provided in the rear portion of the support frame 9 and a bolt 12 inserted from the inside of the support frame 9 into the bearing 11 is screwed into the bearing 11 to form the bolt 12. The support frame 9 is rotatably supported by.

An auxiliary metal fitting 22 having an L-shaped cross section is fixed to the supporting frame 9 by abutting the inner side surface and the lower surface thereof by welding, and a hole 23 through which the bolt 12 penetrates is also formed in this auxiliary metal fitting 22. There is. The auxiliary metal fitting 22 is formed with a stopper portion 22 a that projects to the outside of the support frame 9.

The bolt 12 penetrates the auxiliary metal fitting 22 and the support frame 9 via a metal bush 24.
Reference numeral 25 indicates a washer made of synthetic resin.

The bolt 12 is a reamer bolt, and the bearing 11 has a female screw 26 into which the threaded portion of the bolt 12 is screwed and a non-threaded portion 27 into which the non-threaded portion of the bolt 12 is partially fitted. Is forming.

Further, a braking member 28 made of synthetic resin is fitted on the bearing 11 as an example of resistance applying means for applying resistance to the rotation of the seat, and the braking member 28 is a set screw (hexagonal). It is fixed to the bearing 11 by means of a (hole screw) 29 (the stepped opening groove into which the set screw 29 is fitted is indicated by reference numeral 30).

A flange portion 28a is formed on the braking member 28 so as to abut the tip of the bearing 11, and a plurality of pressing portions (inwardly extending in the radial direction and divided by the slit 31) are formed on the flange portion 28a. Deflection and deformation part) 28
b is formed. In a natural state where no external force is applied, each pressing portion 28a is inclined at a slight angle so as to shift outward as it goes to the tip. Needless to say, the pressing portion 28a is set to a size that does not interfere with the bolt 12.

(3). Description of operation As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the bolt 12 is used as the bearing 1
When the screwing is completed with respect to 1, the pressing portions 2 of the braking member 28 are
8a is elastically deformed so as to fall toward the axis, so that the pressing portion 28a is stretched with respect to the support frame 9 by its elastic restoring force.

For this reason, resistance is imparted to the rotation of the seat 2, and as a result, the seat 2 returns and rotates even if a person touches the seat 2 in a flipped-up state, or shakes due to an earthquake. It is possible to prevent the seat from easily falling down and rotating.

In addition, when cleaning, the seat may be flipped up slightly and rotated. In this case, since the seat 2 can be held in a state of being flipped up at an arbitrary angle, the seat 2 is kept in a state of being flipped up. There is also an advantage that you can reduce the time and effort of cleaning without having to keep it.

By the way, when the seat 2 is fully flipped up as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the seat 2 may come into contact with the front surface of the backrest 3 and be easily scratched (for example, by repeatedly using it). While sitting, 2 seats and 3 backrests
The cloth may be easily worn away).

Regarding this point, in this embodiment, as can be understood from FIGS. 13 and 14, when the seat 2 is flipped up, the stopper portion 22a of the auxiliary metal fitting 22 is moved to the braking member 28.
The seat 2 is prevented from colliding with the backrest 3 by applying it to the fixing set screw 29 of.

The braking member 28 serves as a fixed-side stopper means.
Instead of using the set screw 29 of the
Although a projection may be provided on the above, if the set screw 29 is also used as the fixed side stopper as in the embodiment, there is an advantage that the structure can be simplified.

Further, it is not necessary to use the auxiliary metal fitting 22 as the movable side stopper means as in the embodiment, and for example, a screw may be screwed into the outer side surface of the support frame 9.

In mounting the seat 2 on the leg 1, first, the braking member 28 is fitted into the bearing 11, and then the seat 2 is pressed with the pressing portion 28a of the braking member 28 elastically deformed.
Set. Then, the bush 24 and the washer 2
The bolt 12 will be screwed into the bearing 11 via 5.

In this case, the seat 2 needs to be aligned so that the through hole 21 of the support frame 9 is concentric with the bearing 11, but the braking member 28 is fitted in the bearing 11 and is held so as not to be displaced. Therefore, the alignment can be easily performed.

When a pipe (or a square pipe) having an oval cross section is used at least on the left and right side portions of the support frame 9 as in the present embodiment, the portion on which the braking member 28 abuts is a flat surface, so The frame 9 can be held in a stable state between the left and right braking members 28, and as a result, the alignment can be performed more easily.

It should be noted that at least the left and right side portions of the support frame 9 extending in the front-rear direction may be formed to have an oval cross section or a square pipe shape. When a round pipe is used as the support frame 9, a braking member is used. It is also possible to secure the braking member 28 in a stable state by fixing the plate by welding or the like only at the portion where the braking member 28 contacts.

(4). Structure of Seat Next, the structure of the seat 2 will be supplementarily described with reference to FIGS. 15A is a partially cutaway plan view of the seat 2, FIG. 15B is a plan view of the intermediate plate 2a turned upside down (that is, a bottom view), and FIG. 16 shows the seat 2 attached to the support frame 9. FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI-XVI in FIG.
XVII-XV in FIG. 15 with the support frame 9 attached
It is a II sectional view.

As shown in FIG. 15 (A), the seat plate 10 is formed with a large number of slits 33 for allowing its downward bending deformation. In this case, the density, the shape, and the posture of the slit group are devised so that the portion of the seated person to which the buttocks contact is flexed and deformed more.

When attaching the intermediate plate 2a to the seat plate 10, as can be understood from FIGS. 15 (A) and 16,
The downward hook-shaped upper locking claws 35 formed on the left and right sides of the back of the intermediate plate 2a are fitted and engaged with the lower locking claws 36 formed on the seat plate 10. In this case, the relief holes 36 are formed in the seat plate 10 so that the upper locking claws 35 may enter below the seat surface of the seat plate 10.
Is formed.

Therefore, by fitting the upper locking claw 33 into the relief hole 26 and sliding the upper locking claw 33 rearward, the upper locking claw 33 is positioned below the lower locking claw 34. The plate 2A is held so as not to move upward.

Then, in order to prevent the intermediate plate 2a from moving forward, the stopper claw 37 provided at the rear portion of the intermediate plate 2a is forcibly fitted into the stopper hole 38 formed at the rear portion of the seat plate 10. There is. The stopper claw 37 and the stopper hole 38 may be formed at the front position of the seat.

It is also possible to bond the cushion material 2b to the seat plate 10 or insert-mold it, but in that case, replacement of the cushion material 2b and replacement of the cloth are troublesome.

On the other hand, when the cushion member 2b is attached to the seat plate 10 via the intermediate plate 2a as in this embodiment, there is an advantage that the cushion member 2b and the cloth can be easily replaced.

If the intermediate plate 2a is spread over the entire surface of the seat plate 10, the bending deformation of the seat plate 10 may be restricted and the cushioning property may not be secured. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15B, a large through hole 39 is formed in the intermediate plate 2a.

By the way, the upper surface of the seat 2 is formed in an upward concave shape in accordance with the curve of the buttocks of the person, but the intermediate plate 2a
Is attached to the seat plate 2 only at its left and right side portions (or only at peripheral portions), the seat surface becomes horizontal when not seated, which may result in poor appearance.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the intermediate plate 2a is formed with the narrow width portion 40 extending along the longitudinal center line (extending in the front-rear direction) of the intermediate plate 2a, so that a plurality of the intermediate plates 2a are formed along the center line. The snap pin 41 (may be one) is integrally formed, and the snap pin 41 is forcibly engaged with the snap hole 42 formed in the seat plate 10 (it can be separated when a certain amount of force is applied. it can).

Therefore, the intermediate plate 2a is kept in close contact with the seat plate 10, and the upper face of the seat 2 is held in a state of being loosely opened upwards when viewed from the front, which is excellent in aesthetics.

The narrow portion 40 extends rearward, but when it is connected to the rear portion of the intermediate plate 2a (that is, when the watermark hole 39 is completely divided by the elongated portion 40).
When a person sits down, only the right and left portions of the elongated portion 40 may largely sink, giving the person a feeling of strangeness.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the elongated portion 40 is formed in the shape of a peninsula so that the portion of the seat against which the person's buttocks abut is depressed as a whole. The elongated portion 40 may be formed in an island shape separated from the other portion of the intermediate plate 2a. The intermediate plate 2a may be fixed to the seat plate 10 with screws.

(5). Horizontal rod By the way, the rear part of the seat 2 is adjusted to the shape of the buttocks of a person.
In most cases, it has a shape that is gently curved backwards in a plan view.

On the other hand, when stacking chairs, the seat 2 is usually flipped up first. However, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3, it is often the case that the seat 2 is stacked and stacked on another chair with the seat 2 in a tilted position, and then the seat 2 is flipped up. In this case, when the seat 2 is flipped up, its rear end may hit the side bar 8 of the chair positioned behind.

Therefore, the seat 2 with the stacking state first.
As shown in FIG. 18, the horizontal rod 8 is gently curved in a backward concave shape (or a forward convex shape) in a plan view so that the rear end thereof does not hit the horizontal rod 8 of the rear chair even if it is flipped up.

(6). Others The present invention can be embodied in various ways other than the above embodiment. For example, it is also possible to fix the braking member to the support frame of the leg and to stretch it on the end face of the bearing or on the inner surface of the leg.

It is also possible that the bush fitted in the support frame is made of synthetic resin and is immovably fitted into the support frame, and this braking member is provided with a pressing portion which is stretched to the seat surface of the head of the bolt. . The pressing portion of the braking member may be formed by integrally molding a soft material such as rubber. It is also possible to form the braking member in a tubular shape with an elastic body such as hard rubber, and to impart resistance to the rotation of the seat by the elastic restoring force of the entire body.

Further, various structures can be adopted for the seat shaft support means. For example, bearings protruding from the legs are formed in the shape of bolts, and the screw shaft is screwed through the support frame. Therefore, the seat may be flipped up and supported rotatably. Alternatively, a threaded tubular bearing may be provided so as to project from the inner surface of the leg, and a tubular body penetrating the support frame may be fitted onto the rod member and the tubular body may be fixed to the bearing with bolts.

Further, the pressing portion of the braking member is not limited to be deformed in the axial direction, but it is also possible to form it on the inner peripheral surface and make it stick to the outer peripheral surface of the bolt or the like. Also,
It goes without saying that the shape and material of the legs can be freely set. The supporting frame and legs may be made of sheet metal.

Further, the seat does not necessarily need a frame made of pipe or the like, and a side plate may be formed on a seat plate made of synthetic resin or a metal plate, and the side plate may be connected to the leg by bolts or the like. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a right side view of a chair, and FIG. 1B is a side view of a seat plate.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a chair.

FIG. 3 is a side view in a state where the stacking is performed in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state where a seat is flipped up.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part.

FIG. 6A is a front view of the joint for the right leg, and FIG. 6B is a partially cutaway right side view.

7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a partial separation plan view with a seat plate omitted.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

10A is an exploded perspective view of essential parts, FIG. 10B is a perspective view of a braking member, and FIG. 10C is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a main part in an assembled state.

12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11.

13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the same line as FIG. 13 in a state where a seat is flipped up.

FIG. 15A is a partially cutaway plan view of the seat 2, and FIG. 15B is a plan view of the intermediate plate 2a turned upside down.

FIG. 16 of FIG. 15 with the seat attached to the support frame
It is an XVI-XVI sectional view.

FIG. 17 of FIG. 15 with the seat attached to the support frame
It is a XVII-XVII sectional view.

FIG. 18 is a plan view taken along line XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 4.

FIG. 19 is a front view when a cushion and an armrest are attached to the backrest.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Leg 2 Seat 4 Front Foot 5 Rear Foot 8 Side Rod 9 Support Frame 11 Bearing 12 Bolt 21 Through Hole 22 Auxiliary Metal Fitting 23a Auxiliary Metal Fitting Stopper Part 28 Braking Member 28b Braking Member Pressing Part 29 Stopper for Restricting Seat Bounce Posture Set screw that doubles as

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A chair comprising a seat rotatably connected to legs arranged on the left and right outer sides of the seat, the seat being rotatably connected to left and right legs at a side surface thereof. A folding chair in which a braking member that provides resistance to the rotation of the seat is interposed at this connecting point. 2. The seat includes a seat plate and a support frame that supports the periphery of the seat plate, while the left and right legs are integrally connected to each other. A bearing that extends horizontally toward the outer surface is concentrically projected, and a through hole that extends concentrically with the bearing is formed in the support frame of the seat, and the through hole is formed from the inside surrounded by the support frame. By screwing the bolt inserted in the hole into the bearing, the seat is flipped up by the bolt and supported rotatably. Further, a cylindrical braking member made of synthetic resin is attached to the bearing at one end thereof. 2. The folding chair according to claim 1, wherein the braking member is non-rotatably fitted and fixed so as to come into contact with a side surface of the support frame, and a pressing portion that elastically deforms and stretches on the support frame is formed on the braking member.