Patent ID: 7066099
Filing Date: 2006-06-27
Classification: A47B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A foldable article of furniture, comprising: a surrounding top supported frame surrounding a central axis; a plurality of engaging members secured on said top supported frame and angularly displaced from one another, each of said engaging members including upper and lower portions opposite to each other in an upright direction parallel to the central axis, and proximate to and distal from said top supported frame, respectively; a plurality of supporting legs, each including a lower section which is adapted to stand on the ground surface, and an upper section opposite to said lower section in the upright direction; a plurality of couplers secured on said upper sections of said supporting legs, respectively, each of said couplers including distal and proximate portions opposite to each other in the upright direction, and distal from and proximate to said upper section, respectively; a plurality of joints, each disposed to connect said lower portion to said proximate portion such that said proximate portion is turnable relative to said lower portion about a pivot axis that is transverse to the central axis between an upright position, where both a respective one of said couplers and a respective one of said engaging members are oriented in the upright direction so as to position said lower section on the ground surface, and a collapsed position, where the respective one of said couplers is inclined relative to the respective one of said engaging members so as to bring said lower section close to the central axis, and such that said proximate portion is movable relative to said lower portion in the upright direction between upper and lower positions; a plurality of locking members, each disposed to lock said proximate portion so as to prevent turning of said proximate portion relative to said lower portion about the pivot axis when said proximate portion is in the upper position, and to release said proximate portion so as to permit turning of said proximate portion about the pivot axis to the collapsed position when said proximate portion is in the lower position; and a plurality of biasing members, each disposed to bias said proximate portion towards the upper position; wherein said distal portion of each of said couplers has an upper edge which faces upwardly, each of said locking members including a cavity unit which is formed in said upper edge and which extends in the upright direction towards said proximate portion, and a latch which extends from said upper portion in a transverse direction relative to the upright direction and which is configured to be retained in said cavity unit when said proximate portion is in the upper position, and to be removed from said cavity unit when said proximate portion is moved to the lower position against biasing action of a respective one of said biasing members; each of said joints including a keyway which is formed in said proximate portion, which extends in the upright direction, and which has upper and lower ends, and a key which extends from said lower portion in the transverse direction to define the pivot axis, which is movable along said keyway, and which abuts against said upper and lower ends when said proximate portion is in the lower and upper positions, respectively; each of said couplers including a pair of side plates which are spaced apart from each other in the transverse direction and which have upper edge walls flush with each other to serve as said upper edge, and a connecting plate which interconnects said side plates in a one-piece construction so as to confine a receiving space thereamong, said lower portion of each of said engaging members being received in said receiving space; said cavity unit including a pair of cavities which are formed in said upper edge walls of said side plates and which are registered with each other in the transverse direction, said latch having two latch ends which are opposite to each other in the transverse direction and which are configured to be retained in said cavities, respectively; said keyway including a pair of elongated slots which are formed in said side plates, respectively, and which are elongated in the upright direction, said key having two key ends which are opposite to each other in the transverse direction and which respectively pass through said elongated slots so as to be slidable along said elongated slots, respectively.