Collapsible chair

A collapsible chair is provided which can be easily fabricated from a sheet material such as plywood. The chair consists of two rocker elements, a seat and a back. The four elements can be stored and shipped flat and easily erected into chair form without the use of tools or fastening elements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a collapsible chair which is easily 
fabricated from a sheet material such as plywood. 
The chair of the present invention can be stored and shipped flat so that 
it occupies little space. Thus, it is ideal for a number of purposes where 
one wishes to have a chair which can serve the purpose of a normal rocking 
chair, yet which can be stored in little space. For instance, it finds use 
in the home as an occasional chair where the chair can be stored in a very 
small space when not needed but which can be quickly erected when 
required. Another typical use of such a chair is on a camping trip where 
space is limited where a small flat article can be easily stowed away 
while a normal chair would occupy an inordinate amount of space. 
The chair of the present invention is preferably fabricated from plywood, 
although it will be obvious that any strong, thin sheet material can be 
used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, the chair of the 
present invention consists of four main parts, namely two identical rocker 
elements, generally designated 7 and 9, a seat 11, and a back 13. 
Since the rocker elements 7 and 9 are mirror images of each other, only one 
is described in detail. Thus, referring specifically to the rocker element 
7, it has a rounded bottom portion 15 which is of the usual configuration 
of a chair rocker. It also has a back portion 17 and this is shown rounded 
but it is obvious that this is merely for aesthetics and that the exact 
shape of the back 17 is not a functional part of the invention. Opposite 
the rocker and the back elements is a flat, seat-supporting section 19 and 
a back-supporting section 21. These two flat portions, 19 and 21, are so 
arranged so as to give the chair a comfortable seating angle and this 
angle is normally a little over 90.degree., as is best seen in FIG. 4. An 
angle from 100.degree. to 100.degree. is satifactory. Extending downwardly 
from the back portion 21 is a slot 23 which extends about half way from 
the rocker portion 15 and the seat-supporting element 19. 
The seat portion, generally designated 11, has a large flat expanse 25 of a 
suitable size for a seat. The front portion 27 is shown as rounded but it 
will be apparent that this is merely a shape which is aesthetically 
pleasing and which is not functional. Thus, the front portion 27 could be 
straight across without changing the function of the chair. At the rear of 
the seat is a tail-like extremity 29 in the shape of the keystone with the 
smaller portion of the keystone 31 adjacent seat portion 25 and the outer 
extremity 33, which is of course wider than 31, extending away from the 
seat. At either side of the keystone portion are the straight portions 35 
and 37. 
The back 13 is shown with a generally rounded top 39 but here again, this 
is merely for the purpose of aesthetics and it could be rectangular or of 
any desired configuration. In the back portion, is a triangular cutout 41 
wherein the bottom of the cutout, designated 43, is a straight line and is 
roughly the same width as the narrow portion of the keystone 31. Extending 
downwardly from the base 43 of the triangle is a slot 45 and the distance 
from the bottom of this slot 45 to the apex of the triangular cutout 41, 
which is designated 47, is substantially equal to the widest portion of 
the keystone 33. 
At the base of the back portion are two slots 49 and 51 and these are 
complementary to the slots 23 in the rocker portions 7 and 9. 
In order to erect the chair of the present invention, one takes the seat 
portion, generally designated 11 and turns it 90.degree., i.e. to the 
position shown in dash lines in FIG. 2 and inserts the keystone through 
the opening in the back. When the keystone is fully inserted, i.e. the 
flat sides 35 and 37 in contact with the back, one can now turn the seat 
11 back to the usual position for the seat, i.e. the position shown in the 
solid lines in FIG. 2. The rocker elements 7 and 9 are now placed in a 
generally upright position and the back 13 is placed with its large flat 
portion in contact with the flat back portion 21 and with the slots 49 and 
51 extending downwardly into the slots of the rockers. The seat is then 
pushed firmly down onto the surfaces 19. The chair is now completely 
assembled. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, slots 23 and 49 are so 
configured that the extremities of the rocker portions, i.e. as is shown 
at 53 and 55 in FIG. 1 are brought together into contact with each other, 
greatly increasing the stability of the chair. 
The chair of the present invention is fabricated of a stiff, sheet material 
such as plywood or plastic. The sections have been shown as solid, but 
might have cutouts to save weight and/or cost.