Abstract:
An executive office type chair wherein the chair can assume a collapsed position where the back of the chair can be folded to a position against the seat of the chair.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The field of this invention relates to furniture and more specifically to a chair which can be moved to a collapsed position which is used during shipping from the manufacturer to the retailer and consumer.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A typical chair has a seat and a back extending transversely from the seat. This configuration of a chair is not readily adaptable to shipping after being manufactured for the reason that the chair inherently occupies a substantial amount of space. It is common for chairs to be manufactured in overseas manufacturing facilities which means that the chairs are required to be put into boxes and then shipped by shipping containers to the continental United States. The size of the shipping carton for a chair which contains a back attached to a seat in the normal manner is of significant size and therefore greatly limits the number of shipping cartons that can be placed within a shipping container. The result is the cost of shipping chairs that are assembled is substantially greater than when chairs are not assembled.  
           [0005]    In the past, to minimize shipping expense of chairs, it has been common to detach the back from the seat. The back can then be placed against the seat with the result that a significantly more compact unit is achieved for purposes of shipping. Once the disassembled chair reaches the retailer, either the retailer or the consumer is required to then assemble the chair. Assembly usually requires several bolt type fasteners to be installed in place and tightened. Many consumers find not only that this assembly of the chair to be annoyance, but it also can be rather time consuming and difficult for certain individuals that have a minimal amount of mechanical skill.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    One of the objectives of the present invention is to construct a chair that is collapsible for purposes of shipping, but upon reaching the selling or consuming destination, the chair can be moved from its collapsed position to its normal usage position without requiring the installation of any fasteners nor use of any tools. Movement of the chair to the usage position is accomplished merely by the act of moving the back of the chair into a transverse position relative to the seat of the chair.  
           [0007]    The main embodiment of collapsible chair of the present invention utilizes a seat, which is to be normally located in a substantially horizontal position, which is designed to have the buttocks of the human user to be placed thereon. The seat has an aft edge, and to this aft edge is mounted a lower plate of a hinge bracket. The hinge bracket includes an upper plate with this upper plate being separated from the lower plate by a hinge joint. The upper plate is fixedly secured to a back. This hinge joint permits the back to be moved from a collapsed position located in juxtaposition with the seat to a transverse position which is, in essence, vertical. This transverse position is the usage position.  
           [0008]    In another embodiment of this invention, the hinge bracket is shown to be substantially L-shaped.  
           [0009]    In another embodiment of this invention, the upper plate of the hinge bracket is defined as being shorter in length than the lower plate.  
           [0010]    In another embodiment of this invention, there is formed a seat cavity within the seat and a back cavity within the back. The hinge bracket is to be mounted in both of these cavities.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a cushion which is to be removably mountable within both the seat cavity and the back cavity to cover the hinge bracket and prevent contact of the hinge bracket with the user when the user is occupying the chair.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a means for locking in conjunction with the hinge bracket which is to lock the back of the chair in a fixed position relative to the seat with this position being the usage position. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is to be made to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangement shown in the drawings.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the chair constructed in accordance with this invention showing the cushion that is usable to cover the hinge bracket contained within the chair located in a spaced position from its installed position;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the hinge bracket incorporated within the chair of the present invention showing the hinge bracket in the locked position;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the hinge bracket in the unlocked position;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the chair of this invention showing the back of the chair in its collapsed position against the seat of the chair;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of FIG. 2 showing the lock that is incorporated in conjunction with the hinge bracket in the locked position;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the lock in the unlocked position; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along  7 - 7  of FIG. 5. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]    Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown the collapsible chair  10  of this invention which is composed primarily of a seat  12  and a back  14 . The undersurface (not shown) of the seat  12  is to be mounted onto a chair pedestal (which is not shown). The seat  12  has an upper surface which is basically concave. This upper surface is formed into a left side pad  16  and a right side pad  18 . The seat  12  also includes a front pad  20 . The pads  16 ,  18  and  20  are to provide a cushioning surface to provide comfort to the user when sitting on the upper surface of the seat  12 . The upper surface of the seat  12  also includes a seat cavity  22 . The seat cavity  22  is located adjacent to and connects with the aft end  24  of the seat  12 .  
         [0022]    The back  14  has a front surface which includes a head pad  26 , a left side lateral restraint pad  28  and a right side lateral restraint pad  30 . The front surface of the back  14  also is to include a series of elliptical shaped cushioning pads  32 . The front surface of the back  14  also includes a back cavity  34 . The back cavity  34  connects with the lower edge  36  of the back  14 .  
         [0023]    An L-shaped hinge bracket  38  has an upper plate  40  and a lower plate  42 . The upper plate  40  is connected to the lower plate  42  by means of a hinge joint  44 . The hinge joint  44  includes a pair of holes  46 . Connectable with the holes  46  is a bifurcated member  48 . The bifurcated member  48  has a pair of outwardly protruding pins  50  and  52  with each pin  50  and  52  to connect with a separate hole  46 . When the pins  50  and  52  are connected with the holes  46 , the upper plate  40  is fixed into position relative to the lower plate  42 . The upper plate  40  is to be fixedly secured by bolt fasteners  54  to main support member  56  which is embedded within the back  14 . Surrounding the main support member  56  is cushioning material  58 . Covering the cushioning material  58  is a vinyl or leather covering  60 .  
         [0024]    The lower plate  42  is fixedly secured by bolts  62  to the seat  12 . It is to be noted that the hinge bracket  38  is of a basic L-shape with the lower plate  42  being substantially longer in length than the upper plate  40 . The reason for this is so that the back  14  will fold down in the correct position relative to the seat  12  when it is in the collapsed position. The extra length of the lower plate  42  is required due to the thickness of the padding on the seat  12 . The lower plate  42  has a smoothly contoured arcuate configuration. The hinge bracket  38  is totally confined within the seat cavity  22  and the back cavity  34 . When the chair  10  is in the usage position shown in FIG. 1, the hinge bracket  38  is covered by cushion  64  with this cushion  64  being snugly located within the seat cavity  22  and the back cavity  34  covering up the bracket  38  so that at no time will the bracket  38  come into contact with the body of the user.  
         [0025]    Because of the hinge joint  44 , the back  14  can be pivoted to be located against the seat  12  and located between the left armrest  66  and the right armrest  68 , which is shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. This is the collapsed position facilitating shipping of the chair  10  of this invention. It is to be noted that during shipping the chair  10  is not mounted on its pedestal (which is not shown).  
         [0026]    After the chair  10  has been shipped to its desired location and it is desired to place the chair in a usage position, it is only necessary for the user to cause the back  14  to physically pivot relative to the seat  12  until the back  14  assumes a right angled configuration relative to the seat  12 . The user then removes cushion  64 . When in this position, the user is to grasp fastener  70  and physically slide slidable plate  72  in an upward direction between strengthening ribs  74  and  76  which are formed within the lower plate  42 . The sliding of the slidable plate  72  is to be until pins  50  and  52  engage with the spaced apart holes  56 . At this time, the fastener  70  can then be moved into hole  78  which is formed in the lower plate  42  which locks the slidable plate to lower plate  42 . The fastener  70  has mounted at its outer end a pin  80  that protrudes therefrom. The hole  78  includes a pair of side holes  82  which are diametrically located relative to the hole  78 . The pin  80  is able to slip through these side holes  82  and then by merely rotating of the fastener  70  ninety degrees, the fastener  70  will then be locked to the lower plate  42 . This locked position now fixes in position the back  14  relative to the seat  12  and the back  14  is not capable of being moved to the collapsed position.  
         [0027]    The slidable plate  72  includes side flanges  84  and  86 . Side flange  84  is conducted through slot  88  formed within the strengthening rib  74 . Side flange  86  is conducted through slot  90  formed within the strengthening rib  76 . The length of the slots  88  and  90  are identical and is what determines the length of travel of the slidable plate  72 . Because of the side flanges  84  and  86  which ride in their respective slots  88  and  90 , outward movement from lower plate  42  of the slidable plate  72  is prevented.  
         [0028]    It is to be understood that with the chair  10  in the locked position, shown in FIG. 5, the user can grasp the fastener  70 , rotate it ninety degrees and move the pin  80  through the side holes  82 . The pin  80  will prevent complete retraction of the fastener  70  from the slidable plate  72 . At this time, the slidable plate  72  is capable of being moved withdrawing the pins  50  and  52  from the holes  46  thereby unlocking the hinge joint  44  and permitting the back  14  to be pivoted into the collapsed position shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0029]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential attributes thereof. Reference should be made to the appending claims rather than the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.