Abstract:
A chair made of supports such as skis, poles such as ski poles, a base strap assembly, a seat portion assembly and optionally a cross retainer. The seat is formed by first attaching two supports together at the tips by a fastener, the upward facing support tips pointing downward. The upward facing support tails are then connected to the top handles of the poles, while a sling type seat constructed from a flexible material, such as nylon, is connected to the supports using web straps. The ski poles, being in an upright crossed position, support the chair and are held in place by a bottom triangular strap assembly connecting the bottom tips of the ski poles to the tips of the skis.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional appl. No. 60/385,241, filed May 31, 2002. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to snow skiing accessories. More specifically, this invention relates to a portable chair constructed using ordinary skis, poles and the seat and strap system of the present invention which can be easily assembled, disassembled, conveniently stowed and carried by a skier while skiing. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The concept of sitting on the side of the ski slope and resting has been around as long as the sport itself. Being able to rest on the slope is not only a pleasure but often is necessary, because of safety concerns. This is based on the probability for personal injury which greatly increases with increasing levels of fatigue. Having a comfortable ski chair system readily available would greatly increase the ability to take a well-deserved and needed rest before personal injury occurs. 
     Currently there is no ski chair system on the commercial market that is compact enough to carry while skiing. Backpacks having a fold down flap to allow one to sit on the snow have been used but provide no long-term comfort. Other efforts to provide a skier a temporary seat without sitting directly on the snow are embodied in the structures found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,082 wherein a seat is jointly supported by a pair of ski poles, U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,284 in which a temporary seat is formed in the nature of a sling suspended by a pair of sleeves supported by a ski pole upper end, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,339 in which a seat made from flexible material is supported by both skis and ski poles. These designs make for an extremely unstable configuration since the weight distributed by one sitting on the seat forces the skis and ski poles in opposite directions causing the seat to collapse and therefore not desirable to sit on. In addition to being unstable, these designs are limited by the location in which they can be used since one needs to insert the skis and ski poles into the snow in order to provide support. 
     Another type of ski chair is disclosed in German Pat. Reg. 656406. In this design the tips of the skis are pointed skyward and the tails used as the base support. A problem with the design disclosed in this patent is that the use of only one ski pole as a back support does not provide the adequate support needed for the weight of an average skier. The other ski pole is used to maintain the separation for the base support of the skis. This method does not create a comfortable nor a stable configuration for a seat. 
     Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a portable ski chair that can be carried by a skier, assembled, disassembled, stored and then carried when desired. Such a seat must be small and have minimum parts so that it can be easily transported and provide for an effortless assembly and disassembly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a portable ski chair system that greatly increases the comfort level to the user. Generally, the ski chair system of the present invention is a portable chair system comprising a pair of supports such as skis, a pair of pole structures, a seat portion assembly, a base strap assembly and optionally, a cross point retainer. This self-supporting invention allows a chair to be set up virtually anywhere a regular chair can be placed. 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, a user may always have the chair available while skiing since the ski chair system of the present invention may include a backpack that is adjoined to the other components of the chair and may also operate as the seat portion of the ski chair. In other embodiments the ski chair system may be folded to fit into a backpack rather than having the backpack integrated into the chair system. Furthermore, in any embodiment of the present invention including a backpack, the backpack may be used to additionally carry other items, such as a First Aid kit, beverages, snacks, extra ski equipment or apparel, etc. Finally, the compact foldability of the ski chair system allows for more than one chair to be carried in a single backpack, thereby limiting the amount of excess baggage for groups of skiers. 
     The foregoing and additional advantages and characterizing features of the present invention will become increasingly apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by references to the following detailed description and to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an embodiment the ski chair system of the present invention contained in a backpack; 
         FIG. 2  depicts an embodiment of ski chair system of the present invention including an integrated backpack ready for assembly with skis and ski poles; 
         FIG. 3  depicts an embodiment of the ski chair system of the present invention including a seat portion for the chair, rather than a backpack, ready for assembly with skis and ski poles; 
         FIG. 4  depicts one embodiment of the base strap assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of one embodiment of a partially assembled ski chair system of the present invention illustrating the adjoining of skis to the ski chair system; 
         FIG. 6  depicts an embodiment of the present invention illustrating the attachment of the ski chair system to ski poles; 
         FIG. 7  is a rear view of an embodiment of an assembled ski chair system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of an embodiment of an assembled ski chair system of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of an embodiment of an assembled ski chair system of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable chair system comprising a seat portion assembly, a base strap assembly, a pair of supports such as skis, a pair of pole structures and optionally, a cross point retainer.  FIG. 1  depicts one embodiment of the seat portion assembly  10  wherein the majority of the seat portion assembly  10  is folded and conveniently contained in carrying means  12 , such as a backpack. The carrying means  12  allows one to transport the ski chair system while skiing. When desiring to rest, the skier simply removes the carrying means  12  and places the system on a stable surface where it can be assembled into a chair. 
       FIG. 2  depicts the seat portion assembly  10  wherein the assembly  10  is in an unpacked and unfolded arrangement. The seat portion assembly  10  of this embodiment includes a pole support assembly  14  operably adjoined to a seat portion  16 . The seat portion  16  includes the backpack  12  and an upper backing  18 . The seat portion assembly  16  of this embodiment further includes at least one lower seat attachment strap  20  or connection to at least one support (an example of the supports will be explained below) such as a ski. The lower seat attachment strap may be made of any suitable durable material such as nylon. It is noted that nylon or any other suitable textile may be utilized to manufacture the various components of the present invention. The lower seat attachment strap  20  is shown including an adjustable strap with male  20   a  and female  20   b  parts of a buckle to provide ease in adequately adjoining the seat portion assembly  10  to the supports (not shown). 
       FIG. 3  depicts another embodiment with the seat portion assembly  10  wherein the seat portion  16  includes a seat base  22  rather than utilizing the backpack  12  and upper backing  18 . The seat base may be manufactured from any semi-elastic durable material such as nylon or any other suitable textile. The removal of the back pack  12  allows for the seat portion assembly  10  to be folded into a compact configuration, thereby allowing multiple units to be transported in a single backpack. 
     The portable chair system of the present invention further includes a base strap assembly  24  as depicted in FIG.  4 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the base strap assembly  24  includes a support tips fastener  26  or ski tips fastener that is joined by one or more base straps  28  to a pair of pole structure tip retainers  30  or ski pole tip retainers. A pair of vertical ski pole straps  32  are attached to the pole structure tip retainers  30  for eventual attachment to one or more supports (not shown) by one or more support bindings  34 , such as strap loops, which may be positioned at the ends of the ski pole straps  32 . It is noted that in some embodiments of the present invention the base strap assembly  24  may integrally adjoined to the seat portion assembly  10  and/or the carrying means  12 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5-9 , assembly of one embodiment of the portable chair system of the present invention begins by unfolding and placing the seat portion assembly  10  on the ground.  FIGS. 5-9  depict a seat portion assembly  10  having a seat portion  16  including a seat base  22  rather than a carrying means or backpack  12 . However, either embodiment may be assembled in a similar fashion. 
       FIG. 5  depicts an embodiment of the components of the portable chair system placed in approximate position before final assembly. First, the supports  36  (e.g. skis) are placed with the front and rear bindings  38  and  40  facing the ground so that the bottom side  42  of supports  36  is facing skyward. The support tips  44  are then inserted into the support tips fastener  26  and the vertical ski pole straps  32  are draped over the supports  36 . The pair of supports or skis  36  form an acute angle and a V-shaped configuration when the tips  44  are placed near to each other. 
     Once the supports  36  are positioned into the support tip fastener  26  of the base strap assembly  24 , the seat attachment  20 , which is adjoined to the seat base  22  or backpack  12 , is secured around the supports  36  by running the seat attachment male buckle  20   a , and the female buckle  20   b  around each support  36  just in front of the front bindings  22  and attaching the female buckle  20   b  with the male buckle  20   a . Next, a pair of support pockets  39  positioned on the pole support assembly  14  are slid over the support tails  46  of the supports  36 . The support pockets  39  may be manufactured of any suitable material including nylon, plastic or any other durable material. The support retainer strap loops  48 , which are operably attached to the pole support assembly  14  are then placed over the rear bindings  40  and tightened. 
     The pole handle ends  50  of a pair of pole structures  52  are inserted into two pole pockets  54  of the pole support assembly  14  and the poles  52  are crossed diagonally so that the pole tips  56  of each pole  52  are adjacent to and near an opposite support  36  and its corresponding front binding  38 . By crossing the poles  52  in such fashion, the poles  52  will make a shape similar to the letter X. Each of the corresponding pole tips  56  are then inserted into the ski pole tip retainer  30  of the base strap assembly  24  near the front bindings  38 . 
       FIG. 6  shows an assembled portable chair system in a flattened configuration before final adjustments and placement into position. The vertical pole support straps  32  are then looped around the ski pole handles  50  within the pole pockets  54  of the pole support assembly  14 . As previously indicated, the vertical support straps  32  are conjoined with the base strap assembly  24 . Subsequently, the support straps  32  are evenly tightened. Also shown as an option are arm rests  58  attached to seat portion assembly  10  between the seat portion  16  and support retainer straps  48  from FIG.  5 . 
       FIG. 7  depicts a view from the rear of the invention. In order to add additional stability to the portable chair system a cross point retainer  60  may optionally be applied to the crossed poles  52 . The cross point retainer  60  is generally wrapped around the poles  52  at the junction where the poles cross. The cross point retainer  60  may be any type of binding, such as a clip or strap. 
       FIG. 8  shows a side view of the invention in a fully assembled, upright configuration. Proper adjustment is made for the length of the base strap assembly  24  to approximately attain a letter L shape when viewed from the side between the ski tips fastener  26 , poles  52  and supports  36  while the poles tips  56  are pointing skyward and the supports  36  are lying flat on the ground. The ski chair system is then rotated 180 degrees such that the chair is resting on the tips of the skis  44  and the tips  56  of the ski poles, thereby placing it in a position to accommodate an person for sitting. 
     The next adjustment sequence contributes to the overall configuration of the chair and is depicted in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . First, both vertical pole straps  32  are tightened to attain a desired seat height. Next, the middle support straps  62  are tightened followed by the tightening of the upper support straps  64  then lower support straps  66 . Finally, the cross point retainer  60  is attached. The cross point retainer may be comprised of a strap made of elastic binding material, that adjoins and secures the ski poles  52  in the position where they cross. The base strap assembly  24  near the ski tips  44  can be tightened or loosened in order to obtain a stable angle adjustment. An angle of about 2-45 degrees, preferably 5-35 should be achieved between the ski poles  52  and the ski tips  44 , when viewed from the side. The arm rests  58  are optionally attached using a quick release buckle (not shown) adjoined to the retainer straps  48  and the seat portion  16 . Once the maximum comfort position is achieved, the portable chair system is ready for use.  FIG. 9  depicts an overhead view of the assembled portable chair system after final adjustments. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.