Patent Publication Number: US-10772430-B2

Title: Two-person folding chair

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention pertains to the field of folding chairs, particularly to a type of two-person folding chair. More specifically, it refers to a type of two-person folding chair that can be packed and folded up at left and right sides. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Most of the director chairs on the current market are produced by combining steel bars with a seat and backrest fabric, where the steel bars form the folding frame and the oxford fabric forms the seat and backrest areas. This design offers seat comfort and a folding feature. The prior Chinese patent CN200820145303.2 shows a type of director chair. It is a structure that consists of a folding frame and seat fabric. The inverted-U shaped vertical supporting bars on the left and right sides of the frame are joined together by two U-shaped connecting bars. The two ends of the two U-shaped connecting bars are mounted onto the two lower portions of the two supporting bars. The middle sections are crossed-joined, and the upper portions are respectively hinged to the middle section of the other supporting bar via the connecting piece. A reinforcement bar is connected to the area between the two ends of the connecting bar or the supporting bars. A backrest bar is connected to the upper portion on the back side of each of the two supporting bars. Between the two backrest bars is the seat fabric. The U-shaped connecting bar is formed by two overlapping and hinged horizontal L-shaped bars. The seat fabric is placed on the overlapping section of one of the horizontal L-shaped bars. The director chair is characterized by a tight fabric and a large seat area for the necessary supporting of the legs. 
     The subsequent Chinese patent CN201220187027.2 shows a type of folding director chair, which includes a folding frame and seat fabric. The folding frame includes a support section on both sides arranged in corresponding or symmetrical positions, and a diagonal bar set that connects the two support sections on both sides. The diagonal bar set drives the support sections on both sides to be opened and folded. The support section includes the front and rear support bars, the armrest bar, and the backrest bar that are affixed to the seat support bar. The seat support bar forms a rectangular-shaped closure with the front and rear support bars and the grounding bar to constitute the main support body. In addition, the armrest bar and the backrest bar are hinged on the seat support bar to form the structure to form a linkage mechanism. The seat fabric of the seat area is tightly fitted on the two seat support bars, and the backrest area is tightly fitted on the two backrest bars. Together they form a stable main body for seating. 
     In summary, the existing director chair frame features support bars on both sides, which is a rigid body made up of multiple bars. The folding frame is highly rigid, but all the existing director chairs are designed with the seating capacity of one person only. How to change the existing technology and improve current director chairs into two- or three-person chairs has become an object of the research of the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A purpose of this invention is to provide a type of two-person folding chair formed by a two-person support part which is bent by a rod and matched with a front and rear oblique rod coordinating and connecting the support sections at both sides. 
     The technical scheme of the invention is realized in part according to the following methods: 
     A two-person folding chair, including a folding frame, seat area, and backrest area. 
     The folding frame includes a support part with a corresponding or symmetrical arrangement on both sides, and a diagonal bar set that connects the two support sections on both sides. The diagonal bar set drives the support sections on both sides to be opened and folded. 
     This invention may have one or more of the following characteristics: 
     The support section comprises a bar bent into an open D-shaped structure, forming, from top to bottom, the backrest bar, the armrest bar, the front leg bar, and the landing bar. 
     The diagonal bar set consists of two parts, namely, the front set and the rear set. Each diagonal bar set comprises two or more diagonal bar units with X crossover hinges. The front and rear diagonal bar units correspond to each other. Seat bars are arranged at the upper portions of the corresponding front and rear diagonal bar units. The lower portions of the front diagonal bar unit at both sides are hinged to the front-leg bars or ground bars, whereas the upper portions are hinged to a connecting bar, and the other end of the connecting bar is hinged to the front-leg bar, pulling the support sections. The lower portions of the rear diagonal bar unit at both sides are hinged to the ground bars. A landing U-shaped bar is hinged to the lower portions of the middle parts of the said front and rear diagonal bar units. The landing U-shaped bar connects the middle portions of the front and rear corresponding diagonal bar units. 
     The seat area is formed by a seat fabric sleeved between the seat bars. 
     The backrest area is formed by a backrest fabric sleeved between the backrest bars. 
     The lower portions of the adjacent diagonal bar units in the front and rear diagonal bar sets are articulated with the landing U-shaped bar through a rivet, and a supporting plastic component is also articulated at the hinge point of the upper portions of the diagonal bar units. A seat bar is fixed on each side of the supporting plastic piece. 
     The backward portion of the landing U-shaped bar has a supporting section extending upward, and the supporting section supports and positions the backrest fabric at the middle part. 
     Further, the seat bars fixed on both sides of the front and rear supporting plastic components extend backwards, and a short bar is locked and fixed between the ends. The supporting portions of the landing U-shaped bars passes through a rear supporting plastic component to form a space together with the short bar. The back swing of the supporting portions is restrained by the short bar, and the force-bearing support is formed. 
     Further, the corresponding bar member in the front and rear diagonal bar units articulating the seat bars on both sides is a bipod portion of a U-shaped bar, and the U-shaped bottom portion of the U-shaped bar is locked and fixed together with the seat bars side by side. 
     Further, a position lock is arranged in the front portion of each of the seat bars at both sides. Each position locker is molded double-sided with two curved slots, including a horizontal slot, and a vertical slot. When opening, the vertical slot comes into contact with the front leg bar of the support section, creating a support structure for the rear portion of the front leg bar. 
     Compared to the existing single folding chairs, this invention has a more concise structure, an easier production process and a flexibility feature of support sections at both sides. The support sections cleverly use a bent bar to form an open D-shaped structure, organically creating backrest support and armrest support. When the human body leans backward, the bent backrest bars change shape slightly to provide flexibility. The seat area is tightened by the seat bars at the upper portions of the front and rear corresponding diagonal bar sets connecting the support sections at both sides, keeping the body in an upright and decorous manner. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further, it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of the two-person folding chair. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of the folding frame of the two-person folding chair. 
         FIG. 3  shows a zoomed image of selection A from  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  shows a zoomed image of selection B from  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration of the folding status of the folding frame of the two-person folding chair. 
         FIG. 6  is a breakdown illustration of the folding status of the folding frame of the two-person folding chair. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. Namely, in the drawings the following reference numbers refer to the following part:
       1 —Seat Area     11 —Seat Fabric     2 —Backrest Area     21 —Backrest Fabric     3 —Support Section     31 —Backrest Bar     32 —Armrest Bar     33 —Front Leg Bar     34 —Landing Bar     4 —Diagonal Bar Unit     41 —Bar Members     411 —U-shaped Bar     412 —U-shaped Bottom Section     5 —Seat Bar     51 —Supporting Plastic Component     52 —Short Bar     53 —Position Locker     531 —Horizontal Slot     532 —Longitudinal Slot     6 —Connecting Bar     7 —Landing U-shaped Bar     71 —Supporting Portion     72 —Wedge Block   

     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , the two-person folding chair includes a folding frame, a seat area  1  and a backrest area  2 . The folding frame includes a support section  3  on both sides in corresponding or symmetrical positions, and a diagonal bar set that connects the two support sections on both sides. The diagonal bar set drives the support sections  3  on both sides to perform the closing and folding actions. 
     The support section  3  comprises a bar bent into an open D-shaped structure, forming, from top to bottom, the backrest bar  31 , the armrest bar  32 , the front leg bar  33 , and the landing bar  34 . As a complete product, attachments such as foot pads can be locked and fixed on the landing bar  34 . The backrest bar  31  is used for tightening and supporting the backrest fabric  21 , forming the backrest area  2 . 
     The diagonal bar set consists of two parts: the front set and the rear set. Each diagonal bar set comprises two or more diagonal bar units  4  forming an X-shaped hinge joint, namely, each diagonal bar unit  4  is formed by X-shaped hinge joint of two bar members  41 . The adjacent diagonal bar units in the same set are mutually hinged by the upper and lower portions of the bar members  41 , forming the entire diagonal bar sets. The front and rear diagonal bar units  4  correspond to each other. Seat bars  5  are arranged at the upper portions of the corresponding front and rear diagonal bar units  4 , in order to tighten and support the seat fabric  11 , forming the seat area  1 . 
     The lower portions of the front diagonal bar units  4  at both sides are hinged on the front leg bars  33  or landing bars  34 , the upper portions connect a connecting bar  6 , and the other end of the said connecting bar  6  is hinged on the front leg bars  33 , pulling the support section  3 . More specifically, the lower portions of the front diagonal bar units  4  at both sides are located below a bar member  41  and are hinged on the front leg bars  33  or landing bars  34 , and the other bar member  41  is hinged with the connecting bar  6  at the upper part of the hinge joint. In the legend, due to the avoidance relationship between the bar members at the left and right sides, a connecting bar  6  is a round one, while the other connecting bar is of a sheet structure. The two connecting bars are in different shapes but have the same functions. 
     The lower portions of the rear diagonal bar units  4  at both sides are hinged on the landing bars  34 , forming a three-point connection at the support sections  3  at both sides through the diagonal bar sets. A landing U-shaped bar  7  is hinged between the lower portions of middle parts of the front and rear diagonal bar units  4 . The landing U-shaped bar  7  connects the middle parts of the front and rear corresponding diagonal bar units  4 . More specifically, the lower portions of the adjacent diagonal bar units  4  in the front and rear diagonal bar sets are articulated with the landing U-shaped bar  7  through a rivet. A supporting plastic component  51  is also articulated at the hinge joint of the upper portions. A seat bar  5  is fixed at each of the two side of the supporting plastic component  51 . A pair of seat bars  5  that are fixed at the two sides of the front and rear supporting plastic component extend backwards, and a short bar  52  is locked and fixed between the ends. 
     Further, the backward portion of the landing U-shaped bar  7  extends upwards as the supporting portion  71 . The supporting portion  71  has a similar height as the backrest bars  31  at both sides or is  50  cm or less high than the backrest bars. The supporting portion  71  functions to support and position the backrest fabric  21  located at the middle part. Also, the supporting portion  71  of the landing U-shaped bar goes through a rear supporting plastic component  51  and constitutes a space together with a short bar  52 , while the short bar  52  functions to restrain the back swing of the supporting portion  71  and forms a force-bearing support. In other words, the supporting portion  71  is restrained within a small space constituted by the rear supporting plastic component  51 , the short bar  52  and the two seat bars  5 , providing dynamic connecting and supporting functions. Furthermore, a wedge block  72  is locked and fixed on the rear side of the supporting portion  71 . When the folding chair is opened in place, the wedge block  72  will come into contact with the short bar  52 , eliminating gaps and obtaining reliable support. In the folding process, greater freedom can be obtained after leaving the short bar, reducing the resistance during folding. 
     Further, in order to increase the connection and rigid strength between the front and rear diagonal bar sets, the corresponding bar in the front and rear diagonal bar units in hinging the seat bars  5  at both sides is the bipod portion  411  of a U-shaped bar. The U-shaped bottom portion  412  of the U-shaped bar is locked and fixed side by side with the seat bar  5 , which brings convenience to the production processing. 
     A position lock  53  is arranged in the front portion of each of the seat bars at both sides. Each position lock (“locker”)  53  is molded double-sided with two curved slots, including a horizontal slot  531 , and a vertical slot  532 . The horizontal slot  531  functions to fit with the seat bar  5 , which results convenient for stable locking and fixation of the position locker  53 . During opening, the vertical slot  532  comes into contact with the front leg bar  33  of the support section, creating a support structure for the rear portion of the front leg bar  33 , so as to enhance the connection between the support sections  3  at both sides and the seat area  1 . 
     The seat area  1  is formed by seat fabric  11  sleeved between the seat bars  5 . That is to say, the upper portion of each diagonal bar unit  4  is provided with an independent seat bar  5 , forming relatively independent seat area  1 , and preventing adjacent seat fabrics  11  from dragging each other due to bearing different forces. 
     The backrest area  2  is formed by the backrest fabric  21  sleeved between the backrest bars  31  and the supporting portions  71 , which corresponds to each diagonal bar unit  4  and also forms an independent supporting structure. Furthermore, the joining parts between the seat fabric  11  and the backrest fabric  21  can be sewn together, as shown in  FIG. 1 . It also can adopt a separate structure; the backrest fabric  21  is designed for its upper part only, with its lower part hollowed out, forming a permeability function. 
     Taking the two-person folding chair as an example, a three-person or four-person folding chair can be formed by simply adding the corresponding oblique Rod Unit  4  to the front and rear tilt rod groups. 
     While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.