Patent Publication Number: US-2015084394-A1

Title: Portable seat cushion with extending footrest

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to portable foot and leg rests, specifically to such rests that can be used in a chair, couch or bench and rests or attaches to same. 
     Leg supports, foot rests and leg rests, have been produced in the past, namely in the form of the ottoman. Ottomans have been in western homes since at least the late eighteenth century, but they were relatively heavy and bulky pieces of furniture that tended to stay in one room. 
     Portable leg supports, foot rests and leg rests have been patented in the past. These tend to come in three varieties. First, there are various types of foot stools such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,374 to Fidler (1994), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,547 B1 to Russell, et al (2006). Although these foot stools are portable, they have the disadvantage of requiring assembly, and they require readjustment anytime a user shifts his stance or distance from the stool. In addition, these devices are not much better than using whatever handy object there is in the room, i.e. a trashcan or set of books. 
     A portable leg rest, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,221 to Stander (1995), offers the advantages of a combined seat cushion with a leg rest that extends outward, providing full, lengthwise support of the lower body. It is simple in construction and portable, being able to fold up into a component package that can be carried with one hand to another location or stored. The leg rest also has two feet at the bottom to prevent slippage. This design is flawed, however, in that in its extended position the leg rest is bulky to move and requires effort on the part of the user to adjust it once he is seated. It cannot be used on a swivel chair safely. This rules out most uses of this leg rest in an office work environment where most chairs are swivel. Also, the feet of this leg rest, which are adjustable to make them easier to come in contact with the ground, must be adjusted with effort by getting up from the chair, bending over and making the necessary changes. For some people who have health problems and need such a leg rest it is inconceivable that they can easily make the adjustment. 
     Several U.S. patents embody the third type of portable leg rest/footrest. U.S. Pat. No. D553,371 S to Haskell (2007), U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,033 to Hansburg (1966), U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,152 to Green (1934), U.S. Pat. No. 2,614,613 to Bushong (1952), U.S. Pat. No. 2,085,164 to Mead (1937), U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,192 to Faulise (2000), U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,484 to Aronson (1992), all incorporate the novel idea of a rest that need not attach to the chair but relies upon the user&#39;s own legs to keep them upright and support the user&#39;s legs. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention a foot and leg rest comprising a seat cushion with a telescoping beam upon rests a platform for the user&#39;s lower body to rest upon. The seat cushion rests on a seat and the aforementioned platform at the end of the telescoping beam relies upon the force of the sitting user&#39;s body to lift and support his lower body without having to use external bracing. When the user does not want to raise his feet or legs he can stow the said platform within the seat cushion. The invention is light enough to be easily moved from one seat to another because of an attached handle. The invention can be easily adjusted in the seat it rests upon because it has no external bracing that drags on the floor. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes. 
         FIG. 1A  shows the footrest in a nearly closed position. 
         FIG. 1B  shows the footrest in a fully extended position. 
         FIG. 1C  shows the footrest in a stowed position. 
         FIG. 2  shows the footrest fully extended while on a seat. 
         FIG. 3  shows the footrest in a stowed position while on a seat. 
     
    
    
     DRAWINGS 
     Reference Numerals 
       10  rigid seat platform 
       12  handhold 
       14  extending leg rest component 
       16  extending footrest 
       18  cushion 
       20  button strap 
       22  portable seat cushion with extending footrest (stowed position) 
       24  portable seat cushion with extending footrest (fully extended position) 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1A  (closed position) and  FIG. 1B  (fully extended position). In the preferred embodiment a rigid seat platform  10  is a hard shell, made of plastic such as polycarbonate. However, the rigid seat platform can consist of any other material that can be formed, is sturdy enough to hold the weight of a sitting person, but can be somewhat yielding to fit most any sitting surface. Other materials can be wood, steel or aluminum, acrylic, fiberglass, or ceramics. 
     The rigid seat platform  10  is square, roughly 43.18 cm×43.18 cm so that it can fit in most any chair, including airline seats in the closed position. A cushion  18  lies on the upper surface of the rigid seat platform  10 , consisting of a conventional fabric, leather or flexible vinyl materials. The underside of the rigid seat platform  10  is enclosed to form a hollow box with only one open end at the front whereby the rest of the components of the invention slide out with the use of a conventional drawer slide mechanism. The thickness of the whole rigid seat platform  10  is 5.08 cm, not including the cushion  18 . 
     A handhold  12  rectangular in shape, with length dimensions of 12.7 cm and width dimensions of 2.54 cm, is cut through the top panel of the rigid seat platform  10 . The handhold  12  is centered 2.54 cm from the leading edge of the rigid seat platform  10  to the front where the invention forms the opening of the hollow box. A handhold  12  is cut through the top panel of the extending leg rest component  14  and the extending footrest  16 , also centered on those components 2.54 cm from the leading edges of the respective parts so that when the extending leg rest component  14  and the extending footrest  16  are nested inside of the rigid seat platform  10  all of the handholds  12  line up. The placement of the handholds  12  is such that when the invention is in the fully stowed position as in  FIG. 1C  a person can lift and carry it whole without fear of components sliding out. For added security button strap  20  is attached between handhold  12  on the bottom of extending footrest  16  and the leading edge of extending footrest  16 . The button strap  20  wraps under and through the handhold  12  of the extending footrest  16 , the handhold  12  of the extending leg rest component  14  and the handhold  12  of the rigid seat platform  10  until it loops over their leading edges and reattaches to the backside snap of itself. 
     The extending leg rest component  14  and the extending footrest  16  are composed of the same like material as that of the rigid seat platform  10 , only with each component being slightly smaller in dimension to allow for the extending leg rest component  14  to easily slide into the interior of the rigid seat platform  10  and the extending footrest  16  to easily slide into the underside of the extending leg rest component  14 , while allowing for side space because of the use of a conventional drawer slide mechanism or an even simpler tongue and groove arrangement. Unlike the rigid seat platform  10 , however, the extending leg rest component  14  and the extending footrest  16  are made in a u-shape to slide in and out of the rigid seat platform  10 . Neither needs to have a bottom panel attached to make them a fully enclosed box with only a forward opening. 
     A cushion  18  sits atop the extending footrest  16  in such a way that the extending footrest  16  can still easily slide into the recess of the extending leg rest component  14  when the invention is in the fully stowed position as seen in  FIG. 1C .