Patent Publication Number: US-8973996-B2

Title: Congregational prayer chair

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to furniture construction, and particularly to a congregational prayer chair constructed and designed to accommodate Muslim worshipers performing congregational prayers in mosques. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Muslims are required to pray five times a day. These prayers are usually performed by millions of worshipers in mosques around the world. The worshipers are required to arrange themselves in compact, straight and parallel rows with no gaps in the rows. Participants are required to attain a particular set of body positions while performing the prayers. These positions consist of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting on the ground or floor for long and short periods of time. Unfortunately, because of age, illness, pregnancy, etc., many worshipers cannot assume all of the required body positions and must rely on a support structure (usually a conventional chair) for assistance in attaining the positions that they cannot assume or find difficult to assume. 
     It has been determined through observation that chair users can be classified into five basic categories: Category 1, uses chairs to perform all praying positions; Category 2, uses chairs in all praying positions, except the standing position; Category 3, uses chairs in all positions, except the standing and bowing positions; Category 4, uses chairs only for the long sitting position; Category 5, may use the chair for any position if fatigued. Placement of the chair&#39;s front and/or rear legs relative to a row will depend on the particular category, wherein either the front legs or the rear legs are aligned with the row. Unfortunately, both positions have disadvantages, since they may cause the worshiper to be in misalignment with the row in some of the prayer positions. Millions of Muslim worshipers would welcome a chair designed to alleviate the misalignment problems and still provide adequate support to attain all of the required prayer positions. Thus, a congregational prayer chair solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The congregational prayer chair is a chair designed to provide needed support for certain worshipers participating in Muslim prayer services. The chair is constructed with a seat and a seat back supported between two connecting arms. The connecting arms are mounted on chair legs. Grooves and tracks are provided on the arms that permit the seat and the seat back to be moved in a predetermined manner. 
     Accordingly, the invention presents a chair that would permit a worshiper to attain the five prayer positions without changing the placement of the legs of the chair, and thus not disturb the alignment of the row and not disturb the worshipers in the row behind the chair. The invention provides for improved elements thereof in an arrangement for the purposes described that are inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing their intended purposes. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental side view of a congregational prayer chair according to the present invention, shown when used in the standing prayer position. 
         FIG. 2  is an environmental side view of a congregational prayer chair according to the present invention, shown when used in the bowing prayer. 
         FIG. 3  is an environmental side view of a congregational prayer chair according to the present invention, shown when used in the prostrate prayer position. 
         FIG. 4  is an environmental side view of a congregational prayer chair according to the present invention, shown when used in the sitting prayer position. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a congregational prayer chair according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the congregational prayer chair of  FIG. 5 , showing the movable seat and back positions. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the congregational prayer chair  10  comprises a pair of U-shaped leg members that form spaced-apart front and rear legs  12  and  14 . A pair of support bars  16  spans the distance between and connects the front legs  12  to the rear legs  14 . Support bars  18  that crisscross diagonally in X-shaped fashion connect the rear legs to each other. The support bars  18  function to add rigidity and stability to the chair  10 . Respective arm supports  20 ,  22  are attached to the inner surface of each respective U-shaped leg member. 
     Each arm support  20 ,  22  is fashioned with a respective curved rear portion  20   a ,  22   a  for reasons that will be explained below. Respective straight portions  20   b ,  22   b , extend from each curved rear portion to respective front curved portions  20   c ,  22   c  to define the arm supports. Cushioning pads  24  are mounted on the upper surfaces of the respective support arms  20 ,  22 . The support arms  20 ,  22  have inner surfaces that are provided with grooves or tracks therein, forming upper tracks  26  and lower tracks  28 . Additional track members  30  extend angularly and rearward from the arm supports  20 ,  22 . 
     A seat member  32  and a seat back  34  are disposed between the arm supports  20 ,  22 . The seat member  32  has front pins  32   a  and rear pins  32   b  attached at each side thereof (only one side shown). The front pins  32   a  are engaged in the track members  30  for sliding movement therein, The rear pins  32   b  are engaged in the track  28  for sliding movement therein. The seat back  34  is provided with a pin  34   a  extending from each side thereof (only one side shown) for respective engagement in the upper tracks  26 . A respective connecting arm  36  extends between the seat back  34  and the seat  32  on each side of the chair  10 . A slot  36   a  is provided along the length of each connecting arm  36 . At its upper end, each connecting arm  36  is interposed between the seat back  34  and the respective curved portions  20   a ,  22   a  of the support arms  20  and  22  and is mounted for pivotal movement on the pins  34   a . At its lower end, each of the respective connecting arms  36  is interposed between the seat member  32  and the curved portion  20   a ,  22   a  of the support arms  20  and  22 . Each rear seat pin  32   b  is mounted for sliding movement in each corresponding slot  36   a . As best seen in  FIG. 6 , the seat member  32  and the seat back  34  can assume one of two positions, a forward position (shown in phantom lines) and a rearward position (shown in solid lines). The seat and seat back can be locked in either position by a conventional locking mechanism. Handles  38  interact with the locking mechanism to release the seat  32  and seat back  34  for movement, when desired. 
     In the forward position, the chair  10  functions as a conventional chair and may be employed in this position by worshipers whose age and/or disabilities require the use of a conventional chair. In the rearward position, the seat  32  and the seat back  34  are moved rearward, and the seat  32  swings down to provide open space (approximately 50-60 cm.) between the arm supports  20 ,  22 . The rearward position allows worshipers W who are physically able to do so to attain the standing position ( FIG. 1 ), the bowing position ( FIG. 2 ), the prostrate position ( FIG. 3 ) or the sitting position ( FIG. 4 ) without moving the legs of the chair, thus retaining the alignment of the rows and without disturbing the worshipers in the row behind the chair  10 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.