Patent Publication Number: US-2016242565-A1

Title: Collapsible Restaurant and Public Eating Area High Chair

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to high chairs used for seating infants and toddlers in restaurants and public eating areas. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure will refer to restaurant and public eating area high chairs as restaurant high chairs and it will be assumed that they are also intended for use in public eating areas. 
     High chairs are used to seat infants and toddlers at a level where they can be fed by an adult or at a level so that when the high chair is pushed up to a table, the child is able to use the table surface. Most home high chairs include a permanent or detachable tray for the child to use and do not require a table or additional surface for the child. High chairs used in restaurants usually resemble the one shown in  FIG. 5 . This design is popular because it is simple, safe, and stackable. Most restaurant high chairs do not contain a tray because it would take up more space, be harder to clean, and be more difficult to store. 
     Refer to  FIG. 5 . Prior art restaurant high chairs usually resemble the one shown in  FIG. 5  and consist of a frame formed by two front legs  31  and two back legs  32  connected at the base by two horizontal support pieces  39 . The horizontal support pieces  39  aid in stability, joint durability, and ease of stacking. The front legs  31  and back legs  32  often have additional support pieces  33  connecting both front legs  31  and back legs  32 . Some restaurant high chairs have a footrest  34 , which provides extra structural support. The front legs  31  and back legs  32  support a flat seat  36 , a backrest  38 , two side railings  40 , and a front bar  41  to ensure that the child does not fall out. The front bar  41  may have a crotch strap  37  connected to the front of the seat  36  that goes in between the child&#39;s legs, so that the child does not slide under the front bar  41 . 
     Prior art restaurant high chairs, like the one shown in  FIG. 5 , are safe for children, easy to use, and stackable. However, they are difficult to carry, take up a large amount of space when stored, and break easily. 
     Because restaurant high chairs do not collapse, they are difficult to carry. Unlike a home high chair, which is often left in one place or stored near where it is used, restaurant high chairs must be stored out of the dining space and moved to and from tables as necessary during meal service. Other prior art includes a high chair similar to the one in  FIG. 5  without the horizontal support pieces  39  connecting the front legs  31  with the back legs  32 . This version claims to be easier to carry, such that when carrying the high chair on a person&#39;s side, the horizontal support pieces  39  would have to rest against the person&#39;s leg. Without these pieces, carrying the high chair is supposed to be more ergonomic, however, it neglects to consider that the person carrying the high chair would have to walk partially between the front legs  31  and back legs  32 , which could result in tripping and injury. 
     Additionally, restaurant high chairs must be stored in areas that are often difficult to access, like restrooms or back storage areas. Transporting high chairs from these areas is inefficient and inconvenient for employees seating customers. Seating tables quickly is important because it leads to increased restaurant sales and improved customer service. In most restaurants, if a high chair is needed, the information is relayed to another host, manager, or server, who must walk to where the high chairs are stored, walk back to the table, set it at the table, and then inform the host who seats the customer. 
     Finally, traditional restaurant high chair designs are not generally conducive to safe storage and transport. Restaurant high chairs are often stored in stacks, with one chair on top of the other. Because current restaurant high chairs do not collapse, it is difficult to bend one&#39;s legs while lifting them, creating the potential for back injury. Moreover, it is easy for hands and fingers to get pinched in between restaurant high chairs when they are being stacked. In addition, stacking increases wear and damages joints, reducing the safety of the chairs and necessitating frequent replacement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is intended to provide restaurants and public eating areas with a collapsible high chair that is easy and safe to carry, convenient to store, and safe for a child to use. 
     Refer to  FIGS. 1-4 . The present invention contains two resting forms. The resting forms are herein referred to as: opened  FIG. 1  and collapsed  FIGS. 2-4 . This present invention identifies a restaurant high chair  FIG. 1  as a chair intended for use by an infant or toddler wherein two front legs  11  and two back legs  10  support a seat  17  with a backrest  14 , a front bar  16 , and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling off of the seat. Here, the upper portion of the front legs  11  create the side rails. The seat  17  is at a height that allows the child to use a table when the front bar  16  is pushed against it. A crotch strap  18  may connect the front bar  16  to the front of the seat  17 , passing between the child&#39;s legs to keep the child from sliding under the front bar  16 . The present invention also includes a seatbelt that is not shown. 
     The high chair&#39;s depth is less than six inches thick when collapsed  FIG. 2 . This distance is measured between the outer side of the front legs  11  and outer side of the back legs  10 . When collapsed, the high chair can be lifted by the front bar  16 . 
     From an ergonomic standpoint, lifting an item with a center of gravity that is close to one&#39;s own center of gravity is both safe and easy. Holding the collapsed restaurant high chair close to one&#39;s body, the chair can be lifted with one&#39;s legs, reducing the risk of back injury, and a restaurant employee can easily grab and transport the collapsed chair while walking without stopping. 
     Storage of the high chair is both convenient and safe. In contrast to non-collapsible chairs, the high chair can be stacked horizontally, instead of vertically  FIG. 6 . When stacked horizontally, transport is easy and safe because it does not require the high chair to ever be lifted more than a few inches off of the floor. In addition, the option to stack horizontally, as opposed to vertically, reduces the risk of pinching, or otherwise injuring, fingers. This is because when stacking horizontally, each high chair is resting on the floor, and only a portion of the high chair&#39;s weight is resting on each additional horizontally stacked high chair. 
     Storage is also more convenient because once the high chair is collapsed, it occupies a much smaller amount of floor space. This allows for more discrete placement throughout restaurants (for example, next to a host stand or a service counter), and the collapsed chair&#39;s slim profile allows for many chairs to be stacked without obstructing views or reducing the aesthetic appeal of the space. 
     Most importantly, the disclosed invention is safe for the child. Once the child is on the seat  17 , the downward force exerted by the child&#39;s weight keeps the high chair from collapsing. In addition, when the crotch strap  18  is connected to the seat  17 , the high chair is unable to collapse. 
     Lastly, the high chair will remain sturdy and undamaged over time because, unlike non-collapsible models, stacking does not subject joints to additional wear. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the high chair in its opened form standing upright. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright. 
         FIG. 3  is a back view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the high chair in its collapsed form standing upright. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of prior art standing upright. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of two of the restaurant high chairs horizontally stacked standing upright. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Refer to  FIGS. 1-4 . As defined by the text and drawings in the present disclosure, a restaurant and public eating area high chair contains two front legs  11 , two back legs  10 , a seat  17  with a backrest  14 , a front bar  16 , and side rails that are high enough to keep the child from falling out of the seat  17 ; here, the side rails are created by the top portion of the front legs  11 . Not shown is a seat belt connected to the seat that buckles and tightens over the child&#39;s waist. When the high chair is opened and placed so that the front bar  15  meets the edge of a table, the child is able to use the table surface. 
     The present invention has parts that are joined by both permanent joints and moveable joints. The permanent joints connect parts of the high chair that remain fixed in the opened and collapsed forms. The permanent joints are: the horizontal support bar  12  connecting both of the back legs  10 , the horizontal support bar  12  and foot rest  13  connecting both of the front legs  11 , the front bar  16  connecting to the front bar supports  15 , and the backrest  14  connecting to both back legs  10 . The moveable joints connect parts of the high chair that change position in relation to one another in the opened and collapsed forms. These joints are represented in  FIGS. 1-4  by  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 . These joints allow for a pivoting motion connecting the back legs  10  and front bar supports  15 , the back legs  10  and front legs  11 , the front bar supports  15  and seat  17 , and the front legs  11  and seat  17 . Pivotal joint movement resulting from external force causes the different parts of the high chair to move in a circular motion in relation to one another. 
     Assume that the quick-release buckle  24  connecting the crotch strap  18  to the seat  17  is connected when the high chair is in its opened form  FIG. 1 . To change from the opened form  FIG. 1  to the collapsed form  FIGS. 2-4 , the child must first be removed from the high chair. Then, the quick release buckle  24  connecting the crotch strap  18  to the seat  17  must be unbuckled. Once unbuckled, one can place one&#39;s hand on the backrest  14  and another hand on the front bar  16 . While tilting the high chair on its front legs  10  and pulling the front bar  16  back towards the top of the backrest  14 , the seat  17  rotates forward ninety degrees, until it is perpendicular with the floor. When the seat  17  has rotated forward ninety degrees, the high chair has reached its collapsed form  FIGS. 2-4 . In its collapsed form, the front legs  11  touch the horizontal support bar  12  that is connected to the back legs  10  while the front bar supports  15  touch the top of the backrest  14 . Refer to  FIG. 3 . At this point, the crotch strap  18  can be re-buckled to the second female quick release buckle  25  that is permanently connected to the back of the backrest  14 , securing the high chair in its collapsed form. 
     Refer to  FIGS. 2-4 . Assume the quick release buckle  24  connecting the crotch strap  18  to the backrest  14  is connected when the high chair is in its collapsed form. To change from the collapsed form  FIGS. 2-4  to the opened form  FIG. 1 , the high chair must be placed close to where it is intended for use. Once placed, the quick release buckle  25  connecting the crotch strap  18  to the backrest  14  must be unbuckled. At this point, one can place one&#39;s hand on the backrest and another hand on the front bar  16 . While balancing the high chair on its front legs  11  and pushing the front bar away from the backrest  14 , the seat  17  is forced to rotate ninety degrees back, until it is parallel with the floor  FIG. 1 . As the seat  17  rotates, the bottom of the back legs  10  and the bottom of the front legs  11  are forced apart. Once the seat  17  has rotated ninety degrees, the back legs  11  and front legs  10  are at their maximum distance from each other, and the back legs  10  can be rested on the floor. To ensure that the seat  17  does not continue to rotate forward past ninety degrees, there are front bar support stoppers  19  that protrude from the inside of the upper portion of the front legs  11 . 
     Refer to  FIG. 1 . The rotating joints  21  and the rotating joints  23  are the pivot points of a circular motion, where the rotating joints  21  and the rotating joints  23  rotate around the rotating joints  22 . Since the distance between the rotating joints  21  and the rotating joints  22  are stationary, and the distance between the rotating joints  22  and the rotating joints  23  is stationary, when the rotating joints  21  and the rotating joints  23  are at their farthest from each other, the high chair has reached its opened form, and cannot open anymore  FIG. 1 . At this point, the rotating joints  21 , the rotating joints  22 , and the rotating joints  23  converge into a straight line. When the disclosed invention is collapsing, the rotating joints  21  and the rotating joints  23  are pushed towards each other, pivoting around the rotating joints  22 . At this point, the back legs  10  and the front legs  11  move together and the seat  17  rotates forward, until it reaches its collapsed form.  FIGS. 2-4 . 
     When the restaurant high chair is opened, the distance of the crotch strap  18 , from the front bar  16  to the female end of the quick release buckle  24 , is the same as the distance from the front bar  16  to the female end of the quick release buckle  25  on the back of the backrest  14  when the restaurant high chair is closed. This allows the crotch strap  18  to be buckled and unbuckled in both the opened form  FIG. 1  and collapsed form  FIGS. 2-4  without having to adjust length of the crotch strap  18 . 
     When a child is using the high chair, it must be in its opened form  FIG. 1 . When open, the crotch strap connects from the front bar  16  to the front of the seat  17  with a quick release buckle  24 . When the high chair is opened  FIG. 1 , the crotch strap  18  must be fastened to the female end of the quick release buckle  24 . This protects the child from sliding under the front bar  16 . This also protects the child by ensuring that the high chair does not collapse while moving the child to and from the seat. After disconnecting the crotch strap  18  from the front seat  17 , the chair can be collapsed. Once collapsed, the crotch strap  18  is connected to the female end of the quick release buckle  25  on the back of the backrest  14 . This keeps the high chair in its collapsed form when not in use. When collapsed  FIG. 2 , the crotch strap keeps the high chair from opening by connecting to the female end of the quick release buckle  25  on the back of the backrest  14   FIG. 3 .