Patent Publication Number: US-2015061348-A1

Title: Chair Position Adjuster

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an adjustment mechanism, specifically to a chair position adjuster for adjustable chairs or foldable chairs. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Chair position adjusters are used for locating adjustable or foldable chairs at different inclination angles according to demands, and folding the foldable chairs conveniently. However, the engagement structures for location of the chair position adjuster in the prior art are exposed out of the whole adjuster mechanism and have the risk of clamping hands when the chairs are folded, expanded or adjusted, causing hurt even injury to users. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved chair position adjuster capable of effectively overcoming the shortcomings of the prior art, avoiding the risks of clamping hands, and realizing a simple structure and lower cost. 
     The objective of the present invention is realized in this way: 
     A chair position adjuster comprises a housing and an adjustment arm. The said housing is installed at the lower surface of the armrest. The said adjustment arm is connected with the chair part. The said housing is internally provided with a continuous wave-shaped chute. The bottom of the said housing is transversely provided with a slit communicating with the said chute. One end of the said adjustment arm is inserted into the said chute, while the other end extends out of the said slit and is fixed on the chair part. The said adjustment arm moves slidably in the said chute. 
     Furthermore, the adjustment arm is shoe-shaped and provided with a bolt at the end of a bent portion. The said adjustment arm slides along in the said wave-shaped chute through the said bolt. The other portion of the said adjustment arm extends out of the said chute from the said slit at the bottom of the said housing to be connected with the chair part. 
     Wherein, the said portion of the adjustment arm extending out of the housing is provided with mounting holes. The front leg pipes and rear leg pipes of the chair are respectively rotatably connected to the two sides of the said adjustment arm through the mounting holes. The rotation track plane of the front leg pipes is parallel to that of the rear leg pipes. Folding the chair can reduce the thickness to the maximum extent, lower the packaging cost, and increase the loading capacity of containers during transportation to reduce the transportation cost. 
     Furthermore, the housing comprises two parts, namely a left half part and a right half part which fit each other. 
     For the above mentioned chair position adjuster, the said wave-shaped chute has at least three wave peaks, Preferably, the said wave-shaped chute has five wave peaks capable of dividing the inclination angle of the chair into five shifts for location, thereby optimizing the user experience. 
     Furthermore, the rear wall of the said housing is provided with an opening extending to the bottom of the said housing to communicate with the said slit. When the said adjustment arm moves to the rear ends of the said chute, the body of the said adjustment arm can partly embedded into the said opening. 
     Wherein, the width of the said chute is a little bigger than the thickness of the said adjustment arm, so the whole sliding adjuster mechanism is embraced in the said housing to be maximum extent, and the product is safer. 
     Preferably, the two side walls of the said housing extend outwards on the top to form mounting faces for fixing the said housing at the lower surface of the armrest. For convenient installation, the said mounting faces can also be provided with mounting holes. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention adopting the above technical solution has the following beneficial effects: the said housing and the said adjustment arm work together such that the chair can be located at different inclination angles according to demands; besides, the said adjustment arm is located in the said chute of the housing and in a relatively closed space, so the risk of clamping hands is avoided; moreover, the present invention has a simple structure and lower cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages and features of the present invention are described with reference to embodiments and attached drawings. The embodiments are provided in the form of, but not limited to, specific examples. Wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the housing in a preferable embodiment of the chair position adjuster of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural view of the right half part of the housing as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a structural view of the adjustment arm in a preferable embodiment of the chair position adjuster of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the adjustment arm as shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an adjustable chair illustrating one of the chair position adjuster of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an adjustable chair including a pair of chair position adjusters of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a structural view of the adjustment arm in a moving state I in the preferable embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a structural view of the adjustment arm in a moving state II in the preferable embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is an external structural view of the adjustment arm in the moving state II as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, a chair position adjuster  2  comprises a housing  21  and an adjustment arm  22 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the housing  21  comprises two parts, namely a left half part (see  FIG. 2 ) and a right half part. The left half part and the right half part are fit for each other and fixed through a screw  217 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the inner walls of the left half part of the housing  21  is provided with a continuous wave-shaped chute  210 , and the right half part of the housing  21  is provided with another wave-shaped chute  210  matched with the one provided in the left half part of the housing  21 . The left half part and the right half part form a chute cavity  211  when jointed. The bottom of the housing  21  is transversely provided with a slit  212  communicating with the chute  210 . Respectively, both the side walls of the housing  21  extend outwards from the top and form mounting faces  213 . The mounting faces  213  are preset with mounting holes  214 . The rear wall of the housing  21  is provided with an opening  216 . The opening  216  extends to communicate with the slit  212  at the bottom of the housing  21 . As shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the adjustment arm  22  is shoe-shaped and provided with a bolt  223  at the end of the bent portion  221 . The bent portion  221  is inserted into the chute  210 . The adjustment arm  22  moves slidably in the chute  210  through the bolt  223 , while the other portion  222  is provided with mounting holes  224 , extends out from the slit  212  and is fixed at the chair part. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the chair position adjuster  2  is installed at the lower surface of the armrest  11  of the chair  1 . The housing  21  is fixed at the lower surface of the armrest of the chair  1  through the mounting holes  214 . The adjustment arm  22  is connected with the chair part through the mounting holes  224 . The front leg pipes and the rear leg pipes of the chair are respectively rotatably connected to both the sides of the adjustment arm  22  through the mounting holes  224 . The rotation track plane of the front leg pipes is parallel to that of the rear leg pipes. 
     In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , each wave-shaped chute  210  is provided with five wave peaks  215  to divide the inclination angle of the chair into five shifts for location. The bolt  223  slides along the wave-shaped rails of the chute  210  and stops at the peak  215  meeting the required inclination angle for location. In such circumstances, the adjustment arm  22  and the housing  21  approximately form a right angle, as shown in  FIG. 7 . When the adjustment arm  22  moves to the rear end of the chute  210 , the chair is folded, the adjustment arm  22  and the housing  21  are transverse, while the other portion  222  of the adjustment arm  22  is partly embedded in the opening  216 , as shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 . To facilitate the sliding of the adjustment arm  22  in the chute  210  and ensuring stability of the adjustment arm  22  during sliding, the width of the chute  210  is preferably a little greater than the thickness of the adjustment arm  22 . 
     The present invention is described with reference to preferable embodiments, but this does not mean the scope of the present invention is only limited to the above mentioned structure. For example, the wave-shaped chute  210  of the present invention may have the three, four, six or more wave peaks according to customers&#39; demands on difference between two adjacent inclination angles. All structures covered by claims of the present invention shall fall within the protective scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the prior can easily figure out equivalent substitutions which all shall fall within the protective scope of the present invention after reading the above description.