Patent ID: 7070243

Claim:
A blow molded side panel chair system for maximizing the safety, strength and durability of a chair system while minimizing its cost and weight comprising, in combination: a metallic frame having a pair of laterally spaced tubular supports in a generally inverted U-shaped configuration, each support having a forward vertical section with a lower end and a rearward vertical section with a lower end and an upper intermediate section there between, the upper intermediate section including a leading section in a generally horizontal orientation and a trailing section in an angular orientation between the leading section and the rearward vertical section; a seat panel in a generally horizontal plane with a front edge and a rear edge fixedly secured between the supports for the receipt of a user; a back panel with an upper edge and a lower edge pivotally supported by the seat panel adjacent to the rear edge with a bracket assembly for retaining the back panel at any of a plurality of preselected angular orientations; laterally displaced handles with lower ends secured to the frame and upper ends adapted to be held by a care giver in pushing the system and a user supported thereby; a pair of panels blow molded from an elastomeric material, including one panel for each tubular support, each panel having an interior vertical wall adjacent to the seat and a laterally spaced exterior wall remote from the seat with a periphery there between, each periphery having a concave profile for the receipt of the vertical sections and intermediate section of an adjacent tubular support and a horizontal profile there beneath with an arcuate recess adjacent to the forward vertical support and the horizontal support, the exterior wall of the side panel having a continuous recess congruent with the periphery of its panel extending toward the interior wall, the interior wall of the side panel having a discontinuous recess with an inverted U-shaped component extending above the seat panel and a horizontal component below the seat panel extending toward the exterior wall for maximizing the safety, strength and durability of the system while minimizing its cost and weight, each panel including an elongated extension extending downwardly from the entire length of the interior wall, each panel including a shortened extension extending upwardly from the interior wall between a portion of the leading and intermediate sections of its frame; and a pair of metallic tabs for each side panel, each tab having a first end welded to an associated vertical section of its tubular support and a second end with an aperture and a screw to couple the tab and tubular support to its side panel.