Patent ID: 8919883

Claim:
A chair that facilitates user ingress and egress, the chair comprising: a chair support structure; a seat coupled to the chair support structure in a generally horizontal orientation; a backrest coupled to the chair support structure in a generally vertical orientation; and at least one armrest coupled to the chair support structure in a generally vertical orientation; wherein the armrest comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion being coupled to the chair support structure and the upper portion being coupled to the lower portion, wherein the upper portion is movable relative to the lower portion about a horizontal pivot axis that splits the armrest into the upper and lower portions; wherein the upper portion can be placed in an upright position above the lower portion a id a folded position alongside the lower portion by movement of the upper portion around the horizontal pivot axis; wherein the upper portion can be locked in the upright position by a locking mechanism that extends through both the lower portion and the upper portion to prevent movement of the upper portion about the horizontal pivot axis, the locking mechanism comprising a rotatable locking arm, a lever arm and an intermediate arm having movable pivots at first and second ends; and wherein one end of the locking arm extends into the upper portion of the armrest in the locked position and the first end of the intermediate arm is coupled via a first movable pivot to the lever arm and the second end is coupled via a second movable pivot to one end of the locking arm.