US20250302197A1

US20250302197A1 - Folding chair for safety use

Info

Publication number: US20250302197A1
Application number: US18/678,447
Authority: US
Inventors: Luhao Leng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2024-03-27
Filing date: 2024-05-30
Publication date: 2025-10-02
Also published as: WO2025201256A1; CN222264810U

Abstract

A folding chair for safety use includes a seat plate and two support frames. Each of the two support frames comprises a front leg and a rear leg, and the rear leg comprises a rear leg tube and a moving tube movably disposed in the rear leg tube. The moving tube is pivotally connected to the front leg. The rear leg is configured to be extended to cause the folding chair to be in a folded state, and the rear leg is configured to be contracted to cause the folding chair to be in an unfolded state. At least one of the two support frames comprises a locking member. When in a locked position, the locking member is configured to prevent the moving tube from moving in the rear leg, and the locking member is configured to be released to enable the moving tube to freely move.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202420606554.5, filed on Mar. 27, 2024. Chinese patent application number 202420606554.5 is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to the field of furniture, and specifically relates to a folding chair for safety use.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A folding chair comprises a front leg, a rear leg, and a seat plate, and the front leg and the rear leg are pivotally connected to the seat plate. Through a relative rotation of the front leg and rear leg, the folding chair can be unfolded and folded at will, making it easy to store and use.
Traditional folding chairs limit an opening degree of the folding chair by setting a stop structure in a rear leg tube, but the traditional folding chairs do not lock in an open state. This causes the traditional folding chairs to fold unintentionally by a user when in the open state. For the user, especially children, the safety needs to be improved.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure provides a folding chair for safety use to solve the deficiencies in the background.
A technical solution of the present disclosure is as follows.
A folding chair for safety use comprises a seat plate and two support frames symmetrically disposed on a left side and a right side of the seat plate. Each of the two support frames comprises a front leg and a rear leg, and the rear leg comprises a rear leg tube and a moving tube movably disposed in the rear leg tube. The rear leg tube and the front leg are respectively pivotally connected to the seat plate, and the moving tube is pivotally connected to the front leg. The rear leg is configured to be extended to cause the folding chair to be in a folded state, and the rear leg is configured to be contracted to cause the folding chair to be in an unfolded state. At least one of the two support frames comprises a locking member. The locking member is movably disposed on the rear leg tube so that the locking member is detachably connected to the moving tube in a locked position, or the locking member is movably disposed on the front leg or a joint between the front leg and the moving tube so that the locking member is detachably connected to the rear leg tube in the locked position. When in the locked position, the locking member is configured to prevent the moving tube from moving in the rear leg, and the locking member is configured to be released to enable the moving tube to freely move.
In a preferred embodiment, the folding chair further comprises a rotating arm. A first end of the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the moving tube, the front leg, or the joint between the front leg and the moving tube, and a second end of the rotating arm is a free end which defines the locking member. The locking member is a buckle sub-piece, and a wall of the rear leg tube comprises a buckle piece configured to be buckled to the buckle sub-piece. When the rear leg is contracted, the buckle sub-piece is locked to the buckle piece in the locked position, and the folding chair is locked in the unfolded state.
In a preferred embodiment, a third end of the rotating arm away from the buckle sub-piece extends to define a handle, and the folding chair comprises an elastic member. The elastic member is a torsion spring, and a spring body of the torsion spring is sleeved on the first end of the rotating arm. A first torsion arm of the torsion spring is fixedly disposed on the moving tube, the front leg, or the joint between the front leg and the moving tube, and a second torsion arm of the torsion spring abuts the buckle sub-piece. When the folding chair is in the folded state, the torsion spring is in a free state.
In a preferred embodiment, the front leg is pivotally connected to the moving tube through a hinge, and the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the joint between the front leg and the moving tube.
In a preferred embodiment, the locking member is a locking pin, and the rear leg tube comprises a first locking hole. The moving tube comprises a second locking hole, and the locking pin is movably disposed in an axial direction of the first locking hole. When the rear leg is contracted: the first locking hole and the second locking hole correspond to each other, the locking pin is locked to the first locking hole and the second locking hole at the same time in the locked position, and the folding chair is locked in the unfolded state.
In a preferred embodiment, a bottom end of the moving tube comprises a guiding slope inclining gradually away from a central axis of the moving tube from bottom to top.
In a preferred embodiment, the folding chair further comprises a rotating arm and an elastic member. A first end of the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the rear leg tube, and a second end of the rotating arm is a free end pivotally connected to the locking pin. Two opposite ends of the elastic member respectively abuts the rotating arm and the rear leg tube. When the locking pin is in the locked position, the elastic member is in a free state.
In a preferred embodiment, a third end of the rotating arm away from the locking pin extends to define a handle, the elastic member abuts the handle and the rear leg tube, and the elastic member is a compression spring.
In a preferred embodiment, the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the rear leg tube, and an outer wall of the rear leg tube is disposed with a handle position-limiting groove configured to correspond to the handle. The locking member is a buckle sub-piece, and when the handle is buckled to the handle position-limiting groove, the buckle sub-piece is at a farthest position from the rear leg tube or the moving tube.
In a preferred embodiment, the rear leg tube further comprises a fixed rivet fixedly inserted into a wall of the rear leg tube, and a length of the fixed rivet entering the rear leg tube is greater than a distance between an inner wall of the rear leg tube and an outer wall of the moving tube. When the folding chair is in the unfolded state, a bottom end of the moving tube abuts the fixed rivet.
The technical solution at least has the following advantages. The locking member in the locked position can prevent the moving tube from moving, so that folding chair can be locked to be in the unfolded state and the folding chair can be prevented from unexpectedly folding during use, which improves safety during use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a folding chair provided in Embodiment 1 in an unfolded state.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 1 in a folded state.

FIG. 3 illustrates a left view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 1 in the unfolded state, in which a locking member is in a locked position.

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of B in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 illustrates a left view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 1 in the unfolded state, in which the locking member is released at this time.

FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of C in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9 illustrates an enlarged view of A in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 .

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of a folding chair provided in Embodiment 2 in an unfolded state.

FIG. 12 illustrates a front view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 2 in a folded state.

FIG. 13 illustrates a right view of a structure shown in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 14 illustrates a cross-sectional view of D in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 15 illustrates a front view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 2 during an unfolding process, in which a guiding slope is in contact with a locking pin.

FIG. 16 illustrates a right view of the structure shown in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional view of E in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 18 illustrates a front view of the folding chair provided in Embodiment 2 in the unfolded state.

FIG. 19 illustrates a right view of the structure shown in FIG. 18 .

FIG. 20 illustrates a cross-sectional view of F in FIG. 18 .

FIG. 21 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a locking member in FIG. 20 being released.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure will be further described below in combination with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The contraction of a rear leg mentioned in this application refers to a state in which an insertion length of a moving tube relative to a rear leg tube is the largest and a total length of the rear leg is the smallest. On the contrary, extension of the rear leg mentioned in this application refers to a state of the insertion length of the moving tube relative to the rear leg tube being the smallest. Correspondingly, when the rear leg is “contracted”, an inclined angle between a front leg and the rear leg is the largest, and a folding chair is in an “unfolded” state. When the rear leg is “extended”, the inclined angle between the front leg and the rear leg is the smallest, and the front leg and the rear leg are almost parallel. At this time, the folding chair is in a “folded” state.

Embodiment 1

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 , this embodiment provides a folding chair with a locking member, and the folding chair comprises a seat plate 1 and two support frames symmetrically disposed on a left side and a right side of the seat plate 1. Each of the two support frames comprises a front leg 2 and a rear leg 3, and the rear leg 3 comprises a rear leg tube 31 and a moving tube 32 movably inserted into the rear leg tube 31. The rear leg tube 31 and the front leg 2 are respectively pivotally connected to the seat plate 1. The front leg 2 is sleeved with a hinge 21, and the moving tube 32 and the front leg 2 are pivotally connected to the hinge 21. When the rear leg 3 is extended, the folding chair is in a folded state, and when the rear leg 3 is contracted, the folding chair is in an unfolded state.
Referring to FIGS. 3-5 , at least one of the two support frames comprises the locking member. In this embodiment, the folding chair comprises a rotating arm 41. The locking member is a buckle sub-piece 42. An end of the rotating arm 41, the moving tube 32, and the hinge 21 are pivotally connected together. The buckle sub-piece 42 is defined by a free end of the rotating arm 41. The rear leg tube 31 comprises a buckle piece 33 at a corresponding position. The buckle piece 33 is a buckle groove. When the rear leg 3 is contracted, the rotating arm 41 is positioned at a locking position through cooperation between the buckle sub-piece 42 and the buckle piece 33.
An end of the rotating arm 41 away from the locking member is extended to define a handle 411. By pressing the handle 411, the rotating arm 41 can rotate relative to the rear leg 3, so that the buckle sub-piece 42 cooperates with the buckle piece 33 to define a locked connection or release the locked connection.
In addition, referring to FIG. 5 , the folding chair comprises an elastic member, which is a torsion spring 5. Specifically, the torsion spring 5 comprises a spring body 51 and two torsion arms 52 located at two ends of the spring body 51. The spring body 51 is sleeved on a hinge point of the rotating arm 41. A first of the two torsion arms 52 is fixedly connected to the hinge 21 of the front leg 2, and a second of the two torsion arms 52 abuts the handle 411.
The structure of the folding chair will be further described below based on state changes of the folding chair.
When the folding chair is in the unfolded state, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , the moving tube 32 and the rear leg tube 31 are in a contracted state. At this time, an insertion length of the moving tube 32 and the rear leg tube 31 is the largest, and a total length of the rear leg 3 is the smallest. The buckle sub-piece 42 of the rotating arm 41 is buckled to the buckle piece 33 of the rear leg tube 31. The two torsion arms 52 of the torsion spring 5 are adjacent to each other to generate an elastic force that drives the two torsion arms 52 to move away from each other. The elastic force enables the free end of the rotating arm 41 that defines the buckle sub-piece 42 to be adjacent to the buckle piece 33 through transmission of the handle 411 of the rotating arm 41 and the hinge point, making the locking connection between the buckle piece 33 and the buckle sub-piece 42 more stable and foldable, and making the folding chair be locked in the folded position.
The handle 411 is pressed to release the locking connection between the buckle sub-piece 42 and the buckle piece 33. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 , after the locking member is released, the rear leg 3 is rotated toward the front leg 2 in a direction of being adjacent to the front leg 2, and the moving tube 32 slides relative to the rear leg tube 31 until the rear leg 3 is in an extended state as shown in FIGS. 2, 9 , and 10. At this time, it can be seen from FIG. 10 that the torsion spring 5 is in a state of no deformation. Therefore, the folded state is relatively stable, and an external force needs to be applied to the folding chair to open the folding chair.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment provides a folding chair with a locking member. Referring to FIG. 11 , the folding chair comprises a seat plate 1 and two support frames symmetrically disposed on a left side and a right side of the seat plate 1. Each of the two support frames comprises a front leg 2 and a rear leg 3. The rear leg 3 comprises a rear leg tube 31 and a moving tube 32 movably inserted into the rear leg tube 31. The rear leg tube 31 and the front leg 2 are respectively pivotally connected to the seat plate 1, and the front leg 2 is sleeved with a hinge (i.e., the same as the hinge 21 in Embodiment 1). The moving tube 32 is pivotally connected to the hinge 21 of the front leg 2. When the rear leg 3 is extended, the folding chair is in a folded state as shown in FIG. 12 . When the rear leg 3 is contracted, the folding chair is in an unfolded state as shown in FIGS. 11 and 18 .
At least one of the two support frames comprises the locking member. As shown in FIG. 14 , the locking member is a locking pin 43. The rear leg tube 31 comprises a first locking hole 313 corresponding to the locking pin 43, and the moving tube 32 comprises a second locking hole 322 configured to correspond to the locking pin 43. The locking pin 43 is movably disposed in an axial direction of the first locking hole 313. Further, the folding chair comprises a rotating arm 41. An end of the rotating arm 41 is pivotally connected to the rear leg tube 31, the other end of the rotating arm 41 is a free end, and the free end of the rotating arm 41 is pivotally connected to the locking pin 43.
The rear leg tube 31 further comprises a fixed rivet 312. The fixed rivet 312 is fixedly inserted into a wall of the rear leg tube 31 and penetrates through the rear leg tube 31. When the folding chair is in the unfolded state, a bottom end of the moving tube 32 abuts the fixed rivet 312.
An end of the rotating arm 41 opposite to the locking pin 43 defines a handle 411. The rear leg tube 31 comprises a handle position-limiting groove 311 corresponding to the handle 411. A compression spring 6 is disposed adjacent to the handle position-limiting groove 311. One end of the compression spring 6 abuts the rear leg tube 31, and the other end of the compression spring 6 abuts the handle 411. When the handle 411 is separated from the rear leg tube 31, the compression spring 6 is at its original length. When the handle 411 abuts the handle position-limiting groove 311, the compression spring 6 is in a compressed state as shown in FIG. 21 .
The bottom end of the moving tube 32 has a guiding slope 321 inclining gradually away from a central axis of the moving tube 32 from bottom to top. When the moving tube 32 slides downward, as shown in FIG. 17 , the guiding slope 321 abuts the locking pin 43 to drive the locking pin 4 to relatively rotate away from the rear leg tube 31.
The structure of the folding chair will be further described below based on state changes of the folding chair.
Referring to FIGS. 12-14 , when the folding chair is in the folded state, the locking pin 43 is locked to the rear leg tube 31, and the handle 411 is separated from the handle position-limiting groove 311. The rear leg 3 of the folding chair is rotated in a direction away from the front leg 2, and an insertion length of the moving tube 32 relative to the rear leg tube 31 increases until the moving tube 32 and the rear leg tube 31 are in the contracted state. During this process, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 , the moving tube 32 first abuts the locking pin 43, and the locking pin 43 is driven by pressing of the guiding slope 321 to drive the end of the rotating arm 41 pivotally connected with the locking pin 43 to rotate in a direction away from the rear leg tube 31 while the locking pin 43 is always in contact with the first locking hole 313 of the rear leg tube 31. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 20 , when the rear leg 3 is in the contracted state, the bottom end of the moving tube 32 abuts the fixed rivet 312, the first locking hole 313 of the rear leg tube 31 and the second locking hole 322 of the moving tube 32 corresponds to each other, and the locking pin 43 simultaneously passes through the first locking hole 313 of the rear leg tube 31 and the second locking hole 322 of the moving tube 32, so that a relative position between the rear leg tube 31 and the moving tube 32 are fixed and the folding chair is locked in the unfolded state.
As shown in FIG. 21 , to release the locking member, the handle 411 is pressed so that the handle 411 enters the handle position-limiting groove 311 and the locking pin 43 is separated away from the second locking hole 322 of the moving tube 32 to release the moving tube 32.
The aforementioned embodiments are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited thereto. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover any modifications and variations of the presently presented embodiments provided they are made without departing from the appended claims and the specification of the present disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A folding chair for safety use, comprising:

a seat plate, and

two support frames symmetrically disposed on a left side and a right side of the seat plate, wherein:

each of the two support frames comprises a front leg and a rear leg,

the rear leg comprises a rear leg tube and a moving tube movably disposed in the rear leg tube,

the rear leg tube and the front leg are respectively pivotally connected to the seat plate,

the moving tube is pivotally connected to the front leg,

the rear leg is configured to be extended to cause the folding chair to be in a folded state,

the rear leg is configured to be contracted to cause the folding chair to be in an unfolded state,

at least one of the two support frames comprises a locking member,

the locking member is movably disposed on the rear leg tube so that the locking member is detachably connected to the moving tube in a locked position, or the locking member is movably disposed on the front leg or a joint between the front leg and the moving tube so that the locking member is detachably connected to the rear leg tube in the locked position, and

when in the locked position:

the locking member is configured to prevent the moving tube from moving in the rear leg, and

the locking member is configured to be released to enable the moving tube to freely move.

2. The folding chair according to claim 1, further comprising:

a rotating arm, wherein:

a first end of the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the moving tube, the front leg, or the joint between the front leg and the moving tube,

a second end of the rotating arm is a free end which defines the locking member,

the locking member is a buckle sub-piece,

a wall of the rear leg tube comprises a buckle piece configured to be buckled to the buckle sub-piece, and

when the rear leg is contracted:

the buckle sub-piece is locked to the buckle piece in the locked position, and the folding chair is locked in the unfolded state.

3. The folding chair according to claim 2, wherein:

a third end of the rotating arm away from the buckle sub-piece extends to define a handle,

the folding chair comprises an elastic member,

the elastic member is a torsion spring,

a spring body of the torsion spring is sleeved on the first end of the rotating arm,

a first torsion arm of the torsion spring is fixedly disposed on the moving tube, the front leg, or the joint between the front leg and the moving tube,

a second torsion arm of the torsion spring abuts the buckle sub-piece, and

when the folding chair is in the folded state, the torsion spring is in a free state.

4. The folding chair according to claim 3, wherein:

the front leg is pivotally connected to the moving tube through a hinge, and

the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the joint between the front leg and the moving tube.

5. The folding chair according to claim 1, wherein:

the locking member is a locking pin,

the rear leg tube comprises a first locking hole,

the moving tube comprises a second locking hole,

the locking pin is movably disposed in an axial direction of the first locking hole, and

when the rear leg is contracted:

the first locking hole and the second locking hole correspond to each other,

the locking pin is locked to the first locking hole and the second locking hole at the same time in the locked position, and

the folding chair is locked in the unfolded state.

6. The folding chair according to claim 5, wherein:

a bottom end of the moving tube comprises a guiding slope inclining gradually away from a central axis of the moving tube from bottom to top.

7. The folding chair according to claim 5, further comprising:

a rotating arm, and

an elastic member, wherein:

a first end of the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the rear leg tube,

a second end of the rotating arm is a free end pivotally connected to the locking pin,

two opposite ends of the elastic member respectively abuts the rotating arm and the rear leg tube, and

when the locking pin is in the locked position, the elastic member is in a free state.

8. The folding chair according to claim 7, wherein:

a third end of the rotating arm away from the locking pin extends to define a handle,

the elastic member abuts the handle and the rear leg tube, and

the elastic member is a compression spring.

9. The folding chair according to claim 8, wherein:

the rotating arm is pivotally connected to the rear leg tube,

an outer wall of the rear leg tube is disposed with a handle position-limiting groove configured to correspond to the handle,

the locking member is a buckle sub-piece, and

when the handle is buckled to the handle position-limiting groove, the buckle sub-piece is at a farthest position from the rear leg tube or the moving tube.

10. The folding chair according to claim 1, wherein:

the rear leg tube further comprises a fixed rivet fixedly inserted into a wall of the rear leg tube,

a length of the fixed rivet entering the rear leg tube is greater than a distance between an inner wall of the rear leg tube and an outer wall of the moving tube, and

when the folding chair is in the unfolded state, a bottom end of the moving tube abuts the fixed rivet.

11. The folding chair according to claim 6, further comprising: