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Collapsible highchair

Collapsible highchair description/claims

With the use of collapsible highchairs, as they apply in particular for small children at the meal table, there is a problem of improving the folding mechanism of these chairs such that they can be operated by a parent using one hand as far as possible, and otherwise cannot be activated by small children sitting on them. There is also a problem of constructing a collapsible highchair that remains stable when being used and which is easy to transport in a collapsed position without opening up.

Opened highchairs, normally used only for a short time by small children for eating, occupy a significant amount of space due to the large footprint required for stability against collapse. They are thus mostly collapsed between mealtimes so that the space at and around the table can be used for other purposes. Additionally, since adults, when wanting to sit children in the highchair, are frequently carrying the children in their arms when coming from another room and so have only one hand free, those highchair mechanisms that require two hands for setting up the highchair prove to be highly unfavourable, since the children have to be set down again for the time it takes to set up the highchair.

A generic collapsible highchair is already known from DE 20 2004 014 197 U1, in which a folding standard can be fixed at a specific angle on a highchair frame with a pushbutton mechanism. The drawback to this construction is that though the seat shell can be pivoted, a considerable width remains however due to the bale located in front of the seat shell and tray being formed as one piece with the rear legs.

It is especially disadvantageous that at least two hands need to be used to set up this prior art highchair, specifically for raising the seat shell while using the other hand to keep the chair in a preset position and also to secure it against the lifting movement.

In various embodiments, disclosed herein is a collapsible highchair with a tubular rack having a seat and a shackle section limiting the seat to the front and legs, which can be pivoted towards one another about a hinged joint between an upright position for use and an opposite compact position.

Embodiments of a collapsible highchair are disclosed herein which are easier to operate and preferably can be set up with one hand, which stands stably in the upright state with a bale in front of the seat, and in a collapsed state, take up as little space as possible.

At least one embodiment is achieved by an easy-to-operate construction, and comprises a first latching device extending from the shackle section limiting the seat in a forward direction and designed to pivot for detachable connection with a section of the tubular rack. The first latching device of the seat is provided in the seat region and is positioned in particular transversely under the shackle section in the upright position. The latching device can accordingly serve, e.g., as vertical strut for support on a section of the tubular rack and/or of the seat provided in the seat region and positioned under the latter in the upright position.

In a preferred configuration, a first latching device in the form of a hasp fitting can be provided at a lower free end for fixing the mounting with a connecting device about a section of the rack and/or of the seat. Here it is of particular advantage for the first latching device to be located on the front side of the seat in the middle, leaving two free spaces for the legs of a seated child. The first latching device is provided with a connecting device and encloses the tubular section from the outside on the side facing away from the seat.

In this way, the chair can be carried both in the opened and in the folded state, for example, by gripping the upper end of the seat shell. Moreover, the chair can easily be assembled in that, while still in the folded state, the collapsible highchair is leaned against a wall or the body of the carrier. After a preferably provided second latching device holding the collapsed chair is released, while the chair is still leaning against the body, the chair is slowly unfolded and the end position of the shackle section holding the child in the chair in the opened state is fixed by the first latching device.

In a further configuration, the connecting device, in particular the hasp fitting, is designed as a particularly monobloc clamping bracket, in particular a synthetic pressure clamp, and comprises an upper claw-like support on the tubular section, a second mobile section clamped on the tube and a third section provided on the mobile-engaging section extending the lever of the mobile section.

Further disclosed herein is a collapsible highchair, that, in addition to the features of the abovementioned variants, contains at least one diagonal member that pivots on at least one front leg. The at least one diagonal member is provided with a guide device, in particular a slot guide, in which guide elements provided on the rear legs (e.g., bolts) shift, so that the guide device, i.e., the diagonal member, approximates the extension of the legs when the legs are swung towards one another, and in particular assumes a position in the compact position that is substantially parallel to the legs.

Other variants of the collapsible highchair disclosed herein are optionally characterised in that the hinged joint is provided at the level of the shackle section limiting the seat in a forward direction and/or that the shackle section also pivots on the hinged joint without latching. At the same time, further embodiments of a collapsible highchair can also have a second latching device that connects at least one rear leg or an element provided with a rear leg in the folded state, engaging with the underside of the folded shackle section and/or of the tray set thereon to one of the rear legs.

At the same time, a brace connecting the rear legs substantially horizontally may encompass the second latching device, in particular in the manner of a hasp fitting and/or in a compact position, to encompass particularly from below.

At the same time, according to a further embodiment, the front legs may be a component of a substantially U-shaped, monobloc frame, in particular in the form of a tubular rack. The arc of the U-shaped upper region of the frame, in particular a tubular rack, runs in an upper end edge of a seat shell of the seat.

Further advantageous developments of a collapsible highchair in this context have a diagonal member located substantially in the seat plane, and in particular is connectable or connected to the guide device. The diagonal member has a foot rest at its front end extending obliquely down when in an upright position. At the same time, the foot rest, when in a compact position, pivots at the lower end of the pivoting diagonal member as far as the rear legs, and in particular in behind them.

The chair can thus be securely set up, using weight in the chair to constantly push the legs apart, by limiting the angle of pivot of the legs which can be effected by at least one diagonal member laid pivotably on the front legs. The at least one diagonal member is provided with a guide device, in particular in the form of a slot guide, in which guide elements provided on the rear legs, such as radially projecting side bolts, move.

Only when it is unstressed will the diagonal member approximate the extending of the legs when the legs are pivoted towards one another and take up a position in the compact position substantially parallel to the legs.

The intuitively simple construction of the collapsible highchair enables safe operation in that incomplete unfolding of the bracket or respectively of the tray on the bale will result in the vertical strut (still) not being able to be fixed due to excessive length, but whereby complete unfolding is safely achieved by simply moving the strut further. In this position, the vertical strut of the first latching device is latched.

An added advantage of the construction is that movement can be controlled using one hand only. In particular, the arm of the user can “clamp” an upper section of the seat shell under an arm, while the respective hand grasps the first latching device. At the same time, by sliding the hand to the lower end of the first latching device, the advantageously-provided hasp fitting can be fastened about a tubular section of the tubular rack and/or of the seat.

A monobloc synthetic pressure clamp has proven effective for fastening, for example, which can be formed from an upper, claw-like section supported on the tubular section of the seat and a second section clamped around the tube. The synthetic pressure clamp advantageously has another third section projecting like a tab to give the operator a larger lever for exerting force on the second mobile section of the clamped clamping bracket, in particular when opening.

The third section, for example, projects radially outwards from the claw of the clamping bracket, and also makes it easier to release the first latch, whenever the chair is to be folded up again. Releasing the first latch is possible using one hand, whereby the chair is again supported by the body and the actuating arm.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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