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Foldable chair padFoldable chair pad description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060290181, Foldable chair pad. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/741,990, filed Dec. 2, 2005 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of Invention [0003] This invention relates generally to chair pads and, more particularly, to wood chair pads. [0004] 2. Background Art [0005] Chair pads are used as a protective covering for a floor area on which a chair rests or some other furniture item. The chair pad is utilized to protect the underlying floor from damage due to wear and tear caused by the chair and/or the occupant of the chair moving about within the floor area on which the chair rests. A typical chair pad is made of plastic. [0006] Most chair pads are a unitary one piece flattened body. Most chair pads as indicated are made of plastic. Very few chair pads are made from wood product and none are mass produced. Hardwood chair pads, however, are not flexible. Existing wood chair pads, particularly larger ones, are difficult to move about and very difficult to ship because of the special packaging required and freight restraints that do not allow non-flexible wood chair pads from shipping via shippers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL. Our folding and portable wood chair mats will typically be manufactured from hardwoods including but not limited to various species of bamboo, cherry, oak or mahogany, teak and rubber tree, which can also be utilized for a chair pad. [0007] Bamboo and teak have many uses such as substituting commercially for wood, plastics, and composite materials in structural and product applications. [0008] There are various types of bamboo and teak flooring including tongue and groove and the type that needs to be butted together. The lacquered flooring tiles are finished using wear resistant UV coating or polyurethane and the unlacquered flooring tiles need to be coated/waxed and polished after installation. The strength of bamboo and teak boards can be stronger than common wood board because of its special high steam kiln pressure process. The board has excellent water resistance because of its reduced shrinking and expanding rate. Its water-absorbing rate, humidity resistance and smooth finish are superior to any wood product available anywhere. [0009] There are also various types of hardwood or bamboo chair pads made of flat elongated planks or strips arranged side by side length wise and attached along abutting adjacent edges binding them together in a side by side arrangement. There is also usually a cloth or felt backing or some other fibrous material bonded to the underside. This item has patents pending with the same applicant as this current patent application. [0010] The bamboo and other hardwood material is very durable for chair pad application, however, the construction of many bamboo pads are rigid lacking the capability to flex or bend. A novel bamboo chair pad construction is needed and is found in this patent application. BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0011] The invention is a hard wood chair pad formed from multiple elongated rigid planks that have been processed like hardwood flooring or other process depending on the material in order to form panels of the foldable chair pad. The chair pad provides a substantially rigid surface but the pad can be folded up for ease of transport and shipping. The rigid planks utilized to construct the chair pad panels are similar to planks in hardwood flooring and have sufficient thickness such that when they are bonded in an adjacent side by side abutting manner along the longer lengthwise edges similar to some hardwood flooring and further bonded to a backing in an adjacent side by side manner, the planks form a substantially rigid surface is provided. The planks can be adjacently connected lengthwise along their long side edges, and further adjacently connected end to end along the short side edges. Please note, bamboo is included as one of the species of wood that will be used in one version of the chair pad and that bamboo is scientifically considered a grass. . . not a wood. [0012] The planks can be assembled to construct rigid panel sections that can be hinged together such that they are foldable onto an adjacent panel. The chair pad can be constructed of two or more foldable hinged panels. The embodiment shown in the drawing herein includes a center panel and left and right side wing panels, each hinged on opposing sides of the center panel. The left side panel can be adjacently connected by a hinge to the left side of the center panel lengthwise along the side edges of the panels. Similarly, the right panel can be adjacently connected by a hinge to the right side of the center panel lengthwise along the side edges of the panels. When the side panels are hingedly attached, the become foldable left and right side flaps of the chair pad such that the side flaps can be folded over onto the center panel for ease of movement and shipping. The chair pad can also be constructed from two, four or more foldable hinged panels without departing from the scope of this invention. [0013] Various recessed hinges that are well known in the art can be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention to attach the chair pad panels. Recessed hinges that can be recessed or counter sunk in a recess extending inward from the side edge of the panels can be utilized, which makes the hinge substantially transparent to the user when the chair pad is placed on the floor with the flaps extended. Also the seam or space between adjacent panels is less noticeable. One embodiment of a recessed hinge as disclose herein comprises left and right mounting members where each of the mounting members further comprise a support plug portion for insertion in a recess. The support plug having a mounting flange plate attached to one end of the plug. The mounting members have cut out areas in the mounting flange plate and plug portion for receiving the cross-link support arm. The recessed hinge can have multiple cross-link support arms that are pivotally interconnected by a bearing pin or hinge pin at intermediate portions of the support arms. One end of each support arm can be pivitolly journaled to one of the mounting members and the opposing end can be pivotally connected to a cam-follower hinge pin, where the cam-follower hinge pin is slidable within a longitudinal slot within the plug portion of the mounting member. The recessed hinge as described can pivotally attach two panels of a chair pad in a side by side manner. This type of hinge offers a stronger and more stable office chair mat. [0014] The bamboo chair pad can be manufactured from 100% Anji Mountain bamboo from China. The bamboo is all treated with various protective coatings to add resistance to natural factors including water, sun and dirt. All bamboo chair pads are made from the harder portions of the bamboo trunk. (Some bamboo used for indoor purposes are manufactured from the softer fibers of the inside of the bamboo trunk). This portion of the bamboo trunk is not utilized for this invention. The bamboo utilized in the present invention can be taken from the harder part of the bamboo trunk to assure maximum endurance and longevity. The bamboo used may be horizontal, vertical or braided (twisted) bamboo. These terms refer to the actual process and physical characteristics of the bamboo. The lower trunk portion of the bamboo plant is harder and less porous. Other wood having sufficient hardness and strength or other materials can also be utilized to manufacture the planks and the panels. [0015] The bamboo for the present invention can be kiln dried to reduce the chance of warping and remove moisture that can cause future warping. Certain styles of bamboo are oxidized in a boiling vat of liquid to bring out different variations of color vs. the common method of spray staining the bamboo planks to a particular color. The oxidation process also makes the bamboo less porous to moisture. A UV coating can also be applied to the bamboo planks. One embodiment of the invention can have 7 coats of UV protection or a number of coats of polyurethane. The bamboo can be arranged with a series of planks lying next to one another and then assembled into a chair pad utilizing the same manufacturing processes and machinery utilized for some hardwood flooring. [0016] One embodiment of the invention is an chair pad comprising at least two hinged foldable side by side panels where the at least one recessed hinge is pivotally attaching the at least two foldable panels where said at least one recessed hinge has first and second mounting members pivotally hinged with respect to each other and each opposingly mounted and counter sunk in opposing recesses extending inwardly into opposing facing adjacent side edges of the at least two hinged foldable side by side adjacent panels. The first and second mounting members each can have a central cavity area. This embodiment can further comprise at least one cross-link support arm pivotally attaching the first and second mounting members, where said cross-link support arm members are substantially retractable within the central cavity when the foldable panels are pivotally extended to an abutting side edge by side edge relationship such that the at least one recessed hinged is substantially hidden from view. [0017] Another embodiment of the invention can be a foldable chair pad comprising a center panel, a left side panel pivotally attached to the center panel at a left side edge of the center panel and an adjacent side edge of the left side panel and a right side panel pivotally attached to the center panel at a right side edge of the center panel opposite the left side edge and an adjacent edge of the right side panel. The left side panel and the right side panel are pivotally attached to the center panel by left and right recessed hinges respectively where said left recessed hinge having first and second mounting members are pivotally hinged with respect to each other and said right recessed hinge having third and fourth mounting members are pivotally hinged with respect to each other and each first and second mounting member opposingly mounted and counter sunk in opposing recesses extending inwardly into opposing facing adjacent side edges of left side panel an the center panel. Each third and fourth mounting member is opposingly mounted and counter sunk in opposing recesses extending inwardly into opposing facing adjacent side edges of the right side panel an the center panel. [0018] The present inventions construction provides a product that is easily packaged, transported, shipped and moved about to the flexibility of the chair pad and ability to fold up. These and other advantageous features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which: [0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the chair pad with a chair resting thereon; Continue reading about Foldable chair pad... Full patent description for Foldable chair pad Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Foldable chair pad patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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