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Foldable, height-adjustable, and slantable seating device

Foldable, height-adjustable, and slantable seating device description/claims

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/868,281, filed Dec. 1, 2006, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, this application claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 200720128414.8, filed in the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on Aug. 23, 2007, 2006, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for chair related devices, and, more particularly, to a foldable, height-adjustable, and slantable seating device that offers a user, such as a musician, a height adjustability function, a slantable seat function, as well as an easy fold and transport function.

Nearly all musical performances in which a musician is seated require the musician to maintain upper body erectness and a slightly anteverted posture. A posture in which the upper body's center of gravity is shifted slightly forward allows waist muscles to relax, arms to be freely extended, and arm strength to be naturally released and applied to a musical instrument. Such a posture, therefore, has the effect of enhancing a musician's performance.

Most ordinary chairs on the market, however, are not suited to use for musical performances, as they cause the body to naturally incline, resulting in the back not being straight. Where a performer cannot be seated with an anteverted posture, his or her back muscles will tire and have an immediate effect on the quality of his or her performance. Over a long period of time, a poor seating posture will even cause bodily damage.

A person's height also varies greatly from childhood until adulthood. Moreover, most musicians begin performing at an early age. Therefore, most musicians experience a change in height during their performing careers, and most musical performance classrooms and other locales need to accommodate musicians of widely varying heights. For economical reasons, some facilities do not accommodate the entire range of heights, and a child, for example, may have to perform while seated in a chair designed for adults. As a result, the child's musical skills and/or health may be adversely affected.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Aspects of embodiments of the present invention are directed towards a foldable, height-adjustable, and slantable seating device, and methods of folding and unfolding, adjusting the height of, and adjusting the slant of the same. Other aspects of embodiments of the present invention include a seating device which can be adjusted to suit a wide variety of users, such as music students having different heights, or to suit a changing height of a single user. Other aspects of embodiments of the present invention include providing a seating device having a slantable seat to allow a musician to easily transfer his or her weight to a musical instrument, and also to aid in keeping a musician's back more straight. Still other aspects of embodiments of the present invention include a seating device which can easily be transported or stored, and which provides improved stability in use.

A seating device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a seat portion; a back portion; a seat frame; a back frame comprising two rear legs; a rear horizontal cross member; two front legs; a front horizontal cross member; two linkage mechanisms; and four leg inserts.

In one embodiment, the two front legs of the seating device are shorter than the two rear legs.

In one embodiment, the two linkage mechanisms include: a front linkage bar; a rear linkage bar; a top linkage bar; and a plurality of pins rotatably connecting the linkage bars.

In one embodiment, the back frame is bent, the back portion thereby being slanted.

In one embodiment, the back frame is bent rearward, the back portion thereby being slanted rearward with respect to the two rear legs.

In one embodiment, an angle between the seat portion and the two rear legs is approximately 86 degrees.

In one embodiment, the back portion has a recess configured to provide a gap between the back portion and the back frame such that a user can hold or carry the seating device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of utilizing a seating device that is foldable, slantable, and adjustable in height includes: unfolding; adjusting the height; adjusting the slant; and folding the seating device.

In one embodiment of a method, two front legs of the seating device are shorter than two rear legs of the seating device.

In one embodiment of a method, an angle between a seat portion of a seating device and the two rear legs is approximately 86 degrees.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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