TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a foldable chair, and more particularly, to a foldable
chair of which durability is improved, and thus lifespan and performance is also enhanced.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Generally, a foldable chair is unfolded to support a load of a user, when the user
sits thereon, and folded when the user stands up therefrom.
[0003] The foldable chair is installed at a gymnasium, a theater or the like which receives
a large audience, such that a seat part of the foldable chair is automatically erected
and folded when user stands up from the foldable chair.
[0004] Here, a principle that the seat part of the foldable chair is automatically erected
is generally embodied by restoring force of a spring or a self-weight of a backrest
part. In this case, a collision between members may occur due to fast rotation of
the seat part.
[0005] In other words, when the user stands up from the foldable chair, the seat part is
folded, and thus the seat part strongly collides with the backrest part.
[0006] At this time, impact noise may be generated by contact between the seat part and
the backrest part, and contacting parts may be worn.
[0007] Meanwhile, in the foldable chair, since the seat part is repeatedly folded and unfolded,
durability of the foldable chair is deteriorated by the collision between the seat
part and the backrest part, and thus lifespan and performance thereof is remarkably
reduced.
[0008] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the lifespan and performance of the foldable
chair without any influence on the durability thereof, even though the seat part of
the foldable chair is repeatedly folded and unfolded.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL PROBLEM
[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a foldable chair which absorbs a
shock generated when a seat part is repeatedly folded and unfolded, and also minimizes
contact between the seat part and a backrest part, thereby improving durability thereof.
TECHNICAL SOLUTION
[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable chair
including a fixing stand which is fixed to a fixing structure, a seat part and a backrest
part which are rotatably installed at the fixing stand, and a damping part which is
installed at the fixing stand so as to be in contact with the backrest part and thus
to relieve a shock, when the seat part is rotated.
[0011] The damping part may reduce a rotational speed of the seat part or the backrest part,
when being in contact with the backrest part.
[0012] The damping part may include a coupling part which is coupled to the fixing stand,
and a relieving part which protrudes from the coupling part and is inserted into the
coupling part by contact with the backrest part.
[0013] The fixing stand may have a coupling hole or coupling groove in which the damping
part is inserted and coupled.
[0014] The backrest part may have a contacting part which protrudes to an outside and is
in contact with the damping part when the seat part is rotated.
[0015] The foldable chair may further include a connecting part which is rotatably coupled
with the backrest part and the fixing stand so as to connect the backrest part and
the fixing stand.
[0016] The connecting part may have a stopper which is in contact with part of the fixing
stand and fixes the seat part at a predetermined position, when the seat part is rotated.
[0017] The stopper may protrude from the connecting part to an outside thereof.
[0018] The fixing stand may have a through-portion passing through the fixing stand to an
outside thereof, and the stopper may be in contact with one surface defining the through-portion
when a load of a user is applied.
[0019] The foldable chair may further include a bracket which is coupled to the fixing stand
and fixes the damping part to the fixing stand.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS
[0020] According to the foldable chair of the present invention, when the seat part is repeatedly
folded and unfolded, it is possible to absorb the shock and also to reduce a rotational
speed of the seat part or the backrest part.
[0021] Also, it is possible to minimize the contact between the seat part and the backrest
part, and thus it is possible to improve the durability of the foldable chair and
maximize the performance and lifespan thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a foldable chair in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematically enlarged perspective view of an A part of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematically exploded perspective view of the A part of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 4 to 7 are schematic side view illustrating a use state of the foldable chair
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematically exploded perspective view illustrating a first modified
embodiment of the A part of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a schematically exploded perspective view illustrating a second modified
embodiment of the A part of FIG. 1.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0023] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable chair
including a fixing stand which is fixed to a fixing structure, a seat part and a backrest
part which are rotatably installed at the fixing stand, and a damping part which is
installed at the fixing stand so as to be in contact with the backrest part and thus
to relieve a shock, when the seat part is rotated.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0024] Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described
in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. May be offered by, the spirit of
the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, the additional components
that make the embodiment of the spirit of the present invention, change, and delete
differently, but also in the spirit of the present invention, will be included.
[0025] Further, in the drawings, the same components having the same functions are designated
by the same reference numerals, even though they are depicted in different drawings.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a foldable chair in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematically enlarged perspective
view of an A part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematically exploded perspective view
of the A part of FIG. 1.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a foldable chair 10 according to one embodiment of the
present invention may include a fixing stand 100 which is fixed to a fixing structure
(not shown), a seat part 200 and a backrest part 300 which are installed to be rotatable
with respect to the fixing stand 100, and a damping part 400 which relieves shock.
[0028] The fixing stand 100 is a component which fixes the foldable chair 10 according to
one embodiment of the present invention to the fixing structure, and may include a
base part 110, a supporting part 120, a coupling part 130 and a pillar part 140.
[0029] The base part 110 may be coupled to the fixing structure such as floors and walls
and may be provided in at least one or more parts.
[0030] Here, a coupling manner between the base part 110 and the fixing structure may be
at least one of a coupling manner using a screw and a bolt, a bonding manner and a
welding manner, but is not particularly limited thereto.
[0031] Meanwhile, the supporting part 120 may be extended so as to correspond to the supporting
part 110, and may define a height of the foldable chair 10 according to one embodiment
of the present invention.
[0032] That is, the supporting part 120 may be installed at the base part 110 so as to adjust
the height of the foldable chair 10, and all of well-known means for adjusting the
height may be applied.
[0033] Meanwhile, the supporting part 120 may be connected through the coupling part 130,
and the coupling part 130 may connect the support part 120 and the pillar part 140.
[0034] Here, the base part 110, the supporting part 120 and the coupling part 130 may be
prepared separately and then coupled with each other, but are not limited thereto.
The base part 110, the supporting part 120 and the coupling part 130 may be integrally
defined.
[0035] Further, the base part 110, the supporting part 120 and the coupling part 130 are
not limited to shapes illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, and may have various shapes according
to intension of a person skilled in the art.
[0036] Meanwhile, each pillar part 140 may be coupled to both ends of the coupling part
130, and the pillar part 140 may provide a rotational center for rotation of the seat
part 200 and the backrest part 300.
[0037] In other words, the pillar part 140 which is part of the fixing stand 100 may be
adapted to enable the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 to be rotated with respect
to a portion which is coupled with a connecting part 500 connecting the seating part
200 and backrest part 300 and the fixing stand 100.
[0038] Here, the seating part 200 may be dependently rotated with respect to the fixing
stand 100 in a counterclockwise direction (an X direction, referring to FIG. 4) or
a clockwise direction (a Y direction, referring to FIG. 4) according to whether to
exist a load of a user.
[0039] That is, when the load of the user is applied to an upper surface of the seat part
200, the seat part 200 is nearly vertically unfolded with respect to the backrest
part 300 and thus in an installation state, and when the load of the user is removed,
the seat part 200 is automatically folded.
[0040] Meanwhile, when the load of the user is removed and thus the seat part 200 is folded,
the backrest part 300 may be interlocked and rotated. The rotation of the backrest
part 300 may be embodied by the connecting part 500 connecting the backrest part 300
and the pillar part 140 of the fixing stand 100.
[0041] That is, one end and the other end of the connecting part 500 are respectively connected
with the backrest part 300 and the fixing stand 100, such that the backrest part 300
may be rotated.
[0042] Here, the connecting part 500 may include at least one stopper 510 (referring to
FIGS. 4 to 7) protruding to an outside, and the stopper 510 is in contact with part
of the fixing stand 100, when the seat part 200 is rotated, and enables the seat part
200 to be fixed at a predetermined position.
[0043] In other words, the pillar part 140 of the fixing stand 100 has a through-portion
145 passing through the pillar part 140 toward the outside, and the stopper 510 may
be in contact with an upper surface defining the through-portion 145, when the load
of the user is applied, and may fix the seat part 200 at the predetermined position.
[0044] Here, the through-portion 145 may be covered by a sealing part 600 in order to improve
an external appearance, and the sealing part 600 may be made of various materials.
[0045] Meanwhile, the rotation of the backrest part 300 may be assisted by an armrest part
700 connecting the backrest part 300 and an end of the pillar part 140, and the armrest
part 700 may be disposed to be nearly parallel with the seat part 200 and thus to
enhance user's convenience, when the load of the user is applied.
[0046] The damping part 400 is a component which relieves the shock by contacting the backrest
part 300, when the load of the user is removed and thus the seat part 200 is rotated.
The damping part 400 may be installed at the pillar part 140 of the fixing stand 100.
[0047] Here, a coupling manner between the damping part 400 and the pillar part 140 of the
fixing stand 100 may be embodied by inserting and coupling the damping part 400 into
a coupling hole 147 defined in the pillar part 140.
[0048] However, the damping part 400 may be coupled to the coupling hole 147 in a fitting
manner, or may be inserted into the coupling hole 147 and then bonded by an adhesive.
[0049] More specifically, the damping part 400 may include a coupling part 410 which is
inserted and coupled into the coupling hole 147, and a relieving part 420 which protrudes
from the coupling part 410 and is inserted into the coupling part 410 when being in
contact with the backrest part 300.
[0050] Here, the contact between the backrest part 300 and the relieving part 420 may be
embodied by a contacting part 310 provided at the backrest part 300, and the contacting
part 310 may be disposed at a position corresponding to the damping part 400 when
the backrest part 300 is folded.
[0051] That is, the contacting part 310 may protrudes from an edge portion of the backrest
part 300 to an outside thereof, and thus may be in contact with the relieving part
420 of the damping part 400 when the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 are rotated.
[0052] Meanwhile, the inserting of the relieving part 420 into the coupling part 410 by
the contact with the contacting part 310, or protruding of the relieving part 420
to an outside of the coupling part 410, when the seat part 200 and the backrest part
300 are rotated, may be embodied by an elastic member such as a spring, or a hydraulic
manner.
[0053] However, an operation of the relieving part 420 is not limited to the elastic member
such as the spring, or the hydraulic manner, and may be changed according to intension
of a person skilled in the art.
[0054] Meanwhile, the relieving part 420 may relieve the shock from the backrest part 300,
when being in contact with the backrest part 300, and may reduce a rotational speed
of the backrest part 300 or the seat part 200. Thus, when the load of the user is
removed and the seat part 200 is rotated, contact between the seat part 200 and the
backrest part 300 may be minimized.
[0055] Therefore, since the contact between the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300
is previously prevented, it is possible to minimize wear or impact noise generated
by the shock, and thus to improve durability of the foldable chair 10 according to
one embodiment of the present invention, thereby maximizing performance and lifespan
thereof.
[0056] FIGS. 4 to 7 are schematic side view illustrating a use state of the foldable chair
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 4, in the foldable chair 10 according to one embodiment of the
present invention, when the load of the user is applied to an upper surface of the
seat part 200, the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 may be disposed to be nearly
vertical to each other.
[0058] At this time, fixing of the seat part 200 may be embodied by the contact between
the stopper 510 provided at the connecting part 500 and the fixing stand 100. More
specifically, the stopper 510 is in contact with the upper surface defining the through-portion
145 of the pillar part 140, and thus the seat part 200 may be stably fixed at the
predetermined position.
[0059] Here, the relieving part 420 of the damping part 400 is maintained in a state of
protruding to the outside of the coupling part 410.
[0060] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, when the load of the user is removed from the seat part
200, the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 are automatically rotated and folded
by the restoring force of the spring or the like.
[0061] Here, the restoring force which automatically restores the seat part 200 is not limited
to the spring, and all of well-known means may be applied.
[0062] Meanwhile, when the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 are rotated, the seat
part 200 and the backrest part 300 are rotated at a high speed by the restoring force,
and the contact between the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 may be occurred
by inertial force due to the high rotational speed.
[0063] However, in the foldable chair 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention,
the contact between the seat part 200 and the backrest part 300 may be prevented by
the damping part 400 and the contacting part 310 provided at the backrest part 300.
[0064] Referring to FIG. 7, when the load of the user is removed from the seat part 200,
the backrest part 300 and the seat part 200 may be rotated and then folded to be parallel
with each other.
[0065] In this case, the contacting part 310 provided with the backrest part 300 is in contact
with the relieving part 420 of the damping part 400 before the rotation of the backrest
part 300 is completed, and thus the rotational speed of the backrest part 300 is reduced.
[0066] That is, the shock may be relieved by the contact between the contacting part 310
and the relieving part 420 of the damping part 400, and the rotational speed of the
backrest part 300 is slowly reduced after the contact.
[0067] Therefore, even when the backrest part 300 and the seat part 200 are rotated at the
high speed, the final rotational speed is considerably reduced by the damping part
400, and thus the contact between the backrest part 300 and the seat part 200 is previously
prevented.
[0068] Accordingly, it is possible to previously prevent the contact between the backrest
part 300 and the seat part 200, thus to minimize the wear or the impact noise due
to the shock, and eventually to improve the durability of the foldable chair 10 according
to one embodiment of the present invention, thereby maximizing the performance and
lifespan thereof.
[0069] FIG. 8 is a schematically exploded perspective view illustrating a first modified
embodiment of the A part of FIG. 1.
[0070] Referring to FIG. 8, the damping part 400 may be inserted and coupled a coupling
groove 149 defined in the pillar part 140 of the fixing stand 100.
[0071] More specifically, the coupling groove 149 may be defined to correspond to the coupling
part 410 of the damping part 400, or the coupling part 410 of the damping part 400
may be coupled therein in a tight fit manner.
[0072] Further, the damping part 400 may be inserted into the coupling groove 149 and then
bonded by an adhesive.
[0073] Meanwhile, a through-portion 143 defined in the fixing stand 100 may be covered by
the sealing part 600 (referring to FIG. 1) in order to improve an external appearance,
as described above,
[0074] FIG. 9 is a schematically exploded perspective view illustrating a second modified
embodiment of the A part of FIG. 1.
[0075] Referring to FIG. 9, the damping part 400 may be fixed to the fixing stand 100 by
a bracket 800 coupled to the fixing stand 100.
[0076] More specifically, the bracket 800 may include a main body 810 having a hollow portion
and a wing part 820 protruding to both sides of the main body 810. The wing part 820
may be fixed to an inner surface of the through-portion 141 defined in the pillar
part 140 of the fixing stand 100 by a fastening member such as a screw.
[0077] Here, the wing part 820 may be defined to correspond to a length of the main body
810 or may be defined to be biased to one side of the main body 810.
[0078] Further, a plurality of wing parts 820 may be provided to be spaced apart from each
other.
[0079] Meanwhile, the coupling part 410 of the damping part 400 may be inserted into the
hollow portion of the main body 810, and thus the damping part 400 may be stably fixed
to the fixing stand 100.
[0080] While the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood
that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
1. A foldable chair, comprising:
a fixing stand which is fixed to a fixing structure;
a seat part and a backrest part which are rotatably installed at the fixing stand;
and
a damping part which is installed at the fixing stand so as to be in contact with
the backrest part and thus to relieve a shock, when the seat part is rotated.
2. The foldable chair of claim 1, wherein the damping part reduces a rotational speed
of the seat part or the backrest part, when being in contact with the backrest part.
3. The foldable chair of claim 1, wherein the damping part comprises a coupling part
which is coupled to the fixing stand, and a relieving part which protrudes from the
coupling part and is inserted into the coupling part by contact with the backrest
part.
4. The foldable chair of claim 1, wherein the fixing stand has a coupling hole or coupling
groove in which the damping part is inserted and coupled.
5. The foldable chair of claim 1, wherein the backrest part has a contacting part which
protrudes to an outside and is in contact with the damping part when the seat part
is rotated.
6. The foldable chair of claim 1, further comprising a connecting part which is rotatably
coupled with the backrest part and the fixing stand so as to connect the backrest
part and the fixing stand.
7. The foldable chair of claim 6, wherein the connecting part has a stopper which is
in contact with part of the fixing stand and fixes the seat part at a predetermined
position, when the seat part is rotated.
8. The foldable chair of claim 7, wherein the stopper protrudes from the connecting part
to an outside thereof.
9. The foldable chair of claim 7, wherein the fixing stand has a through-portion passing
through the fixing stand to an outside thereof, and the stopper is in contact with
one surface defining the through-portion when a load of a user is applied.
10. The foldable chair of claim 1, further comprising a bracket which is coupled to the
fixing stand and fixes the damping part to the fixing stand.