Chairs and seats – Plural related seats – Nested
Patent
1996-11-13
1998-09-29
Nelson, Jr., Milton
Chairs and seats
Plural related seats
Nested
29744022, 29745112, A47C 304
Patent
active
058137220
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to stackable chairs and in particular to an improved structural design for such chairs which provides an enhanced freedom of the shape and configuration of stackable chairs not currently available due to the strict structural limitations imposed by the design of currently available stackable chairs.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Chairs are very bulky items of everyday furniture requiring considerable space and volume. When in immediate use, the space occupied by a chair is justified by the occupant. However, when a chair or a number of chairs are vacated the space occupied by these empty items of furniture is considerable and, unlike a table, a chair has a particularly dedicated function and is unlikely to be used for another purpose. Accordingly, the idea of providing chairs which can be stacked one on top of the other when not in use has proved a popular design characteristic and resulted in an abundance of designs relating to stackable chairs.
Since the 1970s when injection moulding techniques have improved and the cost of plastic resin has dropped, an ever increasing range of moulded outdoor and indoor furniture has been developed. The advantages of stackable furniture and in particular stackable chairs has been exploited and an extensive range of stackable furniture has been developed utilizing full resin one shot injection moulding techniques where the chairs are produced in a single moulding operation. The technique of one shot injection moulding or "monobloc" provides a very economic method of manufacture and is largely responsible for the ready availability and low cost of the current stackable chairs currently on the market.
In addition to the space advantages and savings experienced by the end users of stackable chairs a further major advantage of stackable chairs is the low cost of freight involved in transporting quantities of stackable chairs from the manufacturer to the middle users where a quantity of stacked chairs can be packaged into a space not greatly increased over the space required by an individual chair.
However, the current design of strict monobloc stackable chairs and the rigid adherence to one shot construction by manufacturers has placed a number of significant design limitations on current stackable chairs. In particular, the rear legs of stackable chairs must pass over the seat portion and slid through a large opening in the back part of the chair. Although numerous creative designs have been used, the end result of this particular design limitation where the rear legs must straddle the seat has rendered a commonality in the shape of stackable chairs which is universally recognized as stackable "cheap" chairs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of this invention is to remove some of the above detailed design limitations currently found in stackable furniture and thereby provide stackable furniture capable of adopting a broad range of design configurations not currently available with strict monobloc construction.
Accordingly the invention provides in one aspect an article of furniture adapted for nestwise stacking engagement with a substantially identical article of furniture wherein said article of furniture comprises a body portion and a removable seat portion, said body portion having a seat cavity and further incorporating at least one integral front leg and at least one integral rear leg wherein at least one of said front or rear legs are adapted to pass through the seat cavity of an adjacent body created by the removal of the seat portion of said adjacent body and thereby facilitate the nestwise stacking of a plurality of said articles of furniture wherein said body portion is formed of a single monobloc construction.
The article of furniture may have two front legs and two rear legs with the rear legs adapted to fit through the seat cavity of said body and the front legs adapted to fit outside and abutting the body of said article of furniture.
The seat insert may be substantially planar and supported by the rim of the s
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patent: 3285660 (1966-11-01), Beckman et al.
patent: 3459449 (1969-08-01), Klausen
patent: 3574400 (1971-04-01), Day
patent: 3971587 (1976-07-01), Curtis et al.
patent: 4305616 (1981-12-01), Martinez
Undated advertisement of molded stackable chair.
Hartman Leisure Australia Pty. Ltd.
Jr. Milton Nelson
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