Chairs and seats – Movable bottom – Bottom and back movable as a unit
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-20
2002-10-22
Barfield, Anthony D. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Movable bottom
Bottom and back movable as a unit
C297S338000, C248S161000, C108S034000, C108S150000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06467843
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present inventions directed to a collapsible seat and, more particularly, to a collapsible seat that is easily transportable and can be used on all types of ground surfaces.
It is well known that seats can be folded or collapsed to make them more transportable. While in a collapsed condition, the seat is typically easier to carry and takes up less space. As a result, seats can be utilized in many locations. However, unlike a chair used within a home, a collapsible seat can encounter a wide range of ground surfaces. These ground surfaces can range from the very soft to the very hard and from smooth to varying degrees of textures. The wide range of ground surfaces restricts use of many seats and often results in collapsible seats being designed for a particular use or one type of ground surface. The present invention is a collapsible seat that can be effectively utilized on a wide range of ground surfaces and that has additional advantages that will be discussed below.
The prior art relating to collapsible seats includes Parpala U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,635 which discloses a portable seat that is designed for use on soft ground. In order to overcome the difficulties associated with soft ground surfaces, which often causes instability, Parpala utilizes a pedestal that penetrates the ground deep enough to reach more stable subsoils. Once the pedestal has reached stable soil, an upper tube, which is permanently fixed to the seat portion, interengages with the pedestal to support and stabilize the seat. While the seat of Parpala '635 is portable and can be used in connection with soft ground surfaces, the seat is not fully collapsible and is intended for use in connection with soft ground surfaces. Furthermore, the penetration of the pedestal which is required to use the seat damages the ground.
Turner et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,686 and Jenkins D261,450 also disclose portable seats designed for use with soft ground surfaces. The Turner and Jenkins seats utilize tubular portions that are similar to Parpala in that they are intended to penetrate soft ground surfaces. However, these seats further include flange portions that restrict the penetration of the tubular portion and stabilize the seat attached thereto. As with Parpala, the seat portions disclosed in Turner and Jenkins are permanently attached to the pedestal portions, thereby reducing the collapsibility of the seats. The collapsibility of Jenkins' seat is further limited in that the seat portion is permanently attached to the penetrating portion of the pedestal.
Boerma U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,733 discloses a portable seat wherein the top portion of the pedestal includes a projection that is selectively receivable in a recess located in the bottom surface of the seating portion, but cannot be rigidly connected thereto when in the assembled condition. As a result, the seat portion can be removed; however the stability of the seat is reduced and the ability to move the seat is inhibited. In this respect, the horizontal planer structure of the seat portion is easy to grasp and pull upwardly while grasping a pedestal requires considerable wrist force to keep the hands from merely sliding up the pedestal when an upward force is applied. Accordingly, Boerma's seat requires additional effort to remove the seat from the ground before it is collapsed. In addition, the seat is still not fully collapsible. in that the pedestal is a unitary component that must be long enough to both extend into the ground to stabilize the seat and extend above the ground to produce the seating height. As with the seats discussed above, Boerma's seat is designed for use in connection with soft ground. As a result, Boerma's seat is only partially collapsible and is not fully transportable.
Even though the seat structures discussed above can be considered portable, they are not fully collapsible, they are not easily transportable and they can not be used on all ground surfaces. Another disadvantage is that the pedestal portions must penetrate the ground surface to stabilize the seat thereby damaging the ground by producing a hole therein. Accordingly, these seat structures are not versatile and are not suitable in connection with many activities such as sports activities including golf, soccer and other field sports.
Herron U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,424 discloses a portable seat that can be used in connection with a baseball bat or other elongated objects. With respect to the baseball bat, the occupant of the seat is not able to fully relax in that the occupant must maintain balance resulting from the off-center position of his or her weight in relation to the supporting baseball bat. Even though the seat portion is removable from the baseball bat, both objects are required for use of the seat and, therefore, both must be transported individually or together in the assembled condition. Accordingly, Herron's seat cannot be considered fully collapsible. Furthermore, if Herron's seat is used in connection with an independent elongated member, the portability of the seat is limited to the position of the elongated member.
Sienkiewicz et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,033 discloses a folding stool that is more collapsible than the seats described above; however, the seat is not fully collapsible and has other disadvantages. As with the seats discussed above, the base design of Sienkiewicz's seat is hot well suited for all ground surfaces. In this respect, for example, tines are required to stabilize the stool if it is used in connection with soft ground. Furthermore, the seat portion and the base portion are permanently affixed to the pedestal portion thereby reducing the collapsibility of the seat. To allow the seat portion to collapse against the pedestal, the pedestal is able to move relative to the seat portion; however, this requires a complicated tubular sleeve structure to connect the seat portion to the pedestal. More particularly, the sleeve allows rotation of the seat portion about the end of the pedestal and subsequently allows axial displacement of the seat portion relative to the pedestal once the pedestal is generally parallel with the bottom surface of the seat portion. However, the seat portion remains connected to the pedestal. In addition, the base portion remains fixed to the pedestal even when the seat is in the transportable condition.
The portable seats in the prior art discussed above have many disadvantageous. One such disadvantage is that the seats are not fully collapsible into a compact package for easy transportation thereof. Furthermore, some of the prior art seats require complicated mechanical structures to allow for only partial collapsing of the seat. Another disadvantage is that the seats disclosed in the prior art are not compatible with all ground surfaces. In fact, many of the disclosed seats are designed for use in connection with only one type of ground surface. These seats also leave behind large holes in the ground after they have been removed. Even the seats that are not intended to penetrate the ground for stability can inadvertently penetrate and damage the ground as a result of the small contact area of the base portion of the seat. This feature fails to disperse the weight of the occupant over an adequate area of ground surface and, therefore these seats are not appropriate for many soft ground surfaces often associated with outdoor use such as at sporting events.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention advantageously provides an improved collapsible seat which can be used on all types of ground surfaces and minimizes damage to the ground surface by dispersing the weight of the occupant over a large area. Furthermore, a seat according to the present invention can be fully collapsed into a compact package and can be manufactured using light weight materials for easy transportation thereof. In this respect, a collapsible seat is provided which comprises a telescopic pedestal that is selectively received on one end by a seat portion and on the opposite end by a base
Barfield Anthony D.
EZ Seat, Inc.
Vickers Daniels & Young
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