Foldable Chair Seat Mechanism With Concealed Support Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable chair designs expose supporting mechanisms when in a collapsed state, posing a risk of injury to users.
Innovation Solution
A foldable chair with a novel conversion mechanism that includes a stick shank, collar sleeve, carrier, seat unit with hinged wing portions, and bracing bars, allowing the seat unit to transform from a use state to a collapsed state, where the prop legs can move from a straddling to an upheld position, concealing the supporting structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the supporting mechanism is exposed in the collapsed state, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the user safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting mechanism is nested within the seat unit structure when in the collapsed state. The supporting legs are retracted into the space defined by the seat plate and backrest, making them invisible and inaccessible to users, thereby eliminating the safety hazard while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting mechanism transitions from a three-dimensional exposed structure to a two-dimensional planar configuration when collapsed. The supporting legs are positioned flush against the seat plate, changing their spatial arrangement from protruding to coplanar, which eliminates the safety hazard
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the seat unit is converted to a collapsed state with concealed supporting mechanisms, then user safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting mechanism is merged with the seat unit structure, where the supporting legs become integral parts of the seat assembly. This integration allows the supporting mechanism to be concealed within the seat unit's own structure rather than requiring separate housing or enclosure components
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting mechanism is designed to be dynamic, automatically transitioning between exposed and concealed states based on the chair's configuration. When the chair is folded, the supporting legs automatically retract into the seat unit, and when unfolded, they extend to provide support, eliminating the need for manual operation or complex locking mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable chair includes a stick shank, a collar sleeve movable between distal and proximate positions on the stick shank, a carrier sleeved on the stick shank, and a seat unit. The seat unit includes a middle portion pivotally connected to the collar sleeve, and left and right wing portions hinged to the middle portion. When the collar sleeve is displaced from the distal position to the proximate position, the seat unit is convertible from a use state, where middle portion is coplanar with the left and right wing portions, to a collapsed state, where the middle portion is at an included angle with each of the left and right wing portions.