Device for a child's chair

The present invention concerns a safety device for use in children's chairs in order to reduce the danger of incorrect use of such children's chairs.

Background of the invention

A rapid development has taken place in the level of equipment in private homes over the last years, especially concerning upgrades and new purchases of electronic devices and aids. In a large degree, this development takes place in the dayrooms of a home, such as the living room or in the kitchen.

In this connection, it has been observed that parents to a larger extent than before, are disturbed by external influence, such as by their own or other family members cell phones, TVs, video, computers, internet, wireless phones, videogames etc.

I addition, several families have a more tight time schedule than before, where both parent work for example, and need to attend to several duties simultaneously and/or in a shorter time, such as house work like cleaning, laundering, dishwashing and especially cooking, simultaneously as helping children with homework, making appointments, checking e-mail, text messages and answer machines, etc. Moreover, more adults are in an increasing degree in contact with work from home.

This increased activity and degree of disturbance at home, makes focus shift away from a child sitting in a children's chair, such as at meals, which for example are taken in the kitchen or the living room. By proper use of a children's chair, the parents should always have full attention on the child, as long as it sits in the chair.

In addition, there is also observed an increase in children's chairs being placed and used in unfortunate surroundings, such as on soft or thick carpets, possibly on several layers of carpets as well as against tables with a tall edge etc. The reason for this may be varied, but may for example be due to meals being moved to the most used dayroom such as the living room, where the furnishing is not particularly suited for the use of children's high chairs, or for example that the nowadays popular concept of a table in "bar counter" height is used as the kitchen table, even though it is not suited for use together with high children's chairs.

The disadvantage of the reduced focus and attention on a child in the children's chair is of course that the child can make movements leading to the chair being overturned, hi the user guides for children's chairs it is clearly made attention to that a child never should be left unattended in a children's chair without the supervision of an adult. This especially concerns children secured by harness or in other manners to a children's chair. A soft support will for example obviously give any chair less stability and increase the risk of overturning. Further, a tall table edge will provide a child sitting in a high children's chair a better possibility of pushing itself away from the edge of the table, and more importantly the pushing force will be directed more downward towards the rear legs of the chair, and this will lead to increased possibility for tilting of the chair because the pushing force strains the rear legs of the chair down towards the floor surface. If the children's chair is placed on a soft support, or a support with high friction, the child will have an even better opportunity to strain the chair firmly against the floor and by so doing tilting the chair backwards, in stead of the chair gliding backwards like some chairs of prior art are meant to do.

Prior art

Such a chair is the Tripp Trapp® chair from Stokke AS, which has standard gliders as safety devices in plastic in each corner on the underside of the chair, so that the chair glides away from the table when the child pushes itself from a normal dining table top. In normal use according to the user guide, the security is preserved and satisfies all safety regulations, but the problem is that the user guides are not always complied with and that the products thereby are used in a wrong manner. Lack of supervision of the child when it sits in the chair is an improper use which may lead to the child tilting the chair.

JP 10234503 shows a contact piece for mounting in one single position on the underside of the front end of a horizontal leg rod, which projects slightly further forward than the end of the leg rod, to prevent forward tilting of the chair.

DE 3,224,806 shows a right angled or T-formed glider, for mounting on the underside of corner joints of furniture in a fixed position.

Objective of the invention

The objective of the invention is to provide a device to increase the safety in children's chairs, beyond the safety regulations, and to reduce the chance of improper use of the chair leading to danger for the child.

Further, the objective of the invention is to provide such a device, which may reduce the danger that may follow from wrongful use of the chair, wherein the chair may be changed back to its original form without making physical, permanent changes in the chair. The chair should be possible to return to its original form and state or to an approximately original state, wherein the device is not distinctive on the chair, but easily may be reused with minimal assembly work.

The objective is to provide an extended backward directed support along and past the chairs rear leg parts and the possibility for adjustment of the chair both in relation to the child in the chair, such as according to the age of the child, as well as according to the support. Further, such an extended support should provide minimal influence of the ability to navigate behind the chair, so that no one trips in such a supporting device.

Short description of the invention

The invention thus concerns a glider device according to claim 1.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a glider device for a leg of a chair, especially a leg of a chair for a children's chair, comprising a plate which comprises at least one fastening opening and wherein the plate has one smooth underside and a topside, characterized in that it may be fastened in at least two different length positions in relation to the leg of the chair it is fastened to, and that it in both positions has a horizontal extent which is larger than the area it covers on the leg of the chair.

Further advantageous embodiments appear form the dependent claims.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is therefore provided a glider device mentioned above, wherein the gliding device is a horizontal extended glider in relation to an original glider or spacer on the leg of the chair. The topside of the plate may comprise raised edges and may comprise two or more fastening openings. The fastening openings may have conical edges which open towards the underside of the plate,

preferably wherein the fastening openings are conical screw holes. The glider device may comprise an anchoring element for permanent attachment in an existing hole on the underside of the leg of a chair, and possibly thereto belonging fastening elements, preferably wherein the fastening element is a nut plug and the fastening element is a screw, more preferably wherein the fastening element is a screw with countersinkable head.

In one embodiment the fastening openings are connected by an open track, preferably the track has the same or smaller width than the diameter of the fastening opening, more preferably the track has vertical walls. Further, the raised edges may comprise longitudinal edges which partly or completely cover the right and left side edges of the gliding device, the raised edges may also cover a transverse end edge of the glider device, partly or completely, preferably continuously with the left and right side edges. At least parts of the right and left raised edges may bear against the vertical parts of the leg of a chair in an extended position.

In another embodiment the underside of the gliding device has a lower friction than the underside of the leg of a chair.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is therefore provided a safety kit for a children's chair, characterized in that it comprises two glider devices as mentioned above, two anchoring elements and two fastening elements, and possibly two replacement gliders.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the use of a glider device or a safety kit as mentioned above, as a safety device on a children's chair to reduce the friction between the chair's rear leg and a support, preferably a soft support such as a carpet.

Still another aspect of the invention relates to the use of a glider device or a safety kit as mentioned above, to move the tilting point for the chair rearward in relation to the tilting point of the chair itself.

Drawings

Figure 1 shows a glider device according to the invention from two perspectives.

Figure 2 shows the glider device in figure 1 mounted in an extended position in a children's chair.

Figure 3 shows the glider device in figure 2 in a retracted position.

Figure 4 shows the removal of an existing standard glider in a children's chair seen from the underside and a detail thereof.

Figure 5 shows the first step in the mounting of the glider device in figures 2 and 3 and a detail thereof.

Figure 6 shows the second step in the mounting of the glider device in the position of figure 2.

Figure 7 shows the second step in the mounting of the glider device in the in the position of figure 3.

Figure 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the glider device.

Figure 9 shows an optional replacement part in a children's chair seen from the underside and a detail thereof.

Figure 10 shows the mounting of the replacement part in figurer 9.

Detailed description

In the further description the following terms will be used which should be understood as follows unless something else is given.

By the term "in front", "forward", "front" and "forward directed" is meant the mainly horizontal direction, which the face and chest of a child sitting in the chair is facing towards during normal use.

Further, by the term "behind", "rearward", "rear" and "rearward directed" is meant the opposite mainly horizontal direction, which is the direction towards which the back of the child sitting in a chair generally is directed towards during normal use of the chair.

The invention will in the following be illustrated by examples of embodiments with referred to the figures, which are not limiting for the invention.

Figure 1 shows the parts of a glider device according to the present invention seen from the topside and underside, which comprises an extended glider 1 together with an optional anchoring element 2, such as a nut plug 2, and a fastening element 3, such as a screw.

The extended glider 1 has an underside which comprises a gliding surface 11. The glider surface 11 has a surface which is wider and/or longer in extent than normal spacers on children's chair, such as in relation to standard gliders which are supplied as standard on a Tripp Trapp® chair. The extended glider is provided with a frontal fastening opening 12 and a rear fastening opening 13, such as screw holes, for fastening of the extended glider on the underside of the children's chair by help of the fastening element 3. The front and rear fastening openings 12 and 13 are preferably adapted to the fastening element, and are in this embodiment conical so that corresponding conical screw heads are countersunk during fastening and do not get in contact with the floor and influence the gliding properties of the safety device, or make scratches in the floor surface.

The extended glider comprises three mainly vertical raised side edges, i.e. two longitudinal edges 14 and a transverse end edge 15. The edges 14 and 15 will completely or partly surround and bear against the vertical parts of the rear legs of the children's chair, like a kind of shoe.

Figure 2 shows children's chair 100 wherein the extended glider 1 is mounted on the rear parts of the legs 101 in extended state, such that the extended glider stretches horizontally backwards along the floor in a greater extent than the parts of the legs 101.

Figure 3 shows children's chair 100 wherein the extended glider 1 is mounted on the rear parts of the legs 101 in a retracted state. It should be noted that the extended glider not only covers the rear underside of the part of the legs 101, but that it also stretches outside of the rear floor print of the parts of the legs 101 on each side and behind, as the two length edges 14 and the transverse end edge 15 are rim positioned.

In both the cases shown in figures 2 and 3, the children's chair thereby obtains a gliding surface on the rear parts of the legs 101 of greater area than the original standard gliders

that accompany the chair. This makes the chair glide much easier on certain supports, such as on soft carpets, by less force, when it is subjected to horizontal forces. In this manner the chairs shown in figure 2 and 3 will glide earlier and easier away from a table, if the child sitting in the chair pushes by kicking away from the table, in relation

5 to a normal children's chair on surfaces where it is preferable with a large surface of the glider. In the extended version shown in figure 2, the effect of a more downward directed pushing force, such as a pushing force against a tall table edge, or a vigorous rearward directed weight displacement of the child, will in addition be reduced as the extent of the legs in the rearward direction is greater and moves the tilting point of the io chair further rearwards. Thus, greater stability is provided in this direction to provide increased resistance against reward overturning. The upward rising longitudinal edges 14 provides the extended gliding element with rigidity against bending in the longitudinal direction, and torsion in the transverse direction, such that the extent of the gliding element provides the intended stabilizing effect.

I ₅

In this embodiment, as shown in figures 2 and 3, the rear par of the legs 101 is the rear part of a horizontal leg beam, but any rear leg part of a chair may be envisaged, especially a rear part of a leg having a surface sufficient to cover the main surface of the glider in a retracted position.

20

As shown in the figures 4-7, the safety device according to the present invention is very easy and quick to install as well as to retract and extend, or to replace back to the original form when the needs changes.

2 ₅ I figure 4 it is shown how the existing rear standard glider 21 on the rear leg part 101 of a children's chair is removed, for example by the help of a flat screw driver 200. It should be noted that it is not necessary to remove the front standard gliders 22, as the load and need for gliding effect first and foremost lies on the rear gliders.

30 The rear standard gliders 21 are fastened to a hole on the underside of the rear leg parts that appears by removal of the standard gliders. The standard gliders may be thrown away as they will not fit in the holes after the anchoring element 2 is mounted, such as when a nut plug is fixed into the chair as shown in figure 5.

3 ₅ In figure 5 it is shown how the anchoring elements 2 are fastened, for example by nut pugs being drawn in with a hammer 300, in the front fastening opening 102 of the two holes 102 and 103 on the underside of the rear leg pats, where the former standard

glider was fastened. In this embodiment, it is important that the fastening opening furthest away form the end of the part of the legs 101 is used for the anchoring elements 2, so that the main gliding element may be used both in extended and retracted position. The anchoring elements 2 are preferably self-fastening, and/or expanding so that they are anchored in a very well fixed manner, and preferably permanently in the foremost hole 102 when they are brought into the holes.

Figure 6 further shows how the extended glider is mounted in an extended position by guiding the fastening element 3, here a screw, through the foremost fastening opening 12 in the main gliding element and fastening the extended glider via the anchoring element 2 to the rear leg parts, for example by the help of a tool, here as an example by an Allen wrench 400. The raised side edges 14 hinder the extended glider from rotating and secure the correct positioning in a rearward extension of the rear leg parts 101.

Figure 7 shows the mounting of the extended glider in a retracted position, by guiding ^" the fastening element 3 through the rear fastening opening 13 in the main glider element and fastening the element by the anchoring element 2 to the rear leg parts 101. The raised longitudinal side edges 14 and the transverse edge 15 will thereby all bear against the vertical parts of the rear leg parts 101 in a discrete, enclosing and little visible manner, which hinders them from damage or to be of hindrance for the user. The fastening also hinders that the extended glider rotates and secures proper positioning in a rearward extension of the rear leg parts 101. A very low embodiment of the extended glider also reduces the risk of tripping for persons passing behind the chair.

In an alternative embodiment as shown in figure 8, the fastening opening in the extended glider 20 may be an open track between the front 12 and rear fastening opening 13. hi this manner, it is not necessary to remove the fastening elements 3 completely, such as screws, to interchange between an extended and retracted position of the extended glider. By raising the fastening element, the extended glider may glide to the desired position and thereafter being fastened in the position by tightening the fastening element. However, the track should not be wider than only allowing the stem of the fastening element, such as the stem of a screw, to glide in the track when the fastening element is partly in a raised state. The track should therefore have the same or smaller width than the diameter of the fastening openings, and preferably have vertical inner walls. For example, conical recesses in the extended glider, adapted to the head of the fastening element may provide physical resistance against positional adjustment

when the fastening element 3 is positioned all the way in. Such shape adjusted recesses around the fastening openings in the extended glider may hinder unintended inward pushing of the extended glider, which would reduce the expected safety.

Figure 9 shows a replacement glider 4. This optional replacement glider 4 is narrower than the extended glider and has for example the same outer dimensions as the original standard glider supplied with the children's chair.

If the user no longer wishes to have the safety device mounted on the chair, the extended glider may be demounted and removed and be replaced by the optional replacement glider 4 mounted in the holes under the chair, for example by driving it as shown in figure 9. Thus, the replacement glider 4 has a rear fastening element 43 on the topside, such as a plug, which fits in the original rearmost hole 103, and a narrower foremost fastening element 42, such as a narrow plug, which fits into the opening of the anchoring element 2, as the anchoring element is not meant to be removed. The replacement glider contributes to reset the chair to its original shape and provides the same gliding properties as the original standard glider which was removed. It is important that the chair is not without glider, as lacking gliders may involve a safety risk.

Normally, the safety device is supplied as a package containing all the necessary parts for a chair, and thus the invention also relates to a kit comprising:

- 2 extended gliders,

- 2 fastening elements, - 2 anchoring elements, and

- possibly 2 replacement gliders, adapted to a children's chair, especially a Tripp Trapp® chair, where the fastening elements for example are screws and the anchoring elements for example are nut plugs.

The safety kit may for example be supplied separately as a safety kit, or be combined with other products, such as chosen from one or more of: a children's harness, a children's rail or a raised back of the chair, such as a baby kit.