TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to furniture, and more particularly to self- assembly chairs.

BACKGROUND ART

Chairs are built with the backrest connected to the seat while the seat is supported by four legs. In general, backrests come in three heights. Backrest with the lowest support normally only supports the lumbar or waist region of the sitter. Shoulder height backrests support the entire back and shoulders of the sitter. Backrests with headrests support the head as well, and are commonly found in vehicles for preventing "whiplash" neck injuries in rear-end collisions where the head is jerked back suddenly.

Backrests in general are built into chairs to provide extra comfort to the sitter. The sitter can lean on the backrest while performing activities such as eating, reading or watching television and will not feel the strain of having to sit upright. Children who are not very good at balancing themselves also benefit from having a backrest when they are seated.

However, chairs with backrests present storage problems for manufacturers as they tend to take up a significant amount of space, especially compared to stools. Chairs with backrests also require more packing material and require more room for transportation. As fully assembled chairs take up more space than a stool, the packing material used to protect the chairs is also significantly more compared to a stool. Generally, assembled chairs are arranged in pairs with the top of the seats facing each other so the legs and the backrests are facing each other.

Fully assembled chairs are easily destroyed during transportation as the backrests and legs are usually packed tightly together.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The principal aim of the invention is to provide a self-assembly chair where the space to store the chair when it is disassembled is less than that of a conventional chair.

A further aim of the invention is to provide the user with options to use the chair as either a stool or a table, and to replace any broken part of the chair by only purchasing the damaged part from the manufacturer.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a self- assembly chair comprising a backrest, a seat base with a first set of fastening holes at the back portion of the top side of the seat base, and a pair of leg frames, wherein the backrest is connectable to the seat base solely at the back portion of the top side of the seat base by first removable fasteners insertable in the first set of fastening holes; and each of the pair of the leg frames is connectable to the seat base solely at a respective side portion of the bottom side of the seat base by second removable fasteners insertable in a second set of fastening holes; whereby the backrest and the pair of leg frames may be independently connected to the seat base. The self-assembly chair having a removable backrest provides the manufacturer with more room to store the chair, as the backrest may be separated from the chair, allowing the chairs to be stacked up like stools while the backrests are stacked up separately. Also, transportation of the product will require less space, and less packaging material is needed for packing the chairs as well. As a result, there will be a reduction of cost of production.

In a preferred embodiment, the backrest further comprises a back support, a pair of side members to suspend the back support, and a mounting member connected between the side members for receiving the first removable fasteners. The backrest is then mountable to the seat base solely by the mounting member.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the back support comprises a plurality of cavities useful for carrying the chair by hand. The cavities are suitably slot- shaped and of a size sufficient to receive a user's fingers or hand.

In an embodiment, the cavities serve as ventilation holes.

According to one preferred feature, each leg frame comprises a forward leg and a rear leg.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, each leg frame further comprises a side mounting member and a lower support member, the side mounting members and the lower support member are each connected between the forward leg and rear leg, and each side mounting member further receives the second removable fasteners. The leg frame is then mountable to the seat base solely by the side mounting members. Preferably, the pair of leg frames are connectable by a cross bar. For example, the cross bar joins the two lower support members.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the first and second fasteners comprise screws having Allen key heads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated, but not limited, by the following description of preferred embodiments, that is given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the components that make up the chair, which consists of backrest, seat and legs.

Fig. 2 shows the upper part of the chair structure.

Fig. 3 is a top and bottom perspective view of the upper part of the chair structure.

Fig. 4 is a view of the lower part of the chair structure.

Fig. 5 is another view of the lower part of the chair structure, detailing how the cross bar is inserted into the leg frames of the chair.

Fig. 6 is a perspective bottom view of the lower part of the chair, detailing how the structure is put together using fasteners. Fig. 7 illustrates the leg frame structure and details of how it is put together.

Rg. 8 is a front view of a fully assembled chair.

Fig. 9 is a side view of a fully assembled chair.

Fig. 10 is a back view of a fully assembled chair.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Fig. 1, a chair consists of three major parts. The first part is the backrest, which consists of a back support 12, a pair of side members 10 and a mounting member 11. The second part is the seat base 20. The third part of the chair consists of a pair of leg frames. Each leg frame has a side mounting member 301 and 311 , leg members 30 and 31, and a lower support members which are connected between each forward leg and rear leg. A cross bar 32 connects the leg frames together. The seat base 20 contains holes to connect to the side mounting members 301 and 311.

The back support 12 contains holes or cavities that benefits both the manufacturer and consumers. The cavities allow the chair to be carried easily from one location to another. The cavities are also useful as ventilation holes.

A fully covered back support does not support ventilation and therefore causes perspiration and discomfort when the sitter is sitting under the sun. The mounting member 11 is screwed between the side members 10. The mounting member 11 also provides reinforcement to the form of the entire backrest so it does not get deformed easily.

Fig. 2 shows the upper part of the chair structure. The upper part of the chair consists of a back support 12, a pair of side members 10 a mounting member 11 and a seat base 20. This arrangement, where the chair is without any leg frames 30 and 31 attached transforms the chair into a Japanese chair or a "Tatami" chair. It is also possible to reduce the space required to store and transport the chairs by separating the leg frames 30 and 31 from the seat base 20 and backrest.

Fig. 3 shows the top view of the upper part of the chair structure. The backrest of the chair can be removed or fixed into the seat base 20. In order to fix the backrest onto the seat base 20, screws 50 are rotated through the holes on the seat base 40 and into the holes on the mounting member 11 so that both the backrest and the seat base 20 are firmly connected. The screws used in one embodiment of the present invention have Allen key heads, and therefore requires the use of Allen key 60.

Fig. 3 also shows the bottom view of the upper part of the chair structure. The screws 50 are rotated through the holes on the seat base 40 and into the holes of the mounting member 11 to form a back rest chair. Five screws 50 are used to connect the backrest and the seat base. The screws rotate through the seat base 20 and into the holes of the mounting member 11.

Fig. 4 shows the lower part of the chair structure consisting of the seat base 20, left leg frame 30 and right leg frame 31 and a crossbar 32. With the backrest or backrest removed, or not fitted, the article functions as a stool. Manufacturers will find transporting or shipping or storage of the chair in this configuration to be the least space consuming. Smaller storage and transport space means lower storage and transport costs, which translates to lower production costs. Packaging costs are reduced as the product takes up less space than a fully assembled chair. Consumers will spend less on a multi- function chair that can be modified from a chair with a backrest into a stool or a table when the backrest is removed. Consumers will also find removing the backrest will save a lot of storage space as well when the chair is not being used.

Fig. 5 shows the top view of the lower part of the chair structure. The left 30 and right 31 leg frames of the chair are connected with a crossbar 32. After the leg frames are jointed by the crossbar 32, they are screwed onto the seat to form a stool or a table.

The crossbar 32, having a tenon on each end, connects the left 30 and right 31 leg frames by inserting the tenons into the holes 44 of both the lower supports of the left 30 and right 31 leg frames.

If any part of the chair is damaged, the consumers can just purchase and replace the damaged part, without having to replace the whole chair. Moreover, since the chair is easy to assemble and take apart, consumers do not need special instructions or labor such as nailing and hammering to put the chair together.

Fig. 6 shows the bottom view of the seat base 20. Two side mounting members 301 and 311 are mounted onto the seat base 20 to accept the left 30 and right 31 leg frames to form the bottom part of the chair. Each of the side mounting members 301 and 311 comprises three small holes 42. The small holes 42 allows the fastening of the side mounting members 301 and 311 to the seat base 20 when screws 51 are inserted into them. Three screws are needed to fasten each of the side mounting members 301 and 311 to the seat base 20. Therefore, the leg frames 30 and 31 are not directly fixed to the seat base 20 to prevent any damages to the seat base 20. The crossbar 32 which contains two holes 43 is fastened with screws 52 to connect the left 30 and right 31 leg frames together.

Fig. 7 shows the structure of the lower part of the chair. The chair consists of left 30 and right 31 leg frames to provide more support to the weight of the person seated or the weight of an object placed on the seat base 20. The side mounting members 301 and 311 and the crossbar 32 are used to support the weight of the sitter or the object on the seat base 20. The positions of the legs frames 30 and 31 will not be stable without the side mounting members 301 and 311 and the crossbar 32, and the chair may collapse easily without them.

Figs 8, 9 and 10 are different angles of views of the completed self-assembly chair. It should be noted that the backrest may be removed easily by removing the five screws used to fasten the backrest into the seat base 20. The leg frames 30 and 31 may be removed as well for additional space reduction in storage and transportation.

It is understood that the invention may be embodied in numerous other ways without departing from the scope of the invention.