JP7736458B2 - Folding fixtures - Google Patents

Description

This application discloses a folding fixture, such as a folding chair.

For example, chairs for conference rooms, which need to be stored in a warehouse or in the corner of a room when not in use, are often made foldable so that they can be stored in as small a space as possible. It has also been proposed to provide casters on the bottom ends of folding chair legs to make it easier for people to move around when in use, and examples of this are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

It is common to provide casters on chairs where only the seat can be raised, but casters are not commonly provided on chairs where the front and rear legs can be folded. This is because, on chairs where only the seat can be raised, the position of the front and rear legs remains constant regardless of the position of the seat, and the chair can stand on the floor via the casters even when the seat is raised, whereas on chairs with foldable legs, it is difficult to keep the chair standing on the floor via the casters once the legs are folded.

In this regard, Patent Document 1 provides footrests at the lower ends of the front legs, and when the chair is placed against a wall with the footrests resting on the floor at the folded top, the casters are raised off the floor, allowing multiple chairs to be placed side by side with their casters raised off the floor.

In Patent Document 2, the rear legs are equipped with inverted L-shaped stoppers with downward-facing portions, and when unfolded, there is a small gap between the stoppers and the floor, and when folded, the stoppers abut the floor, leaving a small space between the rear wheels and the floor. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, when folded, the chair stands on its own with the front wheels and stoppers abutting the floor.

There are two types of casters: one that can only rotate, and one that can rotate and swivel horizontally. The casters in Patent Document 1 are presumed to be of the horizontally swivel type based on the drawings. On the other hand, the casters in Patent Document 2 are also presumed to be of the horizontally swivel type based on the term "swivel caster" in the specification. Casters on swivel chairs and casters on chairs where only the seat can be lifted are almost always of the horizontally swivel type.

Folding furniture includes tables, which are often equipped with casters. However, because the tabletop of a folding table rotates and the legs themselves do not fold, even if horizontally swivel casters are installed, the table will remain stable regardless of the position of the tabletop. Therefore, simply installing horizontally swivel casters allows for easy use and movement (however, in the case of tables, the caster rotation is often locked when in use).

Microfilm of Utility Model Publication No. 63-167948 Microfilm of Utility Model Application Publication No. 3-60548

The advantage of making a chair foldable is that it requires less storage space when not in use; if the front and rear legs can be folded, the storage space required can be significantly reduced compared to a system where only the seat can be flipped up.

Now, in the case of chairs where only the seat can be lifted, the position of the front and rear legs does not change regardless of the position of the seat, and so the distance between the front and rear casters also remains constant. Therefore, even if each caster is of the horizontal swivel type, the chair can be moved without wobbling from side to side even when you put your hands on the backrest and push or pull it. However, if the legs are foldable, the distance between the bottom ends of the front and rear legs narrows when they are folded, and so when the chair is pushed with all four casters on the floor, the chair's direction of movement becomes unstable and it is prone to wobbling from side to side.

In this regard, it may be possible to pull the chair with only the front or rear wheels on the floor, but this method involves lifting the chair slightly, which puts strain on the person and negates the purpose of providing casters, and there are other issues such as the chair being prone to hitting people's feet, and not being able to move multiple chairs stacked one behind the other (nested).

It is therefore ideal for a chair to be able to be moved by pushing it forward in a folded state, but as mentioned above, when the front and rear legs are folded, the distance between the front and rear casters becomes narrower, and if the casters are of the horizontal swivel type, the chair becomes unstable in the forward direction and wobbles, making it difficult to move. However, if casters that cannot swivel but only rotate are used, it becomes difficult to move the chair in the desired direction when someone is sitting on it, making it less user-friendly.

The present invention discloses technology that can improve this current situation.

The present invention is directed to folding fixtures, and the technology related to these folding fixtures can be viewed from various perspectives.

The invention according to the first aspect is as defined in claim 1:
"A resting part on which a person's body or an object rests,
a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs supporting the mounting portion;
a front caster attached to a lower end portion of the front leg;
a rear caster attached to a lower end portion of the rear leg;
Equipped with
the front legs and the rear legs are capable of changing their posture between an unfolded state in which the distance between their lower end portions is widened and a folded state in which the distance between their lower end portions is narrowed,
At least one of the front casters and the rear casters is a swivel-type caster having a vertically elongated support shaft , and when the support shaft is in a vertical position, the wheel is in a horizontally swivel-enabled state, and when the support shaft is in a position inclined relative to the vertical, the wheel is in a horizontally swivel-restrained state;
The support shaft of the swivel caster is set to be in a vertical position in the unfolded state and in an inclined position in the folded state,
The support shaft of the swivel caster is fitted into the front leg or the rear leg from below via a bush having an internal hole into which the support shaft is fitted, and the bush is an eccentric type in which the axis of the internal hole is inclined relative to the axis of the outer circumferential surface,
In the deployed state, the leg to which the swivel caster is attached is inclined relative to the vertical line, and the internal hole of the eccentric bushing is in a vertical position, so that the swivel caster is held so as to be freely swiveled horizontally,
In the folded state, the legs to which the swivel casters are attached are inclined relative to the vertical line, and the internal holes of the eccentric bushings are also inclined relative to the vertical line, thereby restricting the swivel casters from rotating horizontally .
That is it.

In the first aspect of the invention, when the platform is deployed (in use) and ready to carry people or objects, at least one of the front and rear casters swivels horizontally, allowing the furniture to be easily moved in any direction. However, when the front and rear legs are folded, the horizontal rotation of the casters is locked, so even if the distance between the front and rear casters narrows when folded, the platform can move stably without wobbling.

As a result, while maintaining ease of use when unfolded, moving the unit when folded can be done stably and easily with little effort. Because the unit can be pushed and moved using the casters when folded, it is also possible to move multiple pieces of furniture stacked one behind the other, which also contributes to improving the efficiency of moving the unit (loading it into and out of the storage area).

In addition, the horizontal rotation of the swivel casters is locked by using the change in leg position caused by folding, so no special work is required to lock the casters, making it highly practical and of great practical value.

The invention according to the second aspect, as stated in claim 2, is based on the first aspect, and
"One or both of the front and rear legs to which the swivel casters are attached are configured to rotate in the front and rear directions with their upper parts as fulcrums,
The front legs and the rear legs are set so as not to cross each other in a side view in the unfolded state, and so as to cross each other in a side view in the folded state.
The structure is as follows.

In the invention of the second aspect, the front and rear legs are not crossed in the unfolded state, allowing the furniture to be kept stable. On the other hand, in the folded state, the front and rear legs are crossed, allowing the distance between the front and rear casters to be narrowed while maintaining the posture of the front and rear legs. In other words, the front and rear legs will not spread apart for any reason in the folded state. Therefore, the furniture can be kept in the folded state and moved or stored stably in an upright position.

The invention according to the third aspect is a specific embodiment of the invention according to the second aspect, and as stated in claim 3,
" The front caster and the rear caster both have the same structure with the support shaft,
The front caster is attached to the front leg via the eccentric bush, thereby becoming the swivel type caster,
The rear caster is held so as not to be able to rotate horizontally in either the unfolded or folded state because the axis of the rear leg is inclined with respect to the vertical line in either the unfolded or folded state .
The structure is as follows.

In the invention relating to this third aspect, only the front casters rotate horizontally in the unfolded state using a swivel mechanism, allowing for stable travel without wobbling in both the unfolded and folded states. Furthermore, when folded and the front and rear legs are crossed, the rear casters are generally positioned forward and rearward when moving furniture, but the rear casters positioned forward in the direction of travel maintain a constant posture, allowing for travel in a stable position.

When applied to chairs in particular, the axles (horizontal axes) of the front and rear casters are kept parallel when the chair is pushed by the backrest with the hands, allowing the chair to be pushed straight without swaying from side to side. Therefore, it is ideal for use in chairs. Furthermore, when applied to chairs, the front casters swivel horizontally when deployed, allowing the chair to be moved smoothly, similar to a front-wheel steering vehicle.

Returning to the first point of view, the front and rear legs can be set to a position that is inclined relative to the vertical and that widens the gap between them when viewed from the side, which maintains the stability of the furniture when unfolded while locking the horizontal rotation of the swivel casters when folded. This allows for precise positional stability when unfolded and in use, and ease of movement when folded and not in use.

The invention according to a fourth aspect, as set forth in claim 4 , is any one of the first to third aspects,
The base, the front legs, and the rear legs are connected to one another so that the posture of the base in a side view changes when the base is shifted from the unfolded state to the folded state.
The structure is as follows.

This configuration has the advantage that the fixtures can be folded to make the entire structure compact, which helps make effective use of storage space.

The invention according to the fifth aspect is applied to a chair, and as stated in claim 5 , in any one of the first to third aspects,
"The above-mentioned seating area is a seat on which a person sits,
the seat and the front and rear legs are connected to each other so that the front and rear legs are folded when the seat is flipped up,
In the folded state, it is configured to be able to be nested with other furniture in front and behind.
The structure is as follows.

This invention allows the chair to be moved freely while seated, just like a normal chair with casters, making it easy to use. It is also foldable, allowing for efficient use of storage space. Furthermore, since it can be moved by grabbing the backrest with your hands, it is easy to move even when folded.

The present invention achieves the above-mentioned effects through the above-mentioned configuration.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing the appearance of an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a front perspective view in an unfolded state, and FIG. 1B is a front perspective view in a folded state. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the appearance of an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a bottom perspective view in an unfolded state, and FIG. 1B is a bottom perspective view in a folded state. (A) is a side view of the deployed state, (B) is a partial side view of the front legs, (C) is a separated side view of the front legs, and (C) is a separated side view of the rear legs. (A) is a side view of the folded state, (B) is a longitudinal side view of the lower part of the front legs, (C) is an exploded perspective view of the front legs, and (D) is a perspective view of the rear casters.

Next, an embodiment (specific example) of a chair as an example of furniture disclosed in this application will be described with reference to the drawings. Below, the terms "front, back," "left," and "right" are used to specify directions, but these directions are based on the orientation of a person normally sitting in the chair. The front viewing direction is the direction facing the seated person.

(1) Basic Structure First, an overview of the chair will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The chair of this embodiment is a type that is often used in conference rooms, auditoriums, etc., and as shown in Figure 1, it comprises a seat 1, a backrest 2, and rod-shaped (straight) front legs 3 and rear legs 4 that support them. The seat 1 is an example of a support part. The upper ends of the front legs 3 and rear legs 4 are located above the seat 1. The legs 3 and 4 are made of metal pipes such as steel pipes.

The seat 1 is formed in a roughly trapezoidal shape in plan view, narrowing from side to side towards the rear. Meanwhile, the backrest 2 is gently curved, concave forward in plan view to fit the user's back, and gently tilts backward in side cross-section. It has a narrow vertical width and a sharp design.

As can be seen from Figure 1, the seat 1 is made of resin (or wood) and is in the shape of a plate. In other words, it has a single seat plate structure. However, the seat 1 can also be constructed with a seat plate (inner shell) covered in cushioning material, or with a frame with openings at the top and bottom covered in mesh material. The backrest 2 is a molded product made of synthetic resin, but can also be made of wood. Alternatively, a structure with cushioning material attached to the front can also be used.

The backrest 2 has a longitudinal side frame 5 formed integrally on both the left and right ends. The side frame 5 has a width that allows it to function as an armrest. Therefore, the armrest and backrest 2 can be considered to be integrated. As shown in Figures 1(A) and 2, the backrest 2 is smoothly connected to the side frame 5 by decreasing in height on both the left and right sides.

The upper ends of the front legs 3 are fixed to the front ends of the side frame 5, while the rear legs 4 are connected to the side frame 5 so that they can rotate back and forth around their upper ends. Therefore, the front legs 3 and rear legs 4 can be folded from an unfolded state in which the distance between them increases downwards in side view to a state in which they intersect in an X-shape in side view.

2, the left and right front legs 3 are fixed together by left and right long front stays 6 at the height of the underside of the seat 1, and the front part of the seat 1 is rotatably connected to the front stays 6. Meanwhile, the left and right rear legs 4 are fixed together by left and right long rear stays 7 at the height of the underside of the seat 1, and the rear stays 7 and the seat 1 are connected to each other via trapezoidally curved interlocking members (links) 8 so that they can rotate relative to each other.

When the seat 1 is unfolded, it is supported at the front and rear by stays 6 and 7. The stays 6 and 7 are made of metal pipes such as steel pipes and are welded to the legs 3 and 4. When the rear end of the seat 1 is lifted, the seat 1 rotates around the front stay 6 as a fulcrum, and in conjunction with this, the interlocking member 8 is pulled up and rotated so that its rear end is raised. As a result, the rear legs 4 rotate relative to the front legs 3, seat 1, and side frame 5, and the seat is folded into the state shown in Figures 1(B) and 2(B).

As can be seen by comparing the unfolded and folded states in Figures 1 and 2, the left-right spacing between the front legs 3 is greater than the left-right spacing between the rear legs 4 when viewed from the front or in a plan view, so when folded, multiple chairs can be nested one behind the other. The rear end of the seat 1 is provided with a pull rib 9 in the middle left and right, which a person can place their hands on when folding. The rear stay 7 also has a crank-shaped bend 7a that protrudes forward to avoid getting in the way when a person places their hands on the pull rib 9.

(2) Connection structure As shown in Figure 2, the front part of the seat 1 is rotatably connected to the front stays 6 by a pair of left and right front bearing parts 10 and front caps 11 that cover them. In addition, auxiliary bearing parts 12 that rest on the front stays are provided in the front part of the seat 1 near both left and right ends.

As shown in Figure 2, the interlocking member 8 has a left-right longitudinal base portion 8a and front-rear longitudinal side portions 8b extending rearward from both left and right ends of the base portion 8a, forming a generally trapezoidal shape overall. The left and right intermediate portions of the base portion 8a are rotatably connected to the underside of the seat 1 by rear bearing portions 13 and rear caps 13a (omitted in Figure 2(B)), and the rear ends of the left and right side portions 8b are rotatably connected to the rear stays 7 by a pair of upper and lower clamp-type bearing bodies 14.

As can be easily seen from Figure 1, the side frame 5 is basically a plate-shaped member with a width large enough for a person's elbows to rest on, with a flat upper surface, and a downward rib 5a extending along its entire length on the inside. Therefore, the side frame 5 has a roughly inverted L-shaped cross section.

A front boss 15 is formed at the front end of the side frame 5, tapering downward, and the upper ends of the front legs 3 are fitted into this front boss 15 via a coupling shaft (not shown). Meanwhile, the upper ends of the rear legs 4 are connected to rear bosses 16 formed on the side frame 5 by brackets 17 and pins (not shown) with longitudinal axes on the left and right. Therefore, the rear legs 4 can pivot back and forth around their upper ends as a fulcrum.

When the rear end of the seat 1 is lifted in the unfolded state, the seat 1 is flipped up and rotated so that the rear end is raised, with the front stay 6 as the fulcrum. In conjunction with this, the base 8a of the interlocking member 8 is pulled upward. This causes the rear legs 4 to rotate with their upper ends as the fulcrum.

When the seat 1 is fully rotated, either by lifting the entire chair off the floor or by lifting it with only the lower ends of the front legs 3 touching the floor, the center of gravity is directly below the handle ribs 9, causing the front legs 3 to tilt forward and the rear legs 4 to tilt backward, resulting in the front legs 3 and rear legs 4 crossing in an X-shape when viewed from the side.

The seat 1 is connected to the front stay 6 at its front end, so it can be rotated by placing a hand on the pull rib 9 at its rear end and lifting it up. However, because the span from the pull rib 9 to the front stay 6 is large, the seat 1 can be reliably lifted and rotated.

At the same time as the seat 1 flips up and rotates, the interlocking member 8 begins to rotate around its rear end as a fulcrum, and the rear legs 4 also begin to rotate accordingly. However, because the base 8a of the interlocking member 8 is connected to the seat 1 midway between the front and rear, the interlocking member 8 rotates smoothly due to leverage. Therefore, the rotation of the interlocking member 8 and the rear legs 4 is smooth, and when the entire chair is lifted, or when the rear legs 4 are lifted with the lower ends of the front legs 3 on the floor, the center of gravity shifts, causing the front legs 3 to lean forward and the rear legs 4 to lean backward, automatically transitioning to the folded state.

When the folded chair is placed on the floor, it stands on its own, but when placed on the floor, the chair's own weight acts to widen the gap between the bottom ends of the front legs 3 and the rear legs 4, so the chair remains folded when placed on the floor. Therefore, there is no risk of the chair shifting to an unfolded position when stored.

(3) Casters For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, front casters 20 are attached to the lower ends of the front legs 3, and rear casters 21 are attached to the lower ends of the rear legs 4.

As can be seen from Figures 3(C) and (D), the front caster 20 and the rear caster 21 have the same structure, and as shown in Figure 4(B), they have a bearing block 23 made of synthetic resin to which an axle 22 in a horizontal position is fixed, a wheel 24 that is rotatably held on the axle 22, and an upper and lower elongated support shaft 25 that is erected at a position on the bearing block 23 that is horizontally separated from the axle 24, and the support shaft 25 is rotatably held on the bearing block 23 by a thrust bearing (not shown).

The support shaft 25 of the front caster 20 is fitted to the lower end of the front leg 3 via a front bushing 26, and the support shaft 25 of the rear caster 21 is fitted to the lower end of the rear leg 4 via a rear bushing 27. The bushings 26, 27 are each fixed to the legs 3, 4 with a screw (not shown). The lower end of each leg 3, 4 has an inward-facing tapped hole 28 into which the screw can be screwed. The bushings 26, 27 have a horizontal hole 29 into which the tip of the screw can fit. It is also possible to screw screws into the front and rear bushings 26, 27.

The front and rear bushings 26, 27 are made of synthetic resin and have flanges 30, 31 against which the lower end surfaces of the legs 3, 4 abut from above. The flanges 30, 31 of the bushings 26, 27 abut from above against a flange 25a provided on the support shaft 25. In addition, a group of annular grooves (or a group of annular protrusions) is formed on the outer circumferential surfaces of the front and rear bushings 26, 27, and therefore the outer circumferential surfaces are formed with a sawtooth cross section. This makes the front and rear bushings 26, 27 easily deformable, allowing them to fit securely (tightly) with the legs 3, 4.

As shown in Figures 3(C)(D) and 4(C)(D), the front and rear bushings 26, 27 are formed with a pair of front and rear positioning protrusions 32 connected to the upper surfaces of the flanges 30, 31, while the lower ends of the front and rear legs 3, 4 are formed with a pair of front and rear cutouts 33 cut downward into which the positioning protrusions 32 fit.

As shown in Figure 3 (D), the flange 31 of the rear bushing 27 has a uniform thickness around its entire circumference, and the axis O1 of the inner surface coincides with the axis O2 of the outer surface. Therefore, the axis O3 of the support shaft 25 of the rear caster 21 coincides with the axis O4 of the rear leg 4.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 3(C) and 4(B), in the front bushing 26, the flange 30 varies in thickness from front to rear, and the axis O1 of the inner circumferential surface is tilted forward relative to the axis O2 of the outer circumferential surface. Therefore, the axis O3 of the support shaft 25 of the front caster 20 is tilted forward relative to the axis O4 of the front leg 3, but the support shaft 25 of the front caster 20 is in a vertical position.

That is, to allow the front casters 20 to rotate horizontally when the chair is unfolded, the support shafts 25 of the front casters 20 must be maintained in a vertical position, whereas the front legs 3 are tilted slightly backward for the sake of chair stability, so in order to allow the front casters 20 to rotate horizontally while maintaining the front legs 3 in a straight, backward position, the axis O1 of the inner hole 34 of the front bushing 26 is tilted backward relative to the axis O2 of the outer circumferential surface (and the axis O4 of the front legs 3). Therefore, the front casters 20 are of an eccentric type.

If the front legs 3 are formed so that the lower end is vertical and the majority of the upper portion is tilted backward, the inner and outer concentric bushings 27 shown in Figure 3(D) can be used. However, if the inner and outer eccentric front bushings 26 are used as in the embodiment, the front legs 3 can be formed in a straight shape, which gives them a sleek aesthetic and improves the design.

Furthermore, if only the lower end of the front leg 3 is partially bent, the lower end may be easily crushed and deformed during the bending process, which could make it impossible to fit the bushing 27. However, in this embodiment, there is no need to bend the front leg 3, which has the advantage of ensuring that the front bushing 26 fits in properly, improving quality and yield. The entire front leg 3 may also be set in a vertical position. In this case, the front bushing 26 can also be of the inner and outer concentric type.

(4) Summary The chair of this embodiment has the above-described configuration and can be freely changed between an unfolded state and a folded state. Furthermore, in the unfolded state, the front casters 20 can be freely rotated horizontally, allowing the user to move freely in any direction while seated in the chair. Therefore, the chair can be used with the same ease as a normal swivel chair. The rear casters 21 can also be rotated horizontally, and in this case, the lower portions of the rear legs 4 can be bent vertically.

When the chair is folded, as shown in Figure 4(A), the posture of the front and rear legs 3, 4 is reversed, and the legs 3, 4 cross in an X-shape in side view. As a result, the axis of the support shaft 25 of the front caster 20 tilts forward relative to the vertical line, making the front caster 20 unable to rotate horizontally. Furthermore, because the front leg 3 is tilted backward, the rear caster 21 is also unable to rotate horizontally.

When folded, the chair's center of gravity is located between the front and rear casters 20, 21. This allows it to be pushed or pulled and moved in a stable position. Furthermore, because the casters 20, 21 are crossed in an X-shape, the distance between them is kept constant, allowing the chair to stand stably. Furthermore, because multiple units fit together front to back when standing, the distance between the chairs can be minimized, significantly reducing storage space.

Because it can stand on its own when folded, it is possible to push multiple units nested one behind the other. This means that one person can move multiple units. This significantly reduces the effort required to load and unload them into storage areas such as warehouses.

In addition, because the distance between the front and rear casters 20, 21 is narrow when the chair is folded, if the front caster 20 swivels horizontally, the chair may become unstable and sway from side to side when moved. However, in this embodiment, the front caster 20 is also prevented from swiveling horizontally when the chair is folded, and the axles 22 of the front and rear casters 20, 21 are held parallel, so the chair can be pushed and moved stably without swaying from side to side.

In particular, when changing direction while pushing the chair, if the front casters 20 rotate horizontally, even a slight change in the way force is applied to the chair to change direction can cause the chair to suddenly change position , but in this embodiment, the front and rear casters 20, 21 maintain a constant position in a plan view, so the chair can change position smoothly without abrupt changes in position. Straight-line movement can also be performed stably.

In the unfolded state, the orientation of the front casters 20 in a plan view is not constant, but when the front casters 20 contact the floor in the folded state, the chair is stabilized with the axles 22 in a left-right longitudinal orientation, and the front casters 20 automatically transition to a state in which the axles 22 are in a left-right longitudinal orientation. The folding operation can be performed with the front and rear casters 20, 21 remaining in contact with the floor, or by lifting the entire chair onto the floor, or by leaving only the front casters 20 in contact with the floor, but in any case , the front casters 20 automatically transition to a stable orientation with the axles 22 in a left-right longitudinal orientation.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention can be embodied in a variety of other ways. For example, the present invention can be applied to various folding fixtures, such as folding tables and folding carts (wagons). Furthermore, the front and rear legs can be folded so that they initially cross in an X-shape when viewed from the side, and the crossing angle can be changed to narrow the distance between the front and rear casters.

For the folding structure, it is possible to connect the seat and legs with pins or hinges, for example, rather than using a link mechanism as in the embodiment. A folding structure in which a connecting pin slides through a long hole can also be used.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the front casters 20 are used as casters that can swivel horizontally in the unfolded state. However, the rear casters 21 may be used as casters that can swivel horizontally in the unfolded state instead of or in addition to the front casters 20. In this case, the angle of the rear legs 4 can be set so that the support shafts of the rear casters 21 are inclined relative to the floor surface in the folded state.

The invention disclosed in this application can be embodied in folding furniture such as folding chairs. Therefore, it has industrial applicability.

1 Seat 2 Backrest 3 Front legs 4 Rear legs 5 Side frame 6 Front stay constituting part of folding mechanism 7 Rear stay constituting part of folding mechanism 8 Interlocking member (link) constituting part of folding mechanism
20: Front caster , which is a swivel-type caster; 21: Rear caster; 22: Axle; 23: Bearing block; 24: Wheel; 25: Support shaft; 26: Front bush (eccentric bush);
27 Rear Bush
34 Internal hole

Claims (5)

a placement portion on which a person's body or an object is placed;
a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs supporting the mounting portion;
a front caster attached to a lower end portion of the front leg;
a rear caster attached to a lower end portion of the rear leg;
Equipped with
the front legs and the rear legs are capable of changing their posture between an unfolded state in which the distance between their lower end portions is widened and a folded state in which the distance between their lower end portions is narrowed,
At least one of the front casters and the rear casters is a swivel-type caster having a vertically elongated support shaft , and when the support shaft is in a vertical position, the wheel is in a horizontally swivel-enabled state, and when the support shaft is in a position inclined relative to the vertical, the wheel is in a horizontally swivel-restrained state;
The support shaft of the swivel caster is set to be in a vertical position in the unfolded state and in an inclined position in the folded state,
The support shaft of the swivel caster is fitted into the front leg or the rear leg from below via a bush having an internal hole into which the support shaft is fitted, and the bush is an eccentric type in which the axis of the internal hole is inclined relative to the axis of the outer circumferential surface,
In the deployed state, the leg to which the swivel caster is attached is inclined relative to the vertical line, and the internal hole of the eccentric bushing is in a vertical position, so that the swivel caster is held so as to be freely swiveled horizontally,
In the folded state, the legs to which the swivel casters are attached are inclined relative to the vertical line, and the internal holes of the eccentric bushings are also inclined relative to the vertical line, thereby restricting the swivel casters from rotating horizontally.
Foldable fixtures. One or both of the front legs and rear legs to which the swivel casters are attached are configured to rotate in the front-rear direction with their upper parts as fulcrums,
The front legs and the rear legs are set so as not to cross each other in a side view in the unfolded state, and so as to cross each other in a side view in the folded state.
A folding fixture according to claim 1. The front caster and the rear caster both have the same structure and the support shaft,
The front caster is attached to the front leg via the eccentric bush, thereby becoming the swivel type caster,
The rear caster is held so as not to be able to rotate horizontally in either the unfolded state or the folded state because the axis of the rear leg is inclined with respect to the vertical line in either the unfolded state or the folded state.
A folding fixture according to claim 2. the mounting portion and the front and rear legs are connected to each other so that the posture of the mounting portion in a side view changes when the mounting portion transitions from the unfolded state to the folded state.
A folding fixture according to any one of claims 1 to 3. the placement portion is a seat on which a person sits,
the seat and the front and rear legs are connected to each other so that the front and rear legs are folded when the seat is flipped up,
In the folded state, it is configured to be nestable with other furniture in front and behind.
A folding fixture according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .