Portable folding chair

Abstract

A portable folding chair features a seat and a back that are joined in a hinged or pivoting fashion. A pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs are pivotally attached to the bottom of the seat. A track featuring elongated slots is also attached to the bottom of the seat. Front and rear leg braces are pivotally attached to the front and rear legs, respectively. The leg braces slide within the elongated slots of the track. The track is equipped with locking mechanisms so that the leg braces may be locked in the track with the legs in the open position. The back of the chair is equipped with a tab portion that forms a handle and extends down below the seat and engages a pair of angle bars that are included in the rear leg brace so that the back of the chair is secured in an open position. The legs may be folded against the bottom of the seat and the back rotated so that the legs and track are enclosed between the seat and back in a clamshell fashion. The closed chair may then be conveniently carried by the handle.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A folding chair comprising: 
 a. a seat having a bottom;    b. a back joined to the seat in a pivoting fashion;    c. a pair of front legs pivotally attached to the bottom of the seat;    d. a pair of rear legs pivotally attached to the bottom of the seat;    whereby said chair may be placed in an open configuration so that an individual may sit thereon and folded into a closed configuration where the front and rear legs of the chair are pivoted so as to lay adjacent to the seat bottom and the back is pivoted so as to be positioned adjacent to the legs so that the legs are enclosed between the bottom of the seat and the back.    
     
     
         2 . The folding chair of  claim 1  wherein the front legs are pivotally attached near the front edge of the seat and the rear legs are pivotally attached near the rear edge of the seat.  
     
     
         3 . The folding chair of  claim 1  wherein the seat and back are formed from molded plastic.  
     
     
         4 . The folding chair of  claim 3  wherein ribs are formed on the bottom of the seat.  
     
     
         5 . The folding chair of  claim 1  wherein each of the front and rear legs are further secured to the bottom of the seat by leg braces.  
     
     
         6 . The folding chair of  claim 5  wherein the leg braces include a front leg brace that is pivotally connected between the front legs and a rear leg brace that is pivotally connected between the rear legs.  
     
     
         7 . The folding chair of  claim 6  further comprising a track attached to the bottom of the chair, said track having an elongated slot formed therein, said slot having a front edge and a rear edge and receiving the front and rear leg braces in a sliding fashion.  
     
     
         8 . The folding chair of  claim 7  wherein said front and rear leg braces are U-shaped with a center portion of each positioned within the elongated slot of the track.  
     
     
         9 . The folding chair of  claim 7  further comprising a front locking device positioned adjacent to the front edge of the elongated slot and a rear locking device positioned adjacent to the rear edge of the elongated slot, each of said locking devices including: 
 i) a spring;  
 ii) a release lever linked to the spring;  
 iii) a locking wedge linked to the spring, said spring urging said locking wedge in a direction so that one of said leg braces is secured between the locking wedge and one of the edges of the elongated slot and said locking wedge releasing the leg brace when the release lever is moved against the resistance of the spring.  
 
     
     
         10 . The folding chair of  claim 9  wherein the springs for the front and rear locking devices is a single leaf spring.  
     
     
         11 . The folding chair of  claim 10  wherein the leaf spring is secured between the track and the bottom of the seat.  
     
     
         12 . The folding chair of  claim 11  further comprising a boss molded on the bottom of the seat and wherein said track and leaf spring are secured to the bottom of the seat via the boss.  
     
     
         13 . The folding chair of  claim 6  wherein the rear leg brace includes an angle bar and said back includes a tab portion that pivots to a position beneath the seat bottom, said tab portion engaging the angle bar when the chair is in the open configuration so that the back of the chair is restrained from rotating towards the seat bottom.  
     
     
         14 . The folding chair of  claim 13  wherein the angle bar is L-shaped.  
     
     
         15 . The folding chair of  claim 13  wherein the tab portion includes an opening so that a handle is formed which may be gripped by an individual so that the chair may be carried by the handle when folded into the closed configuration.  
     
     
         16 . The folding chair of  claim 1  wherein proximal portions of the front legs are joined by a front cross member and proximal portions of the rear legs are joined by a rear cross member, said front and rear cross members secured to the bottom of the seat in a pivoting fashion.  
     
     
         17 . The folding chair of  claim 16  further comprising front and rear cosmetic panels, said front cross member positioned between the front cosmetic panel and the bottom of the seat and said rear cross member positioned between the rear cosmetic panel and the bottom of the seat.  
     
     
         18 . The folding chair of  claim 16  wherein the seat and back of the chair are pivotally connected by the rear joining portion.  
     
     
         19 . A folding chair comprising: 
 a. a seat having a bottom;    b. a back pivotally connected to the seat and movable through an angle of over 180° between an open position where the back forms an approximately 90° angle with the seat and a closed position where the back is generally parallel with and facing the bottom of the seat; and    c. a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs, each of the legs pivotally mounted to the bottom of the seat so as to be foldable between an open position where they form an approximately 90° angle with the seat and a closed position where they lay between the seat and back when the back is in the closed position.    
     
     
         20 . The folding chair of  claim 19  wherein said back includes a tab portion that pivots beneath the seat bottom when the back is in the open position and further comprising: 
 a. a track having an elongated slot attached to the bottom of the seat;  
 b. a rear leg brace joining the rear pair of legs together, said rear leg brace slidably received in the elongated slot of the track;  
 c. an angle bar attached to the rear leg brace, said angle bar engaging the tab portion of the back when the pair of rear legs and back are in their open positions so that the back is prevented from rotating towards its closed position.