Chair with collapsible seat back

Abstract

A chair comprising a seat back assembly pivotably mounted to a seat assembly for selective movement between a first, upright position and a second, collapsed position. The chair can be provided with a latching mechanism for securing the seat back assembly in the first, upright position.

1 . A chair comprising:
 a seat support;   a seat back pivotably coupled with the seat support such that the seat back is selectively pivotable relative to the seat support, while the seat support remains stationary relative to a surface supporting the chair, between a first position in which the seat back is inclined relative to the seat support for allowing a user to sit on the seat support and a second position in which the seat back is substantially collapsed adjacent to the seat support; and   a latch assembly comprising:
 at least one engaging member provided on one of the seat support and the seat back; and 
 at least one receiving member provided on the other of the seat support and the seat back and configured to receive and engage the at least one engaging member; 
 wherein the at least one engaging member is biased towards the at least one receiving member such that the at least one engaging member engages the at least one receiving member to secure the seat back in the first position; and 
   wherein the seat back is selectively moveable from the first position to the second position by moving the at least one engaging member against the bias to disengage the at least one engaging member from the at least one receiving member and wherein movement of the seat back from the second position to the first position reengages the at least one engaging member with the at least one receiving member to secure the seat back in the first position without movement of the seat support relative to the surface supporting the chair.   
     
     
         2 . The chair according to  claim 1  further comprising a pair of armrests coupled with the seat support such that the pair of armrests do not move relative to the seat support when the seat back is moved between the first and second positions. 
     
     
         3 . The chair according to  claim 1  further comprising a pair of armrests moveably coupled with the seat support and the seat back such that the armrests move relative to the seat support when the seat back is moved between the first position to the second position. 
     
     
         4 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein one of the seat support and the seat back comprises a bearing pin and the other of the seat support and the seat back comprises an aperture for receiving the bearing pin for pivotably coupling the seat support with the seat back. 
     
     
         5 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one engaging member further comprises at least one biasing member for biasing the at least one engaging member towards the at least one receiving member. 
     
     
         6 . The chair according to  claim 5  wherein the biasing member comprises a spring. 
     
     
         7 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one engaging member comprises a resilient material that is formed such that the at least one engaging member is biased toward the at least one receiving member. 
     
     
         8 . The chair according to  claim 7  wherein the at least one engaging member is integrally formed with the seat support. 
     
     
         9 . The chair according to  claim 8  wherein the resilient material is a polymeric material. 
     
     
         10 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one receiving member comprises a recess and the at least one engaging member comprises a detent configured to be retained within the recess. 
     
     
         11 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein the latch assembly comprises a single engaging member and a single receiving member. 
     
     
         12 . The chair according to  claim 1  wherein the latch assembly comprises a first and second engaging member and a first and second receiving member for engaging the first and second engaging members, respectively.