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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A chair comprising:
 a seat support comprising a base portion defining a seat and having first and second side members extending upwardly on opposing sides of the base portion of the seat support, each of the first and second side members having a pivot support member and an armrest at an upper portion thereof;   a seat back having first and second pivot support members adapted to be pivotably coupled with an aligned pivot support member on a corresponding one of the first and second side member of 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 comprising a generally planar handle having a detent extending upwardly therefrom provided on one of a recessed area in a central rearward area of the base portion and in a central lower area of the seat back; and 
 at least one receiving member provided on the other of the seat support and the seat back and having a detent follower surface configured to bear against the detent on the at least one engaging member; 
 wherein the at least one engaging member includes a biasing member to bias the at least one engaging member 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; 
   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; 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, and wherein, when the seat back is in the first position, the engagement of the detent of the at least one engaging member with the detent follower of the at least one receiving member is not visible from a rear portion of the chair.   
     
     
         2 . 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. 
     
     
         3 . The chair according to  claim 2  wherein the at least one engaging member is integrally formed with the seat support. 
     
     
         4 . The chair according to  claim 3  wherein the resilient material is a polymeric material. 
     
     
         5 . 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.