Suspension Chair

Abstract

A chair of the invention includes at least one of a seat assembly and a back assembly. The seat assembly includes a pair of spaced seat supports. A seat is flexibly connected to the seat supports. The seat includes a plurality of rigid seat members connected together by one or more seat flexible members interlaced or woven around the seat members. The back assembly includes a pair of spaced back supports. A back is connected to the back supports. The back includes a plurality of rigid back members connected together by one or more back flexible members interlaced or woven around the back members.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A chair, comprising at least one of
 a seat assembly comprising:
 a pair of spaced seat supports; and 
 a seat comprising a plurality of rigid seat members connected by one or more seat flexible members woven around the seat members, wherein outer seat members are connected to an adjacent seat support by one or more flexible seat connecting members wrapped around the outer seat member and the adjacent seat support; and 
   a back assembly comprising:
 a pair of spaced back supports; and 
 a back comprising a plurality of rigid back members connected by one or more back flexible members woven around the back members, wherein outer back members are connected to an adjacent back support by one or more flexible back connecting members wrapped around the outer back member and the adjacent back support. 
   
     
     
         2 . The chair of  claim 1 , including both the seat assembly and the back assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the seat members are connected to one another by seat flexible members at a plurality of locations. 
     
     
         4 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the back members are connected to one another by back flexible members at a plurality of locations. 
     
     
         5 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the outer seat members are connected to the adjacent seat support by seat connecting members at a plurality of locations. 
     
     
         6 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the outer back members are connected to the adjacent back support by back connecting members at a plurality of locations. 
     
     
         7 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the seat flexible members, back flexible members, seat connecting members, and back connecting members, are selected from the group consisting of manila and rattan. 
     
     
         8 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the seat members and/or the back members are substantially cylindrical. 
     
     
         9 . The chair of  claim 1 , including a pair of spaced front legs, wherein the front legs are connected to the back supports by an upper support and a lower support. 
     
     
         10 . The chair of  claim 9 , wherein the seat supports extend between the front legs and the back supports. 
     
     
         11 . The chair of  claim 10 , including at least one front brace extending between and connected to the front legs. 
     
     
         12 . The chair of  claim 1 , including at least one back brace extending between and connected to the back supports. 
     
     
         13 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the back members are substantially parallel to each other. 
     
     
         14 . The chair of  claim 1 , wherein the back members form a fan shape and the back includes a centerpiece having an elongated body and a tapered end region. 
     
     
         15 . The chair of  claim 14 , wherein the tapered end region comprises a pair of wooden end pieces connected to an upper end of the elongated body. 
     
     
         16 . A chair, comprising:
 a pair of front legs;   a pair of back supports, wherein the front legs are connected to the back supports by an upper support and a lower support;   at least one front brace extending between and connected to the front legs;   a pair of seat supports extending between the front legs and the back supports;   a seat comprising a plurality of rigid seat members connected by one or more seat flexible members woven around the seat members such that the rigid seat members are movable relative to one another, wherein outer seat members are connected to an adjacent seat support by one or more flexible seat connecting members wrapped around the outer seat member and the adjacent seat support; and   a back comprising a plurality of rigid back members connected by one or more back flexible members woven around the back members such that the rigid back members are movable relative to one another, wherein outer back members are connected to an adjacent back support by one or more flexible back connecting members wrapped around the outer back member and the adjacent back support.   
     
     
         17 . The chair of  claim 16 , wherein the back members are substantially parallel to each other. 
     
     
         18 . The chair of  claim 16 , wherein the back members form a fan shape and the back includes a centerpiece having an elongated body and a tapered end region. 
     
     
         19 . The chair of  claim 18 , wherein the tapered end region comprises a pair of wooden end pieces connected to an upper end of the elongated body. 
     
     
         20 . A chair, comprising:
 a pair of front legs;   a pair of back supports, wherein the front legs are connected to the back supports by an upper support and a lower support;   at least one front brace extending between and connected to the front legs;   at least one back brace extending between and connected to the back supports;   a pair of seat supports extending between the front legs and the back supports;   a seat comprising a plurality of rigid seat members connected by one or more seat flexible members woven around the seat members such that the rigid seat members are movable relative to one another, wherein outer seat members are connected to an adjacent seat support by one or more flexible seat connecting members wrapped around the outer seat member and the adjacent seat support; and   a back comprising a plurality of rigid back members connected by one or more back flexible members woven around the back members such that the rigid back members are movable relative to one another, wherein the back members are connected to one another by back flexible members at a plurality of locations, wherein outer back members are connected to an adjacent back support by one or more flexible back connecting members wrapped around the outer back member and the adjacent back support, wherein the back members form a fan shape and the back includes a centerpiece having an elongated body and a tapered end region, wherein the tapered end region comprises a pair of wooden end pieces connected to an upper end of the elongated body, and   wherein the seat members and/or the back members are substantially cylindrical.