Collapsible office furniture

Abstract

A collapsible office chair and reconfigurable work desk can assume compact stowage configurations to minimize floor space occupied during periods of non-use. The chair includes a seat and leg assembly both coupled to a seat post. The seat is pivotable from a use configuration to a tilted or stowed configuration that occupies less floor space. The leg assembly includes a plurality of legs coupled to a lower portion of the seat post, with one or more of the legs typically being movable from a use configuration that provides a suitably wide base for the seat in its use configuration, to a compact stowed configuration that occupies less floor space but can still support the chair in a freestanding manner. Optionally, a seat back is attached to the seat and is also repositionable between use and stowed configurations, the latter occupying less floor space and less vertical height.

1 . A collapsible office chair comprising:
 a seat post having upper and lower portions;   a seat pivotably coupled to said upper portion of said seat post, wherein said seat is pivotable between a generally horizontal use configuration and a stowed configuration that is angled at least 45 degrees from the use configuration; and   a leg assembly comprising a plurality of legs coupled to and extending radially outwardly from said lower portion of said seat post;   wherein a first of said legs is selectively repositionable between a use configuration in which said first leg is spaced a first distance away from a second of said legs, and a stowed configuration in which said first leg is spaced a second distance away from said second leg, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance.   
     
     
         2 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 1 , wherein said seat post has front and back sides located opposite one another, with said first leg located at said front side in said use configuration, wherein when said seat is positioned in the stowed configuration, said chair's center of gravity is offset to said back side of said seat post, and when said first leg is moved away from the use configuration toward the stowed configuration, said first leg is moved from said front side of said seat post in a direction toward said back side. 
     
     
         3 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 2 , wherein said second leg is non-pivotable, and wherein said leg assembly comprises at least four legs including a third leg that is non-pivotable and a fourth leg that is selectively repositionable between a use configuration and a stowed configuration. 
     
     
         4 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 3 , wherein when said fourth leg is positioned to the stowed configuration, said fourth leg is moved from said front side of said seat post in a direction toward said back side, and away from said first leg. 
     
     
         5 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 4 , wherein when said first and fourth legs are in the respective stowed configurations, said first and fourth legs extend away from each other on opposite sides of said seat post, and said first and fourth legs do not extend in the direction of said back side of said seat post. 
     
     
         6 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 1 , wherein said seat is pivotable about a horizontal axis that is laterally offset from a longitudinal axis of said seat post. 
     
     
         7 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a seat post bracket coupled to said upper portion of said seat post; and   a pivot pin extending through said seat post bracket;   wherein said seat comprises a seat pan and a seat bracket extending downwardly from said seat pan, said seat bracket pivotably coupled to said seat post bracket at said pivot pin.   
     
     
         8 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 7 , further comprising a releasable lock spaced from said pivot pin and movable between a locking position in which said seat bracket is secured against pivoting relative to said seat post bracket, and an unlocked position in which said seat bracket is pivotable relative to said seat post bracket between said use and stowed configurations. 
     
     
         9 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a seat back including a backrest and a backrest bracket;   wherein said seat comprises a seat pan and a seat bracket extending downwardly from said seat pan;   wherein said backrest bracket is pivotably coupled to said seat bracket;   wherein said seat back is pivotable between a use configuration in which said backrest is spaced above and laterally away from said seat pan, and a stowed configuration in which said backrest is pivoted at least about 45 degrees toward said seat pan; and   wherein when said seat and said seat back are in their respective stowed configurations, said seat and said seat back lie fully within a lateral footprint defined by respective outermost portions of said plurality of legs.   
     
     
         10 . A collapsible office chair comprising:
 a seat post having upper and lower portions;   a seat pivotably coupled to said upper portion of said seat post, wherein said seat is pivotable between a use configuration and a stowed configuration;   a leg assembly coupled to said lower portion of said seat post, said leg assembly comprising:
 a central hub portion; 
 a leg mechanism at said central hub portion; and 
 a plurality of legs extending radially outwardly from said leg mechanism, wherein at least two of said legs are pivotable between deployed and retracted positions; 
   wherein said leg mechanism is operable to secure said pivotable legs in the deployed position when said seat is in the use configuration, and to permit movement of said pivotable legs to the retracted position when said seat is in the stowed configuration.   
     
     
         11 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 10 , wherein said leg mechanism is operable to secure said seat in the stowed configuration when said pivotable legs are moved to the retracted position. 
     
     
         12 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 11 , wherein said leg mechanism is operable to permit said seat to move from the stowed configuration to the use configuration upon movement of said pivotable legs from the retracted position to the extended position. 
     
     
         13 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 12 , wherein said seat comprises a plunger that engages said leg mechanism when said seat is moved to the stowed configuration. 
     
     
         14 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 10 , further comprising a seatback pivotably coupled to said seat by a four-bar linkage, wherein said four-bar linkage is coupled to said seat post. 
     
     
         15 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 14 , wherein said four-bar linkage is configured to pivot said seatback forwardly relative to said seat when said seat is moved to the stowed configuration. 
     
     
         16 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 15 , wherein said seatback comprises a plunger that engages said leg mechanism when said seat is moved to the stowed configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The collapsible office chair of  claim 10 , further comprising a seat support bracket coupled between said seat and said seat post, and a securing mechanism operable to maintain said seat at the use configuration, wherein said securing mechanism is releasable in response to a two-step actuation. 
     
     
         18 . A work furniture system comprising the collapsible office chair  claim 10 , and a reconfigurable desk having a top portion, a pair of spaced-apart upright supports extending downwardly from said top portion, and a movable work surface coupled between said upright supports, wherein said movable work surface is positionable to a stowed configuration in which said movable work surface cooperates with said upright supports and said top portion to define a chair storage area that is sized and shaped to receive said collapsible office chair when said seat is in the stowed configuration and said movable legs are in the retracted positions. 
     
     
         19 . A work furniture system comprising:
 a collapsible chair comprising:
 a seat post; 
 a seat pivotably coupled to an upper portion of said seat post; 
 a seatback pivotable relative to said seat; and 
 a plurality of legs coupled to a lower portion of said seat post; 
 wherein said seat and said seatback are pivotable between a use configuration and a stowed configuration; and 
   a reconfigurable desk comprising:
 a top portion; 
 a pair of spaced-apart upright supports extending downwardly from said top portion; and 
 a movable work surface coupled between said upright supports; 
 wherein said movable work surface is positionable to a stowed configuration in which said movable work surface cooperates with said upright supports and said top portion to define a chair storage area that is sized and shaped to receive said collapsible chair when said seat and said seatback are in the stowed configuration. 
   
     
     
         20 . The work furniture system of  claim 19 , wherein:
 said plurality of legs comprise at least four legs extending radially outwardly relative to said lower portion of said seat post;   at least two of said legs are fixed and at least two of said legs are pivotable between a retracted position in which said pivotable legs are closer to respective ones of said fixed legs and an extended position in which said pivotable legs are spaced further from the respective ones of said fixed legs;   said reconfigurable desk comprises a leg-receiving rail that is configured to receive at least one of said pivotable legs and cause it to move to the retracted position as said collapsible chair is urged into said chair storage area.