Height adjustable child's chair

Abstract

In one example, a highchair has a seat and a base. The base is attached to the seat such that, when the base is disposed on a surface, the base supports the seat above the surface. The base has a plurality of legs that are rotatable so as to transition the highchair between a raised position and a lowered position. In the raised position, the seat is disposed at a first height and the plurality of legs together define a first footprint that has a first cross-sectional area in a select plane. In the lowered position, the seat is disposed at a second height, lower than the first height, and the plurality of legs together define a second footprint that has a second cross-sectional area in the select plane that is less than the first cross-sectional area.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A highchair, comprising:
 a seat; and   a base attached to the seat such that, when the base is disposed on a surface, the base supports the seat above the surface, the base comprising a plurality of legs and a support connected to the seat and coupled to the plurality of legs such that the support is translatable along the plurality of legs so as to cause movement of the seat along a vertical direction and to rotate, translate horizontally, or rotate and translate horizontally, so as to transition the highchair between a raised position, wherein the seat is disposed at a first height, and a lowered position, wherein the seat is disposed at a second height, lower than the first height.   
     
     
         2 . The highchair of  claim 1 , wherein each leg extends from the surface at a first angle when the highchair is in the raised position and a second angle when the highchair is in the lowered position, each of the first and second angles is an acute angle, and the second angle is smaller than the first angle. 
     
     
         3 . The highchair of  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises a plurality of couplers that couple the support to the plurality of legs such that each coupler is translatable along a respective one of the plurality of legs so as to cause the support to translate along the vertical direction. 
     
     
         4 . The highchair of  claim 3 , wherein each of one or more of the couplers comprises a collar defining a hole that receives a respective one of the plurality of legs therethrough. 
     
     
         5 . The highchair of  claim 3 , wherein each of one or more of the couplers comprises at least one wheel that is configured to ride along a track defined by a respective one of the plurality of legs. 
     
     
         6 . The highchair of  claim 3 , wherein each of one or more of the plurality of legs has an outer surface that defines a guide configured to guide a respective one of the couplers as the coupler translates along the leg. 
     
     
         7 . The highchair of  claim 3 , wherein each of one or more of the plurality of legs has an inner surface that defines a guide configured to guide a respective one of the couplers as the coupler translates along the leg. 
     
     
         8 . The highchair of  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises:
 a support that extends downward from the seat, the support being attached to the seat such that movement of the support along a vertical direction causes movement of the seat along the vertical direction;   an upper hub coupled to each of the plurality of legs such that the legs are 1) fixed to the upper hub with respect to translation along the vertical direction, and 2) configured to rotate relative to the upper hub; and   a lower hub coupled to each of the plurality of legs below the upper hub such that the lower hub is configured to translate along the plurality of legs along the vertical direction so as to cause the plurality of legs to translate along a horizontal direction between a first footprint and a second footprint.   
     
     
         9 . The highchair of  claim 8 , wherein the support is fixed to the lower hub with respect to translation along the vertical direction and translatable relative to the upper hub with respect to the vertical direction, and the upper hub defines an opening therethrough, and the support is received through the opening such that the support translates through the opening with respect to the vertical direction. 
     
     
         10 . The highchair of  claim 8 , wherein the base comprises a plurality of couplers that couple the lower hub to the plurality of legs such that each coupler is translatable along a respective one of the plurality of legs so as to cause the lower hub to translate along the vertical direction, and each coupler is pivotably attached to the lower hub. 
     
     
         11 . The highchair of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of legs comprises at least two legs. 
     
     
         12 . The highchair of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of legs comprises at least four legs. 
     
     
         13 . The highchair of  claim 1 , comprising at least one lock that is configured to selectively lock the highchair in the raised and lowered positions,
 wherein each of the at least one lock is configured to engage a corresponding one of the legs to lock a position of seat relative to the corresponding leg, and   at least a portion of each lock is configured to be received in an opening of a corresponding leg so as to lock the position of the seat.   
     
     
         14 . The highchair of  claim 1 , comprising at least one lock that is configured to selectively lock the highchair in the raised and lowered positions,
 wherein each of the at least one lock is configured to engage a corresponding one of the legs to lock a position of seat relative to the corresponding leg, and   each of one or more of the legs comprises a plurality of openings that correspond to different positions of the highchair, and   a corresponding one of the at least one lock is configured to selectively engage the openings so as to lock the seat in different positions.   
     
     
         15 . The highchair of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of openings are spaced apart from one another along a length of the leg. 
     
     
         16 . The highchair of  claim 1 , comprising at least one lock that is configured to selectively lock the highchair in the raised and lowered positions and an actuator that is configured to actuate each of the at least one locks,
 wherein the actuator comprises a handle that is configured to be engaged by a user, and movement of handle causes a corresponding movement of each of the at least one lock between a locked position and an unlocked position.   
     
     
         17 . The highchair of  claim 16 , wherein the actuator comprises an axle, and the actuator is configured to convert translational movement of the handle into rotational movement of the axle, and rotational movement of the axle into translational movement of the at least one lock. 
     
     
         18 . A highchair, comprising:
 a seat;   a support that is attached to the seat and extends downward therefrom along a central axis; and   a base comprising a plurality of legs attached to the support such that  1 ) the seat is configured to raise and lower relative to the base along a vertical direction,  2 ) raising the seat causes each of the plurality of legs to move away from the central axis, and  3 ) lowering the seat causes each of the plurality of legs to move toward the central axis.   
     
     
         19 . The highchair of  claim 18 , wherein each leg extends from the support at a first angle when the highchair is raised and a second angle when the highchair is lowered, the second angle being different from the first angle, and each of the first and second angles is an acute angle, and the second angle is smaller than the first angle. 
     
     
         20 . The highchair of  claim 18 , wherein the base comprises:
 a support that extends downward from the seat, the support being attached to the seat such that movement of the support along a vertical direction causes movement of the seat along the vertical direction; and   a plurality of couplers that couple the support to the plurality of legs such that each coupler is translatable along a respective one of the plurality of legs so as to cause the support to translate along the vertical direction.   
     
     
         21 . The highchair of  claim 20 , wherein the support comprises a shaft. 
     
     
         22 . The highchair of  claim 20 , wherein each of one or more of the couplers comprises a collar defining a hole that receives a respective one of the plurality of legs therethrough. 
     
     
         23 . The highchair of  claim 18 , wherein the base comprises:
 a support that extends downward from the seat, the support being attached to the seat such that movement of the support along a vertical direction causes movement of the seat along the vertical direction;   an upper hub coupled to each of the plurality of legs such that the legs are 1) fixed to the upper hub with respect to translation along the vertical direction, and 2) configured to pivot relative to the upper hub; and   a lower hub coupled to each of the plurality of legs below the upper hub such that the lower hub is configured to translate along the plurality of legs along the vertical direction so as to cause a footprint of the plurality of legs to increase and decrease.   
     
     
         24 . The highchair of  claim 23 , wherein the support is fixed to the lower hub with respect to translation along the vertical direction and translatable relative to the upper hub with respect to the vertical direction, and the upper hub defines an opening therethrough, and the support is received through the opening such that the support translates through the opening with respect to the vertical direction. 
     
     
         25 . The highchair of  claim 23 , wherein the base comprises a plurality of couplers that couple the lower hub to the plurality of legs such that each coupler is translatable along a respective one of the plurality of legs so as to cause the lower hub to translate along the vertical direction, and each coupler is pivotably attached to the lower hub. 
     
     
         26 . A method of operating a highchair, the method comprising:
 raising a seat of the highchair from a lowered position to a raised position, wherein the raising step causes a plurality of legs of the highchair to rotate, translate outwardly along a horizontal direction, or rotate and translate outwardly along the horizontal direction, so as to increase a footprint defined by the plurality of legs.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , comprising locking the seat in the raised position after raising the seat to the raised position. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , comprising, before the raising step, unlocking while the seat while the seat is in the lowered position.