IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,317,723
Granted Patent B2
US 11,317,723 · App. 17/077,636 · Granted May 3, 2022

Under-seat enclosure

Inventors: Lisa Beaty Bishop (Cape Girardeau, MO); Carla Beaty Collette (Shady Shores, TX)
Assignee: LeisureEase, LLC
A47C7/626A01K1/03A01K1/033A01K1/034A47C1/14A47C4/045A47C4/283A47C4/30A01K1/0035A01K1/0254
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,317,723
App. No.
17/077,636
Granted
May 3, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

An enclosure may be positioned underneath a chair seat to at least partially enclose the under-seat space and may open and close in conjunction with the expanding and collapsing of the chair. In one aspect, the under-seat enclosure is usable with side-to-side folding chairs (e.g., director-style folding chairs), with or without a footrest. Among other things, the under-seat enclosure may include accessory pockets and panels. In addition, the under-seat enclosure may optionally include dividers that sub-divide an interior compartment into multiple compartments.

Claims (29)

1. An enclosure usable under a seat of a side-to-side folding chair, the enclosure comprising:

a plurality of walls enclosing an interior volume, the plurality of walls comprising at least a front portion, back portion, left portion, and right portion, wherein the plurality of walls includes a first removable panel portion and a second removable panel portion that are interchangeable with one another;

a first flexible extension on the left portion and a second flexible extension on the right portion, the first and second flexible extensions to releasably connect to a respective side frame assembly of the side-to-side folding chair; and

a releasable connector on the front portion to connect to a pivot point of the side-to-side folding chair.

2. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the first and second flexible extensions each comprises a lower flexible extension to releasably connect to a bottom rail of the side frame assembly.

3. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the first and second flexible extension each comprises an upper flexible extension to releasably connect to an arm support of the side frame assembly.

4. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the first and second flexible extension is each to releasably connect to a vertical support of the side frame assembly.

5. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the releasable connector is to connect to the center pivot point of a scissor frame.

6. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the releasable connector is to connect to a pivot point of a foldable foot rest.

7. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the releasable connector is a first releasable connector to attach to a first fold point, and wherein the enclosure further comprises a second releasable connector on the front portion to connect to a second fold point of the side-to-side folding chair.

8. The enclosure of claim 1 further comprising, a horizontal divider that extends between the left portion and the right portion and that divides the interior volume into a top compartment and a bottom compartment.

9. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of walls comprise a mesh panel, and wherein the enclosure further comprises a secondary panel to selectively cover the mesh panel.

10. An enclosure usable under a seat of a side-to-side folding chair, the enclosure comprising:

a plurality of walls enclosing an interior volume, the plurality of walls comprising at least a front portion, a back portion, a left portion, a right portion, a top portion, and a bottom portion, the top portion for positioning beneath the seat of the side-to-side folding chair;

a horizontal divider that extends between the left portion and the right portion and that divides the interior volume into a top compartment and a bottom compartment;

a left upper flexible extension positioned at a first transition between the left portion and the top portion, the first upper flexible extension to releasably connect to a left side frame assembly of the side-to-side folding chair above a first pivot linkage connecting the left side frame assembly to a seat assembly of the side-to-side folding chair; and

a right upper flexible extension positioned at a second transition between the right portion and the top portion, the right upper flexible extension to releasably connect to a right side frame assembly of the side-to-side folding chair above a second pivot linkage connecting the right side frame assembly to the seat assembly of the side-to-side folding chair.

11. The enclosure of claim 10 further comprising, a releasable connector to attach the front portion to a pivot point of the side-to-side folding chair.

12. A method of enclosing a volume beneath a seat of a side-to-side folding chair, the method comprising:

positioning an enclosure beneath the seat, the enclosure comprising a plurality of walls enclosing an interior volume, the plurality of walls comprising at least a front portion, back portion, left portion, and right portion;

attaching a first flexible extension to a first side frame assembly;

attaching a second flexible extension to a second side frame assembly; and

attaching the front portion to a pivot point of a foldable footrest of the side-to-side folding chair.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein attaching the first flexible extension comprises attaching the first flexible extension above a first pivot linkage of the side-to-side folding chair, and wherein attaching the second flexible extension comprises attaching the second flexible extension above a second pivot linkage of the side-to-side folding chair.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein attaching the first flexible extension comprises attaching the first flexible extension to a first vertical support, and wherein attaching the second flexible extension comprises attaching the second flexible extension to a second vertical support.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein attaching the first flexible extension comprises attaching the first flexible extension to a first arm support, and wherein attaching the second flexible extension comprises attaching the second flexible extension to a second arm support.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein attaching the first flexible extension comprises attaching the first flexible extension to a first bottom rail, and wherein attaching the second flexible extension comprises attaching the second flexible extension to a second bottom rail.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein attaching the front portion comprises attaching a releasable connector to a center pivot point of a scissor frame.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises attaching a second releasable connector to a center pivot point of a scissor frame.

Continuity (3)
Provisional Application 62925439 · Oct 24, 2019
Provisional Application 63100826 · Apr 2, 2020
Related Publication 20210120960A1 · Apr 29, 2021
Cited By (1)
US 1,075,320