Assembly for converting a folding aluminum beach chair into a wheeled cart for toting beach items and the like

[0002] Folding aluminum beach chairs are favored by attendees at sporting events and by beach goers due to their light weight. Nevertheless, such beach chairs are bulky and in instances where it is either desirable or necessary to carry a number of items to the beach, such as beach chairs, beach umbrellas, beach towels, picnic items and the like, these items can be awkward, clumsy and heavy to carry and manipulate.

[0003] The present invention is characterized by comprising a kit provided with wheeled assemblies for simply and easily converting a folding aluminum beach chair into a wheeled tote capable of carrying bulky and clumsy beach items to the beach or to other events using bungee cords to hold down the items being toted.

[0004] The beach chair is a conventional beach chair formed of aluminum tubing sections pivotally connected to one another to define a seat portion, back portion and a pair of substantially U-shaped leg portions and preferably, arm portions. Fabric or plastic webs are arranged across the seat and back portions to form surfaces for supporting the body and back of a user.

[0005] The wheeled assemblies are clampingly mounted to the rear leg portion of the beach chair so as to be retained on the arms of the U-shaped portion while being slidable therealong.

[0006] An extension is also clamped to each bracket assembly, the extensions of each having an opening for receiving an axle. A pair of wheels are provided on each axle on opposite sides of the extension and locking end caps are snap-fitted thereto.

[0007] The wheels are positioned along the rear side of the beach chair so that they do not touch the supporting surface upon which the chair is positioned while assuring that only the wheels engage the ground when the beach chair is folded to the collapsed position and tilted rearwardly, enabling the beach chair to be wheeled from place to place or, in addition thereto, enabling the collapsed beach chair to serve as a wheeled tote to carry items to the beach or elsewhere by laying these items upon the supporting webs and holding the items down with bungee cords.

[0008] In order to be assured that the wheels are arranged in the proper position, the brackets which are slidably mounted to the rear leg portion of the beach chair are, after being properly positioned, secured in the desired position by self-tapping screws extending through openings in the brackets and being secured to the tubular leg. Similar self-tapping screws are provided to maintain the aforesaid extension at the proper position after the extensions are moved to the desired location projecting from the bracket assemblies.

[0009] The bracket assemblies are light in weight and do not interfere with the normal use of the beach chair in either the upright or collapsed positions.

[0010] It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a novel assembly for converting a foldable beach chair into a wheeled tote.

[0011] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel wheel assembly for mounting to a foldable beach chair and which is capable of placing the wheels upon the beach chair so that they do not interfere with the normal use of the beach chair and are active when the beach chair is folded and tilted rearwardly enabling the beach chair to be used as a wheeled tote or for purposes of wheeling the beach chair from one location to another.

[0012] The above, as well as other objects of the present invention will become apparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings in which:

[0013] FIG. 1ashows an aluminum beach chair having the bracket assemblies of the present invention mounted thereto, with the beach chair shown in the open position for use;

[0014] FIG. 1bis a perspective view showing the beach chair of FIG. 1ain the folded position for use as a wheeled tote;

[0015] FIGS. 2a-2eare side views showing some of the components of the present invention;

[0016] FIGS. 3a-3eshow top views of the respective components shown in FIGS. 2a-2e;

[0017] FIGS. 4a-4fare perspective views showing additional components of the bracket assemblies of the present invention;

[0018] FIGS. 5a-5care perspective views and FIG. 5dis a simplified side view of the bracket assemblies of the present invention useful in describing the manner in which the bracket assemblies are mounted to the folding beach chair.

[0019] FIGS. 1aand 1bshow a folding aluminum beach chair 10 to which the bracket assemblies of the present invention are mounted for converting the chair into a wheeled tote.

[0020] The chair 10 is comprised of first and second substantially U-shaped leg sections 11aand 11b, pivotally mounted to one another through brackets 12a, 12bforming integral parts of arm-rest portions 12c, 12d. The leg sections 11aand 11bare further pivotally connected to the rear end of a seat section 13, front leg section 11abeing connected to seat section 13 at pivots 13a, 13band rear leg section 11bbeing connected to the rear end of seat section 13 at 13c, 13d. The rear of seat section 13 is connected to the lower end of a back section 14 at pivot points 13c, 13d. Back section 14 is further connected to the arm rest sections 12cand 12dat pivots 12e, 12f.

[0021] Each of the sections 11a, 11b, 13 and 14 are formed of a suitable hollow, aluminum tubing having cross pieces, such as, for example, the cross-piece 11a-1, to provide added structural strength.

[0022] Seat section 13 and back section 14 are each provided with a plurality of webs 16 which are arranged in spaced parallel fashion so as to form a support for the seat and back of a person sitting upon the chair when in the upright and open position, shown in FIG. 1a. The webs 16 may be joined in any suitable fashion to the seat and back sections 13 and 14 and the manner of their joining lends no novelty to the present invention other than to serve the dual function of providing a support for the body of a person seated upon the chair and further for providing a surface upon which items to be transported may be arranged. If desired, the webs can be arranged on the chair in criss-cross fashion, as is another conventional arrangement.

[0023] FIG. 1bshows the beach chair in the folded position.

[0024] As can be seen in FIGS. 1aand 1b, the chair 10 has been fitted with a pair of wheeled assemblies 20, 20′. For simplicity, only one of these wheeled assemblies will be described in detail, it being understood that both wheeled assemblies are substantially identical in design and function.

[0025] The wheeled assembly 20, for example, is comprised of a pair of bracket halves 22, 24, shown in FIGS. 4band 5a-5c. The bracket halves are formed of any suitable material such as a light-weight, rugged metal or plastic.

[0026] Each bracket half has a first and second semicylindrical portion 22a, 22band 24a, 24bso that, when the bracket halves are arranged adjacent to one another, as show in FIGS. 4band 5a-5c, the semi-cylindrical halves cooperate to form a hollow, cylindrical receiving opening for embracing a leg.

[0027] Each of the bracket halves is further provided with integral, pie-shaped sections 22c, 24carranged along inside corners of the bracket assembly. Each of these pie-shaped sections is provided with an opening for receiving a bracket screw BS, as shown in FIGS. 2cand 3c, extending through the openings provided in the pie-shaped sections and receiving, at the free, threaded end, a bracket washer W, as shown in FIGS. 2dand 3dand a bracket nut N, as shown in FIGS. 2eand 3e, for securing the brackets to one another.

[0028] Each bracket half is further provided with a plurality of tabs 22d, 24dand 22e, 24earranged along opposite sides of the pie-shaped sections as well as tabs 22f, 22gand 24f, 24garranged along the opposite sides of the semi-cylindrical portions 22a, 24a, 22b, 24b.

[0029] Each of these tabs receives a bracket screw BS as shown in FIGS. 2cand 3c, bracket washer W, as shown in FIGS. 2dand 3d, and a bracket nut N, as shown in FIGS. 2eand 3ein order to securely fasten the bracket assembly 22 to one integral arm of the leg section 11b.

[0030] Each of the bracket assemblies 20 and 20′ are mounted in a like fashion. Each of the aluminum extension struts 26 is slidably inserted within the cooperating semi-cylindrical halves 22b, 24bof bracket halves 22 and 24, as shown in FIG. 5b. An end cap 27a, shown in FIGS. 4a, 5band 5cis snap-fitted into the open end of each of the aluminum struts 26 near the end which is closer to the openings 26a,extending through hollow aluminum strut 26.

[0031] An aluminum axle 28a, 29ais extended through each of the struts 26, 26 in the direction shown by the arrows A1, A2, in FIG. 5d, with the axles arranged on the outside sides of the struts and being moved toward one another, as shown.

[0032] An axle cap 30, as shown in FIGS. 2aand 3a, is tapped onto one end of each axle, preferably using a hammer.

[0033] The uncapped end of each axle is then moved in the direction shown by arrows A1, A2, so as to be inserted through the central openings in a first wheel 32a, 33aand then passed through the appropriate openings in struts 26, 26 and thereafter passed through the central openings in wheels 34a, 35a. Another axle cap 30 of the type shown in FIGS. 2aand 3ais then mounted to the opposite end of the axles to retain the wheels on each of their respective axles.

[0034] When both sets of wheels have been affixed to the struts 26, 26, they are then properly aligned with the back of the folding chair so that the bottom of the wheels do not extend below the end of the chair legs, as shown in FIGS. 1aand 1b. When the brackets are positioned at the proper height, the brackets are secured to the chair legs with self tapping screws of the type shown in FIGS. 2band 3b, which self tapping screws are inserted through at least the opening 22gin bracket 22, as shown in FIG. 5c.The struts 26aand 27 are likewise slidable within the semi-cylindrical portions 22b, 24band the struts are slidably moved in order to be assured that the wheels are aligned. When the wheels are so aligned, a self tapping screw, such as, for example, self tapping screw 39, as shown in FIG. 3, is inserted through an opening in each bracket 22, 24 to retain the alignment of wheel assembly mounted to brackets 22, 24. A similar alignment and securement is made with respect to the other assembly 20′.

[0035] With the arrangement as shown and the wheeled assemblies properly aligned, it can be seen in FIG. 1bthat the wheels do not engage the surface upon which the chair is supported thereby assuring that the chair will be stably supported on a support surface, such as a grassy plot, a sandy beach, a hard surface or the like. When it is desired to move the chair 10 using the wheels, all that need be done is to tilt the chair backward by an amount sufficient to assure that the wheels are rollingly engaging a supporting surface and so that the bottom portion of leg section 11bis lifted above the ground.

[0036] The chair may be transported with the wheel assemblies when the chair is in the folded or unfolded position, although the transport of the chair in the folded position, shown in FIG. 1bis the preferred position for wheeling the chair.

[0037] In the folded position, it is further possible to load items upon the webs 16 of the chair and to hold these items down by means of two or more bungee cords 40, 41, which are arranged, for example, in a crisscross fashion, as shown in FIG. 1b. The hooks 40a, 41aprovided at opposite ends of the bungee cords are hooked onto the aluminum frame of the seat and back sections to hold down items such as a cooler, picnic basket, beach balls, sand pails, and another, preferably smaller beach chair, and so forth, greatly facilitating the use of the chair, not only as a beach chair, but further as a wheeled tote.

[0038] The wheel assemblies are light and do not add significant weight to the beach chair.

[0039] A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein described.