Connecticut Patent of the Month – January 2021
Folding chairs have been used by families, campers, and sports enthusiasts alike for decades. They are convenient, portable, and provide extra comfort when traditional seating is unavailable. However, despite their popularity, these chairs still have limitations. Most only have one set position: either upright or reclined (like beach lounge chairs). So, for users who wish to recline, their lawn chair can’t do it. Lawn chairs also often sink into soft ground, since the legs have a small footprint, meaning your weight can’t be evenly distributed. Observing these limitations, GCI Outdoor, Inc. has created a collapsible, portable rocking chair that features both reclined/rocking and stabilized positions.
The portable rocking chair is fully collapsible for ease of transport and storage, in the same way many lawn chairs are, meaning you don’t have to pull it apart/piece it together. Further, the rocking mechanism is built into the frame and helps support your weight while rocking. The rocking mechanism sits inside a sleeve that’s attached at the rear leg on each side, consisting of spring supports the rear leg. It only rocks when the user chooses by leaning back, causing the rear leg to suppress the spring, mimicking a reclined feeling. Otherwise, it defaults to a stabilized position. The chair doesn’t have traditional rocking features, like the long curved feet. Despite this, the feet are able to distribute weight more evenly than typical lawn chairs, as the base of the rear feet are connected to a supporting skid that provides more stability than a narrow leg. So you don’t have to worry about sinking into the ground in this chair.
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