Adjustable Folding Chair for Extended Periods of Seating

A folding chair comprising:

• a central chair portion defining a pair of upright seat back mounting members, a pair of front leg mounting members, a pair of rear leg mounting members, and a seat member pivotally connected to the front leg mounting members and the rear leg mounting members;
• a seat back including a pair of seat back extension arms telescopically mounted on the seat back mounting members and a first locking mechanism cooperable with the seat back mounting members to secure a selected telescopic position of the seat back relative to the seat member;
• a front leg assembly including horizontal support strut rigidly interconnecting a pair of front leg extension arms telescopically mounted on the front leg mounting members, and a second locking mechanism cooperable with the front leg mounting members to secure the front leg assembly at a selected position relative to the seat member;
• a rear leg assembly including a horizontal support strut rigidly interconnecting a pair of rear leg extension arms telescopically mounted on the rear leg mounting members, and a third locking mechanism cooperable with the rear leg mounting members to secure the rear leg assembly at a selected position relative to the seat assembly, the front leg assembly and the rear leg assembly being independently selectively positionable to locate the seat member at a selected height and at a selected front to rear orientation;
• a front locking mechanism mounted on the support strut on said front leg assembly and including a front actuator operably associated with both said front leg extensions for locking the selected telescopic extension of said front leg assembly, and
• a rear locking mechanism mounted on the support strut on said rear leg assembly and including a rear actuator operably associated with both said rear leg extensions for locking the selected telescopic extension of said rear leg assembly.

A method of orienting a chair to affect proper seating of an occupant having a back, waist and legs to provide comfort for the occupant during extended periods of sitting on the chair comprising the steps of:

• providing a central chair portion including a pair of seat back mounting members, a pair of front leg mounting members, a pair of rear leg mounting members, and a seat member;
• mounting a seat back having a pair of seat back extensions telescopically into the corresponding seat back mounting members such that each of the seat back extensions is received on a corresponding one of the seat back mounting members;
• positioning the seat back relative to the seat member by telescopically moving the seat back extensions relative to the seat back mounting members to locate the seat back at a selected seat back position wherein a lower ledge of the seat back is located above the waist of the occupant;
• locking the seat back in the selected seat back position;
• telescopically mounting a front leg assembly having a pair of front leg extensions and a horizontal strut interconnecting the front leg extensions onto the corresponding front leg mounting members of the central chair portion;
• telescopically mounting a rear leg assembly having a pair of rear leg extensions and a horizontal strut interconnecting the rear leg extensions onto the corresponding rear leg mounting members of the central chair portion;
• adjusting the front leg assembly and the rear leg assembly by telescopically locating the front leg extensions and the rear leg extensions relative to the corresponding front leg mounting members and the rear leg mounting members, respectively, to create a selected height of the seat member to correspond to the legs of the occupant and a selected front to rear orientation of the seat member;
• and
• locking the front leg extensions and the rear leg extensions on the corresponding front leg mounting sections and the rear leg mounting sections by a locking mechanism carried within the support strut in each of said front leg assembly and rear leg assembly, respectively, to secure the seat member at the selected height and orientation.