Combined tension and back stop function for seating unit
First Claim
1. A seating unit comprising:
- a base, a seat, a back, and a control operably supporting the seat and the back on the base for movement between upright and recline positions;
the control including a first mechanism providing a biasing supporting force to the back during recline, and further including a booster spring mechanism capable of increasing the supporting force, and still further including an on/off selector device for selectively activating and deactivating the booster spring mechanism.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seating unit includes a base, a seat, a back, and a control operably supporting the seat and the back on the base for movement between upright and recline positions. The control includes a spring providing a biasing supporting force to the back during recline, and further includes a booster mechanism capable of increasing the supporting force, and still further includes a selector device for activating and deactivating the booster mechanism. The selector device is easily moveable with a low effort that is separated from and independent from any friction generated by internal components of the booster mechanism. In a narrower aspect, the control is powered, such as by an electrical or electromechanical device from a remote location. A back stop is attached to the selector device, for movement between a disengaged position, a partial-recline position, and a recline-prevented position.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A seating unit comprising:
a base, a seat, a back, and a control operably supporting the seat and the back on the base for movement between upright and recline positions;
the control including a first mechanism providing a biasing supporting force to the back during recline, and further including a booster spring mechanism capable of increasing the supporting force, and still further including an on/off selector device for selectively activating and deactivating the booster spring mechanism.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A seating unit comprising:
a base, a seat, a back, and a control operably supporting the seat and back on the base for movement between upright and recline positions;
the control including a link pivoted to the seat at one end and pivoted to the base at another end, the control including a first mechanism adapted to provide a biasing supporting force during recline and further including a booster spring mechanism operably attached to the link, the booster mechanism comprising a torsion spring and a stop selectively engageable with the torsion spring to activate the torsion spring to boost and increase the supporting force provided to a seated user during recline.- View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A control for adjustably supporting a movable structural component on a base of a seating unit, comprising:
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a pivot pin adapted to be rotatably supported on one of the base and the structural component, and that is rotatably coupled to the other of the base and the structural component for coordinated rotation therewith during recline;
a torsion spring having an inner ring keyed to the pivot pin, an outer second ring having a protrusion extending from the outer second ring, and a resilient spring portion operably interconnecting the inner and outer rings; and
a booster stop operably coupled to the one of the structural component and the base, the booster stop being movable between a disengaged position where the protrusion misses and passes by the booster stop when the pivot pin is rotated as the structural component is moved, and an engaged position where the protrusion engages the booster stop and prevents the outer second ring on the torsion spring from rotating, which thus activates the torsion spring to provide a bias when the structural component is moved, whereby the torsion spring can be selectively engaged and disengaged to adjust a biasing force on the structural component. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A seating unit comprising:
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a base;
a seat;
a back;
a control supporting the back on the base for movement between upright and reclined positions, the control including a plurality of mechanisms including first and second energy mechanisms for biasing the back toward the upright position, and a back stop mechanism for limiting movement of the back to a position short of the reclined position; and
a single selector device operably connected to said plurality of mechanisms for selectively activating said plurality of mechanisms. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. In a seating unit having a base, a seat, a back adapted to pivot between upright and reclined positions, an energy mechanism for biasing the back toward the upright position, a tension adjustment mechanism for adjusting the force biasing the back toward the upright position, and a back stop mechanism for limiting the range of motion of the back to a position short of the reclined position, the improvement comprising:
an actuator operably attached to both the tension adjustment mechanism and the back stop mechanism for operating said mechanisms. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. In a seating unit having a base, a back, and an underseat control operably coupled to and supporting the back for movement between upright and reclined positions, the control including a housing, an energy adjustment mechanism and a back stop mechanism, an improvement comprising:
an actuator movable to a first operative position for selectively engaging the energy adjustment mechanism, and movable to a second operative position for selectively engaging the back stop mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
Specification