CHAIR

• US 20090085388A1
• Filed: 03/28/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Formway Furniture Limited
• Original Assignee: Formway Furniture Limited
• Inventors: Wilkinson, Paul Michael, Neal, Daryl Owen, Parker, Kent Wallace, Stewart, Lyall Douglas, Collings, Martyn Walter Goodwin, Tierney, Peter Alan
• Granted Patent: US 8,029,060 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/311
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/023 the parts being horizontally-adjustable seats ; Expandable seats or the like, e.g. seats with horizontally adjustable parts
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03 the parts being arm-rests conversion into a bed A47C17/12
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/0305 by peg-and-notch or pawl-and-ratchet mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03255 with a central column, e.g. rocking office chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03277 with bar or leaf springs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/036 the parts including a head-rest
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/004 for chairs or stools with central column, e.g. office chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/027 with elastomeric springs A47C7/282 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/14 of adjustable shape; elastically mounted ; adaptable to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions movably-coupled seat and backrests with elastic adjustment means A47C1/03261; elastically-mounted back-rests or backrest-seat units in the base frame A47C7/44
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/40 for the back
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/405 with double backrests
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/445 with bar or leaf springs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/46 with special, e.g. adjustable , lumbar region support profile; "Ackerblom" profile chairs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49869 by flexing

Abstract

A chair has a supporting frame, a seat portion, a back portion, and a recline mechanism. The mechanism moves the seat portion upon a reclining action of the back portion. The mechanism has a rear deformable member and a front deformable member operatively connecting the seat portion and the supporting frame. The recline mechanism also has a lower deformable member operatively connecting a lower part of the back portion and the supporting frame, and a puller member above the lower deformable member. The recline mechanism is configured such that as the back portion is reclined, the lower deformable member deforms and the puller member applies a rearward pulling action which causes the seat portion to move and the front and rear deformable members to deform.

Claims

1. A height adjustable arm assembly for a chair, comprising:

a support comprising an elongate slot having spaced apart generally parallel first and second elongate walls; and

an arm rest for supporting the arm of a chair occupant and cantilevered from the support, the arm rest having an end proximal the support and an end distal the support, the arm rest comprising at or towards its proximal end a support engagement mechanism having at least two bearing mechanisms that are spaced apart in the elongate direction of the elongate slot and are slidably received in the elongate slot of the support with one of the bearing mechanisms contacting the first longitudinal wall and the other of the bearing mechanisms contacting the second longitudinal wall to provide a sliding action of the arm rest relative to the support; and

a locking mechanism for locking the arm rest in a selected position relative to the support, comprising a locking member that engages with the support and an actuator located at or adjacent the distal end of the arm rest, wherein the height of the arm rest relative to the support is adjustable by moving the actuator which causes the locking member to release from engagement with the support thereby enabling a sliding movement therebetween.

2. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each bearing mechanism is able to contact both the first longitudinal wall and the second longitudinal wall, but each bearing mechanism is able to contact only one of the longitudinal walls at a time.

3. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearing mechanisms are each in the form of a roller, each of which is mounted for rotation relative to the arm rest about a respective axis that extends substantially transversely to the elongate direction of the slot.

4. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearing mechanisms each have a pair of rollers in a side by side configuration, with one roller in each pair contacting one of the longitudinal walls and the other roller in each pair contacting the other of the longitudinal walls.

5. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support is part of a back portion of a chair.

6. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support is mounted to a part of the back portion that supports the back portion from another part of the chair.

7. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a lever that is adapted to be pulled upward to release the locking mechanism.

8. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking member is connected to part of the arm rest, and is adapted to selectively engage with one of a plurality of locking features in the support that are spaced apart in the elongate direction of the slot.

9. A height adjustable arm assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the actuator lever is pivotally connected to part of the arm rest and connected to the locking member by a connecting component, such that pivoting movement of the actuator lever provides a sliding movement of the locking member.

10. A chair comprising:

a supporting frame;

a back portion;

a seat portion having a central zone; and

a seat support for operatively supporting the seat portion from the supporting frame, wherein the seat support comprises resilient support members located generally along respective sides of the central zone of the seat portion and configured to support a seated occupant when the seated occupant'"'"'s weight is centrally located in the central zone, but which enable an angular change of the seat portion to the side if the seated occupant'"'"'s weight is offset to the side of the central zone of the seat portion.

11. A chair as claimed in claim 10, wherein the resilient support members comprise a plurality of resilient support members along each side of the central zone.

12. A chair as claimed in claim 11, wherein the seat support further comprises at least one resilient support member that supports a rearward part of the seat portion.

13. A chair as claimed in claim 11, wherein the seat support further comprises at least one resilient support member that supports a more forward part of the seat portion.

14. A chair as claimed in claim 13, wherein the seat support comprises a slide and is selectively slidable relative to the support frame, to enable the depth of the seat portion to be selectively adjusted relative to the support frame.

15. A chair as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least the slide and resilient members are part of a single unitary moulded polymeric component.

16. A chair as claimed in claim 10, wherein the seat support is operatively supported by an intermediate support that is supported by the support frame, and the seat support is slidable relative to the intermediate support.

17. A chair as claimed in claim 16, wherein the seat support is operably supported above the intermediate support by at least one resilient member that is configured to deform as an occupant initially sits on the seat portion.

18. A chair as claimed in claim 17, wherein the intermediate support forms part of a recline mechanism that further comprises at least one member between the intermediate support and the supporting frame, and the back portion is operatively connected to the recline mechanism, wherein the seat support is operatively connected to the intermediate support and the recline mechanism is configured to move the intermediate support and thereby the seat support upon a reclining action of the back.

19. A chair as claimed in claim 10, wherein the seat portion has two side zones, one on either side of the central zone, wherein the side zones are resiliently flexible to enable the side zones to deform under the weight of an occupant'"'"'s legs if the occupant sits sideways on the seat portion.

20. A chair as claimed in claim 19, wherein the central portion defines a rearward portion of the seat portion, and the seat portion further comprises a forward portion that is resiliently flexible to enable the forward portion to deform under the weight of an occupant'"'"'s legs as the occupant sits forward on the seat portion.

21. A chair as claimed in claim 19, wherein the side zones extend substantially to the front edge of the seat portion.

22. A chair as claimed in claim 10, wherein the seat portion further comprises a cushion construction to provide a compliant support for the seated occupant and which rests on a seat pan or seat panel.

23. A chair as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a lumbar support to provide additional support to a lumbar region of an occupant'"'"'s back when sitting in a normal forward orientation in the chair, the lumbar support comprising two spaced apart occupant supporting portions that provide substantially independent support for the two sides of the occupant'"'"'s lower back.

24. A cushion construction for providing a compliant support surface, the cushion construction comprising:

a spring structure having a plurality of moulded spring components adapted to provide substantially independent compliant support, at least a majority of the moulded spring components each comprising a plurality of sections connected by platforms, so that the sections can telescope into one another under weight applied to the cushion construction; and

a cover adapted to cover at least one side of the moulded spring components in the spring structure.

25. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein within each of the springs in said majority of spring components, said sections are progressively larger toward the cover, and are progressively smaller away from the cover.

26. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cover extends around the spring structure and terminates in an inwardly directed peripheral region that corresponds in position to another side of the spring structure, the cover providing for attachment to a supporting substrate by pulling the peripheral region of the cover around the substrate, thereby at least partly sandwiching the substrate between the peripheral region and the spring structure.

27. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 26, configured such that following pulling the peripheral region of the skin around the substrate to sandwich the substrate between the peripheral region and the spring structure, the skin may be fastened to the substrate to complete the attachment.

28. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cover is injection compression moulded.

29. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cover is formed from an elastomeric material.

30. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein the spring structure is formed from an elastomeric material.

31. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein a surface texture is in moulded on the cover.

32. A cushion construction as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cover is integrally moulded with the spring structure.

33. A support surface for a chair, comprising a substrate and a cushion construction as claimed in claim 24 attached to and substantially covering a surface of the substrate.

34. A support surface for a chair as claimed in claim 33, wherein the support surface is a seat portion for a chair, the seat portion comprising a seat panel or pan, and the cushion construction attached to and substantially covering an upper surface of the seat panel or pan.

35. A support surface as claimed in claim 34, wherein the seat panel or pan is resilient.

36. A support surface for a chair as claimed in claim 33, wherein the support surface is an arm assembly for a chair, the arm assembly comprising an arm rest having an arm support, and the cushion construction attached to and substantially covering at least an upper surface of the arm support.

37. A support surface as claimed in claim 36, wherein the cushion construction additionally covers an inner surface of the arm support adapted to face a seated occupant in use.

38. A chair comprising:

a supporting frame;

a back portion;

a seat portion operatively supported from the supporting frame and having a central zone and a peripheral edge region, wherein the peripheral edge region is resiliently flexible and is substantially unsupported to enable the peripheral edge region to deform under the weight of an occupant'"'"'s legs; and

an actuator operatively mounted beneath the peripheral edge region and that moves with the peripheral edge region as that deforms under the weight of the occupant'"'"'s legs and which can be reached by a seated occupant reaching under the peripheral edge region of the seat portion, the actuator operatively connected to a mechanism that enables the chair to be reconfigured.

39. A chair as claimed in claim 38, wherein the flexible peripheral edge region is a forward edge of the seat portion, and the chair comprises a recline mechanism that causes the central zone of the seat to raise in height as the back portion is rearwardly reclined, with a consequent downward deformation of the forward edge of the seat portion under the weight of the occupant'"'"'s legs as the chair is reclined.

40. A chair as claimed in claim 39, wherein one or more actuators are provided under the forward edge.

41. A chair as claimed in claim 38, wherein the seat portion has two side zones, one on either side of the central zone, wherein the side zones are resiliently flexible and are substantially unsupported to enable the side zones to deform under the weight of an occupant'"'"'s legs if the occupant sits sideways on the seat portion.

42. A chair as claimed in claim 41, wherein one or more actuators are provided under each side edge.

43. A chair as claimed in claim 38, wherein the or each actuator comprises a lever that is articulated to the underside of the peripheral edge region of the seat portion.

44. A chair as claimed in claim 43, wherein the lever requires upward pulling toward the seat portion to actuate the mechanism.

45. A chair as claimed in claim 43, wherein the actuation lever has a paddle surface sized and configured to receive a plurality of an occupant'"'"'s fingers.

46. A chair as claimed in claim 38, comprising a plurality of mechanisms that enable the chair to be reconfigured, and wherein a separate actuator is provided for each of the mechanisms.

47. A chair as claimed in claim 38, wherein the or each actuator is operatively connected to the respective mechanism via a flexible linkage.

48. A chair as claimed in claim 38, wherein the chair is an office task chair.