CHAIR-TESTING APPARATUS

• US 3,592,041 A
• Filed: 10/25/1968
• Issued: 07/13/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William H. Spencer
• Original Assignee: William H. Spencer
• Inventors: Spencer, William H.
• Application Number:
  US04/770,590
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• US Class Current: 73/7
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/001 Testing of furniture, e.g. seats or mattresses

Abstract

A chair-testing apparatus for testing the operability and/or durability of the elements and construction of a reclining chair, including means for applying forces to movable seat, back and leg rest portions of a chair under test and thereby simulating use of the chair by an occupant be causing the movable portions to cycle between a generally upright seating position and a generally inclined reclining position and further including means for engaging occupant-supporting surfaces of a chair under test to simulate wear imposed thereon by an occupant seating himself in the chair and arising from the chair. Testing sequences are under the control of a control means governing the cycling of forces applied to portions of the chair under test in such a manner as to permit full simulation of use of the chair by an occupant or suspension of certain test functions as may be desired.

Claims

1. Apparatus for testing the durability of elements of a chair having occupant-supporting seat and back portions with cushioning and upholstery materials thereon by simulating the wear imposed by an occupant on supporting portions of the chair and comprising:

pad means movable between a withdrawn position and a supportingsurface-engaging position and adapted to engage the occupantsupporting surface of the seat portion of a chair for initial frictional sliding movement relative thereto and subsequent imposition thereon of a force simulating the weight of an occupant of the chair, said pad means comprising means engaging a portion of the chair for limiting the extent of sliding movement, and control means operatively connected to said chair-engaging means for controlling the operation thereof to repeatedly cycle said engaging means between the withdrawn and engaging positions and thereby test the durability of at least the cushioning and upholstery elements of the seat portion of the chair.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said control means includes adjustable means governing the imposition of force by said chair-engaging means on the occupant-supporting surfaces of the chair under test for accommodating adjustment of such force and thereby facilitating simulation of the varying weights of a plurality of potential occupants of the chair.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said chair-engaging means is adapted to engage the occupant-supporting surfaces of both the seat and back portions for sliding movement relative thereto and imposition of forces tHereon.

4. Apparatus for testing the durability of elements and construction of a reclining chair having upholstered occupant-supporting seat, back and leg rest portions mounted on a frame and operatively interconnected by a linkage mechanism for movement between a seating position and a reclining position, the testing apparatus simulating the wear imposed by an occupant on supporting elements of the chair and comprising means adapted to engage the back portion of the chair for moving the movable portions between the seating and reclining positions, means movable between withdrawn and supporting-surface-engaging positions and adapted to engage occupant-supporting surfaces of the seat and back portions of the chair for sliding movement relative thereto and imposition thereon of forces simulating the weight and backward bias of an occupant of the chair, and control means operatively connected to said chair-engaging means for controlling the operation thereof to repeatedly cycle said chair-moving means to move the movable portions of the chair between the seating and reclining positions while simultaneously repeatedly cycling said surface-engaging means between the withdrawn and engaging positions, whereby the actions of an occupant seating himself in the chair, reclining in the chair, returning to a generally upright seating position and arising from the chair are simulated.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said chair-engaging means comprises a plurality of double-acting, extensible and retractable devices mounted in predetermined relation to each other.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said devices are pressure-fluid-actuated cylinder devices and further wherein said control means includes fluid flow control valves operatively connected to said cylinder devices, each of said flow control valves governing the flow of actuating fluid to a corresponding one of said jack devices.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said devices are air-pressure-actuated cylinder devices and further wherein said control means comprises adjustable air-pressure-regulating means operatively connected to said cylinder devices for governing the pressure of actuating air supplied thereto and thereby governing the forces imposed on portions of the chair under test.

8. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said chair-engaging means comprises first, second and third extensible and retractable devices, said first and second devices being arranged to provide motive force for said surface-engaging means and mounted in predetermined relation one to the other for exerting force respectively on the occupant-supporting surface of the back portion of the chair under test and on the occupant-supporting surface of the seat portion of the chair under test, said third device being arranged to provide motive force for said moving means and mounted in relation to said first and second devices for exerting force on the back portion of the chair under test, and further wherein said control means includes operational mode selection means for varying operative interconnections among said first, second and third devices and thereby permitting selective suspension of the testing functions performed thereby.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said control means further includes hesitation timing means for delaying actuation of said third device relative to actuation of said first and second devices in such a manner as to simulate the hesitation of an occupant of the chair between seating in the chair and reclining in the chair.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said chair-engaging means further comprises a fourth pushing-pulling device mounted in predetermined relation to said third device and arranged for exerting a downward pulling force on the leg rest portion of the chair under test in coordination with exertion of force by said third device for moving the movable portions of the chair under test from the reclining toward the seating positiOn.

11. Apparatus for testing the operability and/or durability of elements of a reclining chair, these elements including occupant-supporting seat, back and leg rest portions mounted on a frame and operatively interconnected by a linkage mechanism for movement between a seating position and a reclining position, and for simulating the wear imposed by an occupant on the cushioning and upholstery materials on the occupant-supporting seat and back portions of the chair under test, the testing apparatus comprising:

means adapted to engage at least the back portion of a reclining chair for moving the movable portions of the chair between the seating and reclining positions, including pad means movable between withdrawn and supporting-surface-engaging positions and adapted to engage the occupant-supporting surface of at least one of the seat and back portions of the chair for sliding movement relative thereto and imposition thereon of forces simulating the weight and backward bias of an occupant of the chair, and control means operatively connected to said chair-engaging means for controlling the operation thereof to repeatedly cycle the pad means between withdrawn and engaging positions and the movable portions of the chair under test between the seating and reclining positions and thereby test the operability and/or durability of the linkage mechanism cushioning materials and upholstery of the chair.