Chair with reversible seat and back cushions

• US 4,488,755 A
• Filed: 09/20/1982
• Issued: 12/18/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chairs Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nemschoff Chairs Incorporated (Millerknoll Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nemschoff, Leonard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zugel, Francis K.
• Application Number:
  US06/419,804
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 297/440, 297/443, 297/444, 297/283
• US Class Current: 297/440.21
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/02 Dismountable chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/028 Upholstered chairs, e.g. metal, plastic or wooden chairs

Abstract

A seating unit such as a chair or sofa comprises opposite, upright, rigidly connected side members, a reversible seat cushion having a back face and a reversible back cushion having a bottom face. A beam extending laterally between the side members has its ends rigidly connected to them and supports rod-like forwardly projecting cantilevered legs for the seat cushion and similar upwardly projecting legs for the back cushion. The legs for each cushion are lengthwise slidably received in bores in an internal frame of the cushion that extend inwardly from said face of the cushion. Deep inside each bore is a detent device which is engaged by full installation of the cushion on its legs and which releasably locks the cushion against outward movement on its legs. Each detent device is released by inserting a long, slender splint-like tool into the bore.

Claims

1. A seating unit comprising opposite upright side members that are rigidly connected in laterally spaced relation to one another, a seat cushion having a rear face, and a back cushion having a bottom face, each of said cushions having a substantially rigid internal frame, said seating unit being characterized by:

A. a laterally extending beam having opposite ends adjacent to the respective side members;

B. a plate-like connecting member rigidly secured to each end of the beam and projecting in a direction normal to the length of the beam, said connecting members being secured to their respectively adjacent side members at locations that are spaced from the beam to support the beam and resist rotation of it;

C. a pair of rigid substantially L-shaped members, each having

(1) a forwardly projecting leg for the seat cushion,

(2) an upwardly projecting leg for the back cushion, and

(3) a rigid connection to the beam near the junction of its said legs whereby the L-shaped member is supported in inwardly spaced relation to the side members and with its legs spaced from and parallel to like legs of the other L-shaped member; and

D. said internal frame of each cushion defining a pair of parallel bores which open to said face of the cushion and in which its legs of the L-shaped members are lengthwise slidably receivable.

2. The seating unit of claim 1, further characterized by:

E. a pair of detent devices for each cushion, one for each of said bores in the cushion, substantially simultaneously engaged by sliding the cushion fully onto its legs of the L-shaped members and whereby the cushion is releasably confined against displacement along its legs in the direction away from said beam, each said detent device comprising

(1) a detent element on one of said legs and

(2) a cooperating detent element on the internal frame of the cushion.

3. The seating unit of claim 2 wherein each of said detent devices positively but releasably locks the cushion against displacement away from said beam, each said detent device being further characterized by:

(a) one of said detent elements being movable in opposite directions parallel to the length of said beam and being biased in one of those directions for urging an abutment on it into engagement with a cooperating abutment on the other detent element, and

(b) said one of the detent elements having a camming surface thereon whereby it can be moved in the other of said opposite directions by engagement thereagainst of said other detent element during a final stage of movement of the cushion fully onto its legs and by engagement thereagainst of a slender tool pushed lengthwise into the bore along the leg.

4. The seating unit of claim 3, further characterized by:

(1) each said detent device being located at a substantial distance along its bore from said face of its cushion, and

(2) each bore having a widened portion at one side thereof, extending along its length from its detent device to said surface, in which said slender tool is receivable.

5. A seating unit comprising opposite upright side members that are rigidly connected in laterally spaced relation to one another, a seat cushion having a rear face, and a back cushion having a bottom face, each of said cushions having a substantially rigid internal frame, said seating unit being characterized by:

A. a pair of rigid substantially L-shaped members, each having

(1) a forwardly projecting leg for the seat cushion and

(2) an upwardly projecting leg for the back cushion;

B. a laterally extending beam having each of its ends rigidly connected to one of said side members, said beam having a rigid connection to each of said L-shaped members near the junction of its legs and supporting the L-shaped members in inwardly spaced relation to the side members and with like legs of the L-shaped members parallel to one another;

C. said internal frame of each cushion defining a pair of parallel bores which open to said face of the cushion and in which its legs of the L-shaped members are lengthwise slidably receivable; and

D. a pair of detent devices for each cushion that are substantially simultaneously engaged by sliding the cushion fully onto its legs of said L-shaped members and whereby the cushion is releasably confined against displacement along its legs in the direction away from said beam, each said detent device comprising

(1) a detent element on one of said legs and

(2) a cooperating detent element on the internal frame of the cushion,

(a) one of said detent elements being movable in opposite directions parallel to the length of said beam and being biased in one of those directions for urging an abutment on it into engagement with a cooperating abutment on the other detent element, and

(b) said one of the detent elements having a camming surface thereon whereby it can be moved in the other of said opposite directions by engagement thereagainst of said other detent element during a final stage of movement of the cushion fully onto its legs and by engagement thereagainst of a slender tool pushed lengthwise into the bore along the leg.

6. A seating unit comprising opposite upright side members that are rigidly connected in laterally spaced relation to one another, a seat cushion having a rear face, and a back cushion having a bottom face, each of said cushions having a substantially rigid internal frame, said seating unit being characterized by:

A. a beam extending laterally between said side members and having each of its ends rigidly connected to said side members;

B. a pair of substantially rigid rod-like seat cushion legs having a cantilevered rigid securement to said beam and projecting forwardly therefrom in inwardly spaced relationship to said side members and parallel to one another to be lengthwise slidably receivable in bores in the internal frame of the seat cushion that open to its rear face and extend inwardly therefrom;

C. a pair of substantially rigid rod-like back cushion legs having a cantilevered rigid securement to said beam and projecting upwardly therefrom in inwardly spaced relationship to said side members and parallel to one another to be lengthwise slidably receivable in bores in the internal frame of the back cushion that opens to its bottom face and extend inwardly therefrom;

D. a pair of detent devices for each of said cushions, each said detent device comprising

(1) a detent element on one of said legs and

(2) a cooperating detent element on the internal frame of the cushion, each said detent device being arranged to be engaged by movement of the cushion fully onto its legs and, when engaged, to resist withdrawal of the cushion along the legs in the direction away from the beam,

(a) one of said detent elements comprising a relatively stationary abutment,

(b) the other of said detent elements being movable in opposite directions substantially parallel to the length of said beam and being biased in one of those directions for engagement of an abutment thereon with said relatively stationary abutment whereby the cushion is positively but releasably locked against sliding along its legs in the direction away from said beam, and

(c) said other detent element having a camming surface extending obliquely outwardly in the bore and engageable by a long, slender tool inserted into the bore to effect disengagement of said abutments.