Reclining chair

• US 5,150,948 A
• Filed: 09/11/1990
• Issued: 09/29/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rolf Volkle
• Original Assignee: Rolf Volkle
• Inventors: Volkle, Rolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Peter R.
• Application Number:
  US07/580,461
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: 297/301, 297/317, 297/318, 297/320, 297/353
• US Class Current: 297/300.5
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03255 with a central column, e.g. rocking office chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03266 with adjustable elasticity
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03272 with coil springs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03294 slidingly movable in the base frame, e.g. by rollers

Abstract

A chair which is provided with a seat having an adjustable inclination comprises a seat carrier, which is pivoted by a first pivot to a link arrangement which carry the seat, a back rest, which is carried by a back rest carrier, which is pivoted to the link arrangement by a second pivot, and a device for shifting the chair from a position for work, in which the seat is approximately horizontal and includes with the back rest an angle of about 90 degrees, to a position for reclining, in which the seat is rearwardly inclined and includes an obtuse angle with the back rest. The shift from the position for reclining to the position for work is effected by movements of the body of the occupant and is assisted by springs. The seat carrier is provided with slide bearings and slots, in which the first pivot is displaceable away from the column as the chair is shifted to its position for reclining. The pivotal movement which is imparted to the back rest by the movement of the body of the occupant is adapted to be a transformed to the displacement by a shifting device which includes pairs of levers. Owing to that design, the center of gravity is displaced so that the back rest can be swung further to the rear without a risk that the stability of the chair might be endangered.

Claims

1. In a reclining chair comprising

a base structure including a vertically adjustable column,

a back rest,

a seat carrier supported by said column and having a forward end,

link means pivoted by a first pivot disposed in the front of said column to said seat carrier at the forward end thereof and by a second pivot disposed behind said column to said back rest,

a seat carried by said link means,

said chair being adapted to assume a position for work, in which said seat is approximately horizontal and includes an angle of about 90°

with said back rest, a position for reclining, in which said seat is rearwardly inclined and includes an obtuse angle with said back rest, and a plurality of intermediate positions between said positions for work and for reclining,

locking means for locking said chair in any of said positions, and

spring means operatively connected to said back rest and said link means for urging said chair from said position for reclining to said position for work,

the improvement comprising shifting means connected to said back rest at a location spaced from said second pivot and to said link means for imparting to said link means forward and rearward displacements, respectively, in response to a pivotal movement imparted to said back rest by said occupant to shift said chair from said position for work to said position for reclining and from said position for reclining to said position for work;

said first pivot being carried by said link means and being mounted in said seat carrier in slide bearings for guiding said first pivot relative to said seat carrier during said forward and rearward displacements of said link means.

2. The improvement set forth in claim 1, wherein said shifting means comprises

a) a pair of first levers pivoted by a third pivot to said seat carrier and pivoted by a fourth pivot to said link means, and

b) a pair of second levers pivoted at one end by a fifth pivot to said first levers at the top thereof and pivoted at another end to said back rest by a sixth pivot spaced from said second pivot.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein

each of said first levers has a longitudinal center line forwardly inclined when said chair is in position for reclining and forming with the vertical an angle which is a multiple of the corresponding angle obtained when the chair is in position for work and

said third and sixth pivots are spaced apart by a distance which when the chair is in position for work is more than one and a half times the corresponding distance obtained when the chair is in position for reclining.

4. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein

each of said first levers has a longitudinal center line moving angularly through a first angle up to a predetermined maximum during a shifting of the chair from said position for work to said position for reclining,

said back rest is arranged to perform a pivotal movement through a second angle up to a predetermined maximum during said shifting from said position for work to said position for reclining, and

the predetermined maxima of said first and second angles are about the same.

5. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein said chair has a vertical longitudinal plane of symmetry,

the levers of each of said pairs are congruent and symmetrically arranged with respect to said plane of symmetry, and

each of said first levers has approximately the configuration of a triangle having rounded corners, and is formed near said corners with bores for said third, fourth and fifth pivots.

6. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein said chair has a vertical longitudinal plane of symmetry and said springs comprise

first and second coil springs symmetrically disposed with respect to said plane of symmetry and connected to said second and fifth pivots and

a third coil spring disposed in said plane of symmetry and having one end abutting on said seat carrier and another end connected to said first pivot, and means for adjusting an initial stress of said third coil spring.

7. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein

said slide bearings are arranged to guide said first pivot for said displacements in a plane extending at an angle of about 15°

to the horizontal;

said slide bearings comprising block supports in each of which a sliding block is slidably guided,

further comprising means defining longitudinally extending slots in said seat carrier and

said first pivot having mutually opposite ends, each extending through a respective said slot and being fixed to said block.

8. The improvement set forth in claim 7, wherein

said plane intersects said first levers between said fourth and fifth pivots during a shifting motion of said chair between said position for work and said position for reclining and

said first pivot has an axis which is arranged to extend in said plane throughout the shifting motion.

9. The improvement set forth in claim 2, wherein

said third pivot is disposed adjacent to said column and

said second and fourth pivots are spaced such distances apart from said third pivot that angular movements performed by said shifting means and said back rest, respectively, during the shifting of said chair from said position for work to said position for reclining are related as about 1:

3.

10. The improvement set forth in claim 1, wherein

said back rest comprises a back-engaging part adapted to be engaged by an occupant seated on said seat and a back rest carrier, which carries said back-engaging part and is pivoted to said link means by said second pivot.

11. The improvement set forth in claim 10, wherein

said back-engaging part is slidably mounted on said back rest carrier for a movement toward and away from said second pivot,

said chair has a vertical longitudinal plane of symmetry,

two ropes are provided, which are disposed on opposite sides of said plane and each of which is connected at one end to said back-engaging part and at the other end to said link means and is arranged to pull said back-engaging part toward said second pivot as said chair is shifted from said position for work to said position for reclining, and

said back rest comprises spring means urging said back-engaging part away from said second pivot.