Chair with arm mounted motion control
First Claim
1. A chair comprising:
- a frame defining a curved arm support;
a seat supported on said frame;
a back;
an arm member movably mounted on said curved arm support, said arm member being operatively connected to said back and guided by said curved arm support so that movement of said back from an upright position to a reclined position is controlled by said arm member and said curved arm support; and
resilient means operatively connected to said back for resiliently biasing said back towards said upright position, said resilient means providing a static preload force and a dynamic biasing force on said back when reclined, and including release means for selectively changing one of said static preload force and said dynamic biasing force of said resilient means as said back is reclined.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A chair is provided with a frame defining a curved arm support, a seat supported in the frame, and a back. An arm member is movably mounted on the arm support and operatively connected to the back so that movement of the back between upright and reclined positions is controlled by the arm member and arm support. A resilient spring is operatively connected to the back to bias the back towards an upright position. In one embodiment, the resilient spring encompasses the curved arm support and provides support for a seated user'"'"'s arm. In another embodiment, an arm cap covers the resilient spring. Optionally, the arm cap slideably rides on roller bearings over the curved arm support. In another embodiment, the curved arm support and arm member are telescopingly arranged, and the resilient spring is operably placed therein. Another embodiment includes first and second springs, the second springs being disengageable to produce discrete selectable levels of bias force for biasing the back toward the upright position. In another embodiment, the resilient spring is continuously adjustable, and includes a control mechanism including opposing springs that slide on a pivotable actuator arms thus creating a variable torque arm which is adjustable to vary the resulting bias force on the chair back.
33 Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A chair comprising:
-
a frame defining a curved arm support; a seat supported on said frame; a back; an arm member movably mounted on said curved arm support, said arm member being operatively connected to said back and guided by said curved arm support so that movement of said back from an upright position to a reclined position is controlled by said arm member and said curved arm support; and resilient means operatively connected to said back for resiliently biasing said back towards said upright position, said resilient means providing a static preload force and a dynamic biasing force on said back when reclined, and including release means for selectively changing one of said static preload force and said dynamic biasing force of said resilient means as said back is reclined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A chair comprising:
-
a frame including armrests; a seat supported on said frame; a tiltable movably supported on said frame and movable between upright and reclined positions; a control mechanism including guide means located on said armrests for directing the path of movement of said back during movement between said upright and reclined positions, and further including resilient means for biasing said back towards said upright position, said resilient means being associated with said armrests and operably connected to said guide means; and adjustment means for varying the biasing force of said resilient means. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. A chair comprising:
-
a frame including armrests; a seat supported on said frame; a tiltable back movably supported on said frame and movable between upright and reclined positions; and a back-supporting mechanism including a first and a second energy source operably connected to said back and said frame for producing a biasing force on said back to support a user as the user reclines between said upright and reclined positions, and further including a selecting mechanism for selectively varying the biasing force of at least one of said energy sources. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
Specification