Chairback with side torsional movement
First Claim
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1. A chair assembly comprising:
- a chair base;
a seat assembly connected to said chair base, said seat assembly including a horizontally enlarged seat thereon;
a back assembly which includes an upright which is pivotally connected to a rear portion of said seat assembly and extends upwardly therefrom, said upright being tiltable relative to said seat assembly in a direction rearwardly away from a normal upright position toward a rearwardly tilted position, said upright having a lower first back member and an upright second back member extending upwardly away from said first back member and above said seat assembly for supporting the back of a user, a forward section of said lower first back member including a first rearward pivot pivotally connecting said upright to said seat assembly for said rearward tilting of said upright about a horizontal first pivot axis which extends sidewardly, a lower section of said upright second back member being pivotally connected to a rearward section of said first back member by a sideward pivot which defines a second horizontal pivot axis oriented transverse to said first pivot axis and extending in a generally forward-rearward direction such that said upright second back member pivots laterally about said second pivot axis.
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Abstract
An office-type chair which includes a seat assembly and back assembly that are pivotally supported on a chair base or pedestal to support a user thereon. To increase the comfort of the user, the seat assembly is tiltable forwardly and rearwardly by way of a tilt control mechanism while the back assembly thereof is tiltable laterally from side to side, i.e. in the leftward and rightward directions by way of a back torsion mechanism.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A chair assembly comprising:
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a chair base; a seat assembly connected to said chair base, said seat assembly including a horizontally enlarged seat thereon; a back assembly which includes an upright which is pivotally connected to a rear portion of said seat assembly and extends upwardly therefrom, said upright being tiltable relative to said seat assembly in a direction rearwardly away from a normal upright position toward a rearwardly tilted position, said upright having a lower first back member and an upright second back member extending upwardly away from said first back member and above said seat assembly for supporting the back of a user, a forward section of said lower first back member including a first rearward pivot pivotally connecting said upright to said seat assembly for said rearward tilting of said upright about a horizontal first pivot axis which extends sidewardly, a lower section of said upright second back member being pivotally connected to a rearward section of said first back member by a sideward pivot which defines a second horizontal pivot axis oriented transverse to said first pivot axis and extending in a generally forward-rearward direction such that said upright second back member pivots laterally about said second pivot axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A chair assembly comprising:
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a base; a seat assembly which is connected to said base and defines an upward facing seat surface; and a back assembly for supporting a back of a user which includes a lower end connected to said seat assembly and an upward end extending upwardly above said seat assembly, said lower end being joined to said seat assembly by a lateral tilt mechanism, said lateral tilt mechanism comprising a first pivot connecting said back assembly to said seat assembly such that said back assembly pivots laterally relative to said seat assembly about a horizontal first pivot axis which extends rearwardly and is disposed proximate said seat surface, said back assembly defining a back surface which faces forwardly such that a back of a user is supported solely by said back surface, said back assembly being movable laterally about said first pivot axis between an upright position and sidewardly tilted positions on opposite sides of said upright position, said lateral tilt mechanism further including a centering device which biases said back assembly laterally away from said sidewardly tilted positions to said upright position independently of a user. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A chair assembly comprising:
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a freestanding base which includes a lower section supported on a floor and an upper section extending vertically therefrom; and a seat-back arrangement supported on said upper section of said base to support a user thereon, said seat-back arrangement including a horizontally enlarged seat and a vertically enlarged back which extends upwardly from a rear section of said seat, said seat-back arrangement including a first pivot which defines a first pivot axis which extends horizontally in a sideward direction, at least said back being tiltable rearwardly relative to said base about said first pivot axis, said seat-back arrangement further including a second pivot which defines a second pivot axis which extends horizontally in a forward-rearward direction such that said back is tiltable sidewardly relative to said seat, said first pivot axis and said second pivot axis being disposed below said seat and being oriented transverse to each other. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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- 25. In a chair assembly comprising a base, a seat assembly which is connected to said base and defines an upward facing seat surface, and a back assembly for supporting a back of a user which includes a lower end connected to said seat assembly and an upward end extending upwardly above said seat assembly, said back assembly defining a forward facing back surface, comprising the improvement wherein said lower end is joined to said seat assembly by a lateral tilt mechanism such that said back surface extends upwardly away from said seat surface and a back of an occupant is supported solely by said back surface, said lateral tilt mechanism comprising a first pivot connecting said back assembly to said seat assembly such that said back assembly is tiltable laterally relative to said seat assembly about a first pivot axis which extends generally rearwardly and horizontally, said back assembly being tiltable laterally about said first pivot axis between an upright position and a sidewardly tilted position and said lateral tilt mechanism further including a centering device which biases said back assembly laterally to said upright position independently of a user, said lateral tilt mechanism further including a lock device which prevents lateral tilting when engaged and permits lateral tilting when disengaged, said lock device including an actuator part which engages and disengages said lock device.
- 29. In a chair assembly comprising a base, a seat assembly which is connected to said base and defines an upward facing seat surface, and a back assembly for supporting a back of a user which includes a lower end connected to said seat assembly and an upward end extending upwardly above said seat assembly, said back assembly defining a forward facing back surface, comprising the improvement wherein said lower end is joined to said seat assembly by a lateral tilt mechanism such that said back surface extends upwardly away from said seat surface and a back of an occupant is supported solely by said back surface, said lateral tilt mechanism comprising a first pivot connecting said back assembly to said seat assembly such that said back assembly is tiltable sidewardly relative to said seat assembly about a first pivot axis which extends rearwardly, said back assembly being tiltable laterally about said first pivot axis between an upright position and a sidewardly tilted position, said lateral tilt mechanism further including a centering device which biases said back assembly laterally to said upright position independently of a user, said centering device applying a biasing force for said biasing and further including an adjustment device to adjust said biasing force.
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33. A chair assembly comprising:
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a base; a seat assembly connected to said base; and a back assembly for supporting a back of a user which includes a lower end connected to said seat assembly and an upward end extending upwardly above said seat assembly, said lower end being joined to said seat assembly by a lateral tilt mechanism, said lateral tilt mechanism comprising a first pivot connecting said back assembly to said seat assembly such that said back assembly pivots laterally relative to said seat assembly about a horizontal first pivot axis which extends rearwardly, said first pivot comprising a pivot shaft connected to one of said back assembly and said seat assembly and a bearing supported by the other of said back assembly and said seat assembly which rotatably supports said pivot shaft, said back assembly being movable laterally about said first pivot axis between an upright position and sidewardly tilted positions on opposite sides of said upright position wherein said sidewardly tilted positions define an acute angle through which said back assembly is movable laterally, said lateral tilt mechanism further including a centering mechanism which biases said back assembly laterally away from said sidewardly tilted positions to said upright position, said centering mechanism including a radial projection on said pivot shaft which rotates therewith and a biasing member acting on said first pivot such that a rotatable biasing force is applied to said radial projection during lateral tilting to bias said back assembly toward said upright position. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification