Control mechanism for seating unit
First Claim
1. A seating unit comprising:
- a base, a reclineable back component, a seat component, and a control operably supporting the back component and the seat component on the base for synchronous movement between upright and reclined positions;
the control including at least one flexible support member supported on the base and also a link pivoted to the base for movement about a generally horizontal axis at a location spaced from the flexible support member;
the flexible support member having arms with end sections operably attached to at least one of the seat and back components and being stiff in a generally vertical direction for carrying a combined weight of the one component and of the seated user, but being flexible in a generally horizontal direction to permit synchronous movement upon recline;
the link being rigid and pivoted to the base and also pivotally coupled to the one component;
whereby the flexible member and the link move the one component along a defined path during recline of the back component.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seating unit includes a base, a reclineable back, a seat, and a control operably supporting the back and the seat on the base for movement between upright and recline positions. The control includes a pair of flexible support members and a link that combine to operably support the seat and back for synchronous movement on the base upon recline. The flexible support member is stiff in a vertical direction for carrying a combined weight of the one component and of the seated user, but flexible in a horizontal direction to permit a swinging movement of its ends upon recline. The link is rigid and pivoted to the base for movement about a horizontal axis and also pivoted to the one component. By this arrangement, the flexible member and the link move the one component along a defined path during recline of the back.
202 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A seating unit comprising:
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a base, a reclineable back component, a seat component, and a control operably supporting the back component and the seat component on the base for synchronous movement between upright and reclined positions; the control including at least one flexible support member supported on the base and also a link pivoted to the base for movement about a generally horizontal axis at a location spaced from the flexible support member;
the flexible support member having arms with end sections operably attached to at least one of the seat and back components and being stiff in a generally vertical direction for carrying a combined weight of the one component and of the seated user, but being flexible in a generally horizontal direction to permit synchronous movement upon recline;
the link being rigid and pivoted to the base and also pivotally coupled to the one component;
whereby the flexible member and the link move the one component along a defined path during recline of the back component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A seating unit comprising:
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a base; a seat component and a reclineable back component; an underseat control for operably supporting the seat component and the back component for coordinated synchronous movement upon recline of the back component, the control including arms that are moveable in a generally horizontal direction for supporting at least one of the seat component and the back component; the one component including a comfort surface structure, the comfort surface structure including horizontally-extending support wires adapted to individually flex in response to contours of a seated user. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A seating unit comprising:
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a base; a back component; a seat component; and an underseat control operably coupled to and supporting the back component and the seat component on the base for synchronous movement between upright and reclined positions;
the control including compliant arms that are moveable in a generally horizontal direction for supporting at least one of the seat component and the back component, and also including a link pivoted to the base and pivoted to the seat component for movement about a generally horizontal axis on the base at a location spaced from the arms. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A seating unit comprising:
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a base; a back component; a seat component; and an underseat control operably coupled to and supporting the back component and the seat component on the base for synchronous movement between upright and reclined positions;
the control including compliant arms that are moveable in a generally horizontal direction for supporting at least one of the seat component and the back component, and also including a booster mechanism selectively engageable to bias the one component toward the upright position. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A seating unit comprising:
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a base; a back component; a seat component; and an underseat control operably coupled to and supporting the back component and the seat component on the base for synchronous movement between upright and reclined positions;
the control including compliant arms that are moveable in a generally horizontal direction for supporting at least one of the seat component and the back component, and also including a back stop mechanism selectively engageable to limit movement of the one component toward the reclined position. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A seating unit comprising:
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a seat; a control mechanism having a plurality of compliant support arms, said support arms being relatively stiff in a generally vertical direction for supporting weight and relatively flexible in a generally horizontal direction for allowing movement of the weight; and a back operably supported by at least one of said plurality of compliant support arms such that said back is allowed to move as said compliant support arms flex, thus providing a compliant back support system for said seating unit, wherein the compliant support arms include first and second support arms that engage the back and the seat, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (30, 32)
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31. A seating unit comprising:
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A seat; a control mechanism having a plurality of compliant support arms, said support arms being relatively stiff in a generally vertical direction for supporting weight and relatively flexible in a generally horizontal direction for allowing movement of the weight; and a back operably supported by at least one of said plurality of compliant support arms such that said back is allowed to move as said compliant support arms flex, thus providing a compliant back support system for said seating unit; and including a base operably supporting the seat for forward movement upon recline of the back.
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33. A seating unit, comprising:
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a seat; a control mechanism having at least one compliant support arm, a movable link and a stop device for selectively preventing said link from moving; and a back attached to said at least one compliant support arm and said movable link, said at least one compliant support arm allowing said back to move as said at least one compliant support arm flexes to provide a compliant back support system for said seating unit even when said link is prevented from moving. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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Specification