Seating
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A seat comprising:
- a stationary base to rest on a floor;
a seating surface supported on the base,a back-supporting surface supported on the base; and
a rotational mechanism that enables the back-supporting surface to rotate about an axis that is higher from the floor than is the seating surface,the seating surface being movable on the base along a path of motion toward and away from a vertical plane that contains the axis,the axis having an original starting position when the seating surface is not occupied,the axis being movable from its starting position along a path of motion in response to a force exerted on the back-supporting surface when a sitter is sitting on the seating surface, at least part of the path of motion of the axis not tracking the path of motion of the seating surface, and simultaneously the seating surface being movable on the base along the path of motion toward and away from the vertical plane that contains the axis in response to a force exerted when the sitter is sitting on the seating surface, at least part of the motion of the seating surface toward and away from the vertical plane being independent of any component of motion of the axis that is aligned with the path of motion of the seating surface,at least one location on the back-supporting surface following a path of rotation about the axis, the path of rotation having a radius centered on the axis, the radius of the path remaining unchanged during at least a portion of the motion of the axis.
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Abstract
Among other things, a seat includes a back-supporting surface; and a seating surface movable along a path toward and away from the back-supporting surface. At least part of the back-supporting surface is movable to enable a lower portion of the back-supporting surface to move substantially along the path.
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Citations
76 Claims
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1. A seat comprising:
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a stationary base to rest on a floor; a seating surface supported on the base, a back-supporting surface supported on the base; and a rotational mechanism that enables the back-supporting surface to rotate about an axis that is higher from the floor than is the seating surface, the seating surface being movable on the base along a path of motion toward and away from a vertical plane that contains the axis, the axis having an original starting position when the seating surface is not occupied, the axis being movable from its starting position along a path of motion in response to a force exerted on the back-supporting surface when a sitter is sitting on the seating surface, at least part of the path of motion of the axis not tracking the path of motion of the seating surface, and simultaneously the seating surface being movable on the base along the path of motion toward and away from the vertical plane that contains the axis in response to a force exerted when the sitter is sitting on the seating surface, at least part of the motion of the seating surface toward and away from the vertical plane being independent of any component of motion of the axis that is aligned with the path of motion of the seating surface, at least one location on the back-supporting surface following a path of rotation about the axis, the path of rotation having a radius centered on the axis, the radius of the path remaining unchanged during at least a portion of the motion of the axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method of supporting a user above a floor, the method comprising:
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moving a seating surface back and forth along the path of motion toward and away from a back-supporting surface in response to a force applied while a sitter is sitting on the seating surface; rotating the back-supporting surface about an axis such that the axis (a) is higher from the floor than the seating surface and (b) has an original starting position when the seating surface is not occupied, moving the axis from the starting position in response to a force at least part of the path of motion of the axis not tracking the path of motion of the seating surface, at least part of the moving of the seating surface toward and away from the vertical plane being independent of any component of the moving of the axis that is aligned with the path of motion of the seating surface, and rotating at least one location on the back-supporting surface along a path of rotation about the axis, the path of rotation having a radius centered on the axis, and the radius of the path of rotation remaining unchanged during at least a portion of the motion of the axis in response to a force exerted while the sitter is sitting on the seating surface and the seating surface is being moved back and forth along the path of motion toward and away from the back-supporting surface. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. A seat comprising:
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a stationary base to rest on a floor; a seating surface supported on the base, a back-supporting surface supported on the base; and a rotational mechanism that enables the back-supporting surface to rotate about an axis that is higher from the floor than is the seating surface, the axis having an original starting position when the seating surface is not occupied, the axis being movable from its starting position in response to a force exerted by a sitter when sitting in the seating surface without taking the sitter'"'"'s hands away from another activity, and simultaneously while the axis is movable from its starting position in response to the force exerted by the sitter, the seating surface being movable back and forth along a path of motion toward and away from the back-supporting surface in response to a force exerted when the sitter is sitting in the seating surface, at least part of the motion of the seating surface toward and away from the vertical plane being independent of any component of motion of the axis that is aligned with the path of motion of the seating surface, at least one location on the back-supporting surface following a path of rotation about the axis, the path of rotation having a radius centered on the axis, the radius of the path remaining unchanged during at least a portion of the motion of the axis. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76)
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Specification