WO1993003653A1 - Weight compensating chair backrest - Google Patents

Weight compensating chair backrest Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1993003653A1
WO1993003653A1 PCT/AU1992/000404 AU9200404W WO9303653A1 WO 1993003653 A1 WO1993003653 A1 WO 1993003653A1 AU 9200404 W AU9200404 W AU 9200404W WO 9303653 A1 WO9303653 A1 WO 9303653A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
lever
chair
seat
resisting device
user
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU1992/000404
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Peter James Riddle
Original Assignee
Peter James Riddle
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Peter James Riddle filed Critical Peter James Riddle
Priority to AU24219/92A priority Critical patent/AU665208B2/en
Publication of WO1993003653A1 publication Critical patent/WO1993003653A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
    • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
    • A47C7/36—Support for the head or the back
    • A47C7/40—Support for the head or the back for the back
    • A47C7/44—Support for the head or the back for the back with elastically-mounted back-rest or backrest-seat unit in the base frame
    • A47C7/448—Support for the head or the back for the back with elastically-mounted back-rest or backrest-seat unit in the base frame with resilient blocks
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
    • A47C1/00—Chairs adapted for special purposes
    • A47C1/02—Reclining or easy chairs
    • A47C1/031—Reclining or easy chairs having coupled concurrently adjustable supporting parts
    • A47C1/032—Reclining or easy chairs having coupled concurrently adjustable supporting parts the parts being movably-coupled seat and back-rest
    • A47C1/03261—Reclining or easy chairs having coupled concurrently adjustable supporting parts the parts being movably-coupled seat and back-rest characterised by elastic means
    • A47C1/03288—Reclining or easy chairs having coupled concurrently adjustable supporting parts the parts being movably-coupled seat and back-rest characterised by elastic means with resilient blocks
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
    • A47C31/00—Details or accessories for chairs, beds, or the like, not provided for in other groups of this subclass, e.g. upholstery fasteners, mattress protectors, stretching devices for mattress nets
    • A47C31/12—Means, e.g. measuring means for adapting chairs, beds or mattresses to the shape or weight of persons
    • A47C31/126—Means, e.g. measuring means for adapting chairs, beds or mattresses to the shape or weight of persons for chairs

Definitions

  • This invention relates to improvements to moveable back chairs.
  • spring device to achieve this aim,but metal springs being of constant and linear resistance according to Hooke ' s law and having deflection directly prop ⁇ ortional to applied load, give the lighter user too much resistance or the heavier user too little sup-
  • the chair consists of a base, a seat, and a seat
  • the back lever is also hinged to the base,but at towards the rear of the base.Hinged also to the base and hav ⁇ ing an axis common to the back lever is an intercon-
  • the base l in this instance, consists of a metal channel to which is affixed the column base 9, or which base could be attached to the conventional four legs or any other suitable support. 60.
  • the back lever and interconnecting lever axis is as shown by 4 in the diagram in the same drawing and the seat lever hinge as 5,also in the same drawing.
  • a further hinge joint 6, is shown at the forward end of the base,and this connects, by a toggle lever to 5 # hinge 5 with the sole purpose of correcting the length disparity of the system owing to the oppos ⁇ ing radii of the interconnecting lever and the seat lever .
  • the rubber or elastomeric device 14 is shown arrang ⁇ ed radially between these two entities.
  • the back lever stops are shown as 1 , the rear of the base frame in this case and 15, and are respectively, the for ⁇ ward stop and the rearward stop for the back lever.
  • the seat lever is shown as 2, in the drawing,and in this instance is also a metal channel fitting within the base channel.
  • figure 3 shows the interconnecting lever 10, shown by the dashed lines as is the under ⁇ side of the seat lever in that position.Shown also in the same figure depicted by solid lines, are the levers in the loaded position after the user has
  • Figure 4 shows the levers in the original position where,the user having started to lean back in the chair,and the torque resisting device is locked into

Abstract

Improvement to chairs whereby the chair back (3) is moveable and the support given to the back of the user is by means of a lever system (2, 10) and rubber or other elastomeric torque resisting device (4) connecting seat and back and apportioning part of the user's body weight to their back support.

Description

Weight Compensating Chair Backrest
This invention relates to improvements to moveable back chairs.
Most people find it arduous to sit for long periods 5. in a chair with a rigid back,and many efforts have been made in the past to design a chair with a move¬ able back having sufficient support for the back of the occupant. Most of these designs have relied on some sort of
10. spring device to achieve this aim,but metal springs being of constant and linear resistance according to Hooke ' s law and having deflection directly prop¬ ortional to applied load, give the lighter user too much resistance or the heavier user too little sup-
15. support without having to resort to some sort of manually operated device to compensate for varying users weights.
This problem is overcome with the present invention by the use of rubber or some other elastomeric dev-
20. ice, such substance having resisting qualities of non-linear character so as to provide the necessary increase in resistance for heavier occupants and, conversely,lesser resistance for the lighter user. In one form, the chair consists of a base,a seat
25. lever to which is attached the seat.Said seat lever being hinged to the forward part of the base.The back lever is also hinged to the base,but at towards the rear of the base.Hinged also to the base and hav¬ ing an axis common to the back lever is an intercon-
30. necting lever connected at it's forward end to the rearward end of the seat lever by a hinged joint. Both the interconnecting lever and the back lever are free to rotate about their common axis, but have interposed between them and preferably arrang- 35. ed radially a rubber or other elastomeric device to provide the previously mentioned resistance be¬ tween the two levers.
There are other restricting devices to the said levers consisting , in the case of the back lever,of 40. a stop on the base preventing the back lever from moving forward more than the upright position, and another stop on the base preventing the the back from moving backwards further than a pre-determined position,regardless of the weight of the occupant. 45. The restraints on the seat lever consist of a lock¬ ing joint similar to a human knee joint preventing the seat leverfrom moving upwards further than a pre-determined and designed position.Downward move¬ ment of the seat lever is restricted by the inter- 50. connecting lever and it's dependence on the chair's back stop.
The chair may be more fully described by reference to figure 1 on page 1 of the attached drawings show¬ ing the general arrangement of the various parts 55. mentioned in the foregoing.
The base l,in this instance, consists of a metal channel to which is affixed the column base 9, or which base could be attached to the conventional four legs or any other suitable support. 60. The back lever and interconnecting lever axis is as shown by 4 in the diagram in the same drawing and the seat lever hinge as 5,also in the same drawing. A further hinge joint 6,is shown at the forward end of the base,and this connects, by a toggle lever to 5 # hinge 5 with the sole purpose of correcting the length disparity of the system owing to the oppos¬ ing radii of the interconnecting lever and the seat lever . Referring now to figure 2 on page 1 of the attached
70. drawings,it can be seen that the outer part of the Torque resisting device 12,is attached to the back lever 3, and these two parts act as one entity.The central part of the torque resisting device 11.is attached to the interconnecting lever 10,and these
75. two parts also act as an entity.
It is not important which of these two entities occ¬ upies the inner or outer position,the result is the same,and depends only on the convenience of manufac ure .
80. The rubber or elastomeric device 14, is shown arrang¬ ed radially between these two entities.The back lever stops are shown as 1 , the rear of the base frame in this case and 15, and are respectively, the for¬ ward stop and the rearward stop for the back lever.
85. The seat lever is shown as 2, in the drawing,and in this instance is also a metal channel fitting within the base channel.
Referring now to page 2 of the attached drawings it will be made clear how the mechanism operates.
90. Diagramatically, figure 3 shows the interconnecting lever 10, shown by the dashed lines as is the under¬ side of the seat lever in that position.Shown also in the same figure depicted by solid lines, are the levers in the loaded position after the user has
95. occupied the chair, but has not put any weight on the back of the chair.
Figure 4 shows the levers in the original position where,the user having started to lean back in the chair,and the torque resisting device is locked into
100. a solid state for that user the occupant will be supporting his back by leverage alone.On leaning back further the user will encounter the resistance of the energy stored in the torque resisting device providing further support as is necessary.

Claims

The Claims defining the invention are as follows:
1. A chair wherein the occupant is given freedom of back movement with suitable support by transferring portion of the occupant's body weight to their back
5. support by means of an independently hinged seat and back, both mounted on a common base, said seat and back being interconnected by a lever hinged to the rear¬ wards portion of the seat and which lever is hinged at it's other end to the base and which hinge has a
10. common axis with back lever hinge and is connect¬ ed to the back lever by a resilient torque resisting device of rubber or other elastomeric substance act¬ ing radially around the said axis and between the two previously mentioned components.
15,
2. A chair as in claim 1. having a torque resisting device of non-linear characteristics such as rubber or other elastomeric substance so that a heavier user will encounter progressively greater resistance than a lighter user on initial occupancy and also progres-
20. sively greater resistance in the fully reclined pos¬ ition.
3. A chair as in claims l.and 2. wherein the users weight will depress the seat against the torque resis¬ ting device through the lever mechanism a distance
25. proportional to the users weight thereby storing energy in the torque resisting device as the back lever is previnted from moving forward by means of a stop att¬ ached to the common base.
4. A chair as in claims 1,2 and 3 whereby the user,on 30. leaning back, encounters resistance and support proport¬ ional to the users weight and the energy stored in the torque resisting device. 5. A chair as in claims 1,2,3 and 4 wherein the user, on leaning back further than in claim 4,will cause
35. the interconnecting lever to move upwards,due to the torque resisting device having locked into a solid state for that particular user so that the part of the interconnecting lever forward of the seat/inter¬ connecting lever hinge encounters the seat frame' lock-
40. ing the mechanism in the manner of the human knee,and further resistance will be solely through the energy stored in the torque resisting device.
6. A chair as in claims 1,2,3,4 and 5 wherein the ratio of lengths of the interconnecting lever to the seat
45. lever will be between 1 to 2.3 and 1 to 3.5 dependent on the resistance built into the torque resisting device.
7. A chair as in claims 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 whereby the chair will be suitable for occupants of varying weights,
50. each occupant receiving appropriate back support pro¬ portional to their body weight as in claim 2 without having to manipulate various levers to achieve the correct support.
8. A chair with moveable seat and back substantially 55. as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings .
PCT/AU1992/000404 1991-08-22 1992-08-04 Weight compensating chair backrest WO1993003653A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU24219/92A AU665208B2 (en) 1991-08-22 1992-08-04 Weight compensating chair backrest

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPK789791 1991-08-22
AUPK7897 1991-08-22

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1993003653A1 true WO1993003653A1 (en) 1993-03-04

Family

ID=3775638

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU1992/000404 WO1993003653A1 (en) 1991-08-22 1992-08-04 Weight compensating chair backrest

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU665208B2 (en)
WO (1) WO1993003653A1 (en)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1995015101A1 (en) * 1993-12-02 1995-06-08 Fritz Hansen A/S Upholstered seat for an office chair
JP2011147787A (en) * 2010-01-22 2011-08-04 Stoll Giroflex Ag Seat assembly equipped with elastic torsion spring element
US20120098313A1 (en) * 2010-10-25 2012-04-26 Humanscale Corporation Reclining Chair
USD760525S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-07-05 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Chair
USD761606S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-07-19 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Two-color chair
USD764849S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-08-30 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Chair
US9504326B1 (en) 2012-04-10 2016-11-29 Humanscale Corporation Reclining chair

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE924655C (en) * 1950-01-29 1955-03-07 Weberei Muerrel G M B H Frame for upholstered seats, in which the backrest is pivotably arranged on the seat frame, is hinged against the base frame with torsion bar suspension
DE926199C (en) * 1950-11-14 1955-04-07 Weberei Muerrel G M B H Frame for upholstered seats, in which the backrest is pivotably arranged on the seat frame, is hinged against the base frame with torsion bar suspension
EP0114600A2 (en) * 1983-01-21 1984-08-01 Pierre Schmitz Chair, in particular an office chair
AU7335587A (en) * 1986-05-26 1987-12-03 Drabert Sohne G.M.B.H. & Co. Chair
EP0263535A2 (en) * 1986-10-06 1988-04-13 Ahrend Groep N.V. Chair with movable seat and backrest
AU1014888A (en) * 1987-01-09 1988-07-14 Vermogensverwaltung Franz Vogt Familienstiftung Kg Piece of seating furniture

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE924655C (en) * 1950-01-29 1955-03-07 Weberei Muerrel G M B H Frame for upholstered seats, in which the backrest is pivotably arranged on the seat frame, is hinged against the base frame with torsion bar suspension
DE926199C (en) * 1950-11-14 1955-04-07 Weberei Muerrel G M B H Frame for upholstered seats, in which the backrest is pivotably arranged on the seat frame, is hinged against the base frame with torsion bar suspension
EP0114600A2 (en) * 1983-01-21 1984-08-01 Pierre Schmitz Chair, in particular an office chair
AU7335587A (en) * 1986-05-26 1987-12-03 Drabert Sohne G.M.B.H. & Co. Chair
EP0263535A2 (en) * 1986-10-06 1988-04-13 Ahrend Groep N.V. Chair with movable seat and backrest
AU1014888A (en) * 1987-01-09 1988-07-14 Vermogensverwaltung Franz Vogt Familienstiftung Kg Piece of seating furniture

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1995015101A1 (en) * 1993-12-02 1995-06-08 Fritz Hansen A/S Upholstered seat for an office chair
JP2011147787A (en) * 2010-01-22 2011-08-04 Stoll Giroflex Ag Seat assembly equipped with elastic torsion spring element
EP2347678B1 (en) * 2010-01-22 2013-02-20 Stoll Giroflex AG Seat assembly with an elastomer torsion-spring element
US8485604B2 (en) 2010-01-22 2013-07-16 Stoll Giroflex Ag Seat assembly with an elastomer torsion-spring element
US20120098313A1 (en) * 2010-10-25 2012-04-26 Humanscale Corporation Reclining Chair
US9504326B1 (en) 2012-04-10 2016-11-29 Humanscale Corporation Reclining chair
USD760525S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-07-05 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Chair
USD761606S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-07-19 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Two-color chair
USD764849S1 (en) 2015-04-21 2016-08-30 Pro-Cord S.P.A. Chair

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2421992A (en) 1993-03-16
AU665208B2 (en) 1995-12-21

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4533177A (en) Reclining chair
US5316370A (en) Seat assist
US6012774A (en) Reclining chair with guide rail system
AU2007230781B2 (en) Ergonomic side chair
US5308145A (en) Reclining chair
US6820935B1 (en) Armchair with variable position
CA2087981A1 (en) Work chair, more particularly an office chair
US4789203A (en) Chair with movable seat and backrest
SE512936C2 (en) Chair
US20070210634A1 (en) Ergonomic Chair
EP2150154B1 (en) Seat with dynamic seat back
FR2676630A1 (en) INTERCONNECTION MECHANISM FOR SUPPORTING A SEAT AND A FOLDER OF A CHAIR.
US5904401A (en) Recliner chair
JPS63102714A (en) Chair
US4538853A (en) Chair for handicapped persons
WO1993003653A1 (en) Weight compensating chair backrest
US5383709A (en) Orthopedic chair with forwardly and rearwardly inclined positions
US20050116527A1 (en) Ergonomic seating module and seat fitted with said module
US6565154B2 (en) Portable forward leaning stadium seat
US5388889A (en) Torque control mechanism for chairs
EP0680713A1 (en) Mechanism for a relaxation chair
US7431397B2 (en) Chair
US4792187A (en) Pivot mechanism for seats
AU2001236969A1 (en) Ergonomically designed chair
NL8105462A (en) Reclining armchair with flexible armrest - has axis on seat and back to which ends of compressed elastic strip are attached

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT AU CA DE DK FI GB JP KP KR NO RU SE US

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE DK ES FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL SE

DFPE Request for preliminary examination filed prior to expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed before 20040101)
REG Reference to national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: 8642

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: CA