Patent Application
20230075814
The present invention relates to an adjustable chair with a number of adjustable features so as to provide an automated adjustable seating position for a user. In some instances, the seating position may be automatically adjusted throughout the day so as to provide changed seating positions that promote movement and improve posture. In some instances, the seating position(s) may be established according to “best practice” positions established by medical professionals which are automatically communicated to the adjustable chair so as to move the user to new and proposer posture positions throughout the day.
Currently, there are a variety of office chairs or other chairs available. Many of these chairs offer some ability to change their position or height so as to provide a user with the most comfortable seating position. Despite these options, users typically find that ensuring a comfortable configuration of an adjustable chair is a tedious process, requiring excessive manual adjustment and readjustment. As such, there is a need for an efficient and elegant adjustable chair that will provide increased adjustability and personalization in an efficient and user-friendly manner.
Further, another difficulty with adjustable chairs is that the difficulty and tedious nature of adjusting the chairs discourages users from making adjustments throughout a workday. Rather, users are likely to set an a single “ideal” chair setting, often at the time that they initially use the chair, and use that single setting for a large period of time. This discourages the movement and constant movement that promotes proper back health. Further, most users do not know which settings would most likely lead to improved postures and best practices.
The subject matter claimed in the present disclosure is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described in the present disclosure may be practiced.
According to one aspect of the invention, an adjustable chair is described. The adjustable chair includes a seat part, a seat back disposed along one side of the seat part, the seat back being configured for supporting at least a person's back or shoulders, a chair base configured for being placed on a floor, at least one adjustable chair feature including a motor capable of being selectively controlled and driven so as to adjust at least one of: the rotation or tilt of the seat part, a vertical distance between the seat back and the one side of the seat part, an angle position between the seat back and the seat part, and a distance between the chair base and the seat part.
Another aspect of the invention is an adjustable chair comprising a seat part, a seat back disposed along one side of the seat part, the seat back being configured for supporting at least a person's back or shoulders, a chair base configured for being placed on a floor, and a linear actuator connected at one end to the chair base and to the seat part, the linear actuator comprising a motor, an inner locking guide, a middle locking guide, and an outer locking guide, wherein the linear actuator moves between an expanded and collapsed state as the motor is driven so as to increase and decrease a distance between the seat part and the chair base, and wherein the inner locking guide, middle locking guide, and outer locking guide are configured so as to prevent rotation with respect to each other as the motor is driven.
A third aspect of the invention is a linear actuator comprising a motor, an inner locking guide, a middle locking guide, and an outer locking guide, wherein the linear actuator moves between an expanded and collapsed state as the motor is driven so as to increase and decrease a distance between distal ends of the inner locking guide and the outer locking guide, and wherein the inner locking guide, middle locking guide, and outer locking guide are configured so as to prevent rotation with respect to each other as the motor is driven.
The objects and advantages of the embodiments will be realized and achieved at least by the elements, features, and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are given as examples and are explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Example embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The embodiments discussed in the present disclosure are related to an adjustable chair that includes a number of different adjustable features so as to provide a customizable seat. More specifically, embodiments described herein are directed to an adjustable chair that includes individually customizable components which may include a linear actuator for controlling the height adjustment of the chair with respect to the floor, an adjustable lumbar portion, a chair back configured with an adjustable back with respect to a seat cushion, and/or an adjustable seat cushion which is configured to be adjusted up, down, or tilted with respect to a horizontal axis. Finally, in some embodiments described herein, a motor control associated with each of the linear actuator, adjustable lumbar portion, adjustable chair back, and adjustable seat cushion may be controlled by a programmable interface so as to provide a user with a user interface for controlling each of these aspects via an electronic device, such as a smart phone or other user device. Further, using a memory associated with the device or the controller(s), the controller in some embodiments may associate a user with a personal profile so as to save their preferred chair position, which may then be used to adjust the chair automatically at, for example, different times of day and/or for a plurality of users. In some instances, the device or controller may also be in communication with an application which may include “best practice” positions established by, for example, a medical professional or other expert who may establish or recommend settings which help consistently and correctly adjust the various adjustable features of the adjustable chair into positions which promote back health and posture. In some instances, a user may use a device, such as a cellular phone, including an application operating on the cellular phone to have at least some portion of the “best practice” positions automatically implemented.
As may be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, embodiments described herein may include any number or combination of the adjustable features described below and the individually adjustable features are described herein for illustrative purposes only.
Typically, a linear actuator is used to position two parts with respect to each other. Generally, linear actuators include a motor, a nut, and a threaded rod, with the nut and the threaded rod forming a screw mechanism. Using the control motor, the relative positions of two parts of the screw mechanism can be controlled. By attaching the nut to one part being controlled and the threaded rod to the other part being controlled, it is possible to use some means, such as the motor, to turn the nut, causing the threaded rod moves inside of the nut. If the two parts are constrained so that the two parts cannot rotate with respect to each other, driving the motor and causing the threaded rod to move inside of the nut in turn causes the two parts move with respect to one another.
One example of an application of a linear actuator is used to control air surfaces on an airplane wing. The lift requirement for a wing during landing and takeoff is much different than the air surface required during normal flight after the aircraft has gained sufficient velocity and elevation. To accommodate this difference, a linear actuator is used to insert more lifting surface during takeoff and landing into the wing. Conversely, during normal flight, the linear actuator causes a reduction in the amount of lifting surface.
The linear actuator 250 includes a motor 200, a driving gear 202 and a driven gear 204, which in turn cause a drive shaft 206 to rotate. As may be understood, by rotating the drive shaft 206 while controlling the position of an inner screw 222, a middle screw 226, and an outer screw comprising a portion of the inner locking guide 224. More particularly, one aspect of the invention is controlling the inner screw 222, middle screw 226, and outer screw (included here as a portion of the inner locking guide 224) can be controlled so that they do not rotate with respect to each other. In this example, the inner screw 222 and outer screw 224 are constrained from rotating using an outer circumference of the inner locking guide 224, middle locking guide 232, and outer locking guide 210 comprising a square shape. As may be understood, the outer circumference of the inner locking guide 224, middle locking guide 232, and the outer locking guide 210 do not need to be square; they could be elliptical or any other shape that prevents rotation with respect to each other and other elements of the linear actuator 250.
As is shown more clearly in
In a typical linear actuator, which comprises only a nut and screw, the thread on the nut does not have to be as long as the thread on the screw. In the embodiment described herein, the nut actually comprises a part of the screws; therefore, the part of the thread that is acting as the nut does not have to be full length of the different parts. This allow for less expensive machining during fabrication. The nut function is located on the inside of the different members thus making it easier or more economical to machine. Notice that the bottom screw has a full-length screw on the outside. The inner shaft has a short thread on the inside of the middle screw 226 which acts as the nut. The middle screw 226 has a full-length thread on the outside and a short thread on the inside of the upper screw. This design will accommodate a full extension and full collapse for the linear actuator 250 as well as providing an infinite number of height positions for the chair.
The drive shaft 206 has a non-round shape which could be rectangular, square or oval so that it can rotate with respect to the inner locking guide 224. As the linear actuator 250 either raises or lowers, the drive shaft 206 slides with respect to the inner locking guide 224. For this presentation, the inner screw 222 and the inside guide 270 are combined into one part for convenience, but they would not have to be combined. Furthermore, in this embodiment the outer locking guide 210 and the outer screw are combined into a single part, but they also need not be combined.
In some embodiments, for the linear actuator 250 to operate properly, the inner screw 222 and the outer screw 224 must be locked together so that they cannot rotate independently. To facilitate this there is a middle locking guide 232 that telescopes with respect to the inner locking guide 224 and outer locking guide 210.
As may be understood, one result of the embodiment described herein is that the adjustable chair 100 can be design which has a normal height for a regular desk in an office and can be raised to accommodate a higher desk. This particular design allows for a chair to be raised or lowered around 20 inches to accommodate the different desks in an office environment. For example, the embodiments herein are capable of adjusting so as to be used at both a sitting desk height in addition to a standing desk height. This is achieved by using a three-section linear actuator. In contrast, adjustable chairs which are currently known are capable of adjustable of between 4-5 inches, and thus are not capable of being used in both a sitting and a standing desk configuration.
As is described more fully below with respect to
As may be understood, by enabling the user to communicate with the controller 910 using a user device 970, embodiments herein allow the user to adjust the adjustable chair 100 to their preferred settings without requiring the user to mechanically adjust it themselves.
As is clearly shown in
Similar to the features described above with respect to the linear actuator motor 200, as is shown in
Pages 6A-6C illustrate another adjustable feature of the adjustable chair 100. More specifically, pages 6A-6C illustrate the ability of the back portion 550 to rotate 15 degrees away from the vertical direction with respect to the seat cushion 500. As can be observed in detail in
Similar to the features described above with respect to the linear actuator motor 200, the lumbar adjustment motor 304, and the back support motor 502, as is shown in
In the “best practices” mode, the application 960 may cause the controller 910 to automatically adjust the adjustable chair 100 according to recommended settings which promote posture and back health.
As is shown in
In some configurations, the adjustable chair 100 may also include a footrest. In the embodiments shown in
To prevent the footrest 800 assembly from hitting the floor during adjustment, a tab 840 may be included on the linear actuator 250 so as to come into contact with a corresponding structure on the sliding assembly. In some instances, the corresponding structure of the sliding assembly may comprise a tab, protrusion, or any number of configurations.
Another adjustable aspect of some embodiments described herein is the ability of all of the motor controls 200, 304, 502, 602, and 702 to be controlled by a programmable interface, such as a graphic user interface 850 operating on a user device 970 such that a user is able to provide enhanced control and feedback which allows the exact position for the amount of adjustment. In one embodiment, the motor controls 200, 304, 502, 602, and 702 are also designed to be adjusted or controlled via a cell phone and may be associated with a program, such as an application 960, that allows a user to create a profile that may be stored in a memory 962. For one example, a user may store a personal profile which causes the adjustable chair 100 to be adjusted to a preferred or preset position or configuration profile corresponding to a preferred chair position or configuration at various times of the day or to be automatically adjusted according to a daily or other time-based parameter. This feature allows the chair to have preset conditions for individual users.
In another configuration, the adjustable chair 100 is capable of having a program which stores the positions in conjunction with a movable desk height. Additionally, in order to promote proper back health, the adjustable chair 100 is capable of moving according to a predefined “Best Practice” preset according to a configuration as best determined by experts or other specialists who are commissioned to design a seat configuration which would most advantage the user. As such, a user may use the application 960 to select a “Best Practice” preset, the preset comprising a single or series of seating positions established by a medical or other professional which promote back health and proper posture. In some instances, the “Best Practice” preset may have different positions at different times of the day or for different durations of time. Consequently, by selecting the “Best Practice” setting, the adjustable chair 100 may then automatically be adjusted throughout the users day or over use without requiring any additional action by the user.
This feature also allows a program to be written which can automatically vary the positions of the chair at different time intervals. The different positions provide relief and rest for a person's back during the day. Thus, eliminating pain and stiffness from sitting in a chair for long periods of time. As may be understood, by combining all of the motor driven controls along with the ability to program movements at different times during the day is not presently available in adjustable chairs which are currently known in the art.
In some configurations, the user may create, monitor, or modify the user profile which controls the memory where the adjustable chair 100 configurations are stored via a variety of computer program applications, including an application which may be installed and controlled on and via the user device, such as a cellular phone or other portable computing device. In some configurations, this may also allow the creation of multiple user profiles which can be pre-set or saved, for example, so two different persons using the chair can instantly command adjustment to their preset settings. As such, the chair may adjust the position by a user interacting with the adjustable chair 100 via a cellular phone to indicate that they will be using the adjustable chair 100 instead of another user.
In some configurations, the controller 810 may also comprise a series of switches or other manual controls which may be used by the user to manually adjust the chair. In some instances, these switches may be disposed on the adjustable chair 100. As may be understood, the switches of the controller 810 in this configuration may be able to manually control some or all the motors 200, 304, 502, 602, and 702. This manual control may be used in association with or in place of the remote control configuration described above.
As used in the present disclosure, the terms “module” or “component” may refer to specific hardware implementations configured to perform the actions of the module or component and/or software objects or software routines that may be stored on and/or executed by general purpose hardware (e.g., computer-readable media, processing devices, etc.) of the computing system. In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines, and services described in the present disclosure may be implemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). While some of the system and methods described in the present disclosure are generally described as being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by general purpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination of software and specific hardware implementations are also possible and contemplated. In the present disclosure, a “computing entity” may be any computing system as previously defined in the present disclosure, or any module or combination of modulates running on a computing system.
Terms used in the present disclosure and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes, but is not limited to,” etc.).
Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B, and C together, etc.
Further, any disjunctive word or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
All examples and conditional language recited in the present disclosure are intended for pedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/031,743, filed on Sep. 24, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/905,173, filed on Sep. 24, 2019, the entirety of each of which is incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62905173 | Sep 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17031743 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 17883621 | US |
