Patent Grant
11533998
The present invention relates to a chair suitably applicable as an office revolving chair and the like.
Conventionally, it has been proposed a large number of chairs, especially office revolving chairs, with an aim for a seated person to maintain a comfortable sitting posture for a long time in an office, at home or the like.
Among these office revolving chairs, it has been provided a chair to provide suitable support corresponding to a body movement of a seated person, with an aim to provide a stability in use even in a subsequent posture after a posture of the seated person is changed to move a center of gravity (Patent Document 1).
The chair includes a leg erected on a floor surface, a seat arranged above the leg, and a support mechanism interposed between the leg and the seat, in which the support mechanism is arranged below the seat, is configured to movably support the seat at least at two locations in a front-rear direction and two locations in a left-right direction along a predetermined trajectory, includes a seat inclining function of downwardly inclining a tip side of the seat in a movement direction of the seat as the seat moves from a predetermined reference position, and further includes a return-force generation mechanism for generating, in accordance with an amount of movement, a return force in a direction in which the seat moved from the reference position in the front-rear or left-right direction is returned to the reference position.
According to such a chair, it is possible to exhibit an effect in which the seated person can perceive a comfortable sitting feeling even if sitting for a long time, and can stably obtain a high work efficiency.
Patent Document 1: WO2017/145271
As described above, in a configuration in which a seat swings in the front-rear or left-right direction while being supported by a support mechanism, a tip side of the seat in the movement direction inclines downward, and the moved seat is returned to a reference position by a return-force generation mechanism, a seated person may desire to utilize a swinging function in the left-right direction in a wide movable range. However, the movable range is limited and when the seated person utilizes the chair in a range close to the limit of the movable range, the seated person needs to forcibly move the upper body of the seated person against the return-force generation mechanism to gain momentum and thereby tilt the seat or the back.
Under such circumstances, the seated person is forced to take an unnatural posture or perform an uncomfortable operation, and thus, it is not possible to realize an appropriate support state for the seated person.
To allow for a wide swinging operation, it is necessary to expand the movable range through the support mechanism, but in this case, the structure of the support mechanism is large, which has a negative effect on the appearance. Further, assuming that the design is changed to expand the movable range, the relationship between the displacement amount and the return force in the return-force generation mechanism also changes, and thus, compared to the design before the change, the return force is small when the displacement amount is small, and conversely, the return force is excessively large when the displacement amount is large, which makes the adjustment difficult. Moreover, the movable range changes depending on how the seated person uses the seat, and thus, it is not appropriate to uniformly increase the movable range of the support mechanism.
In view of this situation, it is desirable to allow for a swinging movement for complementing an original swinging function in an overlapping manner, without changing the original swinging function.
That is, it is considered appropriate to add an element allowing for a wide swinging operation without affecting the basic return force.
From this point of view, an object of the present invention is to provide a chair in which a further new function of complementing a swinging movement is added to a chair including a new function of swinging in the front-rear or left-right direction as described above.
The present invention adopts the following means to achieve such object.
That is, a configuration is assumed in which a chair according to the present invention includes a leg erected on a floor surface, a seat being arranged above the leg and including a pressure receiving surface, and a support mechanism arranged below the seat to be interposed between the leg and the seat and configured to movably support the seat in a front-rear or left-right direction along a predetermined trajectory and to downwardly incline a tip side of the seat in a movement direction in accordance with a movement of the seat from a predetermined reference position, and the support mechanism includes a return-force generation unit configured to generate, in accordance with an amount of movement, a return force in a direction in which the seat moved from the reference position in the front-rear or left-right direction is returned to the reference position.
The chair is characterized in that the seat includes a main body unit and an amplification element attached to the main body unit and configured to further amplify a movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction among movement operations of the main body unit.
It is noted that, in the present specification, “moving in the front-rear or left-right direction” is not limited to an aspect of moving in the front-rear direction or an aspect of moving in the left-right direction, but also includes an aspect of moving simultaneously in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, that is, an aspect of moving in an oblique direction.
Thus, it is possible to allow for a movement operation of the seat in a wider range in the left-right direction beyond a support range by the support mechanism, without changing a function of the support mechanism. Therefore, a movable range of a seated person using the seat increases in the left-right direction, and thus, it is possible to provide a chair in which a seated person hardly feels exhaustion even if seated for a long time, and also providing a better refreshing effect.
Moreover, a configuration may be adopted in which an amplification operation by the amplification element occurs during an original movement operation of the support mechanism, and thus, it is also easy to ensure an amount of movement without increasing the reaction force.
Alternatively, it is assumed that a chair according to the present invention includes a leg erected on a floor surface, a seat arranged above the leg, a backrest being arranged behind the leg and including a pressure receiving surface, and a support mechanism arranged below the seat to be interposed between the leg and the seat and configured to movably support the seat in the front-rear or left-right direction along a predetermined trajectory and to downwardly incline a tip side of the seat in a movement direction in accordance with a movement of the seat from a predetermined reference position, and the support mechanism includes a return-force generation unit configured to generate, in accordance with an amount of movement, a return force in a direction in which the seat moved from the reference position in the front-rear or left-right direction is returned to the reference position, and is configured to movably support the backrest in the left-right direction together with a movement of the seat in the left-right direction.
The chair is characterized in that the backrest includes a main body unit and an amplification element attached to the main body unit and configured to further amplify a movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction among movement operations of the main body unit.
Even with these configurations, a similar operation and effect to the case of the seat can be obtained.
In these configurations, it is desirable that the amplification element is configured to perform an amplification operation independent from a movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction. If the movement operation is independent, it is possible to choose an amplification amount and an amplification direction independently from an amount of movement of the main body unit in the left-right direction, and to increase the degree of freedom of the amplification.
In this case, it is desirable that the amplification element is configured to perform an amplification operation including a directional component other than a movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction. Thus, a more appropriate support state for the movement of the seated person can be realized, compared with a case where the amplification is monotonous.
A specific example includes a configuration in which the movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction is a swinging operation in the left-right direction in a front view, and the amplification element is configured to perform an amplification operation including a turning operation in the left-right direction in a plan view. Thus, it is easy to respond to an original rolling operation and a twisting operation of the seated person.
Further, it is desirable that the amplification element is an amplification element configured to perform either an amplification operation in a positive direction for increasing a movement operation in the left-right direction or an amplification operation in a negative direction for reducing the movement operation, or is an amplification element configured to perform both an amplification operation in a positive direction for increasing a movement operation in the left-right direction and an amplification operation in a negative direction for reducing the movement operation. In some cases, a seated person may desire to restrict the movement of the chair, and the configuration described above is effective in such a case. It is noted that, in the present specification, a “negative amplification” refers to a slowing operation in which the movement operation is reduced.
Alternatively, it is also desirable that the amplification element is a mechanically movable unit attached via a bearing unit. If the mechanically movable unit is provided, an amplification in a direction along a predetermined movement can be obtained.
Alternatively, it is also desirable that the amplification element is a rotation unit attached to the main body unit to be rotatable around a shaft center extending in a direction orthogonal to the left-right direction. If the rotation unit is provided, it is possible to specifically set a rotation radius and the like.
Alternatively, it is also desirable that the amplification element is a universal operation unit attached to the main body unit to be pivotable in the front-rear direction including the left-right direction, or the left-right direction. If the universal operation unit is provided, it is possible to allow for a movement in a direction other than the left-right direction in the amplification operation.
Alternatively, it is also desirable that the amplification element includes flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies arranged along the left-right direction. This is an effective configuration if the amplification operation for the movement of the main body unit is performed as an independent operation different from a swinging movement in the left-right direction.
In this case, it is desirable that the horizontal strap bodies are engaged with a plurality of flexibly deformable vertical strap bodies arranged along the vertical strap body arranged at a center portion in the left-right direction and a position displaced from the center portion in the left-right direction. Such a configuration is one aspect of a preferred implementation, and thus, a mesh fabric in which vertical strap bodies and horizontal strap bodies are previously woven can be adopted.
In these cases, it is desirable that a vertical strap bodies and the horizontal strap bodies are arranged in an opening of a frame body included in the main body unit. With this configuration, the amplification operation of the strap bodies can be appropriately performed by utilizing the thickness of the frame body.
In this case, it is desirable that a side support protruding toward a seated person is provided in left and right side units of the frame body. When the seated person strongly rocks the seat or the backrest, it is possible to appropriately support the seated person so that the seated person does not lose weight balance.
In view of the above, it is desirable that the main body unit includes a frame body having a left-right pair of side frame units extending in parallel, the side frame units include intermediate protrusions protruding furthermost toward a seated person at a position other than both ends of the side frame units in an extending direction of the side frame units, and an upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability is spanned at least between the intermediate protrusions of the left and right side frame units to form the amplification element. Therefore, the upholstery material spanned between the intermediate protrusions preferentially abuts against the seated person, so that a load of the seated person is easily received locally and a deformation from the received load increases the tension around the seated person, and thus, an effect of amplifying a movement in the left-right direction is intensified. For this reason, the seated person can perceive a feeling of being inclined more than the inclination of the backrest or the seat. The intermediate protrusions serve as side supports supporting the body of the inclined seated person from the side via the upholstery material, and thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the seated person from losing balance.
Alternatively, it is desirable that the amplification element includes a first amplification element configured to amplify a movement operation of the main body unit in the left-right direction and a second amplification element configured to further amplify an operation of the first amplification element. Thus, it is possible to provide an amplification function, with a high degree of freedom, of widening the original swinging movement in the left-right direction.
One aspect of a specific implementation includes a configuration in which the first amplification element is a rotation unit attached to the main body unit to be rotatable around a shaft center extending in a direction orthogonal to the left-right direction, and the second amplification element includes flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies arranged along the left-right direction.
Alternatively, another aspect of a specific implementation includes a configuration in which the first amplification element is a universal operation unit attached to the main body unit to be rotatable in the front-rear direction including the left-right direction, or the left-right direction, and the second amplification element includes flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies arranged along the left-right direction.
In the aspects described above, it is desirable that the amplification element includes an auxiliary return-force generation unit configured to return, if a pressure applied to the pressure receiving surface is removed, from an amplification destination to a reference position. Thus, the amplification element can always be reset to an initial position.
The present invention is configured as described above, and thus, it is possible to provide a new, useful chair capable of allowing for a swinging movement complementing an original swinging function in an overlapping manner, without changing the original swinging function, and as a result, allowing for a wide swinging operation, without affecting a basic return force.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
A chair according to the embodiment is referred to as an office revolving chair suitably usable in an office or at home.
As illustrated in
The leg 1 includes a leg vane 12 formed radially in a plan view, a caster 11 being attached on a bottom side of the leg vane 12 and rollably contacting the floor surface, and a leg supporting post 13 erected from a center of the leg vane 12. The support base unit 2 is rotatably attached to an upper end side of the leg supporting post 13.
The support base unit 2 functions as a structured body for receiving a load of a seated person, includes, as a main body, a support base main body 21 including a through hole 21a into which an upper end of a supporting post 13 is inserted and which runs in an up-down direction, and on both left and right sides of the support base main body 21, a left-right pair of elbow mounting units 23 are integrally formed with the support base main body 21 via a bearing base unit 22. A shaft swing damper 21b is mounted in a hole 21a opening on a surface of the support base main body 21 in the front-rear direction.
The support mechanism SM is interposed between the leg 1 and the seat 5, and in the support mechanism SM, the front-rear support unit 3 and the left-right support unit 4 are arranged below the seat 5, and the support mechanism SM alone supports the seat 5 movably in the front-rear or left-right direction. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
That is, as illustrated in
A window 41c is opened at the center of the link base 41, a rolling damper 44 is positioned in the window 41c, and a swing range of the left-right support unit 4 is restricted to a range where the rolling damper 44 can perform a relative movement within the window 41c.
As illustrated in
That is, if the front-rear support unit 3 moves rearward, as illustrated in
During this time, the seat 5 performs an operation in which the seat 5 is tilted so that the tip side of the seat 5 in the movement direction is lowered, and the center of gravity G of the seat 5 including the front-rear support unit 4 is lifted from the reference position G (S).
On the front end side of the rail plate 31 included in the front-rear support unit 3, a pitching damper 31c formed by bending a part of the rail plate 31 is provided, and if the front-rear support unit 3 swinging rearward, the pitching damper 31c abuts against a front end lower part 4z (see
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, in the shape of the guide hole 34 illustrated in
As described above, in a chair having a configuration in which the seat 5 and the backrest 6 move to swing in the front-rear or left-right direction, in the present embodiment, the backrest 6 incorporates an amplification element configured to amplify a swinging movement in the left-right direction.
Among these, in the present embodiment, an amplification operation similar to the operation in (c2) is realized.
That is, as illustrated in
The back frame 61 has a shape encircled by an upper frame 61a, a lower frame 61b, and left and right side frames 61c and 61d, an opening 80op is formed in a center of the back frame 61, and grooves gr1 illustrated in
In the present embodiment, to realize the pressure receiving surface PS formed of the horizontal strap bodies 62y by using an easily obtainable member, a mesh fabric 62 being an upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability is adopted. As illustrated in
In an attached state illustrated in
The present invention can of course also be realized by an amplification element having a configuration in which only belt-shaped horizontal strap bodies, but no vertical strap bodies, are provided, a configuration in which the horizontal strap bodies have a larger width than the vertical strap bodies and a configuration in which the number of vertical strap bodies is much smaller than the number of horizontal strap bodies.
As illustrated in
In a main body unit 51 of the seat 5, a cushion material is arranged on an outer cover via an unillustrated inner cover and the entire main body unit 51 and outer cover are covered with an upholstery fabric 50.
As illustrated in
Here, an amplification function provided by the horizontal strap bodies 62y will be described. As illustrated in
Such a movement to the left may be triggered without the seated person leaning against the backrest 6. However, if the movement to the left is triggered in a state where the seated person leans against the backrest 6, the seated person sometimes involves an operation of twisting an upper body of the seated person to the left, as illustrated in (c) in
Thus, as illustrated in
In terms of vectors, as illustrated in (a) in
Simultaneously, the surface direction of the pressure receiving surface PS formed of the aggregation of the horizontal strap bodies 62y can be freely changed depending on the load received from the seated person, and thus, the seating surface is deformed to fit a body orientation of the seated person while the swinging movement is amplified. For example, in a region left of the center, as illustrated in (c1) and (c2) in
The horizontal strap bodies 62y perform an amplification operation in a positive direction for increasing a movement operation in the left-right direction until a certain point, and afterwards, when the deformation is stable, the horizontal strap bodies 62y switch to an action of restricting a twisting operation of the seated person.
Further, when the seated person stops the swinging operation in the left-right direction or leaves the seat so that the pressure applied to the pressure receiving surface PS is removed, horizontal strap bodies 61y being an amplification element perform, as illustrated in (b) and (a) in
Such an amplification function is also fulfilled in a case where an eccentric load is applied to the right side from the center.
As described above, the chair according to the present embodiment includes the leg 1 erected on a floor surface, the seat 5 arranged above the leg 1, the backrest 6 being provided behind the leg 1 and including the pressure receiving surface PS, and the support mechanism SM arranged below the seat 5 to be interposed between the leg 1 and the seat 5 and configured to movably support the seat 5 in the front-rear or left-right direction along a predetermined trajectory and to downwardly incline a tip side of the seat 5 in the movement direction in accordance with a movement of the seat 5 from the predetermined reference position (S). The support mechanism SM includes the return-force generation unit configured to generate, in accordance with an amount of movement, a return force in a direction in which the seat 5 moved from the reference position (S) in the front-rear or left-right direction is returned to the reference position (S), and is configured to movably support the backrest 6 in the left-right direction together with a movement of the seat 5 in the left-right direction. In this structure, the backrest 6 is characterized in including the back frame 61 being a main body unit, and the horizontal strap bodies 62y being an amplification element attached to the back frame 61 and configured to amplify, among movement operations of the back frame 61, a movement operation of the back frame 61 in the left-right direction along vectors VL1 and VR1 to obtain the vectors VL and VR.
This allows for a movement operation of the backrest 6 in the left-right direction beyond an original support range by the support mechanism SM, without changing a configuration or function of the support mechanism SM. Therefore, a movable range of a seated person using the backrest 6 increases in the left-right direction, and thus, it is possible to provide a chair having excellent properties by which a seated person hardly feels exhaustion even if seated for a long time, and also providing a better refreshing effect. Moreover, an amplification operation provided by the horizontal strap bodies 62y being the amplification element may occur during an original movement operation of the support mechanism, and thus, it is also easy to ensure an amount of movement without increasing the reaction force.
In this case, if seen from an inertial system moving together with the back frame 61 being the main body unit in the left-right direction, the horizontal strap bodies 62y being the amplification element perform an amplification operation independent from the movement of the left-right support unit 4 in the left-right direction, as indicated by the vectors VL2 and VR2.
Therefore, the operation of amplifying the movement is independent, and thus, it is possible to choose an amplification amount and an amplification direction independently from the movement of the back frame 61 being the main body unit in the left-right direction, and increase the degree of freedom of the amplification.
In particular, as can be understood from the fact that the direction of the drag force changes from N1 to N2, the horizontal strap bodies 62y being the amplification element perform an amplification operation including a directional component other than the movement operation of the back frame 61 being the main body unit in the left-right direction, and thus, it is possible not only to amplify the operation of the amplification element but also to realize a more appropriate support state with respect to the movement of the seated person.
Specifically, the movement operation of the back frame 61 being the main body unit in the left-right direction is a swinging operation in the left-right direction in a front view, as indicated by the vector VL1 in
In this case, the horizontal strap bodies 62y being the amplification element perform, in accordance with a twisting operation of the seated person, an amplification operation in a positive direction to increase the movement operation in the left-right direction until a certain point, and afterwards, act as an element restricting a further twisting operation of the seated person. Therefore, an appropriate support state can be maintained in an end region of the movable range.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies 62y arranged along the left-right direction are provided as the amplification element, and at least an aggregated body of the horizontal strap bodies 62y is configured to form the pressure receiving surface PS, and thus, an amplification operation with respect to the movement of the back frame 61 being the main body unit can be appropriately performed as an independent operation different from a swinging movement in the left-right direction.
More specifically, the horizontal strap bodies 62y are engaged with the plurality of flexibly deformable vertical strap bodies 62z arranged along the left and right side frames 61c, at a center portion in the left-right direction and at a position displaced in the left-right direction from the center portion, and an aggregated body of the horizontal strap bodies 62y and the vertical strap bodies 62z is used as the pressure receiving surface PS, and thus, it is possible to use the mesh fabric 62 in which vertical strap bodies and horizontal strap bodies are alternately woven in advance.
Subsequently, a configuration is such that the vertical strap bodies 62z and the horizontal strap bodies 62y are arranged in an opening 61op of the back frame 61 included in the main body unit, and thus, an amplification operation of the strap bodies 62z, 62y can be appropriately performed by utilizing the thickness of the back frame 61.
Further, side supports 6s protruding toward the seated person are provided in left and right side edges 61c, 61d of the back frame 61 included in the backrest 6, and thus, when the seated person strongly rocks the seat 5 and the backrest 6, it is possible to appropriately support the seated person so that the seated person does not lose weight balance and perceives a feeling of security.
From a different point of view, the main body unit includes the back frame 61 being a frame body including the left-right pair of side frame 61c and 61d extending in parallel, and the side frame units 61c and 61d include the intermediate protrusions 6s protruding furthest toward the seated person at positions other than both ends in the extending direction of the side frame units 61c and 61d. Assuming that
The horizontal strap bodies 61y being the amplification element also serve as a return-force generation part configured to return the pressure receiving surface PS to a neutral position being a position of the pressure receiving surface PS when the pressure on the pressure receiving surface PS is removed, and thus, the horizontal strap bodies 61y are always reset to an initial position.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Basic configurations of the leg 1, the support base unit 2, and the support mechanism SM including the front-rear support unit 3 and the left-right support unit 4 are similar to those in the first embodiment described above. Therefore, common portions are referred to by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.
Among these, an amplification as illustrated in (c2) is realized in the present embodiment.
As illustrated in
The seat frame 151 has a shape encircled by a front frame 151a, a rear frame 151b, and left and right side frames 151c and 151d, an opening 105op is formed in a center of the seat frame 151, and grooves gr2 are formed on an outer peripheral edge of the front frame 151a, the rear frame 151b, and the left and right side frames 151c and 151d.
Also in the present embodiment, to realize the pressure receiving surface PS formed of the horizontal strap bodies 152y by using an easily obtainable member, a mesh fabric 152 being an upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability is adopted. The mesh fabric 152 has a configuration in which J vertical strap bodies 152x and K of the horizontal strap bodies 152y are weaved in a required length in accordance with a relative position with respect to the frames 151c and 151d (the frames 151a and 151b) and a distance between the frames 151c and 151d (between the frames 151a and 151b) at each position. A front edge 152a, a rear edge 152b, and left and right side edges 152c and 152d of the mesh fabric 152 are fitted into the grooves gr2 of an upper frame 151a, a lower frame 151b, and the left and right side frames 151c and 151d included in the seat frame 151, to attach the mesh fabric 152 to the seat frame 151.
In such an attached state, the horizontal strap bodies 152y arranged along lines of the left and right side frames 151c and 151d, and the vertical strap bodies 152x arranged along lines of the front frame 151a and the rear frame 151b are intertwined and bound together at each intersection point to be changed to an appropriate line, as a result of which a surface in which the horizontal strap bodies 152y and the vertical strap bodies 152x are connected forms as a whole the pressure receiving surface PS having a three dimensional shape that faces upward and envelops a gluteal region of a seated person.
The present invention can of course also be implemented by an amplification element having a configuration in which only belt-shaped horizontal strap bodies, but no vertical strap bodies, are provided, a configuration in which the horizontal strap bodies have a larger width than the vertical strap bodies, and a configuration in which the number of vertical strap bodies is much smaller than the number of horizontal strap bodies.
The left and right side frames 151c and 151d of the seat frame 151 are attached to the upper connection plate 32 of a front-rear movement unit 3 via brackets 153 bent to open upward. A gap allowing for deformation of the mesh fabric 152 is secured between the mesh fabric 152 and the bracket 153.
In the backrest 106, the main body unit 161 includes a cushion material that is arranged in front of an outer cover via an unillustrated inner cover, and the entire main body unit 161 and outer cover are covered with an upholstery fabric 160.
A portion indicated by a broken line 105s in the drawing is an intermediate protrusion provided in the seat frame 151. The intermediate protrusion 105s is configured to partially raise upward a portion other than ends of the left-right pair of side frame units 151c and 151d extending in the front-rear direction to form the seat frame 151, and the intermediate protrusion 105s is positioned at a position corresponding to the side of the gluteal region of a seated person having an average physique. The side frame units 151c and 151d of the seat frame 151 are gently raised in an extending direction of the side frame units 151c and 151d, but the intermediate protrusion 105s may be raised by abruptly changing the curvature of the intermediate protrusion 105s in the side frame 151c and 151d.
Here, an amplification function provided by the horizontal strap bodies 152y will be described. As illustrated in
Together with this movement, as illustrated in (c) in
In terms of vectors, as illustrated in
Simultaneously, the surface direction of the pressure receiving surface PS formed of the aggregation of the horizontal strap bodies 62y and the like can be freely changed depending on the load received from the seated person, and thus, the seating surface is deformed to fit a body orientation of the seated person, while the swinging movement is amplified. For example, in a region left of the center, as illustrated in (c3) and (c4) in
The horizontal strap bodies 152y perform an amplification operation in a positive direction for increasing a movement operation in the left-right direction until a certain point, and afterwards, when the deformation is stable, the horizontal strap bodies 152y switch to an action of restricting a twisting operation of the seated person.
When the seated person stops the swinging operation in the left-right direction or leaves the seat so that the pressure applied to the pressure receiving surface PS is removed, the horizontal strap bodies 152y being the amplification element perform, as illustrated in (b) and (a) in
Such an amplification function is also fulfilled in a case where an eccentric load is applied to the right side from the center.
As described above, the chair according to the present embodiment includes the leg 1 erected on a floor surface, the seat 105 being arranged above the leg 1 and including the pressure receiving surface PS, and the support mechanism SM arranged below the seat 105 to be interposed between the leg 1 and the seat 105 and configured to movably support the seat 105 in the front-rear or left-right direction along a predetermined trajectory and to downwardly incline a tip side of the seat 105 in the movement direction in accordance with a movement of the seat 105 from the predetermined reference position (S). The support mechanism SM includes the return-force generation unit configured to generate, in accordance with an amount of movement, a return force in a direction in which the seat 105 moved from the reference position (S) in the front-rear or left-right direction is returned to the reference position (S). In this structure, the seat 105 is characterized in including the seat frame 151 being a main body unit, and the horizontal strap bodies 152y attached to the seat frame 151 and being an amplification element configured to further amplify a movement operation of the seat frame 151 in the left-right direction among movement operations of the seat frame 151.
Even with this structure, it is possible to allow for a movement operation of the seat 105 in the left-right direction beyond an original support range by the support mechanism SM, without changing a configuration or function of the support mechanism SM. Therefore, a movable range of a seated person using the seat 105 increases in the left-right direction, and thus, it is possible to provide a chair having excellent properties by which a seated person hardly feels exhaustion even if seated for a long time, and also providing a better refreshing effect. Moreover, an amplification operation by the amplification element may occur during an original movement operation of the support mechanism, and thus, it is also easy to perform a movement in which an amount of movement is ensured without increasing the reaction force of the support mechanism SM.
In addition thereto, the present embodiment is similar to the embodiment described above in that the horizontal strap bodies 152y being the amplification element perform an amplification operation independent from the movement operation of the seat frame 151 being the main body unit or an amplification operation including a directional component different from the movement operation of the seat frame 151, the horizontal strap bodies 152y partially perform an operation in a slowing direction, the amplification element is the horizontal strap bodies 152y, the horizontal strap bodies 152y are engaged with the vertical strap bodies 152x to form the pressure receiving surface PS, the vertical strap bodies 152x and the horizontal strap bodies 152y are arranged in the opening 105op of the seat frame 151 being the main body unit, and the seat 105 includes a side support 105s, and thus, an operation and effect similar to those in the embodiment described above can be obtained.
In particular, the main body unit includes the seat frame 151 being a frame body including the left-right pair of side frame units 151c and 151d extending in parallel, and the side frame units 151c and 151d include the intermediate protrusions 105s raised toward the seated person at positions other than both ends in the extending direction of the side frame units 151c and 151d. Assuming that
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Basic configurations of the leg 1, the support base unit 2, and the support mechanism SM including the front-rear support unit 3 and the left-right support unit 4 are similar to those in the embodiments described above. Therefore, common portions are referred to by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.
That is, the rotation units 262 and 252 in the chair of the present embodiment perform an operation similar to the operations in (c2) in
First, the rotation unit 262 will be described. The bearing unit 263 includes a vertical shaft Sz being a shaft center extending in the up-down direction orthogonal to the left-right direction of the backrest main body unit 261 and a shaft hole provided in a load receiving unit 263a attached to a side of a back frame 260 and in the rotation unit 262, into which the vertical shaft Sz is to be inserted. The load receiving unit 263a is connected between upper ends of the pair of back frames 260 and 260, and faces a surface plate 262a of the rotation unit 262. An elastic body 264 such as urethane or a coil spring is interposed as an auxiliary return-force generation unit of the present invention between the load receiving unit 263a and the surface plate 262a at positions displaced in the left-right direction from the vertical shaft Sz.
Subsequently, the backrest main body unit 261 is attached to the surface plate 262a of the rotation unit 262. The backrest main body 261 of the present embodiment is similar to a backrest main body unit 161 (see
Next, the rotation unit 252 will be described. The bearing unit 253 includes a vertical shaft Sx being a shaft center extending in the front-rear direction orthogonal to the left-right direction of a seat main body unit 251 and a shaft hole provided in a load receiving unit 253a attached to a side of the seat 205 and in the rotation unit 252, into which the vertical shaft Sx is to be inserted. The load receiving unit 253a is connected to the upper connection plate 32 of the front-rear movement unit 3 supporting the seat 205, and faces a surface plate 252a of the rotation unit 252. An elastic body 254 such as urethane or a coil spring is interposed as an auxiliary return-force generation unit of the present invention between the load receiving unit 253a and the surface plate 252a at positions displaced in the left-right direction from a front-rear shaft Sz.
Subsequently, the seat main body unit 251 is attached to the surface plate 252a of the rotation unit 252. The seat main body 251 of the present embodiment is similar to the seat main body unit 51 (see
If the seated person performs an operation of moving his/her body weight to the left while twisting the upper body, similarly to in the first embodiment, the backrest 206 also moves to the left in conjunction with the movement of the seat, as illustrated in (a) and (b) in
Together with this movement, if the seated person performs an operation of twisting his/her upper body as illustrated in (c) in
Also in this case, in terms of vectors, the movement combines vectors similar to the vectors VL and VR illustrated in
If the rotation unit 262 performs such an amplification operation, the elastic body 264 being the return-force generation unit accumulates a return force.
Thus, when the seated person stops the swinging operation in the left-right direction or leaves the seat so that the pressure applied to the pressure receiving surface PS is removed, the rotation unit 262 being the amplification element performs, as illustrated in (b) and (a) in
The operation described above is also performed in a case where an eccentric load is applied to the right side from the center.
The above description also applies to the seat 205. That is, if the seated person performs an operation of moving his/her body weight to the left, similarly to in the first embodiment, as illustrated in
Together with this movement, if the load FL is applied concentratively to a part of the pressure receiving surface PS left of the center of the seat 205, the rotation unit 252 rotates in a rear view to the left around the shaft Sx, and thus, the part of the pressure receiving surface PS left of the center retreats and a part of the pressure receiving surface PS right of the center moves forward by the repulsive force FR.
Also in this case, in terms of vectors, the movement combines vectors similar to the vectors VL and VR illustrated in
If the rotation unit 252 performs such an amplification operation, the elastic body 254 being the return-force generation unit accumulates a return force.
Thus, when the seated person stops the swinging operation in the left-right direction or leaves the seat so that the pressure applied to the pressure receiving surface is removed, the rotation unit 252 being an amplification element performs, as illustrated in (b) and (a) in
The operation described above is also performed in a case where an eccentric load is applied to the right side from the center.
In addition to a basic operation and effect realized by providing the amplification element, this configuration is similar to that in the first and second embodiments described above in that the rotation units 262 and 252 being the amplification elements perform an amplification operation independent from the movement operation of the main body units 261 and 251 or an amplification operation including a directional component different from the movement operation of the main body units 261 and 251, partially perform an operation in a slowing direction, and include a side support, and thus, even with this configuration, an operation and effect similar to those in the first and second embodiments can be obtained.
In particular, if the rotation units 262 and 252 are provided, it is possible to specifically set a rotation radius and the like.
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Basic configurations of the leg 1, the support base unit 2, and the support mechanism SM including the front-rear support unit 3 and the left-right support unit 4 are similar to those in the embodiments described above. Therefore, common portions are referred to by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.
Among these modes of movement, in the present embodiment, an amplification operation is realized that combining a configuration similar to that in (c2) in two steps.
In the first amplification element, a universal operation unit 370 being a mechanically movable part having a structure slightly different from the mechanically movable part of the third embodiment, is provided in the backrest 306 via a universal bearing unit 363.
The universal bearing unit 363 includes a base unit 364 provided at a side of the backrest 306, a tilting unit 365 being arranged adjacent to the base unit 364, including a guide unit 365a recessed in a tapered shape toward the rear side, and having an open running in the front-rear direction at the center, and a pressing tool 366 including a guide unit 366a having a convex shape corresponding to the guide unit 365a at the front side, and being fixed to the base unit 364 via the opening of the tilting unit 365 in a state where the guide unit 366a is fitted into the guide unit 365a, as illustrated by an arrow J. A configuration is such that, as illustrated by arrows K, the tilting unit 365 is fixed to a back support unit 360a on an upper end side of a back frame 360 by tightening screws.
That is, the pressing tool 366 is fixed to the base unit 364 with the tilting unit 365 sandwiched therebetween, and thus, the pressing tool 366 is a part of the base unit 364 and is integrally formed with the base unit 364. The tilting unit 365 is movable freely relative to the base unit 364 and the pressing tool 366 in a gap between the base unit 364 and the pressing tool 366. In the tilting unit 365 moving freely, a configuration is such that an elastic body 367 interposed between the tilting unit 365 and the base unit 364 needs to be compressed against the elastic force. The elastic body 367 exerts a force on the guide unit 365a of the tilting unit 365 in a direction where the guide unit 365a is constantly fitted in the guide unit 366a of the pressing tool 366.
The guide unit 365a of the tilting unit 365 included in the base unit 364 and the guide unit 366a of the pressing tool 366 are guided to and rest in a neutral position illustrated in (a) and (b) iii
In the present embodiment, the base unit 364 of the universal joint unit 363 is used as the universal operation unit 370, and a back frame 361 being a backrest main body unit is attached to the universal operation unit 370 via a left-right pair of arm units 370a.
The back frame 361 is a frame body similar to the frame body 61 being the backrest main body unit in the first embodiment, and the second amplification element is horizontal strap bodies 362y configured similarly to the horizontal strap bodies 62y in the first embodiment. A mesh fabric 362 which is an upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability and in which the horizontal strap bodies 362y are also weaved together with vertical strap bodies 362z is also employed for the horizontal strap bodies 362y
The amplification effect by second strap bodies 362y is similar to that of the horizontal strap bodies 62y described with reference to
That is, in the present embodiment, the first amplification element is the universal operation part 370 rotatably attached to the back frame 361 in the front-rear direction including the left-right direction, or the left-right direction, the second amplification element includes the flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies 362y arranged along the left-right direction, and the pressure receiving surface PS includes at least an aggregated body of the horizontal strap bodies 362y.
Thus, as illustrated in
A portion indicated by a broken line 306s in the drawings is an intermediate protrusion provided in the back frame 361. The intermediate protrusion 306s is configured to partially raise, toward the front, a portion other than ends of a left-right pair of side frame units 361c and 361d extending obliquely upward and downward to form the back frame 36. The intermediate protrusion 306s is also provided at a height position corresponding to a lumbar region of a seated person having an average physique, and this portion protrudes furthest to the front in a side view and this portion has also the widest width in the left-right direction in a front view.
Thus, if a two-step amplification function is provided, it is possible to allow for a swinging movement with a higher degree of amplification. The present embodiment is of course similar to the embodiments described above in that the horizontal strap bodies 362y being one of amplification elements perform an amplification operation independent from the movement operation of the back frame 361 being the main body unit or an amplification operation including a directional component different from the movement operation of the back frame 361, the horizontal strap bodies 362y partially perform an operation in a slowing direction, one of the amplification elements is the horizontal strap bodies 362y, the pressure receiving surface PS is formed by the mesh fabric 362 in which the horizontal strap bodies 362y are engaged with the vertical strap bodies 362z, the vertical strap bodies 362z and the horizontal strap bodies 362y are arranged in an opening of the back frame 361 being the main body unit, the mesh fabric 362 spanned between the intermediate protrusions 306s and 306s functions prominently as an amplification element, and the like, and thus, an operation and effect similar to those in the embodiments described above can be obtained.
In particular, the universal operation unit 370 is provided, and thus, it is possible to allow for a movement in a direction other than the left-right direction in the amplification operation.
Such a two-step amplification mechanism can be also applied to the seat. <Fifth Embodiment>
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Basic configurations of the leg 1, the support base unit 2, and the support mechanism SM including the front-rear support unit 3 and the left-right support unit 4 are similar to those in the embodiments described above. Therefore, common portions are referred to by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.
The present embodiment is also based on the concept of
Among these modes of movement, in the present embodiment, an amplification operation is realized that combining a configuration similar to that in (c2) in two steps.
Here, in the embodiments described above, the first amplification element is the universal operation unit 370 rotatably attached to the back frame being the main body unit in the front-rear direction including the left-right direction, or the left-right direction, and the second amplification element includes the flexibly deformable horizontal strap bodies 362y arranged along the left-right direction. However, in the present embodiment illustrated in
The amplification function of the first amplification element is as described with reference to
With this configuration, as illustrated in
Thus, if a two-step amplification function is provided, it is possible to allow for a swinging movement with a higher degree of amplification. The present embodiment is of course similar to the embodiments described above in that the horizontal strap bodies 462y being one of amplification elements perform an amplification operation independent from the movement operation of the back frame 461 being the main body unit or an amplification operation including a directional component different from the movement operation of the back frame 461, the horizontal strap bodies 462y partially perform an operation in a slowing direction, one of the amplification elements is the horizontal strap bodies 462y, the horizontal strap bodies 462y are engaged with vertical strap bodies to form a pressure receiving surface, a mesh fabric 462 spanned between the intermediate protrusions 406s and 406s functions prominently as an amplification element, and the like, and thus, an operation and effect similar to those in the embodiments described above can be obtained.
Such a two-step amplification mechanism can be similarly applied to the seat.
Thus, an embodiment of the present invention has been described, and a specific configuration of each unit is not limited to that in the embodiments described above and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in an example in which the amplification element includes an upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability as illustrated in
It is effective to configure the amplification element by providing an intermediate protrusion 506s (606s) protruding furthermost toward the seated person at a position other than both ends of the side frame units 561c and 561d (661c and 661d) in the extending direction of the side frame units 561c and 561d (661c and 661d) and previously spanning the wire 562y or the belt 662y being the amplification element at least between the intermediate protrusions 506s and 506s (between the intermediate protrusions 606s and 606s) of the left and right side frame units 561c and 561d (661c and 661d). Thus, even in these configurations, an operation and effect similar to those in the above-described embodiments in which a mesh material is employed as the upholstery material can be obtained. That is, the wire 562y or the belt 662y spanned between the intermediate protrusions 506s and 506s (between the intermediate protrusions 606s and 606s) preferentially abuts against the seated person, so that a load of the seated person is easily received locally and the deformation from the received load increases the tension around the seated person, and thus, an effect of amplifying a movement in the left-right direction is intensified. Therefore, the seated person can perceive a feeling of being inclined more than the inclination of the backrest 506. The intermediate protrusion 506s (606s) serves as a side support supporting the inclined body of the seated person from the side via the wire 562y or the belt 662y, and thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the seated person from losing balance.
The same applies to the seat and even if a wire or a. belt being au upholstery material having flexibility with low stretchability is spanned as an amplification element between intermediate protrusions of left and right side frame units of the seat, an effect similar to the one in
Further, the positions of the left-right support unit and the front-rear support unit included in the support mechanism may be inversed in the up-down direction.
Further, the support mechanism may include a guide hole and a follower in both the front support unit and the rear support unit.
Alternatively, the support mechanism may include a guide hole and a follower in both the left support unit and the right support unit.
Further, the support mechanism may include a link in both the front support unit and the rear support unit.
Further, the support mechanism may support an element to be freely movable in the front-rear or the left-right direction by three hanging links.
Various other changes may be applied to other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention.
According to the configuration described above, the present invention can be suitably applied to an office revolving chair and the like.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/039048 | 10/19/2018 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/079840 | 4/23/2020 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 3643205 | Apr 2020 | EP |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220031073 A1 | Feb 2022 | US |
