Claims
- 1. A seating unit, comprising:
an adjustably positionable component; a control mechanism operably connected to the component and including first and second members, each having a generally smooth curvilinear load bearing surface and a plurality of teeth adjacent the load bearing surface, wherein the load bearing surfaces are in contact to transfer loads, and wherein the teeth of the first and second members are in engagement to provide non-slip rotation.
- 2. The seating unit of claim 1, wherein:
the load bearing surfaces of the first and second members define an arc of constant radius.
- 3. The seating unit of claim 2, wherein:
the arcs each define an axis, and the load bearing surfaces extend less than three hundred sixty degrees about each axis.
- 4. The seating unit of claim 1, wherein:
the adjustably positionable component comprises a seat.
- 5. The seating unit of claim 4, including:
a housing; an adjustment member; and wherein: the first member is pivotably mounted to the housing, and wherein movement of the adjustment member rotates the first member.
- 6. The seating unit of claim 5, wherein:
the contact between the load bearing surfaces define a fulcrum point; and including: a spring rotatably biasing the second member about the fulcrum point, and wherein rotation of the first member adjusts the amount of bias of the spring.
- 7. The seating unit of claim 6, including:
an adjustable stop limiting the rotation of the second member.
- 8. A mechanism comprising:
first and second members having a range of movement relative to one another, each member having a generally smooth curvilinear load bearing surface and a plurality of teeth adjacent the load bearing surface, wherein the load bearing surfaces are in contact to transfer loads, and wherein the teeth of the first and second members are in engagement, at least one of the first and second members having teeth arranged in an arc that extends less than three hundred and sixty degrees about an axis defined by the arc; and a stop limiting an allowable range of movement of a selected one of the first and second members relative to the other one of the first and second members.
- 9. The mechanism of claim 8, including:
a base; and wherein: the first member is rotatably mounted to the base.
- 10. The mechanism of claim 9, including:
an adjustment member movably engaging the base, the adjustment member engaging the first member such that movement of the adjustment member rotates the first member.
- 11. The mechanism of claim 10, including:
a resilient member engaging the base and the second member and rotatably biasing the second member relative to the first member.
- 12. The mechanism of claim 11, including:
an output bracket connected to the second member for biasing an associated adjustable component of a seat; and wherein: the stop comprises a cam member having a plurality of stop surfaces configured to engage the output bracket to limit the travel of the output bracket relative to the base.
- 13. The mechanism of claim 12, wherein:
the resilient member comprises a spring.
- 14. The mechanism of claim 10, including:
a handle; and a clutch frictionally interconnecting the handle to the adjustment member to limit the amount of torque that can be transmitted from the handle to the adjustment member.
- 15. The mechanism of claim 14, wherein:
the adjustment member comprises a threaded rod.
- 16. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein:
the stop is adjustable to selectively vary an allowable range of movement of the second member relative to the first member.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/439,409, filed May 16, 2003, entitled SEATING UNIT WITH VARIABLE BACK STOP AND SEAT BIAS, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/376,535, filed Feb. 28, 2003, entitled SEATING UNIT INCLUDING NOVEL BACK CONSTRUCTION, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/214,543, filed Aug. 8, 2002, entitled SEATING UNIT INCLUDING NOVEL BACK CONSTRUCTION, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/921,059, filed Aug. 2, 2001, entitled SEATING UNIT INCLUDING NOVEL BACK CONSTRUCTION (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,928), which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/694,041, filed Oct. 20, 2000, entitled SEATING UNIT INCLUDING NOVEL BACK (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,982), which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/491,975, filed Jan. 27, 2000, entitled BACK FOR SEATING UNIT (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,877), which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/386,668, filed Aug. 31, 1999, entitled CHAIR CONTROL HAVING ADJUSTABLE ENERGY MECHANISM (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,695), which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/957,506, filed Oct. 24, 1997, entitled CHAIR WITH RECLINEABLE BACK AND ADJUSTABLE ENERGY MECHANISM (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,153).
[0002] This application is also related to the following co-assigned patents and applications. The disclosure of each of these patents and applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:
1TITLEPATENT NO.ISSUE DATEChair Including5,975,634Nov. 2, 1999Novel Back ConstructionChair With Novel Seat Construction5,871,258Feb. 16, 1999Chair with Novel Pivot Mounts and5,909,923Jun. 8, 1999Method of AssemblySynchrotilt Chair with5,979,984Nov. 9, 1999Forwardly Movable SeatSeating Unit with Reclineable Back6,394,549May 28, 2002And Forwardly Movable SeatSeating Unit with Novel6,394,548May 28, 2002Seat ConstructionSeating Unit with Novel Pivot Mounts6,318,800Nov. 20, 2001And Method of AssemblyBack for Seating Unit6,394,545May 28, 2002
Divisions (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09694041 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
09921059 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Parent |
08957506 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
09386668 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Continuations (6)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10439409 |
May 2003 |
US |
Child |
10740015 |
Dec 2003 |
US |
Parent |
10376535 |
Feb 2003 |
US |
Child |
10439409 |
May 2003 |
US |
Parent |
10214543 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Child |
10376535 |
Feb 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09921059 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
10214543 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09491975 |
Jan 2000 |
US |
Child |
09694041 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09386668 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
09491975 |
Jan 2000 |
US |