Patent Application
20080211272
The present invention finds application in the field of support structures, and particularly relates to an customizable seating structure for human body support as described in the preamble of claim 1.
In the field of seating structures for human body, particularly bicycle saddles, car seats or chairs in general, comfort of such structures is increasingly desired.
For this purpose, it is important for the user to customize the type of seat and especially to adapt its configuration to his/her physical needs, and particularly to his/her body conformation.
It is equally important to adapt the seat element to user positions and to the different conditions of use. For instance, in the specific case of a bicycle, the position of a user is related to the speed he/she desires to maintain during cycling. Therefore, particular advantages may be derived from adapting the seat type to particular needs, e.g. by varying the saddle width, in a simple manner and without making substantial changes to the whole structure.
As is known in the art, the element that forms the seat proper, and is designed to contact the human body, is generally connected to a lower support structure by connection systems, which are typically non removable. In common bicycles, for example, the seat element is joined by gluing or stitching to the shell that forms the support structure connected to the bicycle frame.
A drawback of this solution is that changes cannot be or are not easily made to the seat configuration to customize it and adapt it to the user's needs. For example, a common bicycle saddle, as well as its seat post, must be wholly replaced. Therefore, a number of saddle—seat post assemblies have to be available, which involves problems associated to the cost of these assemblies, and to the bulk thereof.
In an attempt to overcome such drawback, a number of different solutions have been provided, in which the seat element is able to be disengaged, at least partially, from the structure that connects it to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,396 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,634 disclose bicycle saddles, in which the upper saddle element is only partly disengageable from the saddle frame to control shock absorbing properties, e.g. by inserting or removing internal shock-absorbing elements.
While these solutions allow partial adaptation of the seat, they still have the drawback of limiting customization, and particularly of preventing saddle width variations. Furthermore, the insertion of elements beneath the saddle may affect comfort thereof, in case of imperfect coupling with the upper element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,760 discloses a bicycle saddle having a second outer cover element to change the seat type.
This solution provides a very little seat customization potential and further requires the use of an element that is substantially foreign to the original structure, and cannot ensure perfect integration therewith and comfort.
The object of this invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing a customizable seat for human body support that is practical, cost-effective and most of all efficient.
A particular object is to provide a seating structure for human body support that is highly customizable and can fit the different user needs.
A further object is to provide a seating structure for human body support that allows to make changes to its configuration in a very simple, quick and reliable manner.
Yet another important object of this invention is to provide a seating structure that allows customization without affecting comfort.
These and other objects, as better explained hereafter, are fulfilled by a customizable seating structure for human body support as defined in claim 1, which comprises a seat element having a top surface, designed to at least partly contact a user, and a support element underlying the seat element and designed to be connected to a movable or stationary frame. The structure is characterized in that the seat element is removably attached to the support element to allow removal and/or replacement thereof by a user.
This feature of the invention provides a seating structure that is highly customizable in terms of both size and shock absorbing properties. Thus, by only changing the seat element the user can fit a variety of physical, usage or aesthetic needs, without replacing the whole structure, thereby achieving apparent advantages in terms of cost and bulk reduction.
Advantageously, the structure may include removable anchor means on the support element and the seat element respectively.
Conveniently, the removable anchor means may be a nut and screw assembly, including one or more screws which are received in through holes formed in the support element and may be engaged in corresponding aligned slots in the underside of the seat element.
Also, the removable anchor means may consist of a pin engageable in a correspondingly shaped recess and may include at least one pin formed in the underside of the seat element for engagement in respective through or blind holes in the support element.
These particular configurations allow simple and quick removal and replacement of the seat element, without using special tools or making very little use thereof. Also, no foreign element shall be added to the seat proper, for unaltered comfort of the whole structure.
Preferably, the seat element may be composed of an upper body and a lower body, in mutual coupling relation.
Advantageously, the upper body may have a resilient top face, suitably formed into a plurality of shapes, to fit various user needs and conditions of use.
Furthermore, the lower body may have coupling means for removable connection of the upper body to the lower body.
This configuration allows replacement of the upper body only, thereby providing further apparent advantages in terms of costs and size.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a seating structure according to the invention, which is described as a non-limiting example with the help of the annexed drawings, in which:
Referring to the above figures, a seating structure according to the invention, generally designated by numeral 1, may be configured for instance as a car seat, a chair or, as particularly shown herein, as a bicycle saddle.
As shown in
According to the invention, the seat element 2 is removably attached to the first support element 4, so that the seat element 2 may be removed and possibly replaced by its user with corresponding similar or equivalent elements.
The seat element 2 may further enclose a resilient pad made of foam, sponge, elastomeric material, gel or the like, to increase seating comfort.
Conveniently, the support element 4 may be made of a rigid or semi-rigid material, namely reinforced polymer materials such as glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 66. Advantageously, the seat element 2 may be attached to the support element 4 by suitable removable anchor means 6.
In a first embodiment, particularly shown in
For a more stable attachment between the seat element 2 and the support element 4, the holes 8 and the recess 9 are formed at the respective front portions 11, 12 and rear portions 11′, 12′ of each element 2, 4. Such portions may be configured to fit the seated user, whereby each element 2, 4 may have a widened rear portion 11′, 120 and an elongate front portion 11, 12. Preferably, the elements 2, 4 will be substantially coincident in plan shape.
In a second embodiment, as shown in
The pins 13 may be of the self-locking type, with a head 14 larger than the diameter d of each hole 8 and may be integral with the seat element 2.
In a particular embodiment, the seat element 2, as shown in
Suitably, the upper body 15 may have a resilient top surface 17, which may be formed into a plurality of shapes to fit various seating, usage and aesthetic needs of users.
The two bodies 15, 16 may be connected to each other by suitable coupling means 18 on the lower body 16, and particularly the lower body 16 may be snap engaged with the upper body 15. Otherwise, the means 18 may consist of chemical and/or mechanical bonds between the bodies 15 and 16.
In this particular configuration, the removable anchor means 6 for connecting the seat element 2 to the support element 4 may be formed on the lower body 16.
Finally, the means 5 for connection to the frame T may be formed in the underside 19 of the support element 4.
These means 5 may be common use connection means, such as a pair of longitudinal which are removably attached to the support element and anchored to the seat post by normal clamping means. In a preferred, non-limiting embodiment, as shown in the figures, the means 5 for connection to the frame T are formed of one piece with the support element 4 and may be, without limitation, of the same material as the latter.
The above disclosure clearly shows that the structure of the invention fulfills the intended objects and particularly the object of providing a highly customizable seating support for human body support, that can fit the various user needs.
Thanks to the particular design of the anchor means, the configuration of the structure may be changed in a very simple and quick manner.
The structure of the invention is susceptible to a number of changes and variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.
While the structure has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| VI2005A000240 | Sep 2005 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB06/53240 | 9/12/2006 | WO | 00 | 3/12/2008 |
