Patent Application
20160227931
This invention relates generally to a reclinable chair, in particular a locking gas spring reclinable chair which is positionable anywhere from a fully upright to substantially horizontal position.
A “recliner” is a chair the back of which can be adjusted to allow the person seated therein to rotate the back portion of the chair while raising the front of the chair. A foot rest is typically extended by the use of a lever or automatically upon rotation of the back rest. A recliner is generally considered a large difficult piece of furniture to move and is typically placed in a den or family room, rather than used as office furniture. However, it has become common for employees to spend extended periods of time in the office. Thus, there is a need to provide chairs which comfortably accommodate them. Office workers sit for long uninterrupted periods of time in the same chair, shifting their weight forward or backwards or from side to side for comfort and to alleviate the pressure applied to the hips and lower back. To help alleviate the pressure applied to the hips and lower back caused by long-term and uninterrupted seating it is preferable to provide a chair whose back support may be tilted between an upright and reclined position allowing the user to effectively seek the most comfortable/desirable seating arrangement.
There are a variety of office chairs available on the market, many of which have tilt control mechanisms. The purpose of the design is to provide a comfortable and ergonomic seating arrangement for the user that allows him or her to sit in a variety of positions while providing the necessary support and comfort, regardless of the user's height, weight or other physical characteristics. Generally, an office chair has a base, typically mounted on casters or fixed slides that rest on the floor, with a support column supporting the seat of the chair located thereon. The chair may or may not include armrests. Mounted to the support column and between the seat and back of the chair is a tilt control housing which contains the various controls, knobs, and mechanisms for adjusting the height of the chair, the tilt of the chair and other various adjustments so that the user can personalize the chair to his or her own use.
There are many mechanisms for controlling the tilt of an office chair. The inclination of the back, and the seat portion is generally accomplished by means of snap detent elements or differential-type gears. Because the arms of most office chairs are used to position and support the back of the chair, these structures are generally unsatisfactory requiring the entire seat to tilt causing the front of the seat to rise as the back is tilted. This arrangement often places pressure under the rear portion of the user's legs near the knees restricting circulation and often causing numbness. Most of these constructions are operated by a spring that is connected between plates positioned under the base of the seat and activated by a lever that releases a catch from one of the plates that allows tilting of the entire chair including the seat and the backrest. While the spring can be of various types of construction, such as leaf spring, coil spring, or the like, the tilt of the chair is generally controlled by the user's weight pressing on the back portion of the chair. The chair is generally biased toward an upright position at all times such that the user must exert pressure to maintain the seat in a tilted position. While the amount and ease of tilt may be controlled by adjusting the spring tension, as soon as the user moves forward towards an upright position, the backrest also moves forward thus pushing against his or her back. Thus, requiring the user to constantly regulate the tilt of the chair with their legs. In addition, because the arms of the chair are used to support the back, this arrangement fails to allow the back to be reclined separately from the seat portion of the chair.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an alternative office chair that provides the ability to recline the back of the chair separately from the seat portion of the chair. The reclinable office chair should utilize a locking gas spring which provides infinite positionability between a fully upright position and reclined positions. The use of the lockable gas cylinder should allow for elimination of the typical pin and aperture locking mechanisms of the prior art.
The present invention relates to a reclining chair having a seat, base frame, and a back rest movably connected to the base frame. The base frame includes at least a three prong base attached to caster wheels and a column. The seat is connected to the column of the base frame and includes a front end and back end. The back rest has a top portion, intermediate portion, and bottom portion, the intermediate portion being hingedly connected to the back end of the seat and the bottom portion pivotably connected to the base frame, using a reclining mechanism. The back rest can be adjusted between an upright position and a reclined position by means of a reclining mechanism, which is defined by a lockable gas spring having a first end that is connected to the base frame and a second end connected to a bottom portion of the back rest. The distance between the first and second ends of the gas spring may be increased or decreased by moving the back rest between upright and reclined positions. In at least some embodiments, the gas spring is lockable whereby an internal mechanism within the gas spring provides the ability to lock the chair back in a desired position. In still other embodiments, the gas spring may be elastic in one direction while locking in the opposite direction. This embodiment provides a back that can be reclined to a desired angle and provide elasticity when subjected to pressure without defaulting to the full upright position even if all pressure is removed from the chair back.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an office chair having a reclining back mechanism that includes a gas spring providing an infinite number of reclined positions to the chair back.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an office chair having a reclining back mechanism that includes a locking gas spring providing an infinite number of reclined positions to the chair back.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an office chair having a reclining back mechanism that includes an elastic locking gas spring providing an infinite number of reclined positions to the chair back.
It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide an office chair with a reclining mechanism that is reliable, simple, and effective as a result of having minimal moving parts that comprise the reclining mechanism.
It is still an objective of the invention to provide an office chair having a back panel not supported and positioned by armrests connected to the seat panel.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred, albeit not limiting, embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.
Referring generally to
Secured atop of the column 48 is the seat 10. The seat 10 is comprised of a frame 12 having a front end 14, back end 16, underside 18, and top side 20. The underside 18 of the seat 10 has a metal plate 22 that is used to attach the gas lift spring 50 to the seat 10. The metal plate 22 contains levers 24 used to operate the fluid and/or pneumatics within the gas lift spring 50 as is known in the art allowing the gas lift spring to lift the seat up and down. The gas lift spring 50 utilized by the office chair is preferably a locking gas spring which includes a special piston/valve system (not shown). The piston/valve system separates two pressure chambers within the gas spring. If the valve is operated it allows the pressurized gas to flow between the two pressure chambers. Releasing the valve blocks the flow of gas locking the piston in place within the gas spring to hold even heavy loads in the desired position. The volume of compressed gas contained in the cylinder portion of the gas spring can be adjusted to make the spring more or less forceful in its movement. The top side 20 of the seat 10 includes a plurality of parallel members 26. The terminating ends 28 of each parallel member 26 is mounted at fastening locations 30 along the seat frame 12. The plurality of parallel members 26 provides a surface for the user to sit on. Additionally, the top side 20 of the seat frame 12 may include arm rests 34 on opposite sides thereof. It should be noted that in the preferred embodiment the arm rests are exclusively supported by the seat portion of the office chair 1 to allow the back rest 100 to move independently with respect to the seat.
Referring to
As shown in
The lockable gas spring 60 has a first end 62 connected to the bottom portion 108 of the back rest 100 and a second end 64 connected to the base column 48, whereby the movable distance between the first end 62 and the second end 64 of the lockable gas spring 60 moves the back rest 100 between a first upright position and a second reclined position. The lockable gas spring 60 includes a base tube 66 that includes a special piston/valve system (not shown). The piston/valve system separates two pressure chambers within the base tube with a piston member. If the valve is operated it allows the pressurized gas to flow between the two pressure chambers. Releasing the valve blocks the flow of gas locking the piston in place within the gas spring to hold even heavy loads in the desired position. The extension shaft 68 has a first end 70 and a second end 72. Attached to the first end 70 of the extension shaft 68 is a mounting piece 74 connected to the bottom portion 108 of the back rest frame 102, and the second end 72 is movable within the base tube 66 of the lockable gas spring 60 and is operably moving the piston within the base tube. It should be noted, the volume of compressed gas contained in the cylinder portion of the gas spring can be adjusted to make the spring more or less forceful in its movement. It should also be noted that while the preferred embodiment locks the back rest in a fixed position upon release of the valve, the lockable gas spring may be constructed to function as spring member from the set position whereby as the user leans back against the back rest, the back rest may move in an elastic manner to provide additional comfort to the user. The valve mechanism is preferably operable by hand and may include cables levers or the like for ease of access to the user.
As shown in
Referring generally to
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
