The invention relates to a seating, in particular to an actively dynamic seating in accordance with claim 1. The invention relates in particular to an actively dynamic seating having an anti-rotation protector.
In the art, various seatings are known which are designed in such a way that the body sits in a position which is as anatomically comfortable as possible as a result of correspondingly configured seat faces and backs. Although seatings of this type are often perceived as pleasant and comfortable, they have decisive drawbacks.
Sitting on seatings of this type involves passive sitting; in other words, there is little or no strain on the back muscles, and the vertebral discs are statically compressed. This may result in wearing of the spinal disc, degeneration of the back muscles and harm to health, as well as pain.
Therefore, dynamic, in particular actively dynamic seat devices have been developed, which make actively dynamic sitting possible, as opposed to passive sitting. During actively dynamic sitting, the back muscles and vertebral discs are always slightly active. During sitting on an actively dynamic seat device, the seat user is always required to balance out the equilibrium and to tilt the body constantly backwards and forwards, and thus carry out pendulum movements of the seat, in the same way as when walking upright. Thus, both the legs and the entire upper body interact constantly or at least regularly, and the muscle groups involved are thus actively actuated. Furthermore, the seat user is urged always to sit upright and to change posture regularly, meaning that the vertebral discs are subjected to a changing rather than a static load and are supplied with nutrients.
DE-GM 731114 discloses an actively dynamic seat device comprising a seat part which is connected via a first tilt articulation to a support shaft, the support shaft in turn being articulated at the foot part of the seat device via a second tilt articulation. In this context, each tilt articulation preferably consists of a cup, which is formed on the respective end of the support shaft, is guided in a hollow cylinder, and is loaded by a coil spring arranged in the hollow cylinder.
A further seat device is known from DE-GM 1829791. This seat device is in the form of a swinging chair, and accordingly comprises a seat which is pivotable back and forth. The seat itself is rigidly connected to an intermediate part and a foot part, the intermediate part being pivotally mounted on the foot part.
DE-GM 1787342 discloses a further seating possibility, which is formed as a one-legged seat. This one-legged seat comprises a foot part, an intermediate part and a seat part. A spring element is arranged between the foot part and the intermediate part, and makes it possible for the intermediate part to swing or oscillate out of the normal position together with the seat part. As a result, the seat user can swing back and forth between the normal position and the deflected position.
In actively dynamic seatings, it is necessary for the seat user to be able to use the seating without risk. In particular, when swinging backwards, the seat user should be prevented from falling off the seat or even tipping over together with the entire seating.
For this purpose, a seating is proposed comprising an apparatus for defining a rearward direction R, in which it is possible to deflect the pendulum joint to different extents depending on the relative deflection direction with respect to the orientation of the apparatus and a safety apparatus being provided which makes a smaller or limited deflection of the pendulum column possible in the rearward direction by comparison with other directions.
An actively dynamic seating of this type, provided with a safety device, thus makes a restricted pendulum movement possible in at least one direction, in particular in a rearward direction. If a seating of this type comprises for example a backrest and if the seat user leans against the backrest, the seat can only complete a small rearward deflection, ensuring that the user will not tip over backwards.
However, in seatings of this type there is the problem that when the seat is rotated the position of the safety device also changes. If the seat user rotates the rotatably mounted seat for example through 90° or 180°, the position having the restricted deflection likewise changes relatively by the same angle. It is thus no longer ensured that the rearward deflection limited by the safety apparatus is located in a position rotated by the angle of rotation rather than in the rearward position.
However, there is a need for actively dynamic seatings in which the seat is mounted freely rotatably and the seat user would like to use the seating safely irrespective of the relative position of the seat.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide an actively dynamic seating comprising a rotatable seat, which makes risk-free use of the seating possible, it being intended for the actively dynamic seating to be of a simple constitution and to be easy for the seat user to use.
This object is achieved by a seating according to claim 1. The basic idea of the present invention is to provide a seating, in particular an actively dynamic seating, comprising a rotatable seat and a pendulum column, anti-rotation means being provided on the pendulum column and fixing the pendulum column in a rotationally engaged manner with respect to the seat in such a way that the pendulum column and the seat can only be rotated with respect to the foot part together with the rotatable pendulum joint. If a pendulum joint is used with a safety apparatus as disclosed above, this ensures that, irrespective of the rotational orientation thereof, the seat can only be deflected rearwards by the deflection limited by the safety device.
Therefore, according to the invention, a seating, in particular an actively dynamic seating, is provided, which comprises the following:
a foot part comprising a pendulum joint which is mounted rotatably with respect to the foot part, a seat which is mounted rotatably with respect to the foot part, a pendulum column which carries the seat, the pendulum column being rotationally engaged with the pendulum joint, the pendulum column being formed resiliently in the vertical direction H, and anti-rotation means according to the invention being provided on the pendulum column and fixing the pendulum column in a rotationally engaged manner with respect to the seat in such a way that the pendulum column and the seat can only rotate with respect to the foot part together with the rotatable pendulum joint.
According to the invention, the anti-rotation means are provided on the pendulum column in such a way that the seat, the pendulum column and the pendulum joint are interconnected so as to be rotationally engaged, and as a result, when the seat is rotated through an angle α, the pendulum joint is automatically rotated together therewith through the same angle α and it is thus always ensured that the (limited) rearward deflection possibility is provided in a particular direction. It is therefore advantageous to provide an apparatus for defining the rearward direction, which is particularly preferably arranged on the seat.
Preferably, the pendulum column of the seating according to the invention further comprises the following:
a tubular bearing bush, a spring leg, which can move up and down in the bearing bush and which comprises a pneumatic spring, and a coil spring, which is arranged between an upper and lower spring seat of the pendulum column. It is advantageous for the height of the lower spring seat to be adjustable.
The pneumatic spring ensures that on the one hand the seat height is continuously adjustable, whilst on the other hand the spring characteristic (spring hardness) of the resilient pendulum column can be adjusted by way of the coil spring. By screwing the lower spring seat together relative to the upper spring seat, the spring force of the coil spring arranged between them can be adjusted.
It is advantageous for the pendulum column to further comprise, on the lower end, a tubular bearing bush which is connected to a supporting leg and via the supporting leg to the pendulum joint, the spring leg which can move up and down preferably passing through the bearing bush. In a particularly advantageous configuration of the invention, the connection between the bearing bush and the supporting leg is configured as a conical connection. More advantageously, a plurality of bearing rollers, along which the spring leg can move up and down, are arranged inside the bearing bush. Preferably, an upper and a lower bearing roller plane are provided, in which a plurality of radially circulating bearing rollers are arranged on bearing cages within the bearing bush in such a way that fluid up-and-down movement is ensured.
In one embodiment according to the invention, an anti-rotation means extending in the vertical direction H is arranged externally on the spring leg, and is mounted on bearing-bush-side anti-rotation means in a rotationally engaged manner in such a way that the spring leg can carry out an up-and-down movement in the vertical direction H but not a rotational movement in the bearing bush. Since, as part of the pendulum column, the spring leg is rotationally engaged with the seat, an anti-rotation system of this type ensures that the spring leg and thus the seat connected to the spring leg can only rotate together with the pendulum joint.
It is advantageous for at least one of the bearing-bush-side anti-rotation means to be in the form of a rotatable bearing roller which is mounted in a roller cage.
It is further advantageous for the anti-rotation means to be provided with at least one guide face which is in contact with a roller end face of one of the rollers.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the preferably two bearing-bush-side anti-rotation means are each formed with a bearing roller rotatably mounted on a roller cage and having opposite roller end faces, and the preferably two lateral guide faces of the anti-rotation means are arranged between the roller end faces of the bearing rollers. In this way, the lateral guide faces of the anti-rotation means extending in the vertical direction H can be braced against the roller end faces of the bearing rollers during the up-and-down movement, and anti-rotation protection is provided over the entire vertical movement (height H) of the anti-rotation means.
This has the advantage that the spring leg can carry out a movement within the bearing bush in the vertical direction H, but, as a result of the anti-rotation means, rotational movement is prevented over the entire height of the anti-rotation means extending in the vertical direction H.
Preferably, a plurality of bearing rollers are arranged in the bearing bush in such a way that the roller end faces thereof are positioned against the outer surface of the spring leg, preferably without play, and the axes of rotation A thereof are each perpendicular to the vertical direction H in such a way that the spring leg can be actuated up and down along the bearing rollers in the vertical direction H.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the components used are matched to one another, in terms of the tolerance positions thereof, in such a way that on the one hand it is possible to actuate the movable parts without play and at the same time rattling or jerking of the movable parts is prevented.
It is therefore advantageous for the pneumatic spring to be enclosed at least in part by a tubular adapter and to be non-positively connected thereto. As a tubular adapter, it is particularly advantageous for an aluminum tube, preferably a precision aluminum tube, to be used, the outer circumference of which takes on a predetermined level of precision and on the inner wall of which plastically deformable structures are formed, by means of which the tubular adapter is fixed non-positively on the outer surface of the pneumatic spring. It can thus be ensured that the tolerances occurring in the outer circumference of the pneumatic spring are compensated.
In a particularly favourable form of use, the pneumatic spring comprises a first (lower) portion, on which the pneumatic spring is enclosed by a tubular adapter, and a second (upper) portion, on which the pneumatic spring is rotationally engaged with the seat carrier of the seat.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the tubular adapter is positively enclosed by a metal sliding tube, for example a stainless steel tube, and is rotationally engaged therewith, the lower opening thereof preferably being sealed with a metal disc as a central shaft and an end of the pneumatic spring being fixed thereto. This prevents a rotational movement of the pneumatic spring.
The spring leg preferably comprises the pneumatic spring, the adapter and the sliding tube enclosing the adapter, which are all rotationally engaged with one another. As a result of the above-disclosed configuration of the spring leg, the positions of the bearing rollers merely have to be matched to the outer diameter of the sliding tube.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the tubular bearing bush is conical in form. The bearing cages of the bearing rollers thus project different distances from the inner surface of the conical bearing bush, whilst the end faces of the bearing rollers of all of the bearing rollers in a roller tier are positioned as points on a circle having a diameter D corresponding to the external diameter D of the sliding tube.
It is advantageous for the pendulum column to have a coil spring which is arranged between an upper and a lower spring seat, the lower spring seat being formed with a thread which cooperates with a thread on the supporting leg and is fixed thereto. Since the height of the lower spring seat is adjustable, the spring force of the coil spring can thus be adapted individually for each seat user.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the seat has an apparatus for defining the rearward direction R. The pendulum joint can be deflected to different extents relative to the orientation of the apparatus for defining the rearward direction. Preferably, in the rearward direction a safety apparatus is provided which makes a smaller deflection of the pendulum column possible by comparison with different (other) directions. As a result of an apparatus of this type, the seat user can ensure that he is sitting in the correct orientation on the seat and specifically that his back is facing in the direction of the apparatus for defining the rearward direction.
Particularly advantageously, a backrest is suitable as the apparatus for defining the rearward direction R. In this way, a particularly reliable actively dynamic seating can be provided, which makes it possible for the seat user to carry out safe pendulum movements irrespective of the rotational position of the rotatable seat.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims and are described in more detail in the following by way of the disclosed embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which:
The sectional view of
It can further be seen that a pneumatic spring 42 is arranged inside the pendulum column 4 so as to be able to adjust the height of the rotatable seat 3. In this case, the upper end 42a of the pneumatic spring 42 is rotationally engaged with the seat carrier 6. In the present embodiment, the rotational engagement by positive and non-positive connection between the outer surface of the pneumatic spring 42 and the inner surface of a receiving cylinder has been provided on the seat carrier 6.
A backrest 7 is further fixed to the seat 3. In the present case, the backrest 7 is rotationally engaged with the seat carrier 6. This means that when the seat 3 is rotated, the backrest 7 is always moved together therewith.
Within the meaning of the present invention, “rotational engagement” refers to any connections in which two adjacent components are interconnected in such a way that a positive, material or non-positive connection is provided or alternatively the connected components are mechanically interconnected in such a way that the rotation of one component through an angle α is linked to the rotation of the second component through the same angle α.
As can be seen from
For the apparatus 16 for defining the rearward direction R to also always actually be located in correspondence with a deflection limiting system 13, it has to be ensured that the seat 3 comprising the pendulum column 4 and the apparatus 16 can only rotate together with the deflection limiting system 13 and thus together with the pendulum joint 10. For this purpose, anti-rotation means 51, 52, 53 according to the invention are provided on the pendulum column 4.
The spring leg 40 comprises the pneumatic spring 42, which is enclosed by the tubular adapter 60. On the inner face thereof, the tubular adapter 60 comprises structures (not shown) by way of which it has been pressed onto the outer surface of the pneumatic spring 42. As a result, the structures have been plastically deformed and a positive and non-positive connection is produced between the adapter 60 and the pneumatic spring 42. A sliding tube 62 is arranged around the adapter 60 and is fixed to the adapter 60 so as to be rotationally engaged with respect to the pneumatic spring 42.
The spring leg 40 is guided so as to be movable up and down in the bearing bush 47. On the outer surface 41, an anti-rotation means 51 extending in the vertical direction H is screwed to the sliding tube 62 by way of screws 63. The anti-rotation means 51 cooperates with bearing-bush-side anti-rotation means 52 and 53, and prevents the spring leg 40 from rotating with respect to the bearing bush 47, as shown in greater detail in
According to the invention, it is also possible for a plurality of anti-rotation means 51, 52, 53 to be arranged on the pendulum column 4, so as to ensure that if an anti-rotation means fails, a further anti-rotation means prevents the seat from rotating relative to the pendulum joint 10.
It can further be seen in
The configuration of the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments disclosed above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable, which make use of the solution shown even if the configurations are fundamentally different in nature. Further, details and combinations of preferred configurations form the subject matter of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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12189319 | Oct 2012 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2013/071110 | 10/10/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/060273 | 4/24/2014 | WO | A |
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73 11 140 | Jul 1973 | DE |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20150250317 A1 | Sep 2015 | US |