Claims
- 1. A seating unit comprising:
a base having a housing and at least one support arm extending laterally relative to each side of the housing; a force-generating device positioned within the housing; a seat-supporting structure including a crossbar operably attached to the force generating device and extending laterally relative to the housing, the crossbar being operably supported for movement in a generally fore-and-aft direction relative to the housing and being biased by the force-generating device in a first direction toward an upright position and biased against movement in an opposite second direction toward a recline position; and a seat supported at least in part by the crossbar, with the seat support being operably positioned in spaced relation to the housing and being biased against movement in the second direction.
- 2. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the crossbar includes a center region pivotally supported by the base and includes end sections that support the seat.
- 3. The seating unit defined in claim 2, wherein the seat-supporting structure includes at least one frame member supported by the end sections.
- 4. The seating unit defined in claim 3, wherein the at least one frame member includes opposing side frame members supported on each end of the end sections.
- 5. The seating unit defined in claim 4, wherein the side frame members extend in the fore-and-aft direction.
- 6. The seating unit defined in claim 5, wherein the side frame members define with the crossbar a U-shaped assembly.
- 7. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the crossbar is operably supported by the housing for movement in the first and opposite second directions.
- 8. The seating unit defined in claim 7, including a load bearing member movably supported by the housing and supporting a front portion of the seat above the housing.
- 9. The seating unit defined in claim 8, wherein the load bearing member includes a slide member that slidably engages the housing.
- 10. The seating unit defined in claim 8, wherein the load bearing member includes a link member that is pivoted to the housing.
- 11. The seating unit defined in claim 8, wherein the at least one support arm includes a pair of opposite support arms, and including rear bearings supporting a rear portion of the seat on the support arms.
- 12. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the second direction is oriented at an angle above horizontal so that upon movement toward the recline position, potential energy is stored as a seated user's body is lifted, such that the potential energy provides some weight-activated support to the seated user during movement toward the recline position
- 13. The seating unit defined in claim 12, wherein the at least one support arm includes at least one flexible energy device.
- 14. The seating unit defined in claim 12, wherein said force-generating device is a boost mechanism that can be selectively engaged and disengaged.
- 15. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a seat depth adjustment mechanism positioned between the seat and the seat-supporting member.
- 16. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the seat includes a perimeter frame defining an opening and includes a support surface extending across the opening for supporting the seated user.
- 17. The seating unit defined in claim 16, wherein the support surface includes a comfort surface with resilient members adapted to distribute point loads on the support surface.
- 18. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the base includes a height-adjustable pedestal and castors.
- 19. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the seat-supporting structure is biased rearwardly by the force generating device.
- 20. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the crossbar is located on top of the housing.
- 21. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including pivotal connections pivotally connecting the seat-supporting structure to the at least one support arm.
- 22. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a reclineable back pivoted to the base.
- 23. The seating unit defined in claim 22, wherein the reclineable back includes lower arms pivotally attached to the at least one support arm.
- 24. The seating unit defined in claim 22, wherein the reclineable back includes an inverted U-shaped ribbon back support member that includes the lower arms.
- 25. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the at least one support arm includes a pair of support arms comprising rigid structural members.
- 26. The seating unit defined in claim 25, including a back support member with lower arms pivoted to the at least one support arm and wherein the crossbar includes rearwardly extending side frame members having laterally-extending pivots that pivotally engage the lower arms of the back support member.
- 27. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a cover on the housing.
- 28. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the second direction is forward, with the seat being forwardly movable toward the recline position.
- 29. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a back support member pivoted to the base and having a flexible back shell pivoted to the back support member at both top and bottom locations so that the back shell can be flexed for ergonomic support of a seated user without moving the back support member from the upright position.
- 30. The seating unit defined in claim 1, wherein the crossbar is pivoted to the housing for pivotal movement during movement toward the recline position.
- 31. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a control for selectively actuating and deactuating the force-generating device.
- 32. The seating unit defined in claim 1, including a control for selectively adjusting a force of the force generating device.
- 33. A seating unit comprising:
a base having a housing and support arms extending laterally and upwardly on each side of the housing; a back with lower arms pivoted to the support arms on each side; a slide member slidably engaging the housing; a seat-supporting structure including a crossbar pivotally attached to the slide member at a first pivot location and including side frame sections extending from ends of the crossbar that are pivotally attached to the lower arms of the back at a second pivot location spaced horizontally from the first pivot location; the crossbar being adapted to move generally fore-and-aft relative to the housing, with the seat-supporting structure being adapted to stably support a seat above the housing; and a biasing device operably coupled to one of the back, the slide member and the seat-supporting structure that biases the back and the seat-supporting structure toward upright positions.
- 34. The seating unit defined in claim 33, including a seat attached to the seat-supporting structure and supported at a location spaced above a center of the crossbar.
- 35. The seating unit defined in claim 33, including a control for selectively actuating and deactuating the biasing device.
- 36. The seating unit defined in claim 33, including a control for selectively adjusting a force of the biasing device.
- 37. A seating unit comprising:
a base support structure; a U-shaped seat-supporting structure including a crossbar slidably attached to the base support structure at a first location and including frame-engaging sections extending from ends of the crossbar, the frame-engaging sections being operably supported and coupled to the base support structure at a second pivot location spaced horizontally from the first location to define an arrangement including at least three non-aligned support points; the crossbar being adapted to move generally fore-and-aft relative to the base support structure; a seat supported at the at least three non-aligned support points by the seat-supporting structure above the base support structure; and a biasing device operably coupled to at least one of the base support structure, the seat-supporting structure, and the seat that biases the seat from a recline position toward an upright position.
- 38. The seating unit defined in claim 37, including a seat attached to the seat-supporting structure and supported at a location spaced above the crossbar.
- 39. The seating unit defined in claim 37, including a control for selectively actuating and deactuating the biasing device.
- 40. The seating unit defined in claim 37, including a control for selectively adjusting a force of the biasing device.
- 41. A seat-supporting apparatus for use in a seating unit, where the seating unit includes a control housing, a seat, and a back operably supported on the control housing for synchronous movement upon recline of the back, the seat-supporting apparatus comprising:
a force-generating device positioned within the housing; and a seat-supporting structure including a crossbar operably attached to the force generating device and extending laterally relative to the housing for supporting the seat over the housing, the crossbar being operably movably supported at least in part by the crossbar on the control housing for movement in a generally fore-and-aft direction relative to the housing and being biased by the force-generating device in a first direction toward an upright position and biased against movement in the substantially opposite second direction toward a recline position.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-assigned co-invented application Ser. No. 10/792,309, filed Mar. 3, 2004, entitled COMBINED TENSION AND BACK STOP FUNCTION FOR SEATING UNIT, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 10/455,076, filed Jun. 5, 2003, entitled COMBINED TENSION AND BACK STOP FUNCTION FOR SEATING UNIT, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. This application is also related to the following applications: Ser. No. 10/241,955, filed Sep. 12, 2002, entitled SEATING UNIT HAVING MOTION CONTROL; Ser. No. 10/455,503, filed Jun. 5, 2003, entitled CONTROL MECHANISM FOR SEATING UNIT; Ser. No. 10/455,487, filed Jun. 5, 2003, entitled SEATING WITH COMFORT SURFACE; and Serial No. ______ N/A, filed on even date herewith, entitled COMFORT SURFACE FOR SEATING, the entire contents of each of which are also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10792309 |
Mar 2004 |
US |
Child |
10845978 |
May 2004 |
US |
Parent |
10455076 |
Jun 2003 |
US |
Child |
10792309 |
Mar 2004 |
US |