Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6742839
-
Patent Number
6,742,839
-
Date Filed
Monday, September 30, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 1, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Cuomo; Peter M.
- White; Rodney B.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 297 162
- 297 19
- 297 21
- 297 23
- 297 55
- 297 239
- 297 35411
- 297 285
- 297 296
- 297 294
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A chair comprising a supporting structure (12) having a pair of front legs (20a) and a pair of rear legs (22) and carrying a seat (14) and a backrest (16). The supporting structure (12) comprises a transverse element (18), a first pair of bars (20) fixed to the ends of the transverse element (18) and forming the pair of front legs, and a second pair of bars (22) fixed to the ends of the transverse element (18) and forming the pair of rear legs.
Description
The present invention relates to a chair designed, in particular, for being used in places where congresses, meetings, shows and the like are held.
The chairs designed for this type of use must be characterized by a sturdy and comfortable structure. A characteristic that is particularly appreciated in chairs designed for events of any kind, such as meetings, shows and the like is that they may be stacked or set up against one another so as to reduce the space occupied when they are not in use. A further characteristic of particular importance is that the chair should enable, mass production by means of simple and readily automatable operations, without, however, penalizing the aesthetic aspect and comfort for the user.
With the purpose of satisfying the aforesaid requirements, the subject of the present invention is a chair having the characteristics forming the subject of the annexed claims.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a chair according to the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a side view of the chair of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a front view of the chair of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a side view illustrating the chair according to the invention with the seat in the raised position;
FIG. 5
is a perspective view at a larger scale of the part indicated by the arrow V in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of the part indicated by the arrow VI in
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 7
illustrates two chairs according to the present invention set up against one another in a longitudinal direction;
FIG. 8
illustrates two chairs according to the present invention stacked on top of one another;
FIG. 9
is a section according to the line IX—IX of
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 10
is a partial perspective view according to the arrow X of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 11
is a cross-sectional view according to the line XI—XI of
FIG. 10
;
FIG. 12
is a cross-sectional view similar to that of
FIG. 11
in a second operative position;
FIG. 13
is an exploded perspective view of the part indicated by the arrow XIII in
FIG. 10
;
FIG. 14
is an exploded perspective view of the device indicated by the arrow XIV in
FIG. 13
; and
FIG. 15
is a cross-sectional view according to the line XV—XV of FIG.
11
.
With reference to
FIGS. 1
to
3
, the reference number
10
designates a chair according to the present invention. The chair
10
comprises a supporting structure
12
, a seat
14
and a backrest
16
. The supporting structure
12
comprises a transverse element
18
to the ends of which are fixed a first pair of bars
20
and a second pair of bars
22
, preferably made of metal material such as aluminium alloy or the like. The bars
22
constitute a pair of rear legs of the chair
10
and terminate at their top end at the transverse element
18
. The bars
20
have bottom portions
20
a
that form the front legs of the chair
10
and top portions
20
b
that form part of the supporting structure of the backrest
16
.
With reference to
FIGS. 5 and 6
, there will now be described the way in which the bars
20
and
22
are fixed to the transverse element
18
. On each end face
24
of the transverse element
18
there is applied a first fixing element
26
having a seat
28
on its side opposite to the one facing the transverse element
18
. The seat
28
is designed to receive a portion of a bar
20
. A first screw
30
is inserted through a hole
32
of the bar
20
, through a hole
34
of the first fixing element
26
, and engages a threaded hole
36
of the transverse element
18
. The shape of the seat
18
is defined so as to impart on the respective bar
20
a pre-set inclination with respect to the transverse element
18
. A second fixing element
38
is then applied on the outer face of the bar
20
. The second fixing element
38
has a first seat having a shape complementary to that of the seat
28
of the first fixing element
26
facing the bar
20
. The second fixing element
38
has a second seat
40
designed to receive the second bar
22
, shaped so as to maintain the second bar
22
with a pre-set inclination with respect to the first bar
20
and to the transverse element
18
. The second bar
22
is fixed to the transverse element
18
by means of a pair of screws
42
, which extend through holes
44
of the second bar
22
, through holes
46
of the second fixing element
38
, through holes
48
of the first fixing element
26
, and engage threaded holes
50
of the transverse element
18
. The assembly can be completed by means of the application of a side lid or cover
51
fixed on the outside of the bar
22
. At the top of the bar
22
there is preferably applied a closing element
52
.
With reference to
FIGS. 6 and 9
, the first fixing element
26
has an appendage
54
, in which there is formed a cylindrical seat
56
, within which there is inserted, in such a way that it can turn, a pin
58
carried by the seat
14
. In this way, the seat
14
is connected to the basic structure
12
in a way articulated about a transverse axis parallel to the transverse element
18
and displaced towards the rear part of the chair with respect to the transverse element
18
. The seat
14
is consequently mobile between a raised, inoperative, position illustrated in
FIG. 4 and a
lowered, operative, position illustrated in FIG.
2
. It is important to note that, in the lowered position of
FIG. 2
, the seat
14
rests against the top surface of the transverse element
18
. The said transverse element
18
, in addition to being a structural element that keeps the two sides of the chair joined together, also constitutes an element of support and end-of-travel or detent for the seat
14
.
The fixing system previously described causes the bars
22
that form the rear legs to be displaced laterally with respect to the respective bars
20
that form the front legs. The distance between each bar
22
and the corresponding bar
20
is determined by the thickness of the second fixing element
38
. The distance in a transverse direction between the bars
20
,
22
is equal to or greater than the thickness of each outer bar
22
. In this way, two chairs of the same type with the respective seats
14
raised in the inoperative position can be set up against one another and slid into one another in a longitudinal direction, as illustrated in FIG.
7
. Preferably, the bottom ends of the legs
20
,
22
carry feet
60
having guiding surfaces that facilitate the manoeuvre of interpenetration between the chairs and, in particular, facilitate insertion of the front legs
20
a
between the rear legs
22
of a chair situated in front of it. Preferably, the feet
60
carry respective pivot wheels
62
.
The chairs according to the present invention can also be stacked together as illustrated in
FIG. 8
, with the seats
14
in the lowered position.
The chair according to the present invention can hence be stacked away out of use in the most convenient way, i.e., according to an arrangement whereby they are slid into one another longitudinally or else stacked vertically on top of other chairs of the same type. The structure of the chair according to the invention is suited for being mass produced in a very fast and readily automatable way, above all thanks to the absence of welds between the various components of the chair.
With reference to
FIGS. 10
to
15
, the backrest
16
of the chair according to the present invention is preferably formed by two sections oscillating independently with respect to one another about respective transverse axes. More precisely, the backrest
16
comprises a bottom section
64
and a top section
66
. Both of the sections of backrest
64
,
66
have a pair of tubular portions
68
,
70
, which, in conditions of rest, are aligned with portions
20
b
of the bars
20
. With reference to
FIG. 13
, each tubular portion
68
of the bottom section of backrest
64
is connected to the respective bar
20
b
by means of a first elastic return device
72
. In a similar way, each tubular portion
70
of the top section of backrest
66
is connected to the tubular portion
68
of the bottom frame section
64
by means of a second elastic return device
74
.
With reference to
FIG. 14
, each elastic return device
72
,
74
comprises a top tubular member
76
, a tie-rod
78
, a bottom tubular member
80
, a sliding element
82
and an elastic element
84
. The tie-rod
78
is articulated to the top tubular member
76
at its top end and is articulated to the sliding element
82
at its bottom end. The elastic element
84
consists of a helical spring in compression set between the sliding element
82
and an inner bottom wall of the bottom tubular member
80
. The thrust of the spring
84
tends to maintain the two tubular elements
76
,
80
in contact and in a mutually aligned position. On the surfaces of mutual contact
86
,
88
of the two tubular elements
76
,
80
there is set a pin
90
that defines an axis of relative oscillation between the tubular elements
76
,
80
. The mutual oscillation between the tubular elements
76
,
80
about the axis of the pin
90
produces the compression of the spring
84
. The maximum angle of relative inclination between the tubular elements
76
,
80
is defined by the maximum travel of the sliding element
82
with respect to the bottom tubular member
80
. The sliding member
82
has a shoulder
92
that is designed to come to bear upon an edge
94
of the bottom tubular member
80
in the condition of maximum relative inclination between the tubular elements
76
and
80
. Each elastic return element
72
,
74
further comprises a protective ring made of deformable material
96
, which embraces two shoulders
98
,
100
of the tubular elements
76
,
80
. With reference to
FIGS. 11 and 13
, the tubular member
80
of the elastic return device
72
is inserted and fixed inside the top end of the bar
20
b
, whilst the tubular member
76
of the same elastic return device is inserted and fixed inside the tubular portion
68
of the bottom backrest element
64
. In the same way, the bottom tubular member
80
of the elastic return device
74
is fixed inside the tubular portion
68
of the bottom backrest element
64
, whilst the top tubular member
76
of the elastic return device
74
is fixed inside the tubular portion
70
of the top backrest element
66
.
FIG. 12
illustrates the position of the elastic return means
72
and
74
in the condition of maximum inclination backwards of the backrest
16
. The maximum angle of inclination α of the elastic return device
72
is greater than the maximum angle of inclination of the top elastic return device
74
, indicated by β. Preferably, the maximum angle of inclination α is approximately twice that of the maximum angle of inclination β. For example, the angle of inclination α could be approximately 12° whilst the angle of inclination β could be approximately 6°. This condition enables maximum comfort for the occupier in so far as the portions of backrest
64
and
66
are disposed in the condition of maximum inclination backwards according to a curved surface similar to that of the natural curvature of the back of the occupier.
Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details of construction and the embodiments may be amply varied with respect to what is described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the ensuing claims.
Claims
- 1. A chair comprising a fixed supporting structure having a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs and carrying an oscillating seat moveable between a raised position and a lowered position and a backrest, the supporting structure comprising:a transverse element, with two lateral end faces and a top support surface, a first pair of fixing elements fixed to respective end faces of the transverse element, the first pair of fixing elements having respective rearward projection portions, the seat being articulated to said rearward projecting portions about a transverse articulation axis parallel to the transverse element and displaced rearward with respect to the transverse element in such a way that in the lowered position the seat rests against said top support surface, a first pair of bars fixed to the first pair of fixing elements, the first pair of bars having lower portions extending below the transverse element and forming the pair of front legs, and top portions extending above the transverse element and forming a backrest support, a second pair of fixing elements fixed to the first pair of bars, and a second pair of bars fixed to the second pair of fixing elements, and forming the pair of rear legs, wherein the bars forming the rear legs are staggered in a transverse direction with respect to the respective bars forming the front legs.
- 2. The chair according to claim 1, wherein the first and second pair of bars, and the first and second fixing element are fixed to transverse element by means of screws.
- 3. The chair according to claim 2, wherein the first fixing element and the second fixing element have respective seats that withhold the respective bars with a pre-set inclination with respect to the transverse element.
- 4. The chair according to claim 3, comprising a first pair of elastic return means set between the top ends of the first pair of bars and the bottom section of backrest, and a second pair of elastic return means set between the bottom section of backrest and the top section of backrest.
- 5. The chair according to claim 1, wherein the axis of articulation of the seat is formed by a pair of pins provided on the seat rotatably mounted into respective seats of said rearward projection portions of the first pair of fixing elements.
- 6. The chair according to claim 5, wherein said first pair of elastic return means has a maximum angle of inclination greater than the maximum angle of inclination greater than the maximum angle of inclination of the second pair of elastic return means.
- 7. The chair according to claim 5, wherein each of said elastic return means comprises a pair of tubular elements connected together by means of a tie-rod cooperating with an elastic element, which tends to maintain the said tubular elements in a mutually aligned position.
- 8. The chair according to claim 1, wherein the backrest comprises a top section of backrest and a bottom section of backrest oscillating independently about respective transverse axes.
- 9. The chair according to claim 8, wherein the maximum angle of inclination of the first pair of elastic return means is substantially twice that of the maximum angle of inclination of the first pair of elastic return means is substantially twice that of the maximum angle of inclination of the second pair of elastic return means.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
TO2001A0940 |
Oct 2001 |
IT |
|
US Referenced Citations (14)