CN111955976A

CN111955976A - Carrier element for a seat device and seat device

Info

Publication number: CN111955976A
Application number: CN202010428680.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: H·博克
Original assignee: Dongguan Boke Furniture Products Co ltd; Boke 1 LLC
Current assignee: Dongguan Boke Furniture Products Co ltd; Boke 1 LLC; Bock 1 GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2019-05-20
Filing date: 2020-05-20
Publication date: 2020-11-20
Also published as: DE102019113240A1; EP3741259A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a carrier element for a piece of seating furniture, in particular a stool. In order to provide a piece of seating equipment (1), in particular a stool, which is ergonomically advantageous from the standpoint of "sport seating", a carrier member (4) is proposed, comprising a base carrier (5) which can be placed on a foot part (2), in particular a chair column (3), and a seat carrier (7) which is arranged on the base carrier (5), the seat carrier (7) being constructed in one piece with the base carrier (5) and forming a base carrier-seat carrier unit, and the base carrier (5) is connected with the seat carrier (7) by means of a connecting element (21), the connecting element (21) allowing a pivoting or swinging movement of the seat carrier (7) relative to the base carrier (5) by deforming when the seat carrier (7) is subjected to a load, the connecting element (21) being loaded with a restoring moment when the seat carrier (7) is subjected to such a load. The invention also relates to a seating device.

Description

Carrier element for a seat device and seat device

Technical Field

The invention relates to a carrier element for a piece of seating furniture, in particular a stool.

Background

Dynamic, active seating which is advantageous from an ergonomic point of view has long been regarded as a great importance in seating furniture. By means of a corresponding design of the piece of furniture, the user can have different sitting positions. The term "sport sitting" is also used for this purpose.

It is common for office chairs to improve the existing seating mechanisms in the seating infrastructure accordingly. Spring elements or elastic rubber components are often used here. In other cases complex hinge assemblies with many pivot points are required to achieve the desired results.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a piece of seating furniture, in particular a stool, which is ergonomically advantageous from the viewpoint of "sport seating". The object is achieved by a carrier element according to claim 1 or by a seating arrangement according to claim 10. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

The carrier component according to the invention comprises a base carrier which can be placed on a foot part, in particular a seat post, and a seat carrier which is arranged on the base carrier, is constructed in one piece with the base carrier and forms a base carrier-seat carrier unit, and is connected to the seat carrier by a number of connecting elements which allow a pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier relative to the base carrier by deforming when the seat carrier is subjected to a load, the number of connecting elements being loaded with a restoring moment when the seat carrier is subjected to such a load.

A piece of seating furniture according to the invention, in particular a bench, comprises a foot part and a carrier member according to the invention placed on the foot part, in particular a chair column.

The essential idea of the invention is that the seat carrier supporting the seat is connected to the fixed base carrier of the seat arrangement by means of a suitably configured intermediate structure (here a connecting element) in such a way that the intermediate structure is reversibly deformed under the influence of a load. Thus, when the upper body center of gravity of the user of the seat device is moved, the seat portion follows the movement of the user without a complicated structure of the device. In this case, the main components of the carrier component, i.e. the base carrier, the seat carrier and the intermediate structure, are designed in one piece, which facilitates both production and assembly. This structurally very simple solution does not require additional movable and/or cooperating mechanical parts. The carrier member here fulfils a dual function. It serves not only as a main component of the base body and the supporting seat of the seat arrangement, but at the same time achieves the desired movability of the seat in the sense of a "sport sitting", in particular a free pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier and thus of the seat arranged thereon, which can also be designed as a tilting, rolling or tilting movement. The carrier member is preferably designed such that the pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier can take place on all sides, i.e. in all directions. The deformation of the intermediate structure caused by the load of the seat carrier is reversible. The elasticity of the intermediate structure causes a restoring moment by which the deformed intermediate structure automatically returns to its undeformed initial shape as soon as the force or moment acting on the intermediate structure disappears.

In one embodiment of the invention, the carrier component is designed in such a way that the connecting elements are subjected to a bending and/or torsional load when the seat carrier is subjected to a load, wherein, for each individual connecting element, the ratio of the bending component to the torsional component of the movement is automatically adjusted, preferably arbitrarily variable, depending on the position of the force input into the seat carrier in relation to the position of the user on the one hand and on the number, arrangement and/or design of the connecting elements on the other hand, in particular depending on the choice of the connecting positions of the connecting elements with the base carrier and the seat carrier.

When forces are input into the seat carrier by the load the seat carrier is subjected to by the user, each individual connecting element is subjected to an element-specific load, which leads to a bending of the connecting element (typically along the connecting element) and/or a twisting of the connecting element (typically about the longitudinal axis of the connecting element). If the user moves on the seat, the force input, in particular the position of the force input into the seat carrier, also changes, and each individual connecting element reacts in such a way that the ratio of the bending component to the torsional component of the movement changes. Each connecting element can be moved when the user weight loads the seat carrier or when the position of the force input changes based on the movement of the user, the bending component of the movement being between 0% and 100% and the torsion component thereof being between 0% and 100%. For example, the same connecting element can perform a movement with a bending component of 70% and a torsion component of 30% during a first loading state of the seat carrier or during a first moment of the user movement and a movement with a bending component of 20% and a torsion component of 80% during a second loading state of a subsequent seat carrier or during a second moment of the user movement.

It is particularly advantageous here that, on account of the structural design of the carrier member, the user of the seating arrangement does not perceive a change in the ratio of the bending component to the torsional component of the movement of the connecting element. The user does not perceive any changes in the bending and torsional forces or moments, respectively, acting only proportionally on the individual connecting elements and also no changes in their components or component ratios. Instead, the uninterrupted movability of the seat is provided for the user. In particular, the seat movability felt by the user is not interrupted by the seat carrier passing through a "zero position", in which the seat carrier does not have a lateral inclination.

The number and arrangement of the connecting elements, in addition to their specific structural design, also influence the movement characteristics of the seat depending on the position of the force input when the user loads the seat. In one embodiment of the invention, the seat carrier is connected to the base carrier by a plurality of, preferably at least four, connecting elements. Other preferred values for the number of connecting elements are 5 and 6. The connecting elements are preferably arranged separately, i.e. spaced apart from one another. The connecting element is preferably arranged symmetrically between the base carrier and the seat carrier.

In one embodiment of the invention, the connecting element is arranged in particular rotationally symmetrically with respect to a vertical longitudinal axis of the base carrier, which, at least in the preferred use case of the stool, generally corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the foot part of the piece of furniture. In particular, if the seat carrier (and the seat arranged thereon) also has a corresponding rotational symmetry, the user always feels the same large reaction force in the pivoting or pivoting movement of the seat carrier. This is advantageous for a comfortable sitting feeling.

If the connecting elements are arranged rotationally symmetrically, the pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier has no preferred direction. This is particularly desirable when the invention is used with a bench. On the other hand, the desired preferred direction of the pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier can be set by a targeted rotationally asymmetrical arrangement of the connecting elements. This is particularly desirable in specially shaped seats, such as saddles.

In one embodiment of the invention, the number of connecting elements is minimized. The base carrier and the seat carrier are connected by a single connecting element. Depending on the position of the connecting element relative to the force input position, a preferred direction of movement of the seat carrier is produced corresponding to the magnitude of the resistance to deformation of the connecting element.

In one embodiment of the invention, the number of connecting elements is maximized, so that the connecting elements are no longer separated from each other, but are connected to each other. This forms a closed, preferably tulip-or trumpet-shaped, planar connecting wall between the base carrier and the seat carrier. The change in the center of gravity of the user sitting on the seat then leads to a kind of flexion movement (Walkbewegung) of the connecting wall. However, in this case, an intentional pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier can also be achieved.

In one embodiment of the invention, the base carrier-seat carrier unit is made of a plastic material and is produced in a single process step, in particular by injection molding. During the production of the base carrier region, it is advantageous to simultaneously enclose a steel sleeve which forms the later conical receptacle for receiving the gas spring of the height-adjustable foot part; the base carrier also comprises a gas spring height release device, which is configured as an additional component and does not belong to a one-piece base carrier-seat carrier unit.

The material suitable for manufacturing the base carrier-seat carrier unit has on the one hand the necessary rigidity to ensure the required stability and strength of the carrier member. On the other hand, the material is sufficiently resilient to provide the desired flexibility to the intermediate structure during the pivoting or swinging movement of the seat carrier.

In one embodiment of the invention, the base carrier-seat carrier unit has both regions of higher stiffness (support) and regions of lower stiffness (flexibility), i.e. regions of low resistance to elastic deformation due to bending or torsional moments, or in other words regions of relatively strong deformability (bendability, torquability). The region of higher rigidity is in particular the connection region of the base carrier, seat carrier and connecting element. These regions are preferably of rigid or substantially rigid design. The regions of lower stiffness are in particular the intermediate sections of the connecting elements between the connecting regions, which intermediate sections must be designed to be bendable and twistable in order to implement the invention. The terms "higher" and "lower" always relate to a comparison with the stiffness values of other zones.

In one embodiment of the invention, the different deformation properties of the regions are only due to the respective component geometry, in particular the cross-sectional shape and the material thickness used. In the production of the one-piece base carrier-seat carrier unit, in particular by plastic injection molding, preferably only one single material is used. This eliminates the need to use multiple materials or change materials or material compositions during the injection molding process.

In one embodiment of the invention, the connecting element is designed as a rod-shaped strut or strut. In one embodiment of the invention, the connecting element comprises a substantially straight middle section with a lower stiffness and connecting regions with a higher stiffness connected to both ends of the middle section for connecting the connecting element to the base carrier and the seat carrier, respectively. Preferably the length of the connecting element is substantially unchangeable.

By using preferably elongate support struts as connecting elements for realizing the flexible intermediate structure, an open structure can be created, in particular if the intermediate structure according to a particularly preferred embodiment constitutes the only component between the base carrier and the seat carrier, the support struts bridge the gap between the base carrier and the seat carrier, in which no further components are present. The seating arrangement can therefore also have a particularly low weight. The fine, open structure of the intermediate structure (especially when using a preferred number of connecting elements) is also visually appealing here. The externally accessible, open stay also advantageously serves at the same time as a handle for operating the seat device.

In one embodiment of the invention, the seat carrier and/or the base carrier are configured substantially rotationally symmetrical, i.e. at least in terms of their basic shape, in particular their outer shape or peripheral surface, on which the connecting element acts with its connecting region. In particular, the seat carrier is annular and the base carrier is cup-shaped. The annular shape of the seat carrier, which has proven particularly advantageous when the piece of furniture is configured as a stool, has the necessary rigidity to prevent the seat carrier from bending down or twisting when the user loads the seat carrier. The necessary rigidity of the ring can be achieved by means of a suitable profile geometry, preferably by means of a ring cross section which is reinforced by means of reinforcing ribs. Instead of an annular seat carrier, a disc-shaped seat carrier can also be used.

In a rotationally symmetrical design of the base carrier and the seat carrier, (preferably four) connecting elements are distributed uniformly over the circumference of the base carrier or the seat carrier.

In one embodiment of the invention, the connecting elements extend from the base carrier preferably radially (and obliquely upwards because the diameter of the base carrier cup is smaller than the diameter of the seat carrier) to the seat carrier in such a way that the distance between the connecting regions of the connecting elements on the base carrier is smaller than the distance between the connecting regions of the connecting elements on the seat carrier.

The invention can be used particularly advantageously in a stool. While conventional office chairs always have a preferred sitting direction due to the backrest and the mechanical parts of the piece of furniture are therefore always oriented in this sitting direction, conventional stools have no preferred sitting position due to their construction. Instead, the user is free to select the seating position.

In one embodiment of the invention, the seat and therefore the seat carrier are designed such that they do not prescribe a preferred seating position (in the sense of a preferred position). In other words, there is no "front" or "back". The way in which the user sits on the seat is free.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the drawings. The attached drawings are as follows:

FIG. 1 shows a bench view;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a carrier member;

FIG. 3 shows a first side view of the carrier member;

fig. 4 shows a first side view (cross-sectional view);

FIG. 5 shows a second side view of the carrier member;

fig. 6 shows a second side view (cross-sectional view).

Detailed Description

All figures do not show the invention to scale and only the essential parts thereof are shown schematically. The same reference numbers correspond to functionally identical or similar elements.

As shown in fig. 1, the sitting device according to the invention is configured as a stool 1 and comprises a castor-equipped foot part 2 with a height-adjustable column 3 by means of a gas spring (not shown). On the chair column 3 a carrier member 4 according to the invention is placed. On which the actual seat 10 is mounted, which normally provides a cushioned seating surface.

The carrier component 4 shown in fig. 2 to 6 in each case comprises a base carrier 5 with a centrally arranged conical receptacle 6 for the seat post 3 and a seat carrier 7 arranged on the base carrier 5, the seat carrier 7 and the base carrier 5 being of one piece and forming a base carrier-seat carrier unit. The base carrier-seat carrier unit is injection molded from a single plastic material. The base carrier 5 comprises a gas spring height release device 8 as a separate component.

The base carrier 5 is designed substantially rotationally symmetrical and has a downwardly tapering cup-shaped base body 11, in which a conical receptacle 6 is integrated, which has an opening 9 facing downwards in the direction of the foot part 2. The height release means 8 is placed above the conical accommodation 6. A handle 12 for operating the height release means 8 projects radially from the base body 11. The base body 11 is covered upward by a cover 13.

The seat carrier 7 is of substantially rotationally symmetrical design and is formed substantially from an annular base body 15, which is of annular design and on the upper side 16 of which a circumferential reinforcing rib 17 is attached. Four mounting openings 18, which are spaced apart from one another in a uniform manner, are integrated in this reinforcing rib 17 for screwing the seat carrier 7 and the seat 10 to one another.

The base carrier 5 is connected to the seat carrier 7 by four connecting elements 21. These connecting elements 21 thus also belong to the one-piece base carrier-seat carrier unit. The connecting element 21 is designed as a rod-shaped strut whose length is essentially unchangeable. The elongated struts 21 act with their connecting regions 22 on the one hand on the underside 23 of the seat carrier base 15 and on the other hand on the circumferential surface 19 of the base carrier base 11 underneath the cover 13 and extend radially, obliquely upwards from the base carrier 5 to the seat carrier 7. In this case, the connecting regions 22 of the struts 21 are distributed uniformly over the circumference of the base carrier 5 or seat carrier 7, respectively, and are therefore spaced uniformly apart from one another.

Since the diameter of the base carrier base body 11 in the region of the strut 21 connection region 22 acting thereon is smaller than the diameter of the seat carrier base body 15 in the region of the strut 21 connection region 22 acting thereon, the distance between the connection regions 22 on the base carrier 5 is smaller than the distance between the connection regions 22 on the seat carrier 7.

The stay 21 allows the seat carrier 7 to pivot or swing in all directions relative to the base carrier 5 by deforming when the seat carrier 7 is subjected to a load (see arrow 14, which is shown only by way of example in fig. 1), and is loaded with a restoring moment when the seat carrier 7 is subjected to such a load, which restoring moment returns the stay into its initial position when the force or moment acting on it disappears.

The substantially rectilinear intermediate section 24 of the stay 21 has a lower stiffness than the connection regions 22 respectively connected to the two ends of the intermediate section 24 for connecting the stay 21 to the base carrier 5 and the seat carrier 7. This lower stiffness of the intermediate section 24 achieves the desired deformability of the strut 21. In contrast, the connecting region 22 has a greater rigidity, so that the stay 21 is not deformed there even when the seat carrier 7 is loaded. The connection of the struts 21 to the base carrier 5 and the seat carrier 7 is realized as a rigid connection which is resistant to bending and torsion. In other words, the strut 21 is fixedly clamped with its two ends between the base carrier 5 and the seat carrier 7.

When the seat carrier 7 is loaded, the struts 21 are subjected to bending and/or torsional loads, the ratio of the bending component to the torsional component for each strut 21 varying with the load of the seat carrier 7. Since the four supporting struts 21 are arranged rotationally symmetrically with respect to the vertical longitudinal axis 25 of the base carrier 5, there is no preferred direction for the pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier 7.

If a force, for example, as schematically indicated by the arrow 26 in fig. 2, acts from above on a point 27 on the loop 15 of the seat carrier 7, which point is located directly above the connection region 22 of one strut 21a, this strut 21a and the opposite strut 21c are subjected to only bending moments, while the other two

struts

21b, 21d, which are arranged between the

struts

21a, 21c subjected to bending loads and perpendicular thereto, are subjected to only torsional moments. If the point of action 27 'of the force on the ring 15 is moved in the direction of one of the adjacent struts 21b as indicated by arrow 26' in fig. 2, for example because the user bends his upper body and thus the centre of gravity of the user moves, the ratio of the bending and twisting distribution of all four struts 21 changes. So that bending and torsional moments act on all the struts 21.

In addition to the pivoting or swiveling movement of the seat carrier and the height adjustment of the carrier member, the carrier member can also be rotatably arranged on the seat post.

All features disclosed in the description, the following claims and the drawings can be essential for the invention both individually and in any combination.

List of reference numerals

1 seat device, stool

2 foot part

3 chair column

4 carrier member

5 basic vector

6 conical accommodation part

7 seat carrier

8 high release device

9 opening of conical accommodation part

10 seat part

11 basic carrier matrix

12 handle

13 cover

14 direction of pivoting or swinging movement (examples)

15 seat carrier base

Upper side of 16 rings

17 reinforcing rib

18 mounting opening

19 peripheral surface

20 (none)

21 connecting element, brace rod

22 connecting region

Lower side of ring 23

24 middle section

25 longitudinal axis of base carrier

26 direction of force

27 point of action

Claims

1. A carrier member (4) for a seating arrangement, in particular a bench (1), comprising a base carrier (5) which can be placed on a foot part (2), in particular a column (3), and a seat carrier (7) which is arranged on the base carrier (5),

wherein the seat carrier (7) is designed in one piece with the base carrier (5) and forms a base carrier-seat carrier unit, and

the base carrier (5) is connected to the seat carrier (7) by a number of connecting elements (21),

the number of connecting elements (21) allowing a pivoting or swinging movement of the seat carrier (7) relative to the base carrier (5) by deforming when the seat carrier (7) is loaded,

the number of connecting elements (21) is loaded with a restoring moment when the seat carrier (7) is subjected to such a load.

2. The carrier member (4) according to claim 1, wherein the number of connection elements (21) is subjected to bending and/or torsion loads under such loads, wherein for each individual connection element (21) the ratio of the bending component to the torsion component of the movement is automatically adjusted.

3. The carrier member (4) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base carrier (5) is connected with the seat carrier (7) by a plurality of, preferably at least four, connecting elements (21).

4. The carrier member (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base carrier-seat carrier unit (5, 7) has both a region (5, 7, 22) of higher stiffness and a region (24) of lower stiffness, preferably the base carrier-seat carrier unit is made of a plastic material and in one single process step, in particular by injection molding.

5. The carrier member (4) according to claim 4, wherein the different deformation characteristics of the regions are attributable solely to the respective component geometry.

6. The carrier member (4) according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the number of connecting elements (21) is configured as rod-shaped struts.

7. The carrier member (4) according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the number of connection elements (21) each comprise a substantially rectilinear intermediate section (24) with a lower stiffness and a connection area (22) with a higher stiffness connected to both ends of the intermediate section (24) for connecting the connection elements (21) to the base carrier (5) and the seat carrier (7).

8. The carrier member (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the seat carrier (7) and/or the base carrier (5) is configured substantially rotationally symmetrical, in particular annular or cup-shaped.

9. The carrier member (4) according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the number of connection elements (21) extends radially from the base carrier (5) to the seat carrier (7), preferably such that the distance between the connection areas (22) of the connection elements (21) on the base carrier (5) is smaller than the distance between the connection areas (22) of the connection elements (21) on the seat carrier (7).

10. Seating arrangement (1), in particular a bench, comprising a foot part (2) and a carrier member (4) according to any of claims 1 to 9 placed on the foot part (2), in particular a chair pillar (3).