AU2010306054A1

AU2010306054A1 - Office chair

Info

Publication number: AU2010306054A1
Application number: AU2010306054A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Walter Schindlegger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-14
Filing date: 2010-10-11
Publication date: 2012-05-24
Also published as: RU2012117955A; EP2488066A1; AT11784U1; WO2011044602A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an office chair having a foot part (8) and having a lying function, comprising gripper jaws (10) at the free end of the foot part (8) for gently holding the feet in position. The foot part (8) can be pivoted up, the connected seat surface (6) can be moved toward a vertical plane by means of a cam control, and the backrest (7) can be moved toward a horizontal plane. The distance of the gripper jaws (10) from the seat surface (6) can preferably be increased by means of a motor (12) having an electric spindle drive. As soon as the foot part (8) pivots up beyond the horizontal plane toward a vertical plane, the gripper jaws (10) can be raised such that stretching forces act on the spinal column of a person. The position change of the seat surface (6) together with the backrest (7, 7') and the foot part (8) with respect to a rigid floor frame (1) is achieved by a guide having at least one rail (2) curved in a U-shape, which rail runs along the sliding pieces (roller pairs 3, 4).

Description

WO 2011/044602 - 1 - PCT/AT2010/000385 Office chair The invention relates to an office chair with a foot part and with a lying function. 5 This term is 'also understood to mean chairs which are used in the private sector and which have the common feature that, in addition to the sitting function for work which can be adjusted within wide limits, they can 10 perform a very pronounced relaxation function. In this context, so-called comfort stools are known, which raise the foot part into the horizontal plane from a sitting position with a folded-back foot part combined with a positioning of the rest so as to be flat. This 15 achieves a lying function. Intermediate positions, too, are perceived to be comfortable. In the medical sector, orthopedic beds are known, and together with apparatuses for introducing tensile 20 forces onto a patient these make it possible to stretch the spinal column. The aim of the invention is to make such stretching possible using an office chair. This is achieved in 25 that the foot part has, in the region of the free end thereof, gripper jaws for holding the feet in position, and in that the distance between the gripper jaws and the seat surface or the backrest in a position in which the foot part has been pivoted up beyond the horizontal 30 plane of the foot part in the direction of the vertical plane can preferably be increased by an electric spindle drive. After a person takes a seat, the feet can be fixed using the gripper jaws and the office seat can be adjusted, while at the same time raising the 35 foot part which previously pointed perpendicularly downward, in the direction of a lying position. Then, the foot part can be pivoted upward far beyond the lying position, and when the foot part is in an almost WO 2011/044602 - 2 - PCT/AT2010/000385 vertical position, the gripper jaws can be raised. This results in stretching of the spinal column via the legs, especially since the body assumes a position sloping downward and acts as a stretching weight. 5 In order to move from the sitting position into the aforementioned stretching position, i.e. beyond a lying position, it is expedient if, between the seat surface and a floor frame, provision is made of a guide having 10 at least one rail, which is curved in accordance with a U-shaped curve, e.g. in accordance with a section of a helix, and at least one sliding piece which runs on or in the rail, e.g. with rollers, wherein the backrest, the seat surface and the foot part can be transferred, 15 following the curved form, from a sitting position into a lying position, and preferably the angles between the backrest and the seat surface and also between the seat surface and the foot part are adjustable. The office chair is therefore not simply tilted about a horizontal 20 axis, e.g. like a rocker, but instead the chair (seat surface with the rest and the foot part) rolls on the floor frame thereof (e.g. four-legged frame, central column and possibility of rotation) along the curves on one or two rails, and is raised in the process as the 25 movement continues. In this case, the foot part can be pivoted into the plane of the raised seat surface, and the rest which is horizontal for the moment can be tilted slightly downward. To this end, it is possible to use gas compression springs or the like for weight 30 relief, in particular in the case of manual angular adjustment. It is particularly advantageous if servomotors are provided for the relative movement between the sliding 35 piece and the rail and for changing the angular position of the backrest in relation to the seat surface and in relation to the foot part. As is known, an armrest can be provided with the switches or buttons WO 2011/044602 - 3 - PCT/AT2010/000385 for activating the functions, including the telescopic extension of the gripper jaws. Automatic coordination of the adjustment of the individual parameters (angle, stretching) is achieved by a control system which, when 5 the sitting position is changed, proportionally switches on the servomotors for changing the angular position, and, in addition, the motor for pushing out the closed gripper jaws can be switched on via the control system. In order to achieve an even more 10 intensive action, it is expedient if the gripper jaws, for transmitting oscillations onto the skeleton, in particular the pelvis and the spinal column, are mounted such that they can twist to the left and to the right and, if appropriate, about a vertical mid-axis, 15 and can be made to oscillate by oscillating drives. These oscillations exert torsional forces on the stretched spinal column but also on the joints (knee, pelvis, lumbar vertebrae), the intensity of which is influenced by changing the oscillation amplitudes and 20 frequencies and by changing the position of the person. In an extreme case, the person hangs downward from the feet. In practice, an intermediate position is adopted, in particular as regards the position of the body in relation to the legs. The steeper the suspension is 25 set, the more intensive the action. As a variant or in addition, it is expedient for stretching with the aid of the office chair if the seat surface or a region on that free end side of the seat surface which faces away from the backrest is designed such that it can be 30 pushed out of the latter, such that the distance between the end face and the backrest can be increased in particular in the lying function. With this technique, too, a therapeutic action can be achieved on the strained joints, including the pelvis and lumbar 35 vertebrae. In addition to the adaptable sitting position for work at a desk, the office chair thus also allows for the prophylaxis and treatment of instances of back tenseness, postural defects and of problems WO 2011/044602 - 4 - PCT/AT2010/000385 relating to joints and the spinal column, which are frequently referred to as diseases of civilization. The invention will be explained hereinbelow with 5 reference to the schematic drawings. Figure 1 shows an office chair focusing on the kinematics, with solid lines denoting the sitting position and dashed lines denoting the lying position; 10 figure 2 shows the lying position with an expanded foot part; and figure 3 shows the office chair in the lying position with an angled foot part and an expanded seat surface. 15 An office chair comprises a floor frame 1, which here has an arcuate form, with two metal tubes 2 or profiles which are arranged in parallel spaced apart by about 50 cm and are connected to one another multiply each bearing two sliding pieces, here in the form of two 20 pairs of rollers 3, 4. The pairs of rollers 3, 4 form the roller bearings for in each case two rails 5, which are curved approximately helically and are connected to one another rigidly like a cage, between the metal tubes 2 of the floor frame 1. The rails 5, or the cross 25 connections thereof, bear a seating surface 6 with an adjustable rest 7 and an adjustable foot part 8. Instead of the four pairs of rollers 3, 4, it is also possible for four sliding pieces to be provided on the 30 floor frame lying opposite one another in pairs. The rails 5 are then in the form of slotted tubes or rectangular profiles, and the sliding pieces run inside said rails 5. The inclined position of the seat surface 6, of the backrest 7 and of the foot part 8 can thus be 35 changed. A catch (e.g. a brake acting on the rails 5, e.g. a cam on a lever-like handle), which is not shown, makes it possible to fasten each position, e.g. as per figure 1 or figure 2. This adjustment can of course be WO 2011/044602 - 5 - PCT/AT2010/000385 effected by an electric motor and in this case also in a self-locking manner (electric motor 9). On the front end of the foot part 8, a holder for the 5 feet in the form of gripper jaws 10 can be pushed out on a slide 11 by an electric motor 12 for a spindle drive or the like in the longitudinal direction of the foot part 8. Figure 1 shows the retracted position, with gripper jaws 10 which have already been closed, 10 i.e. lie against the feet. Gripper jaws 10 can be cushioned shaped parts which can be placed around each foot and which can be clamped firmly against the foot in order to hold the foot (the feet) in position. It is also possible to use loops as the gripper jaws 10, 15 these being placed around the feet and being tightened around each foot. If the office chair is moved into the lying position (figure 2) by weight displacement or by the electric 20 motor 9, which drives the rollers 3, 4, and if the foot part 8 is raised, e.g. by an electric motor (motor 13), (figure 2), the electric motor 12 can push the slide 11 out with the aid of the aforementioned spindle drive. The closed gripper jaws 10 pull the feet upward. An 25 arrow 14 denotes the path of displacement in figure 2. Dashed lines or in some parts solid lines in figures 1 and 2 represent a body on which it is possible to identify the effects of the displacement, namely stretching, which acts as far as the spinal column and 30 into the shoulder part. The kinematic sequence of movement is guided by switches on a control system 15 into the paths to which the electric motors 9, 12 and 13 are connected. Limit 35 switches stop the respective drives. Figure 3 shows the lying position, but with the foot part 8 in relation to the seat surface 6 in the basic WO 2011/044602 - 6 - PCT/AT2010/000385 position shown in figure 1. In this embodiment, the front part of the seat surface 6' can be pushed out by an electric motor 16 with a spindle gear mechanism (worm gear mechanism) (arrow 17). When the gripper jaws 5 10 are closed (the feet are held in position), strain is exerted via the lower legs onto the pelvis and further onto the spinal column, it being possible to further intensify the strain by lowering the backrest 7'. The latter option relating to the forced vertical 10 position with the aid of the inclined backrest 7' is also shown in figure 2, and also intensifies the effect when the feet are raised by the electric motor 12 and the associated spindle gear mechanism. In figure 1, the adjustment of the backrest 7' serves merely for comfort 15 when sitting. It should also be explained, however, that the gripper jaws 10 can transmit oscillations in the longitudinal direction and also the transverse direction and also 20 torsional oscillations onto the person. To this end, the gripper jaws 10 can move to the left and to the right and also in the longitudinal direction in the closed position in which they enclose the feet, and can also execute a limited angular movement (about a 25 vertical axis in figure 2). Oscillation generators or oscillating drives make this additional function possible. The office chair according to the invention is 30 furthermore also equipped with a safety device, which, in the event of a power failure, makes it possible for the lying position to be restored into the sitting position and makes it possible for the gripper jaws to be opened. To this end, an actuating lever for a 35 control cable (Bowden cable) is provided on one of the armrests and both disengages the drive 9 and also releases a fixing brake (if one is present). The position of the center of gravity of the movable unit WO 2011/044602 - 7 - PCT/AT2010/000385 (rail 5, seat surface 6, backrest 7 and foot part 8) relative to the floor frame 1 is selected in such a way that a small restoring force, which is absorbed by the spindle drive or by the brake, always comes into 5 effect. Following disengagement, the office chair rotates back into the position shown in figure 1. Further tension on the lever opens the gripper jaws or releases the latter from a holder, such that the feet are thereby no longer fixed on the foot part 8. 10

Claims

1. An office chair with a lying function, which has a seat surface, a backrest and a foot part with 5 gripper jaws at the free end thereof for holding the feet in position, wherein the seat surface, the backrest and the foot part are connected to one another in an articulated manner and can be pivoted into different positions relative to one 10 another, characterized in that an electric motor (12) for a spindle drive or the like is provided for increasing the distance between the gripper jaws (10) and the seat surface (6) and therefore for transmitting stretching forces to a person in 15 the position in which the foot part (8) has been pivoted up beyond the horizontal plane of the foot part (8) in the direction of the vertical plane.

2. The office chair as claimed in claim 1, 20 characterized in that, between the seat surface (6) and a floor frame (1), provision is made of a guide having at least one rail (5), which is curved in accordance with a U-shaped curve, e.g. in accordance with a section of a helix, and at 25 least one sliding piece which runs on or in the rail (5), e.g. with rollers (3, 4), wherein the backrest (7), the seat surface (6) and the foot part (8) can be transferred, following the curved form, from a sitting position into a lying 30 position, and preferably the angles between the backrest (7, 7') and the seat surface (6) and also between the seat surface (6) and the foot part (8) are adjustable. 35

3. The office chair as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that servomotors (9, 13) are provided for the relative movement between the sliding piece and the rail (5) and for changing WO 2011/044602 - 9 - PCT/AT2010/000385 the angular position of the backrest (7, 7') in relation to the seat surface (6) and in relation to the foot part (8). 5

4. The office chair as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that a control system (15) is provided which, when the sitting position is changed, proportionally switches on the servomotors (9, 13) for changing the angular 10 position, and in that, in addition, the motor (12) for pushing out the closed gripper jaws (10) can be switched on.

5. The office chair as claimed in one of claims 1 to 15 4, characterized in that the gripper jaws (10), for transmitting oscillations onto the skeleton, in particular the spinal column, are mounted such that they can twist to the left and to the right and, if appropriate, about a vertical mid-axis, 20 and can be made to oscillate by oscillating drives.

6. The office chair as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the seat surface (6) or a 25 region on that free end side of the seat surface (6') which faces away from the backrest is designed such that it can be pushed out of the latter, such that the distance between the end face and the backrest (7, 7') can be increased in 30 particular in the lying function. (Figure 3)