EP0435206B1 - Construction of chairs connectible in rows - Google Patents

Abstract

The work involved in producing rows of chairs from individual chairs is considerably reduced in that intermediate elements (10') without feet, namely seating shells without feet or table elements (64) without feet, are suspended between chairs (10) with feet (26,28). Variety is additionally increased by series connectors which cover the same fixing elements or can directly connect them. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a chair construction for building rows of chairs from interconnected, stackable chairs, the lateral outer boundary of a chair is formed by two spaced screw heads, each having an annular groove, engage in the snap-in openings of padlocks on the adjacent chair.

A chair of this type is already known (DE-U-18 51 321), in which, according to the preamble of claim 1, the stackability is ensured in that the two chair legs of one side of the chair open with a U-shape pointing towards the floor Form thighs. In order to be able to connect these stackable chairs to rows of chairs, one leaves the outer limit on one side the chairs have a ring groove having bolt heads, while on the other side the bolt heads protruding there are so excluded that they form snap-in openings for the ring grooves. On each side, two such bolt heads are formed one behind the other at the same height. The insertion takes place in such a way that a chair is placed with its one snap opening in the tilted position on one bolt head, whereupon the other snap opening is also pressed onto the bolt head assigned to it by pressing the tilted chair down into the horizontal position. It is obvious that a chair can only be connected to an adjacent chair. There are therefore as many tipping operations as there are chairs to be connected. Furthermore, all chairs must be completely identical. Finally, the specially designed bolt heads on the two sides of the chair are different and must be secured with lock nuts under the seat plate. This is expensive to manufacture.

Also known are stackable chairs which can be connected to rows of seats (DE-C-36 13 381), in which the seat plate and backrest are designed as a resilient one-piece shell which simultaneously forms the supporting structure and resilient about a cross member lying in the region of the front edge of the seat plate below this is inclinable. Such chairs have particularly good seating properties. They can also be stacked to a limited extent, but can only be connected to rows of chairs with considerable effort.

The object of the invention is to reduce the total effort for the construction of rows of chairs by appropriate redesign while increasing versatility. This object is achieved by the invention, which is characterized in the claims.

One can see that every second chair is footless here. He So it only consists of the seat that is hung on both sides in the neighboring chairs. It is obvious that the total amount of material and costs for the creation of rows of chairs with a prescribed number of seats can be reduced significantly by about 30%. Handling is also accelerated because such a footless seat shell is connected to two adjacent chairs with feet at the same time. Finally, there is a significantly improved versatility of the system, because the footless seat shell also through storage tables u. Like. Can be replaced, which was not possible with the previous chair designs for row formation.

Of course, it must also be possible to connect the chairs provided on both sides according to the invention with projecting annular groove screw heads to one another. For this purpose, according to the invention, a separate individual part is provided, namely a row connector which has snap-in openings on both sides. On one side, one of the snap-in openings is open to the rear, the other is open at the bottom. Alternatively, the front snap-in opening can of course also be open to the front and the rear snap-in opening downwards. It can be easily put the row connector with the horizontally open snap opening on one ring nut screw head of a chair and by pivoting about the axis thus formed also with its other snap opening on the second ring nut screw head of the same chair.

On the other hand, the same row connector has two snap-in openings that are open at the bottom and next to one another. With the help of this, the chair provided with the row connector can now be easily pressed onto the ring groove screw heads of the neighboring chair without the row connector becoming detached. The row connector thus also holds the chairs next to each other in the row of chairs for the Fall together sure that no footless seat shell is hung between the neighboring chairs. The row connector also covers the protruding ring groove screw heads and can also be used for the ends of the rows of chairs to give them a pleasing appearance. If this does not matter, then the parallel snap-in openings of the row connector can of course also be open at the top instead of at the bottom.

It is also particularly expedient not to design the annular groove screw heads as parts intended specifically for this purpose, but simply to use the screw heads of the fastening screws screwed into the cross member under the seat shell for this purpose. Since the annular groove screw heads should be circular for functional reasons, they are then advantageously designed as hexagon socket screws.

Fig. 1

eine Explosionsansicht einer Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Stuhles mit Füßen,

Fig. 2

eine Ausschnittsdarstellung zur Verdeutlichung des Einsetzens einer fußlosen Sitzschale mit Einhängeschloß zwischen benachbarte Stühle mit Füßen bzw. der ersatzweise einsetzbaren Ablagetische,und

Fig. 3

eine Ausschnittsdarstellung zur Verdeutlichung des Einsatzes des Reihenverbinders zur Verbindung zweier in der Reihe benachbarter Stühle mit Füßen.

The invention is illustrated, for example, in the drawing, to which reference is expressly made because of the disclosure of all the details not explained in more detail below. Show it

Fig. 1

2 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of a chair according to the invention with feet,

Fig. 2

a sectional view to illustrate the insertion of a footless seat shell with a padlock between adjacent chairs with feet or the replacement table, and

Fig. 3

a sectional view to illustrate the use of the row connector for connecting two chairs in the row with feet.

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the chair construction with a one-piece seat shell, which is anatomically shaped in a known manner. Due to its shape and the material, the seat shell 10 has the required elastic properties. To increase comfort, the seat shell can be covered with a backrest cushion 12 and with a seat cushion 14 or also with a continuous cushion. A stable cross member 16 made of aluminum is located below the seat plate of the seat shell 10 in the area of the hollow of the knees, that is to say slightly offset from the front edge towards the back. The cross member 16 has the shape of a horizontally lying flat bar, which is closed at its front and at its rear end by a semicircle. In the center of the semicircle there is in each case a through opening 18. If the cross member 16 is installed in place under the seat shell 10, the through openings 18 are located horizontally one behind the other at the same height.

As can be clearly seen in FIG. 1, the seat shell 2 in the area of the through openings 18 of reinforcements 20 made of aluminum has reinforced downward flanges 22 between which the cross member 16 is inserted. Furthermore, a stiffening in the form of a club-shaped seat support 24 is used here between the cross member 16 and the flanges 22 of the seat shell 10. This also has two openings corresponding to the through openings 18 and is thus fastened with the cross member 16 under the seat shell 10. The seat support 24 represents a stiffening of the seat, which can only deflect elastically until it hits the seat support 24, which then leads to a stiffening of the seat plate. Further loads are not acknowledged with a further inclination of the seat plate around the cross member 16. Rather, there is now a backward deflection of the backrest with further load, in which it is no longer the cross member 16, but the connecting arch between the seat plate and the backrest of the seat pan 10 that serves as a joint.

The chair shown in FIG. 1, serving as the basic element of the row of chairs, has four individual feet, namely two front feet 26 and two rear feet 28. The front and rear feet are made of aluminum profile. Their lower ends are closed by sliders 30 made of plastic. At their upper ends, the front feet 26 and the rear feet 28 are bent horizontally and here have connection heads 32, the cross-sectional shape of which corresponds to that of the cross member 16. They therefore also have openings corresponding to the through openings 18 of the cross member 16. In this way, the seat shell 10 can be connected to the crossmember 16, the seatmember 24, the rear foot 28 and the forefoot 26 (in this order) by means of fastening screws 34 which are screwed into the through openings 18 of the crossmember 16. The front feet 26 are therefore outside the level of the rear feet 28. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the front feet 26 are also set somewhat steeper than the rear feet 28, which for reasons of stability have to reach further out of the chair. Accordingly, the angle between the connection heads 32 and the actual chair leg at the front feet 26 is smaller than at the rear feet 28.

The fastening screws 34 have the above-explained task of connecting the different parts. However, their heads are also specially designed: they have circular screw heads 36 with an annular groove 38, which is arranged approximately in the middle of the axial extent of the screw head 36, runs all around, engages radially in the screw head 36, but is open to the outside . In order to be able to use the special screw head designed in this way at the same time to actuate the fastening screws 34, the fastening screws 34 are designed as hexagon socket screws.

Fig. 1 can also be seen that the connection head 32 of the front foot 26 is slotted in its rear half. This is provided when the chair is to be provided with an armrest 40. The bend 42 provided at the lower end is then complementary to the connection head 32 of the forefoot 26 so that the armrest engages with a wedge in the gap of the connection head of the forefoot. The wedge also has an opening so that it passes through the rear of the two fastening screws 34 and connects to the connection head 32 of the forefoot 26. The top and bottom of the armrest 40 are correspondingly extended in the area of the bend 42 above and below the wedge in order to cover corresponding recesses in the connection head 32 of the forefoot 26, as can be clearly seen in the figure.

In order to basically get by with only one shape of the forefoot 26, even when chairs without armrests 40 are used, there is a complementary piece 44. This can be pushed onto the rear half of the connection head 32 of the forefoot 26 instead of the offset 42 of the armrest 40 and be fixed with the rear of the two fastening screws 34.

The armrest 40 has at its upper end a cylindrical connector 46 which can be screwed in the manner shown by means of two fixing screws 48 and a spacer 50 to bridge the width of the rear foot 28 into the backrest part of the seat shell 10. It is obvious that by appropriately arranging the point of attack of the armrest 40 on the backrest of the seat shell 10 and by the armrest 40, the inclination behavior of the backrest can be influenced as desired. If an armrest 40 is present, then a screw plate 52 is pushed between the ribs from behind. This screw plate 52 is with two threaded holes provided so that the fixing screws 48 find a good hold therein. However, if the chair is used without armrest 40, then the corresponding point on the backrest can be closed by a cover 54 attached.

Fig. 1 further shows that a space remains between the two reinforcements 20 into which a seat number holder 56 can be inserted, which remains permanently on the chair.

If the chair is used as an edge chair of a row, a row number carrier 58 can also be provided. The row number carrier has, as can be seen in FIG. 1, snap-in openings with which it can be pressed resiliently into the annular grooves 38 of the screw heads 36 of the fastening screws 34 lying horizontally next to one another. As simple as the row number carrier 58 is positioned, it is of course also easy to remove. Nevertheless, it holds reliably and permanently.

If value is not placed on the chair numbering with the aid of the seat number holder 56, as for example in seminar or classrooms, then an ashtray 59 can also be attached at this point, which is also simply pressed in between the two reinforcements 20 for this purpose.

1 shows a row connector 60 on the other side of the seat shell 10. This connector is a loose individual part. This makes it possible to use this loose part only as required. Because if a footless seat shell according to FIG. 2 is suspended between the chairs according to FIG. 1, it is not required there. It then serves at most to cover the protruding screws at the end of the row. This is also the reason that at this point, for example, if arm supports 40 are not present, a writing plate 61 can instead be attached at this point using the rear fastening screw 34.

The row connector 60, as can be seen in FIG. 1, has two snap-in openings on its side facing the seat shell 10, of which the front opening is downward and the rear one is open to the rear. The row connector can be positioned so easily on the chair that first the snap-open opening, which is open to the rear, is pressed onto the screw head 36 of the rear of the two fastening screws 34, the row connector being pivoted up with its front end. If the snap-in opening which is open to the rear is snapped into the annular groove 38 of the screw head 36 of the rear fastening screw 34, then the front connector is pivoted downward as the pivot axis of the row connector 60 and in the same way into the annular groove 38 of the screw head 36 of the front of the two Fixing screws 34 pressed in and fixed in this way on the chair. Of course, the geometry of these two different snap-in openings can also be reversed without any significant change in handling so that the front snap-in opening of the row connector opens to the front, but the rear one opens downward. However, the embodiment of row connector 60 shown in FIG. 1 is preferred.

It should be noted, however, that the two snap-in openings shown in FIG. 1 facing the seat shell 10 of the chair to which the row connector 60 is attached only partially extend into the body of the row connector 10. This is because the other side of the row connector 60 is designed differently, as can be seen in FIG. 3 (see below).

2 now shows a seat shell 10 with front feet 26 and rear feet 28 and the screw heads 36 with hexagon socket and annular groove 38, which in the manner explained represent the lateral outer limitation of the chair. In this way, however, only each edge chair, but otherwise only every second chair in a row, is formed. In between, footless seat shells 10 'are hung, which are provided on the side with padlocks 62, which are made of metal, preferably sheet steel. The row connector 60, however, are preferably made of plastic. The footless seat shells 10 ', as clearly shown in FIG. 2, no longer have screw heads 36 on the outer boundary, but rather a hook lock 62. This is what matters, as is the arrangement of the screw heads on the chairs serving as basic elements with feet on both sides. The padlocks 62 on the footless seat shell 10 'have a forwardly open snap-in opening 64 for insertion into the annular groove 38 of the front of the two fastening screws 34 of an adjacent chair with feet and a rear snap-in opening which is open obliquely downwards and forwards for insertion into the annular groove 38 of the rear of the two mounting screws 34.

If the neighboring chairs are in position, it is therefore sufficient to hang the footless seat shell 10 'tilted forward with the two front snap-in openings of its two padlocks 62 in the ring grooves 38 of the two front fastening screws 34 of the neighboring chairs in series and then about this pivot axis to push back and down until the rear snap-in opening of the padlock 62, which is tangential with respect to the pivot axis, is also engaged in the corresponding annular groove 38 of the rear of the two fastening screws 34 of the neighboring chairs.

It is obvious that considerably less material is required in this way for the construction of rows of chairs with an equal number of seats. This will decrease also the weight to be handled when assembling and dismantling the rows of chairs and the space required for the chairs to be stacked. Nevertheless, there is no disadvantage in use despite this considerable cost reduction and handling advantages.

Depending on the intended use, this system can also be used to hang up tray tables 64 between adjacent chairs in the same way instead of the footless seat shells 10 '. For this purpose, instead of the padlocks 62 of the footless seat shells 10 'on their underside, they have hook-in rails 66, which are also provided in pairs and are provided with snap-in openings in the manner of those of the padlocks 62. The storage tables 64 are inserted in the same way as explained above for the footless seat shells 10 '.

FIG. 3 shows the row connector 60 shown in FIG. 1 only from one side and also from the other side. It can clearly be seen that on this other side of the row connector both snap-in openings are open at the bottom. This has the following meaning:

The row connector 60 is, as described above, detachably but firmly attached to the right (or left) outside of a chair and protrudes somewhat here. Likewise, the ring grooves 38 having screw heads 36 of the two fastening screws 34 protrude somewhat in the row on the left (or right) side of the adjacent chair. As indicated in FIG. 3 by dashed lines, the chair having the row connector 60 can simply be placed from above onto the two screw heads 36 of the chair adjacent in the row and thus releasably but firmly connected to the neighboring chair. This increases the versatility of the chair construction.

At this point, however, it is explicitly again to point out that the special case is explained in Fig. 3, in which all the chairs assembled into a row are provided with four individual feet. It is essential, however, that the connection principle explained allows the number of complete, footed chairs to be reduced to almost 50% of the total number of chairs required, by using the footless seat shells, as explained above with reference to FIG. 2. It should be noted that the chaining and hanging is done entirely without the use of tools.

Claims (9)

1. Chair construction for the assembly of rows of chairs from chairs connected to one another, whereby the lateral outer boundary of a chair is formed by two screwheads (36) arranged at a distance behind one another, each screwhead having an annular groove (38), into which engage catch openings of depending fasteners (62) on the adjacent chair,
   characterized in that

   - each chair is provided on both sides with screwheads (36), projecting to the outside, each with an annular groove (38),

   - in each case between two chairs of this kind a footless intermediate element (seat bowl 10', deposit table 64) can be suspended,

   - the intermediate element (10', 64) in each case has on both sides a depending fastener (62 or 66) each with two catch openings, and

   - the front catch opening is open to the front, the rear catch opening to the bottom.
2. Chair construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the depending fastener (62) is screwed in each case to a traverse support (16) arranged under the seat bowl (10') in the region of its front edge.
3. Chair construction according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the circular screwheads (36), projecting on both sides, are parts of fastening screws (34) which serve to fasten the chair feet (26, 28) to the traverse support (16) and are constructed as inner hexagon head screws.
4. Chair construction according to claim 3, characterized in that the chair feet (26, 28) on their upper end have terminal heads (32), bent at angles into the horizontal line, with openings for the two fastening screws (34).
5. Chair construction according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the fastening screws (34) also hold together the seat bowl (10, 10') and the traverse support (16).
6. Chair construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate element is a footless seat bowl (10').
7. Chair construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate element is a deposit table (64).
8. Chair construction according to claim 7, characterized in that the deposit table (64) on its underside has two depending rails (66), each of which has two catch openings, the front one being open to the front, the rear one to the bottom.
9. Chair construction according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that to cover laterally projecting screwheads (36) and to connect adjacent chairs with feet there is provided a row connector (60), having catch openings on both sides for the screwheads (36), the catch openings of the row connector on one side both being open to the bottom, on the other side one being open to the bottom, the other, however, to the back.

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