EP0780110A1 - Chair, particularly chair for disabled person - Google Patents

Abstract

The seat, particularly a chair, comprises a backrest (1) and seat-section (3) on a mounting structure (11) Both a motor (9) and a spring unit (10) pivot in a vertical plane on fixed axes (14-21). They are coupled to a common hinge spindle (8) to the backrest, so that this moves in the vertical direction during their pivoting movement. A further hinge spindle (2) couples the backrest and seat-section together, all hinge axes being horizontal and parallel. The spindle (2) can be solidly coupled by levers (4,5) to the backrest and seat-section. The motor can be linear, with a spindle drive, or a double-acting ram, particularly hydraulic. The spring unit can be formed by a compressed-gas spring.

Description

The invention relates to seating, in particular a chair for the disabled with a backrest, a seat and a support structure on which the backrest and the seat are arranged.

Older and sick people often have difficulty taking the desired seating position or leaving the seating furniture after taking a seating position without outside help.

It is already known from US Pat. No. 3,479,087 to provide chairs or toilet glasses with inflatable tubes in order to bring the seat, for example toilet glasses, into an acute-angled position with respect to the horizontal and thereby to make it easier for the handicapped or weak person to get up.

DE-OS 44 41 411 relates to an armchair which has a motor-assisted linear actuation drive mechanism with a lead screw nut which can be moved linearly when a motor-driven spindle rotates, in order to selectively actuate a lifting and swiveling linkage mechanism and thereby effect a lifting and swiveling movement of the armchair when the motor is operated in a first direction. By rotating the spindle in a second opposite direction, the armchair is lowered into the normal sitting position. Continued rotation in the second direction engages a first cam block pivotally mounted on the lead screw nut with a first follower unit to cause the leg rest unit to extend. Further rotation in the second direction causes a second cam block pivotally supported on the lead screw nut to engage a second follower unit to produce a tilt movement of the armchair. These sequential leg rest unit and tilt linkage operations are independent and can easily be disabled to selectively eliminate one of these features. This construction is very complex, expensive and has only a limited area of application.

Nockenführung" aufweist, die durch Drehung einer Spindel linear beweglich ist, um wahlweise einen Hub- und Schwenkgestängemechanismus zu betätigen und dadurch eine Hub- und Vorwärtsschwenkbewegung des Sessels zu bewirken, wenn der Motor in einer ersten Richtung betrieben wird. Durch Drehung der Spindel in einer zweiten entgegengesetzten Richtung kann der Sessel in die normale Sitzposition abgesenkt werden. Eine fortgesetzte Drehung in der zweiten Richtung bewirkt ein nachfolgendes Ausfahren einer Beinunterstützungseinheit, der eine Neigungsbewegung des Sessels folgt. Diese aufeinanderfolgenden Funktionen der Beinunterstützungseinheit und des Neigungsgestänges sind unabhängig und können in einfacher Weise außer Betrieb gesetzt werden, um wahlweise eines dieser Merkmale auszuscheiden. Auch diese Konstruktion ist bauaufwendig und demgemäß teuer. Sie dürfte nur bei sehr aufwendigen sogenannten Fernsehsesseln mit hohem Komfort zur Anwendung gelangen.From DE-OS 41 22 375 an armchair is known which has a motor-assisted linear actuation drive mechanism which has a modified nut or

Cam guide "which is linearly movable by rotation of a spindle to selectively actuate a lift and swivel linkage mechanism and thereby cause a lift and swivel movement of the chair when the motor is operated in a first direction. By rotating the spindle in one In the second opposite direction, the armchair can be lowered into the normal sitting position. Continued rotation in the second direction results in a subsequent extension of a leg support unit, which is followed by an inclination movement of the armchair. These successive functions of the leg support unit and the inclination linkage are independent and can be simply and exceptionally This construction is complex and therefore expensive and should only be used with very complex so-called television armchairs with high comfort.

From US-PS 5,316,370 a portable seat support aid is previously known, which is also intended to make it easier for a disabled, sick or weak person to get up from a chair. It is a pillow-like structure that is placed on the actual chair and that should lift the person so that they at least get into a stooped position. Compression springs are used to push the auxiliary pillow in question against the weight of the person when it is triggered. A stable one Seating is not achieved by this, and it seems questionable whether this construction has a wide range of applications at all, since in the end the furniture on which the construction must be placed must have a certain stability and there is a risk that the seating will be destroyed, damaged or is at least scratched. This does not result in a uniform, comfortable seating.

The US-PS 5,098,158 illustrates a much more comfortable comfortable recliner with numerous lifting aids and motors and springs. This construction is used for very complex recliners and is not intended for disabled, sick or weak people.

US Pat. No. 5,094,508 relates to a chair with a seat that can be raised and lowered and tilted at an acute angle. The individual components of the chair are composed of numerous levers that can be swiveled around many articulation points.

From US-PS 5,011,224 you can also see a piece of seating furniture, which should make it easier for a person to get up.

This also applies to the design according to US Pat. No. 4,946,222, which relates to seating furniture with a seat that can be raised and lowered and tilted. The person can be tilted forward towards their feet. However, it is also possible to tilt the seating furniture into the rest position. The construction is very complex and has numerous links, levers and swivel axes as they are used in particular in very expensive television armchairs in the higher price ranges.

From US Pat. No. 4,938,533 a type of seating furniture is also previously known, with which it should be possible to put a person on their feet.

Finally, US Pat. No. 4,552,404 relates to seating with a seat that can be raised and lowered in the manner of a doctor's chair.

The invention has for its object to design a piece of seating of the generic type so that not only the normal sitting position with intermediate positions of the backrest, but also a rest position (lying position) and a position of the backrest and seat can be adjusted with the simplest construction with few components, where disabled, weak or sick people are put on their feet by the seating furniture themselves.

The object is achieved by the features set out in claim 1 .

In the embodiment according to the invention, a piece of seating furniture requires only a drive motor and a spring, the drive motor and spring element intersecting at an acute angle in one point with their longitudinal axes and here being coupled to one another by a common pivot axis, while the motor has its other end via a is arranged on the support structure of the non-movable pivot axis in the vertical plane and the spring element itself is also mounted on the support structure at a distance from this pivot axis via a further pivot axis running parallel to this stationary pivot axis of the motor. In this way, the backrest can be pivoted up and down as well as the backrest and seat as a whole can be pivoted up to a vertical or approximately vertical position by a single motor in order to move the sick, weak or otherwise disabled person into an upright position. With this construction, the number of lifts, in particular but also of swivel axes and drive motors, is reduced to a minimum, so that overall not only a compact but also inexpensive, trouble-free construction results.

The spring element supports the driving force of the motor when swiveling upwards and also keeps the backrest and seat in the desired position, for example in a vertical position, even in the event of a failure of the motor, for example in a vertical position, so that the parts do not inadvertently fail when the motor drive fails can fall down.

In the claims 2 to 13 inventive and advantageous embodiments are described.

In the embodiment according to claim 2 , the common pivot axis of the motor drive and the spring element is coupled to the backrest via a lever, which swivels the backrest up and down when the drive motor is actuated accordingly.

According to claim 3 , the motor is designed as a linear motor.

For this, claims 4 to 6 describe advantageous embodiments depending on the application.

For example, claim 4 describes a spindle motor as a linear motor. The spindle is connected at one end to the spring element via the common pivot axis, while the housing, in which the spindle nut is arranged, is pivotally mounted in the vertical plane via the stationary pivot axis.

In the embodiment according to claim 5 , the engine is designed as a piston-cylinder unit to be acted on alternately on both sides by pressure medium pressure, for example hydraulically, the piston rod being led out of the cylinder and being mounted via the pivot axis common to the spring element, while the cylinder is arranged at its opposite end on the stationary construction on the stationary pivot axis.

Claim 6 describes an embodiment in which the linear motor is formed by an electric motor. Here, too, a part is led out of the cylindrical housing and arranged so as to be pivotable in the vertical plane via the pivot axis common to the spring element.

According to patent claim 7 , the spring element is designed as a gas pressure spring, which supports the lifting movement of the motor to a completely vertical position of the backrest and seat.

Claim 8 describes a further advantageous embodiment.

In the embodiment according to claim 9 , the holding structure is equipped on its underside with rollers. At least one of the rollers, preferably also a plurality of rollers, can be equipped with a brake so that the seating furniture cannot accidentally roll away.

The embodiment according to claim 10 has its own drive, so that disabled, old or weakened people can use battery drive or the like either in corridors, for example, of hospitals, disabled or nursing homes, or on the street with the seating furniture to move themselves. If the persons concerned want to take up a different sitting position or even stand up, this can easily be done by actuating the motor drive. Because of the simple, robust construction, only relatively low investment costs can be expected even with seating that is equipped with its own drive.

Advantageous embodiments are described in claims 11 to 13 .

Fig. 1

ein Sitzmöbel in der Seitenansicht, wobei die Rückenlehne in Sitzposition geschwenkt ist;

Fig. 2

das aus Fig. 1 ersichtliche Sitzmöbel, wobei die Rückenlehne mehr nach hinten geschwenkt wurde und

Fig. 3

das aus den Fig. 1 und 2 ersichtliche Sitzmöbel mit in annähernd vertikaler Stellung geschwenkter Rückenlehne und Sitzfläche.

The invention is partly illustrated schematically in the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1

a seating in side view, the backrest is pivoted into the sitting position;

Fig. 2

the apparent from Fig. 1 seating, the backrest has been pivoted more back and

Fig. 3

the apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2 seating with the backrest and seat pivoted into an approximately vertical position.

The reference numeral 1 illustrates a backrest which is pivotally coupled in a vertical plane via a pivot axis 2 with a seat surface 3 via control levers 4 and 5. The handlebar levers 4 and 5 are rigid, the handlebar lever 4 being rigidly connected to the backrest 1 and the handlebar lever 5 being rigidly connected to the seat 3.

On the back 6, a link 7 is rigidly coupled to the backrest 1, which is assigned to a motor 9 and a spring element 10 via a pivot axis 8. The axis 8 is arranged in a support structure 11, the body of the seating, for. B. can be an armchair or a wheelchair.

In the embodiment shown, the motor 9 is designed as a piston-cylinder unit. There are also other linear motors, e.g. B. spindle drives, electric motors or the like into consideration. A piston rod 12 is led out of a cylinder 13. The piston rod 12 is also pivotally connected in the vertical direction to the pivot axis 8 like the link 7.

The pivot axis 8 is arranged to be movable.

A cylinder 13 of the piston-cylinder unit is arranged via an eye in the vertical plane, that is to say in the direction X or Y, on a pivot axis 14 which is likewise mounted in the holding structure 11, but is immovable. At 15, a piston mounted in a sealing manner in the cylinder 13 is indicated. The piston-cylinder unit is to be acted upon alternately on both sides with pressure medium pressure, in particular with hydraulic oil, which is supplied via lines not shown from a pressure medium source, for example from a pump (also not shown) to one or the other chamber 16 or 17. This can be done, for example, by means of a pressure medium pump which is arranged in the holding structure 11 and can be actuated manually, for example by means of the foot of an operator.

In the present case, the spring element 10 is also designed as a piston-cylinder unit, specifically as a prestressed gas pressure spring, the piston rod of which bears the reference symbol 18, which is led out of a cylinder 19 and is likewise coupled in the vertical direction to the pivot axis 8. The pivot centers (centers of rotation) of the articulations of the piston rods 12 and 18 are thus arranged orthogonally on the same pivot axis 8. For this purpose, for example, the piston rods 12 and 18 can each be provided with an eye, which are mounted next to one another on the pivot axis 8.

At 20, a piston of the spring element 10 is illustrated.

The cylinder 19 is arranged on its end section facing away from the piston rod 8 via an eye (not shown) and a pivot axis 21 likewise in the X or Y direction, that is to say also in a vertical plane so as to be pivotable.

The pivot axes 2, 8, 21 and 14 run parallel and, in the position of the base 22 shown in the drawing, also each horizontally.

The pivot axis 21, like the pivot axis 14, is arranged immovably in the holding structure 11, while the two pivot axes 2 and 8 change their height by pivoting according to a movement in the direction X or Y, which is clearly evident from a comparison of the individual in FIGS 3 apparent positions.

The seat 3 is supported, moreover, via rigid elements 22 on the axis 21 and thus on the support structure 11.

At 23, a rigid stop is provided, which is attached to the top of the support structure 11 and on which the seat 3 rests in the horizontal position (FIG. 1).

The way the seating works is as follows:

Assume that Fig. 1 represents the starting position and the backrest 1 is to be lowered. Then the chamber 16 is pressurized with hydraulic fluid, for example hydraulic oil. This results in the piston rod 12 being retracted into the cylinder 13, the piston 20 also being retracted further into the cylinder 19 via the piston rod 18. The backrest 1 moves in the direction X (FIG. 2), that is to say in a flatter position. The seat 3 remains in its horizontal position shown in FIG. 1, since it rests on the stop 23.

However, if a steeper position of the backrest 1 is desired, the other chamber 17 is pressurized, in particular hydraulic oil. This results in an extension of the piston 15 and thus also the piston rod 12 from the cylinder 13.

As a result, the pivot axis 8 is raised. The backrest 1 also swivels in the Y direction. The piston 20 of the spring element 10 is pushed out of the cylinder 19, the prestressed gas supporting this movement. The backrest 1 can for example be pivoted further into the position shown in FIG. 3. A person sitting on the seating furniture is practically put on their feet so that they can walk away. For example, the person can hold on to armrests (not shown). The triggering movement for the pump can be done via hand switches, buttons or the like, which are in the armrest or on other parts of the seating can be integrated so that the back and forth pivoting of the backrest 1 and the seat 3 can be done automatically. When swiveling up in the Y direction, the seat 3 also leaves the rigid stop 23 and likewise moves in the Y direction. Both parts, that is to say the backrest 1 and the seat surface 3, are only moved by the motor 9, the spring element 10 having a supporting effect. As can be seen, due to the special arrangement of the piston rods 12 and 18, but also the handlebar 7, only a few pivot axes are required. Only one motor together ensures the synchronous, simultaneous and sensible pivoting and adjustment of the backrest 1 and seat 3 from the approximately vertical position to any intermediate position.

The features described in the abstract, in the patent claims and in the description and apparent from the drawing can be essential for realizing the invention both individually and in any combination.

Reference list

1

backrest

2nd

Swivel axis

3rd

Seat

4th

Handlebar lever

5

"

6

back

7

Handlebars

8th

axis

9

Motor, linear motor, piston-cylinder unit, spindle drive, electric motor

10th

Spring element, gas pressure spring

11

Support structure

12th

Piston rod

13

cylinder

14

Swivel axis

15

piston

16

chamber

17th

"

18th

Piston rod

19th

cylinder

20th

piston

21

Swivel axis

22

Floor

23

attack

X

Swivel direction

Y

"

bibliography

• DE-OS 44 41 411
• DE-OS 41 22 375
• U.S. Patent 3,479,087
• U.S. Patent 5,316,370
• U.S. Patent 5,098,158
• U.S. Patent 5,094,508
• U.S. Patent 5,011,224
• U.S. Patent 4,946,222
• U.S. Patent 4,938,533
• U.S. Patent 4,552,404

Claims (13)

Seating furniture, in particular a chair for the disabled, with a backrest (1), a seat (3) and a support structure (11) on which the backrest (1) and the seat (3) are arranged, with a motor (9) and a spring element ( 10) which are arranged so as to be pivotable about a non-movable pivot axis (14 or 21) on the holding structure in the vertical plane (X or Y) and both the motor (9) and the spring element (10) via a common, movable pivot axis ( 8) are coupled to the backrest (1), also pivotably movably in the vertical plane (X or Y), such that this pivot axis (8) moves when pivoting in the vertical plane, and that the backrest (1) and the seat surface (3rd ) are connected to each other via a pivot axis (2), and all pivot axes (2, 8, 14, 21) run parallel to one another and horizontally. Seating furniture according to claim 1, characterized in that the pivot axis (2) arranged between the backrest (1) and the seat surface (3) is rigid with the backrest (1) on the one hand via a rigid control arm (4) and on the other hand via a likewise rigid control arm ( 5) are rigidly coupled to the seat (3). Seating furniture according to claim 1 and / or 2, characterized in that the motor (10) is designed as a linear motor. Seating furniture according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the linear motor (10) is a spindle drive motor. Seating furniture according to claim 3, characterized in that the linear motor is designed as a piston-cylinder unit to be alternately pressurized on both sides, in particular hydraulically. Seating furniture according to claim 3, characterized in that the linear motor is an electric motor. Seating furniture according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the spring element (10) is designed as a gas pressure spring. Seating furniture according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that both the motor (9) and the spring element (10) are pivotally coupled to the common pivot axis (8) via a piston rod (12 or 18), while the cylinders (13) of the motor (9) on the one hand and the cylinder (19) of the gas pressure spring on the other hand are pivotally coupled to the respectively assigned, stationary pivot axis (14 or 21). Seating furniture according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the holding structure (11) is provided with rollers. Seating furniture according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the seating furniture is provided with a travel drive motor for driving wheels or rollers. Seating furniture according to claim 10, characterized in that the drive motor comprises a rechargeable battery. Seating furniture according to claim 10, characterized in that the drive motor is a gasoline engine. Seating furniture according to claim 10, characterized in that control buttons for actuating the drive motor and the motor (9) are arranged in armrests or the like.

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