Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/02—Seat parts
  • A47C7/024—Seat parts with double seats
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/02—Seat parts
  • A47C7/029—Seat parts of non-adjustable shape adapted to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/02—Seat parts
  • A47C7/14—Seat parts of adjustable shape; elastically mounted ; adaptable to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions

Definitions

• the invention describes a chair seat similar to the one described in the introduction of patent claim 1 and a chair made with this chair seat.
• German Patent No. 800.488 describes a chair for the disabled where the seat is extended in a forward direction with two parallel], mutually independent adjustable supporting wings. These supporting wings can also be adjusted in order to meet different needs and positions of use, but the adjustment must take place in advance and is fairly bothersome to carry out. The mechanism of adjustment presented by this chair is not suited for chairs where the seat is to adjusted automatically due to different situations of use.
• German Publication No. 29 06 602 describes a chair for the disabled where the seat is divided into one fixed part shaped like a saddle, being raiseable, extending over the central part or the total rear side of the seat, and a front part pivoting downwards and forming the rest of the seat.
• the object is be able to lift the patient up to a standing position where the patient is supported by the seat of the chair, that is the saddle shaped part of the seat.
• This construction is not suitable for an ordinary office chair, where an easy adjustment is wanted due to the different positions of work and use.
• Norwegian Patent No. 157.003 describes chair particularily for persons with a stiff hip and/or legs, where a part of the seat can pivot downwards according to the position of the legs and be locked in a position adjusted for individual use. It is not possible to make this seat shape flexibly adjustable so that the user can reach different positions of the moveable parts of the seat without adjustement.
• the main object of this invention is to create a chair seat and a chair allowing the user to vary the positions of sitting, and at the same time having support when seated with the lower part of the body in different positions.
• the chair must be adjusted to serve as a working chair, e.g. office chairs, but also as ordinary chairs, e.g. chairs to be used in conference and meeting rooms as well as in canteens.
• the invention is described in the characterizing part of patent claim 1.
• the main point of this invention is linked to a particular structure of the seat with parts being mutually flexible, and to a connection offering the possibility of resetting the flexible parts into a neutral position.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a chair seat suitable for a chair in accordance with the invention.
• Fig. 2A-C show in perspective three positions of use for the chair seat shown in Fig. 1.
• Fig. 1 shows a chair seat 11 meant for a working chair or a meeting chair.
• the seat is devided into a rear part 12 extending across the width of the seat and covering 1/2-1/3 of the seat length, and a front part divided into three including a middle part 13 in the form of a saddle covering 1/4-1/3 of the width, and two symmetrically situated flaps or wings 14A-B completing the rest of the width of the seat 11, the shape being that of a horse shoe.
• the central saddle part 13 converges towards the front of the seat and is separated from the wings 14A-B by slits 15A-B, which form an opening between the wings and the saddle part 13.
• the saddle part 13 is connected to the rear part of the seat 12 at a division line 16, shown with dotted lines in the figure, while the two wings are connected with division lines 17A-B, running slightly backwards from the bottom of the slits 15A-B, and shown with a full line.
• the chair seat 11 in Fig. 2 has a starting position or a neutral position as shown in Fig. 2A. In this position all the parts are located at the same level, later called the normal level, and with a slight slope forwards. This corresponds to a normal position of sitting for a chair being used in offices or in meeting rooms.
• Fig. 2B shows a position of use where the wings 14A-B are bent making them slope downwards at an angle a with respect to the normal level. It is important to the function of the chair that this bending takes place with correct springing characteristics.
• the wings are to have a prestressing towards the normal level enabling the chair seat to provide even support to the body when the chair seat is in the normal position.
• To be able to have the right prestressing for heavy or light persons it may be necessary in certain circumstances to create chairs adjusted for different categories of weight, or forming the elastic spring mechanisms so that they may be adjustable. This can be an adjustment made once for the single person or the persons being in the same weight group.
• the position of use being illustrated in Fig. 2B is when the user wishes to stretch the body and increase the angle of the hips for a shorter or longer period of time.
• Fig. 2C shows a third position of use of the chair seat shown in Fig. 2 A where the back part of the seat 12 is pivoted upwards from the normal position,, while the saddle part 13 is kept in its normal position. This pivoting is achieved by means of an articulation with the lower part or a bending zone in the inner supporting structure of the seat.
• the chair seat as shown in Fig. 1 and 2A-B has an undercarriage being of known form and with a back rest. These parts can be based on known technology and will not be described any further.
• the saddle part 13 is formed with stuffing to an extent greater than for usual chair bolsters in the vertical direction. This makes the saddle part more easy to use and helps avoiding sharp edges both at the sides and in the front.
• the saddle part 13 may extend towards the front of the chair seat as shown in Fig. 1 or end further back as shown in Fig. 2.
• the seat in accordance with the invention can be built with a support plate made of stiff plastic material or metal. In the case where plastic material is used, this support plate may be formed with a bending zone of thinner material.
• the seat carrier can be made from a plastic material constructed to be bent in a certain angle, e.g. up to 15°, reverting to the starting position when the power causing the bending ceases.
• the choice of material and construction of the bending zone is critical because it is important to have correct force-bending characteristics and that this is consistent all through the life time of the chair. Tests have shown that the material KEVLAR (trademark) provides satisfying results with suitable design.
• An alternative form is a plate formed seat carrier divided by a hinge and being laminated with a layer of flexible material, such that after bending and removal of the bending force the seat returns to a neutral position.
• the plate parts may be connected by a bendable elastic material, or by a part of a material with low levels of elasticity.
• Both examples show a seat part covered with soft-elastic stuffing, e.g. foamed plastic, and a cover made of textile. It is possible to modify the seat in a way having only one stiff seat part, that can be flexed or pivoted, that is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane position and with respect to the surface of the saddle part centrally located. It is of vital importance in both cases that the part or parts being able to pivot and flex down about a crossing axis against an elastic counter force, in relation to the part being fixed, in order to enable the chage of sitting position by changing the angle of the hips of the user.
• soft-elastic stuffing e.g. foamed plastic

Landscapes

• Chair Legs, Seat Parts, And Backrests (AREA)
• Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)
• Chairs Characterized By Structure (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19897482

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (10)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1994
  • 1994-10-10 NO NO943820A patent/NO180221C/no unknown
• 1995
  • 1995-10-09 WO PCT/NO1995/000182 patent/WO1996010937A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1995-10-09 EP EP95934897A patent/EP0794718A1/de not_active Ceased
• 1997
  • 1997-04-10 FI FI971485A patent/FI971485A0/fi not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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