EP2363042A1

EP2363042A1 - Armchair

Info

Publication number: EP2363042A1
Application number: EP11156970A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Giorgetti
Original assignee: Giorgetti SpA
Current assignee: Giorgetti SpA
Priority date: 2010-03-06
Filing date: 2011-03-04
Publication date: 2011-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-04
Also published as: IT1398552B1; EP2363042B1; ITMI20100372A1

Abstract

There is disclosed an upholstered armchair (1) comprising:
- an upholstered seat (2),
- an upholstered back (3),
- a support frame (4) for said seat (2);
- a support frame (5) for said back (3);

wherein said support frame (5) of said back (3) comprises a plurality of torsion springs (51, 51, ... 51), attached to said support frame (4) of said seat (3).

Description

There is disclosed herein an upholstered armchair.
Prior art armchairs are classified according to the desired posture.
Therefore, according to posture, armchairs include: conversation armchairs, lounges and bergeres.
In conversation armchairs, the back is approximately vertical and indicatively reaches a height slightly above the lumbar region of the user.
In bergere armchairs, the back is also approximately vertical but indicatively reaches the shoulders; a headrest is also usually provided.
In lounges, the back is inclined downwards and a headrest is provided.
In prior art, armchairs are known, which permit a change of posture and hence of armchair use.
For instance, armchairs with reclining backs or removable headrests are known.
The addition of armchair posture changing mechanisms considerably increases armchair manufacturing costs. Furthermore, armchair posture changing mechanisms may be exposed to malfunctioning and failures.
The object of the armchair as described blow is to obviate at least some of the prior art drawbacks and particularly those set out hereinbefore.
A possible embodiment of an armchair as defined in the attached claims will be described hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a support frame for an armchair;
Figure 1A is a partially sectional perspective view including the support frame of Figure 1;
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of a detail of the frame of Figure 1; and
Figure 3 shows an armchair constructed with the support frame of Figure 1.

Referring to the numerals of the drawings, numeral 1 generally designates an upholstered armchair comprising an upholstered seat 2 and an upholstered back 3.
A support frame 4 for the seat 2 and a support frame 5 for the back 3 are provided.
The support frame 4 for the seat 2 is substantially rigid and may be formed from a wooden framework encircled at its top by elastic bands (not shown).
In the embodiment as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the framework 4 comprises an ellipsoidal ring 41, a bottom panel 42 and uprights 43, 43, ... 43 that connect the ellipsoidal ring 41 to the bottom panel 42.
The padding material for upholstering the seat 2 and the back 3 may be polyurethane foam 9.
Then, the seat 2 and the back 3 are covered with a covering, such as fabric or leather, which encloses the padding and the support frame.
The outer shape of the armchair is given by the covering of the seat 2 and the covering of the back 3, which form a seamless surface, with no slot or aperture.
When the user sits on the armchair, he/she contacts the outer covering of the seat 2 and the outer covering of the back 3.
The support frame 5 of the back 3 comprises a plurality of springs 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b... 52n, 53, which have a flexural behavior and are attached to the support frame 4 of the seat 3.
The flexural springs 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, ...52n, 53 are incorporated in the upholstery of the back 3 and extend from bottom to top to about the upper edge of the back 3.
By being attached to the support frame 4 of the seat 2, the flexural springs 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, ...52n, 53 impart elasticity to the whole back 3, from the seat level to the upper end.
The user may assume the desired posture and the back 3, which is resilient, makes the posture more comfortable.
As shown in Figure 1, the portions of the flexural springs 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b... 52n, 53, which project out of the framework 4 are free, i.e. have no mutual connection and may bend independently from one another.
This characteristic further improves the comfort of the armchair 1.
Therefore, the back 3 of the armchair naturally fits any position change of the user sitting on the armchair, thereby affording high comfort.
When the user stands up from the armchair, the back 3 returns to the original shape.
In the illustrated embodiment, the back 3 has a substantially and/or generally arched conformation, relative to an axis X orthogonal to the seat 2.
As shown in Figure 3, the back 3 has a first portion 31 of substantially and/or generally constant height, which is adapted to also act as an armrest.
In a possible embodiment, the first portion 31 of the back 3 has a height from the seat ranging from about 23 to 26 cm. The back also has a second portion 32 having a progressively increasing height, which is adapted to act as a backrest. Finally, the back 3 has a third portion 32 of substantially and/or generally constant height, which is adapted to also act as shoulder rest and headrest.
In a possible embodiment, the third portion 33 of the back 3 has a height from the seat ranging from about 55 to 58 cm.
The peculiar shape of the back and the flexibility of its structure allow the armchair as shown in the accompanying drawings to be used as a normal conversation armchair, as a bergere and as a lounge, without the provision of complex and expensive mechanical hardware.
In the illustrated embodiment, the support frame 5 of the back 3 comprises a plurality of flat spring steel bars 51a, 51b, 51c, 52, 52,... 52, 53 having one end (the lower end) driven in the support frame 4 of the seat 3.
In order to obtain the right section modulus value, the flat bars are disposed with the larger surface of the bars approximately parallel to the surface of the back.
Preferably, the lower ends of the flat bars are fastened to the bottom panel 42 by fastener means, such as screws 421. The flat spring steel bars may have a thickness ranging from about 1.5 to 3 mm.
Preferably, the flat spring steel bars have different thicknesses, to impart a differential deformability to the back 3.
In a possible embodiment, the first flat bar 51a (inserted in the first part 31 of the back 3), and the last flat bar 53 (inserted in the third part of the back 33) have a greater thickness, e.g. about 3 mm, whereas the remaining bars have a smaller thickness (e.g. about 1.5 mm).
In a possible embodiment, at least one, preferably two of the springs 51b, 51c inserted in said first portion 31 of the back 3 include two flat spring steel bars (e.g. two flat bars, each 1.5 mm thick) joined together to obtain a total thickness of about 3 mm.
This solution affords a considerable elastic deformation.
In the preferred embodiment, the flat bars 51a, 51b, 51c, 52, 52, ...52, 53 are introduced into slot holes formed by milling.
Current milling technology does not allow quick and inexpensive forming of slot holes of less than 3 mm diameter.
If the thickness of the flat bars is smaller than the width of the slot holes, shims 422 are added to eliminate any clearance.
Preferably, at least some of the flat bars 51a, 51b, inserted at the first portion 31 of the back 3 have a free end folded (e.g. to form a 90° angle) for improved support of the part of the back that is designed to also act as an armrest.
In a possible embodiment, the flat spring steel bars 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, ... 52n, 53 are driven into seats arranged over a portion having a conical section, e.g. along a portion of an ellipse.
In the illustrated embodiment, the flat spring steel bars 51, 51b, 52a, 52b, ... 52n, 53 are disposed with lower ends that tend to converge and upper ends that tend to diverge. Preferably, the armchair is constrained to a rotating base 6, such as a metal rotating base having a ball bearing. Rotating bases for armchairs are known in the art and will not be further described.
In the embodiment as shown in Figure 3, the first portion 31 of the back 3 is the one to the left of the user, whereas the third portion 33 of the back is the one to the right of the user.
Obviously, the armchair may have an inverted profile, so that the portion of the back that can be also used as an armrest is the right portion and not the left one.
This result is achievable by simply reversing the order of the flat bars 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b... 52n, 53 driven into and fixed to the framework 4.

Claims

An armchair (1) comprising:
a) an upholstered and covered seat (2);

b) an upholstered and covered back (3);

c) a support frame (4) for said seat (2);

d) a support frame (5) for said back (3);
wherein said support frame (5) of said back (3) comprises a plurality of flexural springs (51a, 51b, 51c, 52, 52, ... 52, 53), having lower ends attached to said support frame (4) of said seat (3) and having free upper ends.
An armchair of claim 1,
wherein said back (3) has a substantially and/or generally arched conformation, relative to an axis (X) orthogonal to said seat (2);
wherein said back (3) has a first portion (31) of substantially and/or generally constant height, said first portion (31) being adapted to act as an armrest, a second portion (32) of progressively increasing height, said second portion (32) being adapted to act as a backrest, and a third portion (33) of substantially and/or generally constant height, said third portion being adapted to also act as a shoulder rest and a headrest.
An armchair as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said support frame (5) of said back (3) comprises a plurality of flat spring steel bars (51a, 51b, 51c, 52... 52, 53), having one end driven in said support frame (4) of said seat (2), said support frame having holes for insertion of said flat spring steel bars.
An armchair as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one flat spring steel bar (51a) at said first portion (31) of said back and at least one flat spring steel bar (53) at said third portion (33) of said back (3) are thicker than the remaining flat spring steel bars (52, 52... 52).
An armchair as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein at least one of the springs (51b, 51c) inserted in said first portion (31) of said back (3) comprises two flat spring steel bars joined together.
An armchair as claimed in claim 3 or 4 or 5, wherein at least some of said flat spring steel bars (51b, 51c) inserted in said first portion (31) of said back (3) have a free end that is folded for improved support of said first portion (31) of said back (3) which is adapted to also act as an armrest.
An armchair as claimed in claim 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein said flat spring steel bars (51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, ... 52n, 53) are driven into seats arranged over a portion having a conical section, e.g. along a portion of an ellipse.
An armchair as claimed in claim 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 wherein said flat spring steel bars (51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, ... 52n, 53) are disposed with substantially and/or generally diverging orientations.
An armchair as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said seat (2) is constrained to a rotating base (6).