GB2262880A - Flat-folding seats - Google Patents

Abstract

In a tiered seating system, provision is made for collapsing a seat 2 onto a platform 4 so that the platform 4 can be moved beneath the next platform above it to retract the system. A support plate 10 includes a latching lever 38 for keeping the seat 2 upright when deployed. The latching lever can be disengaged by means of an operating member 44, which can be operated either by foot, or automatically upon displacement of the platform 4. The seats may have armrests which are automatically deployed when the associated seat base is pivoted downwards by an occupant. <IMAGE>

Description

SEATING This invention relates to seating, and is particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with auditorium or arena seating.

Tiered seating systems have been devised which, when not in use, can be retracted against a wall of the building in which they are situated, thus freeing the floor area for other purposes. To retract such systems, it is necessary for the seats to be folded, usually by pivoting them downwardly onto a base structure which supports them, before the base structures at different levels can be displaced one beneath the other to retract the seating. When the seating is deployed, the seats themselves must be latched in their erected position to prevent them from moving to their collapsed condition at the wrong time.

However, when retracting the system as a whole, the release of the latching mechanisms is an awkward and time-consuming process.

According to the present invention there is provided a seating arrangement comprising at least one seat which is pivotally supported on a base structure for movement between an erected condition and a collapsed condition, a latching mechanism being provided for retaining the seat in the erected condition, the latching mechanism comprising a latching element which has a foot-operable operating member for releasing the latching element to permit movement of the seat towards the collapsed condition.

Preferably, the seating arrangement comprises a plurality of seats mounted on a common frame, so that the seating arrangement can be erected and collapsed as a unit. A single operating member can thus be effective to release the latching element of the unit.

In a preferred embodiment, the latching element is pivotably mounted on the base structure, and is engageable with a detent fixed to the seat. The detent may be movable in a groove formed in a support plate of the base structure. The latching element and the seat itself may be pivotally supported by the support plate.

The latching element may be in the form of a lever, engageable with the detent at one end and provided with the operating member at the other end.

The operating member may be in the form of a bar extending laterally of the seat. A damper may be provided to damp the motion of the seat from the erected condition to the collapsed condition.

When seating arrangements in accordance with the present invention are used to create a tiered seating system, the base structures of the seating arrangements may comprise platforms which are displaceable one beneath the other to retract or deploy the system.

In a preferred embodiment of such a system, operating means is provided so that movement of one platform, so as beneath the next platform above it automatically causes operation of the latching mechanism of each seating arrangement on the higher platform to release the seats for movement towards their collapsed conditions. Subsequent movement of the higher platform may then be all that is required to cause the seats on that platform to fall to their collapsed conditions.

The operating means may comprise a swinging link disposed beneath each platform which is engageable by the next platform below it to cause operation of each operating element of the higher platform.

Sometimes, auditorium and arena seating is provided with armrests which are pivotable between operative and inoperative positions, as required by the occupant of an adjacent seat. Where armrests are provided in retractable tiered seating systems, the problem arises that the armrests need to be moved to their inoperative positions before the seats can be folded to their collapsed conditions. It is known for armrests to be resiliently biased to their inoperative positions, but this is irritating for the user since the armrest springs to its inoperative condition each time weight is taken off it.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seating arrangement comprising a seat base and an armrest which are each pivotable between an operative position and an inoperative position, biasing means being provided for biasing the armrest towards its inoperative position, the seat base being provided with a displaceable abutment which is moveable, upon movement of the seat base from its inoperative position to its operative position, from a released position in which the armrest is released for movement to its inoperative position by the biasing means, to an abutment position, in which such movement of the armrest is prevented.

With such a structure, an armrest which is shared between two adjacent seat bases will be moved to its operative position when either of the seat bases is deployed.

In a preferred embodiment, the abutment comprises a lever connected to the seat base. A link which is pivotally connected to the armrest is engageable by the abutment when the seat base is moved to its operative position to displace the armrest also to its operative position. The link may have engagement elements projecting from it laterally to both sides, for engagement with the abutment of adjacent seat bases.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried to effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of part of a tiered seating system; Figure 2 shows a seating unit of the system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of a seat; Figure 4 shows, on an enlarged scale, a latching mechanism for the seat of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow V in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a partial side view of a tier of the seating system of Figure 1; Figure 7 shows an operating mechanism for an armrest of the seat of Figure 3; and Figure 8 corresponds to Figure 7 but shows the armrest in an inoperative position.

The seating system shown in Figure 1 comprises several tiers of which three tiers A, B and C are shown. Seats 2 of tiers A and B are shown erected, with tiers A and B in their deployed positions relatively to each other. The seats 2 of tier C are shown folded, with tier C disposed directly beneath tier B.

The seats 2 of each tier are mounted on a base structure in the form of a platform 4. Each platform 4 has front and rear finishers 6, 8 and, towards the rear, a series of support plates 10. Each support plate 10 is secured to the platform 4 and to the rear finishers 8.

As shown in Figure 2, the seats 2 on each tier are arranged in seating units 12, with, for example, three seats 2 in each seating unit 12. Each seating unit 12 comprises a frame 14 made up of a cross-bar 16 and four uprights 18. The cross-bar 16 has two legs 20 which have slots 22 at their lower ends for accommodating the support plates 10 (Figure 5).

Each seat 2 comprises a seat base 24 and a backrest 26. The seat bases 24 are pivotally connected to the uprights 18, and are biased by springs to an upper, inoperative, position as shown for the two seats on the right as shown in Figure 2.

An armrest 28 is mounted on each upright 18. Each armrest 28 is pivotable between an operative position, and an inoperative position as will be discussed with reference to Figures 7 and 8.

Each seating unit 12 is releaseably retained in its erect condition by a latching mechanism shown in detail in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

Each leg 20 of the seating unit 12 is connected to the respective support plate 10 by a bolt 30 which defines a pivot axis 32. At the lower end of the leg 20 there is a detent pin 34, which can move along an arcuate slot 36 in the support plate 10 as the seat turns about the pivot axis 32.

A latching element in the form of a lever 38 is pivotally mounted on the support plate 10 by a pin 40.

At one end, the lever 38 has a latching recess 42 shaped to receive the detent pin 38. At the other end, the lever 38 has an operating member in the form of a horizontal bar 44 extended laterally of the seating unit 12 (see Figure 2).

A gas-filled strut 46 extends between two pins 48, 50 fixed, respectively, to the leg 20 and to the support plate 10. In the embodiment shown, the gasfilled strut 46 is provided at only one of the legs 20.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the platform 4 carries on its underside a bracket 52 which pivotally supports a swinging arm 54. An intermediate link 56 is secured to the arm 54 and projects through the platform 4. The intermediate link 56 has a head 58 which, in a rest position of the intermediate link 54, rests on the upper surface of the platform 4. As shown in Figure 6 the head 58 lies beneath the operating bar 44.

Figures 7 and 8 show one of the uprights 18, and a seat support 60 and an armrest 28 mounted on it. A pivot shaft 62 is secured to the seat support 60 and is supported for pivotal movement in a housing 64 which is fixed to the upright 18. An abutment lever 66 is fixed to the pivot shaft 62 at a position within the housing 64, and a torsion spring 68 acts between the wall of the housing 64 and the lever 66 to bias the seat support 60 (and the seat base 24 fixed to it) upwardly, to take the seat base 24 to the inoperative position shown for the two seats on the right as seen in Figure 2.

The upright 18 accommodates an actuating link 70 which, at its upper end, is pivotably connected to an armrest support 72 on which the armrest 28 is secured.

The armrest support 72 is pivotable relatively to the upright 18 about a shaft 74, which is situated between the armrest 28 and the position at which the link 70 is connected to the armrest support 72. The armrest is biased to the position shown in Figure 8 by a spring 76.

At its lower end, the actuating link 70 has a transverse pin 78 which projects laterally to both sides of the link 70. The pin 78 extends on each side through an arcuate slot 80 in the wall of the upright 18 into the housing 64, and into the path of movement of a notch 82 formed at the end of the abutment link 66.

The seating system shown in Figure 1 can be deployed in an arena or auditorium such that the platforms 4 are arranged in an escalating manner with the front finisher 6 of each platform disposed above the rear finisher 8 of the one below it. Thus, the rows of seats 2 are arranged in a tiered manner.

When the seating system is not required, for example when the floor space which it occupies is required for other purposes, it can be retracted against a wall at the rear of the seating system by sliding each platform 4 beneath the one above it, as shown for tiers B and C in Figure 1. In the retracted configuration, the seat bases 24 and armrests 28 are pivoted upwardly in their inoperative positions, and the seating arrangements 12 are folded down about the pivot axes 32 to lie on the respective platform 4.

In the erected condition, the seating arrangements 12 are retained in position by engagement of the detent pins 34 in the recesses 42 of the latching levers 38, in the manner shown in Figure 3. When unoccupied, each seat base 24 will be pivoted to its inoperative position by its spring 68, the seat support 60 then assuming the position shown in Figure 8. The resulting movement of the abutment lever 66 means that the portion of the pin 78 which projects into the respective housing 64 is free to travel along the slot 80. Consequently, if the seat bases 24 on both sides of the armrest 28 are unoccupied, and so move to their inoperative positions, the actuating link 70 will move to the position shown in Figure 8, under the influence of the spring 76 pivoting the armrest 28 upwardly.If either of the seat bases 24 is then pivoted downwards to be occupied again, the respective abutment lever 66 will be pivoted to the position shown in Figure 7 pushing the actuating link 70 upwardly so as to lower the armrest 28 for use by the occupant of the seat.

As a result of this mechanism, when all of the seats are unoccupied, both the seat bases 24 themselves and the armrests 28 will be in the operative positions as shown for the two seats on the right in Figure 2.

In order to fold the seats onto their platform 4, an operator needs to lift the operating bar 44, which can be done using the toe of his foot 84 (Figure 5).

By appropriate design, it can be arranged that each seat unit 12 will be released only if the lifting force on the operating bar is applied approximately at its mid-point, so as to avoid the possibility that the seat units may be accidentally released by randomly applied lifting forces. It will be appreciated from Figure 2 that the operating bar is partially enclosed by the rear finisher 8, so avoiding the possibility of accidental (or deliberate) operation of the operating bar 44 by people in the seats behind.

When the operating bar 44 is raised, each of the latching levers 38 of the respective seat unit 12 will be pivoted about its supporting shaft 40 so taking the recess 44 away from the detent pin 34. The seat unit can then be pivoted forwardly by the operator, or under its own weight as the platform 4 is pushed rearwardly to move it beneath the one behind. Even if this fails to cause the seat unit to fall forwardly, the rearward movement of its platform 4 will eventually bring the legs 20 into contact with the front finisher 6 of the platform behind, and this will cause the seat unit to be pushed forwardly.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, rearward movement of the lower platform (represented only by its rear finisher 8, shown in three positions, 8, 8' and 8'') will bring this rear finisher (at position 8') into contact with the swinging link 54. Further movement of the lower platform will move the rear finisher towards the position 8'', while raising the swinging link 54 to lift the head 58 of the intermediate link 56. This raises the operating bar 44 to release the detent pin 34. With this construction, the entire seating system can be retracted, either under power or manually by pushing the lower tier rearwardly, without any need for separate release of the seating units. The gas struts 46 retard the fall of the seating units 12 to avoid excessive impact and the noise and possible damage which would otherwise result.

When re-erecting the seating system, each seating unit 12 is raised manually. As the detent pins 34 travel along their grooves 36, they engage the upper edges of the latching levers 38, causing them to be pushed downwardly at their front ends until the detent pins 34 reach the recesses 42, at which point the latching levers 38 will pivot automatically, under the weight of the operating bar 44, to trap the detent pins 34 in the recesses 42.

Claims (19)

1. A seating arrangement comprising at least one seat which is pivotally supported on a base structure for movement between an erected condition and a collapsed condition, a latching mechanism being provided for retaining the seat in the erected condition, the latching mechanism comprising a latching element which has a foot-operable operating member for releasing the latching element to permit movement of the seat towards the collapsed condition.

2. A seating arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the seat is one of a plurality of seats mounted on a common frame, so that the seating arrangement can be erected and collapsed as a unit.

3. A seating arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which the operating member is effective to release the latching element of the unit.

4. A seating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the latching element is pivotably mounted on the base structure, and is engageable with a detent fixed with respect to the seat.

5. A seating arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which the detent is movable in a groove formed in a support plate of the base structure.

6. A seating arrangement as claimed in claim 5, in which the latching element and the seat are pivotally supported by the support plate.

7. A seating arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, in which the latching element is in the form of a lever, engageable with the detent at one end and provided with the operating member at the other end.

8. A seating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the operating member is in the form of a bar extending laterally of the seat.

9. A seating arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a damper is provided to damp the motion of the seat from the erected condition to the collapsed condition.

10. A tiered seating system comprising a plurality of seating arrangements in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which the base structures of the seating arrangements comprise platforms which are displaceable one beneath the other to retract or deploy the system.

11. A tiered seating system as claimed in claim 10, in which operating means is provided which is responsive to movement of one platform, so as to retract it beneath the next platform above it, to cause operation of the latching mechanism of each seating arrangement on the higher platform to release the seats for movement towards their collapsed conditions.

12. A tiered seating system as claimed in claim 11, in which the operating means comprises a swinging link disposed beneath each platform which is engageable by the next platform below it to cause operation of the or each operating element of the higher platform.

13. A seating arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 or a tiered seating system as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, in which each seat comprises a seat base and an armrest which are each pivotable between an operative position and an inoperative position, biasing means being provided for biasing the armrest towards its inoperative position, the seat base being provided with a displaceable abutment which is moveable, upon movement of the seat base from its inoperative position to its operative position, from a released position in which the armrest is released for movement to its inoperative position by the biasing means, to an abutment position, in which such movement of the armrest is prevented.

14. A seating arrangement comprising a seat base and an armrest which are each pivotable between an operative position and an inoperative position, biasing means being provided for biasing the armrest towards its inoperative position, the seat base being provided with a displaceable abutment which is moveable, upon movement of the seat base from its inoperative position to its operative position, from a released position in which the armrest is released for movement to its inoperative position by the biasing means, to an abutment position, in which such movement of the armrest is prevented.

15. A seating arrangement or a seating system as claimed in claim 13 or 14, in which the armrest is disposed between two adjacent seat bases, and in which movement of the armrest to its inoperative position is prevented when either of the seat bases is deployed.

16. A seating arrangement or a seating system as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15, in which the abutment comprises a lever connected to the seat base, and a link which is pivotally connected to the armrest is engageable by the abutment when the seat base is moved to its operative position to displace the armrest also to its operative position.

17. A seating arrangement or a seating system as claimed in claim 16, in which the link has engagement elements projecting from it laterally to both sides, for engagement with the abutment of adjacent seat bases.

18. A seating arrangement substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

19. A tiered seating system substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.