GB2286336A - Adjustable armchair having a swing-out supplementary footrest - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable armchair having a swing-out footrest 2 operated by means of a scissor-type arm assembly hinged to the armchair frame and to the footrest support, includes a supplementary footrest 2 hinged to the main footrest support via link chains which are automatically controlled via articulated levers 8 hinged to the scissor arms 4 of the main footrest. To prevent contact of the supplementary footrest with the floor when it is swung out, even when the lower edge main footrest is very close to the floor, the arrangement is characterised in that each lever 8 is hinged at the respective scissor arm via a lost motion link 12 so that the footrest 3 does not start to swing out until the main footrest 2 has been partially swung out. <IMAGE>

Description

An adjustable armchair having a swing-out footrest The invention relates to an adjustable armchair having a swingout footrest, wherein the footrest can be operated by means of a scissor-type arm assembly, the scissor arms of which are hinged firstly to the armchair or armchair frame and secondly to the footrest support, a support for a supplementary footrest is hinged to the footrest support via link chains and the link chains are automatically controlled via articulated levers hinged respectively to one scissor arm of the arm assembly of the footrest, wherein in the swung-in position of the footrest the supplementary footrest is swung in under cover of the footrest and in the swung-out position of the footrest the supplementary footrest is swung out so that it protrudes relative to the edge of the footrest remote from the seat part of the armchair and forms therewith an extended bearing surface.

Such an adjustable armchair is known from DE-U 91 05 037.

With such adjustable armchairs having a footrest and supplementary footrest, in the swung-in position it is a disadvantage that the footrest with the supplementary footrest situated thereon cannot be disposed so that it is disposed as a screen beneath the seating surface of the adjustable armchair in such a manner that the foot rest can practically cover the entire space between the lower edge of the seating surface of the armchair and the bearing surface of the armchair (the floor), as with such an arrangement the swinging-out movement would be hampered by the fact that the supplementary footrest is also swung out when the footrest is swung out, with the result that contact with the floor and thus an obstruction occurs.Therefore with the arrangement specified by the prior art, the bottom edge of the footrest in the swung-in position inevitably has to have a clear distance from the floor (bearing surface of the armchair) so that the swiveling motion of the footrest can occur together with supplementary footrest swivelling at the same time.

Proceeding from this prior art, the aim of the invention is to create an adjustable armchair of the generic type, in which, when the footrest is swung out of the swung- in position into the swung-up or swung-out position, contact with the bearing surface of the seat is prevented even if the lower edge of the footrest is brought very close to the floor, or even abuts the floor.

Accordingly, in the present invention it is proposed that each articulated lever hinged between a respective scissor arm and a respective link chain is hinged at the respective scissor arm so that, when the footrest performs a swinging-out movement, the supplementary footrest is not forced to perform a swivel movement relative to the footrest in the first section of the swivel path, the swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest begins in the second section of the swivel path, in which the footrest is swung out of the swung-in position into a partially swung-out position, and, when the footrest has been swung out completely, the supplementary footrest is also swung out completely into a position directed substantially parallel to the footrest.

By this arrangement, when the footrest is swung out of the swungin position, firstly only the footrest is swivelled relative to the seating frame of the armchair and thereby the supplementary footrest does not perform its own swivel motion, but is swivelled jointly with the footrest without an individual swivelling until such a swivel path is achieved that, when the footrest is swung out further, a swinging-out movement, connected therewith, of the supplementary footrest may also occur without the supplementary footrest touching the floor (the bearing surface of the armchair) and being obstructed thereby.

Consequently it is possible to give the footrest itself such dimensions that it can practically be brought from the lower edge of the seating surface right up to the bearing surface of the armchair (the floor), so that, in the swivelled-in position of the footrest, the footrest represents a screen for the hinge structure making it is impossible to see under the armchair without the function of the swivelling of the footrest together with the supplementary footrest consequently being hampered.

In addition a preferred further development is regarded as being that the swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest relative to the footrest is performed against the force of a spring means, which is effective between the footrest and supplementary footrest.

By this design, when the footrest together with the supplementary footrest is swung out, it is ensured that the supplementary footrest increasingly tensions the spring means, so that, when it is swung back from the swung-out position into the swung-in position, the supplementary footrest is firstly swung in by means of the spring means in relation to the footrest until it is swivelled in sufficiently that a forced entrainment no longer results in obstacles at the bearing surface of the armchair when the footrest is swung in further.

A preferred design for this is regarded as being that at the point of articulation on the scissor arm of the footrest the articulated lever is provided with a slot, as a result of which lost motion is provided, which prevents the supplementary footrest firstly swivelling relative to the footrest in the first section of the swing-out path.

The design of the slot at the corresponding articulated lever ensures that the hinge pin, which connects this articulated lever with the scissor arm of the footrest, has a lost motion. As a result in the swung-in position the hinge pin firstly abuts the one end of the slot of the articulated lever; when the footrest is swung out the articulated lever is not yet actuated, as the hinge pin firstly moves along the slot structure until in the second section of the swing-out movement it abuts the end of the slot at the articulated lever and consequently the articulated lever is entrained with the further swinging-out of the footrest to swing out the supplementary footrest and the forced swivelling of the supplementary footrest relative to the footrest is effected into the desired, roughly parallel position.

When returning into the swung-in position, first of all, as a result of the force of the spring means when the footrest is swung in, a simultaneous swinging-in of the supplementary footrest occurs according to the length of the slot, until the supplementary footrest is situated in the leading swung-in position relative to the footrest, so that the footrest can then be swung back completely into the swung-in position, without contact occurring between the supplementary footrest and the bearing surface.

A particularly preferred provision is that the spring means is formed by a spiral tension spring, which is disposed between the footrest support and the supplementary footrest support and which becomes increasingly tensioned as both are swung out.

Furthermore a particularly preferred provision is that in the swung-in position, i.e. the position of rest, the footrest extends roughly vertically between the lower edge of the seating surface of the armchair and the bearing surface, and the supplementary footrest is disposed so that it is directed roughly parallel to the seating surface and protrudes from the rear of the lower edge of the footrest.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a swing-out footrest of an adjustable armchair in accordance with the present invention, with the footrest in the swung-in position; and Figure 2 shows a schematic side view of a swing out footrest of an adjustable armchair in accordance with the present invention, with the footrest in the swung-out position.

In the drawings only the frame part of the adjustable armchair, which forms the seating surface 1, a footrest 2 and a supplementary footrest 3 are shown. The footrest 2 can be operated by means of a scissor-type rod assembly 4, the scissor arms of which are hinged firstly to the armchair or armchair frame and secondly to a footrest support 5. All axes of articulation run parallel to one another and parallel to the front edge of the seating surface 1.

A support 6 for the supplementary footrest 3 is directly or indirectly hinged via link chains 7 to the footrest support 5, with the link chains 7 being automatically controlled via articulated levers 8 hinged respectively to a scissor arm 4 of the rod assembly of the footrest 2. As a result, in the swung-in position of the footrest 2 it is ensured that the supplementary footrest 3 is swung in under cover of the footrest 2, as is shown in Figure 1; while in the swung-out position of the footrest 2 the supplementary footrest 3 is swung out so that it protrudes relative to the edge of the footrest 2 remote from the seat part 1 of the armchair and therewith forms an extended bearing surface.

When swivelling from the swung- in position shown in Figure 1 into the swung-out position shown in Figure 2, in order to prevent the supplementary footrest 3 making contact with the bearing surface of the armchair and consequently swivel motion being prevented, the articulated lever 8 hinged between the scissor arm 4 and the link chain 7 is hinged at the scissor arm 4 so that, when the footrest 2 performs a swinging-out movement, the supplementary footrest 3 is not forced to perform a swivel movement relative to the footrest 2 in the first section of the swivel path, but follows the swivel movement of the footrest 2 without performing an independent swivel movement, whereas the swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest 3 parallel to the further swingingout movement of the footrest 2 begins in a second section of the swivel path, in which the footrest 2 is swung out of the swung- in position into a partially swung-out position, and, when the footrest 2 has been completely swung out, the supplementary footrest 3 is also completely swung out into a position aligned substantially parallel to the footrest 2. This end position is shown in Figure 2.

The swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest 3 relative to the footrest 2 is performed against the force of a spring means 9, which is effective between footrest 2 and supplementary footrest 3. In the exemplified embodiment the spring means 9 is formed by a spiral tension spring, which is disposed between the footrest support 5 and the supplementary footrest support 6 and becomes increasingly tensioned as they are both swung out, and which is suspended and attached by its ends at the suspension apertures 10.

At the articulation point 11 on the scissor arm 4 of the footrest 2, the articulated lever 8 is provided with a slot 12, as a result of which there is lost motion, which prevents the swivelling of the supplementary footrest 3 relative to the footrest 2 in the first section of the swing-out path. As can be seen in particular from the representation shown in Figure 1, in the swung-in position the footrest 2 extends roughly vertically between the lower edge of the seating surface 1 of the armchair and the bearing surface of the armchair, which in Figure 1 is at the bottom (not shown in the drawings), with the supplementary footrest 3 being disposed so that it is directed roughly parallel to the seating surface and protrudes from the rear of the lower edge of the footrest 2.By the formation of the slot 12 the above-described sequence of movements is achieved when the footrest 2 is swung out. When the footrests 2, 3 are swung from the swung-out position shown in Figure 2 into the swung-in position shown in Figure 1, firstly a swivelling of the footrest 2 occurs by means of the scissor-type rod assembly, during which the footrest 3 firstly is swung in by the tensile force of the spring means 9, corresponding to the length of the slot 12, and only at the end of this first swivelling movement, which is restricted by the length of the slot 12, is the supplementary footrest 3 together with the footrest 2 swung in, without a relative swivelling occurring between the supplementary footrest 3 and the footrest 2. As a result, contact between the supplementary footrest 3 and the floor (bearing surface of the armchair) is prevented during the return movement from the swungout to the swung-in position.

The invention is not restricted to the exemplified embodiment, but can be varied in many different ways within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims (6)

Claims

1. An adjustable armchair having a swing-out footrest, wherein the footrest can be operated by means of a scissor-type arm assembly, the scissor arms of which are hinged to the armchair or armchair frame and to the footrest support, a support for a supplementary footrest is hinged to the footrest support via link chains and the link chains are automatically controlled via articulated levers hinged respectively to one scissor arm of the arm assembly of the footrest, wherein in the swung-in position of the footrest the supplementary footrest is swung in under cover of the footrest and in the swung-out position of the footrest the supplementary footrest is swung out so that it protrudes relative to the edge of the footrest remote from the seat part of the armchair and forms therewith an extended bearing surface, and wherein each articulated lever hinged between a respective scissor arm and a respective link chain is hinged at the respective scissor arm so that, when the footrest performs a swinging-out movement, the supplementary footrest is not forced to perform a swivel movement relative to the footrest in the first section of the swivel path, the swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest begins in the second section of the swivel path, in which the footrest is swung out of the swung-in position into a partially swung-out position, and when the footrest has been completely swung out, the supplementary footrest is also completely swung out into a position aligned substantially parallel to the footrest.

2. An adjustable armchair according to Claim 1, wherein the swinging-out movement of the supplementary footrest relative to the footrest is performed against the force of a spring means, which is effective between the footrest and the supplementary footrest.

3. An adjustable armchair according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein at the point of articulation on the scissor arm of the footrest the articulated lever is provided with a slot, as a result of which lost motion is provided which prevents the supplementary footrest swivelling relative to the footrest in the first section of the swivel path.

4. An adjustable armchair according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the spring means is formed by a spiral tension spring, which is disposed between footrest support and supplementary footrest support and which becomes increasingly tensioned as they are both swung out.

5. An adjustable armchair according to one of Claims 1 to 4,wherein in the position of rest the footrest extends roughly vertically between the lower edge of the seating surface of the armchair and the bearing surface, and the supplementary footrest is disposed so that it is directed roughly parallel to the seating surface and protrudes from the rear of the lower edge of the footrest.

6. An adjustable armchair substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.