GB2452334A

GB2452334A - Detachable kneeling pad for an office chair

Info

Publication number: GB2452334A
Application number: GB0717046A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daniel Foster; Paul Jaggard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-01
Filing date: 2007-09-01
Publication date: 2009-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2027-09-01
Also published as: GB2452334B; GB0717046D0

Abstract

A telescopic and angularly adjustable kneeling pad 7 with stabilising legs 11 is detachably secured to the gas strut 3 of a conventional office chair by a mounting bracket 5, a horizontally sliding rigid member 6, and a locking and pivoting mechanism 9. The locking and pivoting mechanism 9 pivots on a removable spindle 19 and supports the kneeling pad 7 via a sliding rigid bar 13 and bracket 14. Each stabilising leg 11 is supported by the locking and pivoting mechanism via a sliding rigid bar 18. The stabilising legs 11 are height adjustable using locking mechanism 10. The kneeling pad 7 may be moved up and down by operation of a release handle 8 which interacts with the locking and pivot mechanism 9 by the use of two cables.

Description

Telescopic kneeling pad This invention relates to a device that allows office chair users to kneel whilst seated in their chair.

When an individual is sitting for long periods of time, this can cause hip, leg and back muscles to become stagnant and promote muscle tightness in conjunction with abdominal weakness. This causes the individual to slouch, become fatigued which in turn leads to back pain due to stress on the spine. This is largely because in the seated position, the lumbosacral discs are loaded three times more than standing, and sitting without back support usually leads to poor posture, which stresses the soft tissues and joints in. the spine. For many people, sitting in a conventional office chair either causes or exacerbates lower back pain.

The use of conventional chairs can lead to difficulties. Conventional office chairs do not always make it easy for you to sit correctly and often encourage slouching by perching on the edge of the chair front or slouching forwards. Shifting one's weight forward increases stress on the soft tissue, joints and discs, and this in turn can create muscle tension and pain in the lower back and legs. Conventional chairs with added devices are not telescopic, cannot be stowed away and cannot attach to any chair.

To overcome these problems the present invention proposes a telescopic kneeling pad with attachment means for attaching to most gas strut/gas lift office chairs. It is used to give a seated individual a greater range of postures within their standard office chair.

The kneeling pad is height and angle adjustable to accommodate a wide range of * human percentile postures. It can be retracted out of the way when not in use or completely removed if necessary without any adjustment to the original seat.

There are safety legs that automatically deploy when the kneeling pad is in use (legs are height adjustable). This offers complete safety to the user by preventing the chair from tipping forward as the user transfers weight to the front of the chair in a forward tilt position. The forward tilt seat pan is often used to open the pelvic angle, bringing people into a balanced upright posture. This is widely believed to help prevent slouching help prevent back problems or help reduce back problems for those spending long periods of time seated at a workstation.

The kneeling pad is used when the user wants to increase his ability to change position and is not a permanent alteration to their chair.

An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings: The device can fit onto alt gas lift type office chair, therefore an ordinary office chair can be converted into one that is more ergonomic.

Figure 1 Shows the telescopic kneeling pad in a deployed position, seat back removed for clarity.

Figure 2 Shows the telescopic kneeling pad in a stowed position, seat back removed for clarity.

Figure 3 Shows detail of mounting bracket. 2..

Detail: In figure 1 a kneeling pad 7 is supported by a rigid bar 13 that fits into a locking and pivoting mechanism 9. The kneeling pad 7 and the rigid barl3 are attached together via a bracket that allows the kneeling pad a limited amount of rotation. This allows the kneeling pad to adapt to different shin angles of the user. The rigid bar 13 slides up or down to allow for height adjustment of the kneeling pad. The locking mechanism 9 in turn is fitted on to a substantial horizontal member 6 by the use of a removable rigid member 19 that ties the two sides of the kneeling pad together in a way that allows both sides to pivot from the deployed position figure 1 to the stowed position figure 2 in unison. This is an important feature as it allows the user of the -seat to choose between a kneeling position and conventional seating position. The connection between the locking mechanism 9 and the horizontal member 6 is removable in order for the kneeling pad to be removed entirely from the seat at the users discretion.

An adjustable mounting bracket 5 attaches the telescopic kneeling pad to the lower body of the gas strut 3. The detail and function of the adjustable mounting bracket is described in figure 3. The lower gas strut 3 interacts with the upper gas strut 4 and the seat base 2 in a conventional manner. The gas strut supports the cushion of the seat I in a normal manner and the cushion can be rotated to allow for different seating positions, the seat back is not shown for clarity.

An upper rigid member 18 of the stabilising leg is connected to the pivoting mechanism in a similar way to the rigid bar 13.

A locking mechanism 10 on the sliding leg 11 allows the stabilising leg length to be * adjusted.At.the opposite end of the stabilising leg 10 there is e contact point with the ground in the illustration a feely rotating wheel 12 is shown, this could be replaced by a plastic or rubber stop. The release handle 8 is connected to the underside of the kneeling pad 7 via a bracket. When the release handle is used it interacts with the mechanism 9 via cables to allow the kneeling pad to:move up and down and the : stabilising legs to move up and down. This allows the user to adjust the kneeling pad:..

to the correct position using one hand if required.

In figure 2 the kneeling devise is stowed away allowing the user to utilise the seat in a conventional manor. A cover 15 for the height/pivoting mechanism is. shown. This protects the user from moving parts of the mechanism preventing physical damage to their person and to any clothing they may wear. It also improves the appearance of the kneeling pad. The release handle 8 should be used before the seat is rotated into the stowed position as this allows the upper leg rigid member 18 to move upwards due to the angle of the stabilising legs in the deployed position before the kneeling pad is rotated. The cover 15 was removed from Figure 1 to allow the workings for the mechanism to be seen.

In figure 3 the detail of the mounting bracket 5 can be seen. This is an important feature of the kneeling pad as it allows the substantial horizontal member 6 to freely pass in a horizontal motion though it, but resists any torsion forces therefore preventing it from lifting up or down, It is securely fixed to the lower gas strut 3 of the seat using a clamping action with the use of the clamping arm 16 and the locking screw 17. This method of attachment allows the user to remove the mounting bracket, therefore the kneeling pad, from the seat and can also allow the user to reposition the kneeling pad in a rotational direction and in an upward/downward position should they wish to. The lower gas strut for different seats can vary in diameter and therefore a shimming piece 19 of varying thickness can be used to accomodate these different diameters. 3.

Claims

Claims: 1. A telescopic kneeling device for an office seat or similar device comprising of a removable attachment to a gas strut or centre beam that supports a telescopic arm which in turn supports a kneeling pad which can be tilted and height adjusted and rotated to a stowed position, stabilising legs that can be height adjusted and rotated to a stowed position.
2. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which the removable attachment is provided by means of a clamp that can be screwed into position.
3. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which the stowed position is achieved by sliding the kneeling pad under the seat through slotted supports in the clamp.
4. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which the kneeling pad is height adjustable and is achieved by the use of a release handle under the seat which when operated frees the rigid member supporting the kneeling pad that can be lifted up or down.
5. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which it can tilt by means of a bracket between the kneeling pad and its supporting rigid member, the.

bracket controls the range of rotation. . . . *
6. A telescopic kneel irig deviceaccording to claim 1, in which:the kneeling.pad * * * rotates in to a stowed position by way of pivoting the kneeling pad away from the deployed position by using a pivoting mechanism or bracket.
7. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which the stabilising legs are achieved by two rigid members that can slide over each other and be locked in position against each other at varying lengths.
8. A telescopic kneeling device according to claim 1, in which the stabilising legs can be rotated in to a stowed position this is achieved by using a pivoting mechanism or bracket.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims: I- 1. A kneeling device for releasable attachment to the gas strut or centre beam of an office seat or similar seat comprises: a removable attachment that can be detachably secured to the gas strut or centre beam of the seat, a horizontal support arm slidably mounted to the removable attachment, a kneeling pad supported by the horizontal support arm in a manner allowing the height and angle of the kneeling pad relative to the support arm to be adjusted.

a release handle attached to the kneeling pad to control adjustment of the height of the kneeling pad, a locking bracket which pivots on the support arm and supports the kneeling pad, this allows the kneeling pad to be moved between a stowed position and a deployed position, and stabalising legs that are telescopic in construction and interact with the locking bracket and the floor. * **

2. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claimi, in which the . removeable attachment is a screw clamp that can be clamped into position on the seat strut or beam. S... * .

3. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 2, in which the * horizontal support arm slides through slots in the screw clamp allowing the kneeling device to be stowed away. *... * * S...

*:. 4. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 3 in which a locking bracket pivots on the horizontal support arm allowing a rigid bar that support the kneeling pad & the stabilising leg to move in a rotational manner.

* 5. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 4, in which a * *, * kneeling pad mounting bracket is supported by a rigid bar, the rigid bar being slideably supported by the locking bracket. -*

6. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 5, in which the * kneeling pad mounting bracket supports the kneeling pad and provides the angular rotation of the kneeling pad by rotating on the rigid bar.

7. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 6, in which the kneeling pad supports the release handle. *

*....: 8. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 7, in which the * release handle is pivotly attached to the base of the kneeling pad and positioned in such a way that a user can access the release handle single handedly and pull the release cable
9. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 8, in which the release cable is connected to the release handle and the locking mechanism.
10. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 9, in which the locking mechanism is attached to the locking bracket in a pivoting fashion and is operated by the release cable and controls the locking of the kneeling pad rigid member and the upper stabilising leg.
11. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 10, in which both the locking mechanisms are linked together by a. rigid member thus providing extra stability and ensuring they both rotated at the same time.
12. A kneeling device for releasable attachment according to claim 4, in which each support leg consists of two rigid members arranged in a telescopic fashion, thereby allowing height adjustment of the leg. * .* * I * I* * I.I * * I.. **. * I I... *

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