GB2617837A

GB2617837A - Chair with a detachable leg rest

Info

Publication number: GB2617837A
Application number: GB2205707.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Johnson David; Fahy Emma
Original assignee: CAREFLEX Ltd
Current assignee: CAREFLEX Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-19
Filing date: 2022-04-19
Publication date: 2023-10-25
Also published as: GB202205707D0

Abstract

Chair 1 and leg rest where the leg rest 10 has connecting pins (17, figure 4) received within sockets (31, figure 8) of the chair. The sockets have latching elements (36a, 36b, figure 10) engaging the pins and a release handle 33 to disengage the pins, thereby releasing the leg rest from the chair. The pins may include a head separated from a shank by an annular groove. When the chair and the leg rest stand on a common planar surface (e.g. a floor) the connecting pins and the sockets may be positioned at the same height, which facilitates connection and detachment of the leg rest. When connected, an upper surface of the leg rest may slope downwardly away from the chair. The handle may act via a co-axial cable and may be a pivoted lever. There may be a gasket between the chair and leg rest.

Description

CHAIR WITH A DETACHABLE LEG REST

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a chair with a detachable leg rest, and particularly, but not exclusively, recliner chairs intended for use by the elderly or infirm.

BACKGROUND

Many people find considerable comfort in using a foot stool to raise their legs while seated, but for some people providing good support for the legs whilst in a raised position may be advantageous or even essential to alleviate certain medical conditions. For vulnerable people, unexpected movement of a leg support, e.g. if accidentally knocked, could cause severe discomfort. On the other hand it is important that the support should be easy to move to allow a patient to get in and out of the chair when required. -2 -

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When viewed from one aspect the present invention proposes a chair (1) and a detachable leg rest (10). The leg rest has connecting pins (17). The chair has sockets (31) to receive the connecting pins, latching elements (36a, 36b) to engage the connecting pins, and a release member (33) operable to disengage the latching elements from the connecting pins and thereby release the leg rest from the chair.

When the chair and the leg rest stand on a common planar surface (e.g. a floor) the connecting pins and the sockets may be positioned at the same height, which facilitates connection and detachment of the leg rest.

In a preferred embodiment the connecting pins (17) include a shank (22) with a head (21) and a groove (23). The latching elements (36a, 36b) are biased to a rest position in which they partially occlude the sockets (31). The release member (33) may act via a co-axial cable (42) to disengage the latching elements from the connecting pins.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the -3 -drawings: Figure 1 is a general view of a chair with a detachable leg rest; Figure 2 is a side view of the chair and leg rest; Figure 3 is a rear view of the leg rest; Figure 4 is a front-rear section A-A at the position indicated in Fig. 3; Figure 5 is horizontal section B-B as indicated in Fig. 3; Figure 6 is a general view of the leg rest as seen from below; Figure 7 is a general view of the chair with the leg rest removed, Figure 8 is a general view of a cross panel of the chair; Figure 9 is a rear view of the cross panel in a locking condition; Figure 10 is a similar view of the cross panel which is in a released condition. -4 -

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring firstly to Fig.s 1 and 2, a recliner chair 1 is supported by four swivel castors 2. Two side cheeks 3 and 4 provide respective arm rests 5 and 6. Between the side cheeks 3 and 4 there is a seat 7 and an upstanding back 8.

The chair 1 is used in combination with a detachable leg rest 10, which is also supported by four swivel castors 11. The leg rest is generally rectangular with an upper surface 12 which commences at approximately the same height as the front edge of the seat 7 and slopes downwards away from the chair towards the front of the leg rest. As seen in Figs 3 to 5, the leg rest comprises a box-like frame 13, e.g. of metal and/or timber, with a partial bottom wall 14 to which the castors 11 are secured. The upper and front surfaces of the frame 13 are covered by layers of resilient foam padding 15 enclosed within a decorative cover. The rear wall 16 of frame 13 carries a pair of mutually spaced connecting pins 17 surrounded by a rectangular gasket 18, which may also be of resilient foam. As seen in Fig. 6, the connecting pins 17 are secured to the rear wall 16 by bolts 19 which carry washers 20. Each of the pins 17 has a generally conical head 21 which is separated from a shank 22 by an annular groove 23.

Turning now to Fig. 7, the front of the chair 1 includes a cross panel 30 which extends between the side cheeks 3 and 4 and -5 -includes a pair of sockets 31 to receive the pins 17 of the detachable leg rest. Fig. 8 shows the cross panel 30 in greater detail. The cross panel includes a metal box-like housing 32 which is linked to a release handle 33 mounted in one of the side cheeks 3, as seen in Fig. 7. The sockets 31 are both surrounded by apertured plates 34 which act as pin locators to guide the conical heads of the pins 17 into the sockets. The plates 34 are preferably of plastic, e.g. machined nylon, injection moulded or vacuum formed from any other suitable plastic. They could also be of metal or other material, but plastic is lightweight and softer for impact with the pins and is less likely to cause injury on contact with a user's leg.

The cross panel 30 contains a latching mechanism for releasably latching the pins within the sockets, which will now be described with reference to Fig. 9. The housing 32 contains aligned guides 35a and 35b. These guides are mounted behind the sockets 31 to slidably receive respective latching elements in the form of two sliders 36a and 36b which, as shown, partially occlude the two sockets. Mid-way between the two sockets is mounted a single rotatable member 37, which is operably connected to the two sliders 36a and 36b by respective links 38a and 38b. These links are pivotably connected to the rotatable member 37 at diametrically opposite positions, and are both pivotably connected to the respective sliders. One of the links 38b has a projection 39. A spring 40 is tensioned between this projection 39 and an anchor point on the housing 32 such that the link moves the associated slider 36b to partially cover the respective socket. At the same -6 -time, the link pulls the member 37 to rotate clockwise as shown, causing the second link 38a to move its associated slider 36a such that this slider partially covers the other socket.

It should be noted that the tension spring 40 could alternatively be connected between the housing 32 and the other link 38a or to the rotatable member 37 and still work in a similar manner.

The release handle 33 acts as a pivoted lever and is housed within a moulded housing 41 which is, in turn, mounted in an adjacent side panel, 3 or 4, as shown in Fig.s 1, 2 and 7. The release handle is connected to the latching mechanism of the cross panel 30 by a co-axial wire cable 42. At one end the outer sleeve 42a of the cable 42 is connected to the housing 41 while the opposite end acts against a bracket 43. This bracket may be fixed in any suitable position in relation to the housing 32, but in this instance the bracket is mounted on the central pivot of the rotatable member 37. An inner wire 42b of the cable 42 is connected between the release handle 33 and a further bracket 44 which is, in turn, fixed with the link 38a. When the latching mechanism is in its rest position under the tension of the spring 40, the release handle is retracted into the housing due to the spacing between the brackets 43 and 44.

Fig. 10 shows the cross panel 30 with the latching mechanism being operated by the release handle. When the handle 33 is pulled to pivot to an extended position as shown, the inner wire 42b is drawn into the sleeve of the co-axial cable pulling the -7 -bracket 44 towards the fixed bracket 43. This causes the link 38a to move its associated slider 36a clear of the respective socket 31 and at the same time rotate the member 37 anticlockwise, as viewed in the drawing, against the action of the tension spring 40. This in turn moves the link 38b to draw the associated slider 36b clear of the respective socket 31. Letting go of the handle 33 allows the latching mechanism to return to the rest position under the action of the spring 40, as shown in Fig. 9.

It will now be apparent that when the cross panel is installed in the chair as shown in Fig. 7 the sliders 36a and 36b partially occlude the sockets 31. With the chair 1 and the leg rest 10 both on a common planar surface such as a floor, the connecting pins 17 are positioned at the same height above the surface as the sockets 31. The leg rest can therefore be moved up to the front of the chair with the pins aligned with the sockets. The conical heads 21 are guided into the sockets by the pin locator plates 34 and in so doing they urge the sliders 36a and 36b to move aside against the action of spring 40. When the pins have been inserted for a sufficient distance the increased tension of the spring 40 allows the sliders to enter the grooves 23 thereby retaining the pins in the sockets and firmly holding the leg rest to the chair. Slight compression of the gasket 18 ensures that the leg rest is held firmly against the chair.

It will be noted in Fig. 10 that the sockets 31 are shown with a vertically orientated oval shape, i.e. slightly elongated in a vertical direction, which allows for assembly tolerances and floor -8 -irregularities. The pins therefore have a small amount of vertical freedom within the sockets (e.g. about 8 mm) so that the pins will not lift the leg rest castors out of contact with the floor which would put extra load and stress on the pins and sliders. The spring loading of the sliders 36a and 36b ensures that they securely engage the pins 17 throughout the range of vertical movement.

When it is desired to release the leg rest from the chair, e.g. to assist an infirm person to leave the chair, the release handle 33 is pulled to withdraw the sliders as described. This releases the pins 17 allowing the leg rest to be wheeled away from from the chair.

It should be noted that although swivel castors are preferred to enable the leg rest to be easily maneuvered in and out of engagement with the chair, the leg rest and/or the chair could equally be supported on legs or wheels. It will also be appreciated that although latching elements in the form of sliders are described they could also be arranged to latch the pins in other ways, e.g. by rotational movement across the sockets 31.

Whilst the above description places emphasis on the areas which are believed to be new and addresses specific problems which have been identified, it is intended that the features disclosed herein may be used in any combination which is capable of providing a new and useful advance in the art. -9 -

Claims

CLAIMS1. The combination of a chair (1) and a leg rest (10): - wherein the leg rest has connecting pins (17); - wherein the chair has sockets (31) to receive the connecting pins, latching elements (36a, 36b) to engage the connecting pins, and a release member (33) operable to disengage the latching elements from the connecting pins and thereby release the leg rest from the chair.
2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the connecting pins (17) include a shank (22) with a head (21) and a groove (23).
3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the heads (21) are of generally conical shape.
4. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the latching elements (36a, 36b) are biased to a rest position in which they partially occlude the sockets (31).
5. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the latching elements (36a, 36b) are slidable within respective guides.
6. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the latching elements (36a, 36b) are connected to a rotatable member by pivoted links.
-10 - 7. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the release member (33) acts via a co-axial cable (42) to disengage the latching elements from the connecting pins.
8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the release member (33) pulls an inner wire (42b) of the co-axial cable (42) to move within an outer sleeve (42a).
9. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the release member (33) comprises a handle which acts as a pivoted lever.
10. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein, when the chair and the leg rest stand on a common planar surface, the connecting pins and the sockets are positioned at the same height above said planar surface.
11. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein, when the chair and the leg rest are connected together and stand on a common planar surface, an upper surface of the leg rest slopes downwardly away from the chair.
12. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the leg rest is provided with a resilient gasket (18) which, in use, is interposed between the leg rest and the chair.
13. The combination according to any preceding claim wherein the sockets (31) are of elongated shape with a substantially vertical orientation.