JP2002119354A - Chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lockable chair equipped with a chair body and a support body for supporting the chair body, which can widely secure a leg space for a user and securely hold the chair body at an arbitrary locking position. SOLUTION: On a locking mechanism X1 of this chair A1, a fixing means 6 to restrict a part of the locking means to fix the chair body 4 at an arbitrary locking position and a restoring means 7 to give force to another part of the locking mechanism X1 toward a direction to raise the backrest part 41 to restore the chair body at a normal position are equipped. The fixing means 6 and the restoring means 7 are placed in between a support body 1 and the chair body 4 respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chair capable of performing a rocking operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a chair having a mechanism for rocking a chair body comprising a backrest portion and a seat portion, a backrest portion and a seat portion are supported by a back support rod and a seat receiving portion, respectively. It is known that a rod is rotatably attached to a support, a link member is provided between the seat receiving portion and the support, and a locking mechanism including a link mechanism configured by these components is known. In such a device, a mechanical component such as a gas spring is attached between a portion where the back support rod is further extended below the attachment portion to the support below the seat portion and another portion of the support. ,
Usually, the back support rod is fixed at an arbitrary locking position by restraining the back support rod by the gas spring.

[0003]

However, in such a case, since the place where the gas spring or the like is arranged usually corresponds to the kicking space of the leg of the occupant, such a mechanism is not provided for the occupant. Parts may get in the way or be dangerous. In addition, a member for applying a force in a direction in which the back support rod is raised may be provided with a torsion bar or the like, for example, which applies elastic force, at a portion where the back support rod is attached to the support. However, in such a configuration, since both a configuration that applies a force to one back support rod in the rising direction and a configuration that restrains it are arranged, the back support rod is restrained at a certain locking position. However, it is not possible to sufficiently prevent backlash in the link member and the seat receiving portion that constitute the link mechanism, and looseness occurs. It is difficult to securely hold the chair body.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention improves the location where the locking mechanism is disposed, so that a wide space for kicking in the legs of the occupant can be secured.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a chair that can securely hold a chair body at an arbitrary locking position.

[0005]

For this purpose, the chair according to the present invention comprises a chair body having a backrest and a seat, a back support rod for supporting the backrest, and a seat support for supporting the seat. In a device comprising a support for supporting the chair body and a locking mechanism for locking the chair body between the normal position and the backward tilt position, the locking mechanism includes:
A fixing means for restraining a part of the locking mechanism to fix the chair body at an arbitrary locking position, and applying a force to the other part of the locking mechanism in a direction in which the backrest is raised to return the chair body to the normal position. And a return means for causing the fixing means and the return means to be disposed between the support and the chair body, respectively.

With such a configuration, the fixing means and the return means constituting the locking mechanism are disposed between the chair body and the support, so that the leg of the occupant is positioned below the seat. Wide kick-in space can be secured.
Also, in the locking mechanism, since the part where the fixing means works and the part where the return means works are different parts,
Even if the locking mechanism is formed of, for example, a link mechanism, the slackness of each part can be reduced, and the chair body can be reliably held at an appropriate locking position with a strong offset force.

As a specific configuration of the locking mechanism capable of effectively exhibiting the above-described operation, a connecting member is provided between the support and the seat, and the back support rod is connected to the rear end of the seat and the support. Each of the connecting members is rotatably mounted on the body, and both ends of the connecting member are rotatably mounted on the front end of the seat receiving portion and the support, respectively, and a locking mechanism is provided with a part of the back support rod and the connecting member as link elements. And a link mechanism.

In order to properly arrange the fixing means and the return means in such a link mechanism, the fixing means restrains one link element and fixes the chair body at an arbitrary locking position, and the return means sets the other one. It is effective to apply a force to the link element to return the chair body to the normal position. In order to “constrain one link element” by the fixing means or “apply force to another one link element” by the return means, it is necessary to directly restrict or apply force to the link element. Of course, this includes indirectly constraining or applying a force to the link element via a shaft that rotatably supports the link element. More specifically, in order that both means can effectively exert the above-described operation, the fixing means should be arranged between the connecting member and the support, and the return means should be arranged between the back support and the support. Is preferred. In particular, in order to ensure that the fixing means can be operated with a simple configuration, it is desirable to apply a gas spring whose both ends are rotatably attached to the connecting member and the support, respectively.

[0009] In addition, as an effective locking mechanism similar to the locking mechanism including the link mechanism described above, a back support rod is rotatably attached to a rear end portion of a seat receiving portion and a support, respectively. A guide mechanism for supporting a front end portion of a seat receiving portion so as to be rotatable and relatively movable on a body, and comprising a locking mechanism for performing a rocking operation of a chair body with movement of the seat receiving portion along the guide portion. Is mentioned.

In this case, in order for the connecting member to properly operate together with the seat receiving portion with an easy configuration, it is preferable that the guide portion is a long hole formed in the support and extending in the front-rear direction.

Further, in order to properly arrange the fixing means and the return means so as to achieve the above-mentioned object, the fixing means is arranged between the support and the mounting portion of the seat receiving portion to the support,
It is desirable to arrange the return means between the back support and the support. In this case, in order to ensure that the fixing means can operate reliably with a simple configuration, a gas spring having both ends rotatably attached to the support and the mounting portion of the seat receiving portion to the support is applied. Becomes effective.

Further, in any of the above locking mechanisms, it is desirable that the return means capable of performing an appropriate locking operation apply elastic force in the direction in which the chair body returns to the back support rod by elastic deformation. Specifically, the return means can be arranged in a small space to ensure the operation. In the attachment portion of the back support to the support, a part is fixed to the support and the lower end of the back support is fixed to the other part. And a torsion bar fixedly attached.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) A chair A1 according to a first embodiment schematically shown in FIG.
The support 1 supported by the legs 8 provided with the support 1, the back support rod 2 and the seat support 3 attached to the support 1, and the cushioning properties supported by the back support 2 and the seat support 3 respectively And a chair body 4 including a seat back portion 41 and a seat portion 42 having a base member. The locking mechanism X1 formed between the support body 1 and the chair body 4 allows the chair body 4 to perform a locking operation. It is composed. Note that the legs 8 and the chair body 4 do not have any special features, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, specifically, the support 1 will be described.
Opened upward between a pair of side plates 11, and a lower end portion 1b
Is rotatably attached to the upper end of the leg, and is inclined forward and upward from the lower end 1b toward the upper end 1a.
A lower end portion 2a of the back support rod 2 is rotatably attached to a portion slightly above the lower end portion 1b.
, The connecting member 5 is rotatably mounted via a pin 52 provided between the side plates 11.

The back support rod 2 is bent rearwardly in an L-shape when viewed from the side of the seat 42. The upper end (not shown) is further extended upward, and a backrest 41 is attached to the front side thereof. ing. Thus, an elastically deformable torsion bar 7 is provided inside a pipe member (not shown) fixed between the side plates 11 of the support 1 (a hatched portion in the drawing).
After the insertion, both ends are fixed to both ends of the pipe member, and the lower end 2a of the back support rod 2 is fixed at a position deviated inward from the end of the torsion bar 7. The back support rod 2 is configured to rotate while twisting. The torsion bar 7 applies an elastic force to the back support rod 2 in a direction to return to the normal position side indicated by a solid line in the figure, that is, in a direction to raise the backrest 41, and in this embodiment, It constitutes return means. The torsion bar is not limited to such an embodiment, and the center of the torsion bar is fixed to the support and the end is fixed to the lower end of the back support rod, or one end is fixed to the support and the other end is fixed. The same effect can be obtained by fixing the lower end of the support rod to the lower end of the back support rod.

The upper end 5a of the connecting member 5 is
1 is rotatably attached to a front end 3a of the seat receiving portion 3 via a pin 1. The rear end 3b of the seat receiving portion 3 is pinned at an intermediate height position below the seat portion 42 of the back support rod 2. It is rotatably mounted via 31. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the locking mechanism X1 including the link mechanism using the range from the lower end portion 2a of the connecting member 5 and the back support rod 2 to the pin 31 as a link element is configured. Further, a gas spring 6 is arranged between the support 2 and the connecting member 5 as fixing means for fixing the movement of the link element at an arbitrary locking position within the movable range of the locking mechanism X1. This gas spring 6
Is a normal type that includes a shaft 61 and a cylinder 62 that accommodates the shaft 61 so as to be able to protrude and retract, and can lock the protruding and retracting of the shaft 61 with an arbitrary protruding length. The portion 6a is rotatably mounted at an intermediate height position of the connection member, and the shaft 6
The lower end 6b on the first side is rotatably mounted at a position slightly above the portion of the support 1 where the torsion bar 7 is provided. The mounting position of the upper end portion 6a of the cylinder 62 may be any position above the pin 52 that rotatably supports the connecting member 5, and is, for example, coaxial with the pin 51 that rotatably supports the upper end portion 5a of the connecting member 5. It doesn't matter.

Next, the locking operation of the chair A1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the normal position shown by the solid line in FIG. When a load is applied backward, the chair body 4 moves rearward and downward together with the back support rod 2 and the seat receiving portion 3 as shown by the arrow in the figure. At that time, the torsion bar 7 is twisted between the support 1 and the back support rod 2 to store elastic force. At the same time, the gas spring 6 also operates so as to retract the shaft 61 into the cylinder 62 while rotating backward, thereby compressing the air in the cylinder 62. Then, the chair main body 2, the back support rod 2, and the seat receiving part 3 finally move to the backward inclined position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. In the meantime, if the shaft 61 of the gas spring 6 is locked at an appropriate locking position, the rotation of the connecting member 5 is restrained. As a result, the movement of the locking mechanism stops, and the chair body 4 is fixed at that position. Can be. Conversely, at an appropriate locking position including the backward tilt position, when the load applied to the chair body 4 is released and the lock of the gas spring 6 with respect to the shaft 61 is released, the air in the cylinder 62 expands and the shaft 61 protrudes. At the same time, the elastic return force stored in the torsion bar 7 acts to return the chair body 4 to the normal position.

According to the chair A1 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the mechanical component of the locking mechanism X1 for performing the locking operation of the chair body 4, specifically, the fixing of the chair body 4 at an arbitrary locking position. A gas spring 6 serving as a means, and a torsion bar 7 serving as a returning means for applying a force for returning the chair body 4 to the normal position to the back support rod 2.
Are arranged between the support 1 and the chair body 4, so that the above mechanical components are not present in the kick-in space of the seated person's leg below the support 1 below the seat 4. Since it does not exist, the kick-in space can be secured widely, and the feeling of use and safety of the chair A1 can be improved. Further, since the gas spring 6 acts on the connecting member 5 and the torsion bar 7 acts on the back support rod 2, a conventional structure in which the fixing means and the returning means act on one member. The rattling of the locking mechanism X1 is smaller than that of the locking mechanism X1, the strength against the offset force is improved, and the chair body 4 can be reliably held at an appropriate locking position.

In particular, the locking mechanism X1 is simple because it comprises a connecting member 5 for connecting the support 1 and the seat receiving portion 3 and a link mechanism using a part of the back support rod 2 as a link element. With such a structure, the chair body 4 can be reliably rocked. Further, by arranging the gas spring 6 and the torsion bar 7 as described above, it is possible to prevent rattling of the link mechanism as much as possible. Further, since the gas spring 6 is applied as the fixing means and the torsion bar 7 is applied as the returning means, the above-mentioned locking operation can be easily realized with an extremely simple structure.

In the present embodiment, the same applies to the case where the gas spring is disposed between the support and the back support rod, and the torsion bar is provided on the mounting portion of the connection member to the support or the seat receiving portion. Various changes can be made such that the effect of (1) can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment) A chair A2 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 1 as a principle diagram also has a support body supported by a leg 180 provided with casters 181 similarly to the first embodiment. 110, a chair body 140 including a back support rod 120 and a seat receiving part 130, a backrest part 141 and a seat part 142. The chair body 140 is locked by a locking mechanism X2 formed between the support body 110 and the chair body 140. It is configured to perform a locking operation. In addition, the lower end part 120a of the back support rod 120 is rotatably connected to the lower end part 110b of the support body 110 at a position slightly higher than the lower end part 110b by using a torsion bar 170 applied as a return means.
The point that the rear end portion 130b of the seat receiving portion 130 is rotatably mounted via the pin 131 at the intermediate height position of the back support rod 120 is the same as in the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted. .

Hereinafter, points different from the first embodiment will be specifically described. At the upper end 110a of the side plate 111 of the support 110, an elongated hole 112 that opens sideward and forms a partial arc is formed as a guide portion for guiding the movement of the seat receiving portion 130 with respect to the support 110. The seat receiving portion 1 is attached to a pin 132 supported between the left and right long holes 112.
The front end 130a of the thirty is rotatably mounted. This pin 132 has a gas spring 160 similar to that described above.
The upper end 160a of the gas spring 160 is rotatably mounted, and the lower end 160b of the gas spring 160 is
Is rotatably mounted at a position slightly above the mounting position of the torsion bar 170. In this way,
This constitutes a locking mechanism X2 in the present embodiment.

The locking operation of the chair A2 according to the present embodiment will be described below. When the occupant applies a rearward load to the chair body 140 at the normal position shown by the solid line in FIG. Chair body 14
0 moves rearward and downward together with the back support rod 120 and the seat receiving portion 130. At this time, the torsion bar 170 is twisted between the support 110 and the back support rod 120 to store elastic force. At the same time, the pin 13 at the front end 130a of the seat
2 moves rearward along the elongated hole 112, the gas spring 160 also rotates rearward while the shaft 161 is immersed in the cylinder 162,
Operates to compress the air inside. The shaft 161 of the gas spring 160 is moved at an appropriate locking position while moving to the backward tilt position shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
Is locked, the movement of the pin 132 is restrained,
The movement of the locking mechanism stops, and the chair body 1
40 can be fixed. Conversely, at an appropriate locking position including the backward tilt position, the load applied to the chair body 140 is released, and when the lock of the gas spring 160 is released, the air in the cylinder 62 expands and the shaft 161 projects, The elastic return force stored in the torsion bar 170 acts to return the chair body 140 to the normal position.

Therefore, even in the chair A2 according to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the gas spring 160 as the fixing means and the torsion bar 170 as the returning means, which are the mechanical components of the locking mechanism X2, are supported by the support 110. And the chair body 140, as in the first embodiment, there is no mechanical component in the kick-in space of the seated person's leg. It is possible to secure a wide area and improve the feeling of use and safety of the chair A2. In addition, the gas spring 6 is
And the torsion bar 170 is
, The backlash of the locking mechanism X2 can be reduced, the strength against the offset force can be improved, and the chair body 140 can be reliably held at an appropriate locking position.

In particular, as the locking mechanism X2, the seat receiving portion 130 is configured to be guided and moved by a guide portion provided on the support 110 as the back support rod 120 rotates with respect to the support 110. Therefore, an effective locking mechanism X2 can be configured with a small number of parts. In addition, the guide portion is an elongated hole 112 provided in the support 110, and the seat receiving portion 130 is moved along the elongated hole 112 by the support 1.
Since the pin 132 supported by the slide 10 is slid, the configuration for moving the seat receiving portion 130 can be extremely simplified.

At that time, the support 110 and the seat receiving portion 13
Since the gas spring 160 is provided as a fixing means between the pin 132 serving as an attachment portion for the support body 110 of the chair 110, the movement of the pin 132 is easily restrained, and the chair body 140 is properly locked at an appropriate locking position. Fixing can be facilitated. Further, a gas spring 160 is applied as fixing means, and the torsion bar 17 is used as returning means.
Since 0 is applied, the locking operation described above can be easily realized with a very simple structure.

As the fixing means and the returning means, any suitable means other than the gas spring and the torsion bar can be applied, and they are applied to different portions of the locking mechanism between the support and the chair body, respectively. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and an appropriate configuration can be adopted. In addition, the specific configuration of each unit is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0029]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

That is, in the chair having the locking mechanism of the present invention, a part of the locking mechanism is restrained by fixing means provided between the chair body and the support so that the chair body can be moved to an arbitrary locking position. It is configured so that the chair body is returned to the normal position by applying a force in a direction in which the backrest part rises to another part of the locking mechanism by the returning means also provided between the chair body and the support body. Things.

Therefore, it is possible to dispose the fixing means and the return means between the chair body and the support without impairing the action of the returning means, and it is possible to secure a wide space for the seated person to kick in the leg below the seat. It is possible. Furthermore, since the part where the fixing means works and the part where the return means work are different parts in the locking mechanism, the strength against offset force is improved compared to the conventional chair where both means work on one member. It is possible to secure the chair main body at an arbitrary locking position with little backlash.

As a specific configuration of the locking mechanism, a part of the back support rod rotatably attached to the rear end of the seat receiving portion and the support, respectively, and both ends are attached to the front end of the seat receiving portion and the support. In the case of using a link mechanism in which the connection members rotatably attached to each other are used as link elements, the intended purpose can be achieved with a locking mechanism having a simple structure.

In this case, assuming that the fixing means restrains the link element of either the back support rod or the connecting member and the return means applies a force to the other link element, both means can be used as described above. It can be arranged at any position and can appropriately act on different parts of the locking mechanism. More specifically, if the fixing means is arranged between the connecting member and the support, and the return means is arranged between the back support and the support, such an effect can be realized more effectively. . In particular, by applying a gas spring in which both ends are rotatably attached to the connecting member and the support, respectively, as the fixing means, it is possible to configure the fixing means that can be expected to operate reliably with a simple configuration.

As another configuration of the locking mechanism, the back support rod is rotatably attached to the rear end of the seat receiving portion and the support, respectively, and the front end of the seat receiving portion is rotatably attached to the support. However, even in the case of being configured to be able to move along the guide portion formed in the above, the intended purpose can be achieved with a simple structure as in the case of the link mechanism.

In this case, if a long hole extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the support as the guide portion, the seat receiving portion can be easily and appropriately slid back and forth.

Further, if the fixing member is disposed between the support and the mounting portion of the seat receiving portion to the support, and the return means is disposed between the back support and the support, the leg kick-in space can be obtained. Not only can be reliably widened, but also the chair body can be fixed at an arbitrary locking position with a simple configuration irrespective of the number of parts being smaller than in the case of the locking function by the link mechanism. If a gas spring is used as such a fixing means, a reliable operation can be expected with a simple configuration.

In any of the above locking mechanisms, when the back support rod is provided with an elastic force in the direction in which the chair body returns by elastic deformation as the return means, the locking mechanism has an appropriate locking strength. And the locking operation can be optimized. As such a returning means, a torsion bar in which a part of the support is fixed to the support and a lower end of the support is fixed to the other part is applied to the mounting portion of the back support to the support. , The torsion bar can be placed in a small space, while simplifying the structure,
It is possible to obtain a reliable locking operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory view schematically showing a first embodiment of the present invention in a side view state.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view schematically showing a second embodiment of the present invention in a side view state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A1, A2: Chair X1, X2: Locking mechanism 1, 110: Support body 2, 120: Back support rod 3, 130: Seat receiving part 4, 140: Chair body 5: Connection member 6, 160: Fixing means (gas spring 7, 170: return means (torsion bar) 132: long hole

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Ueda KOKUYO Co., Ltd. 6-1-1-1 Oimazato Minami, Higashinari-ku, Osaka-shi In-house Furniture Development Department (72) Inventor Kazuyuki Ito Nagano Prefecture Ina-shi Nishiharu Kinoshita Kawahara 5331 Takano Co., Ltd. Terms (reference) 3B084 GA01 3B091 AA04 AB04 AC07 AD02

Claims (11)

[Claims] A chair body having a back portion and a seat portion;
A support for supporting the chair body via a back support rod for supporting the backrest and a seat receiving portion for supporting the seat, and a locking mechanism for locking the chair body between the normal position and the backward tilt position. A locking means for fixing a part of the locking mechanism to fix the chair body at an arbitrary locking position, and a force in a direction in which a backrest part is raised on another part of the locking mechanism. And a return means for returning the chair body to a normal position by providing the fixing means and the return means, and the fixing means and the return means are respectively arranged between the support and the chair body. 2. A connecting member is provided between the support and the seat receiving portion, and a back support rod is rotatably attached to the rear end of the seat receiving portion and the support, respectively, and both ends of the connecting member are seated. 2. A locking mechanism which is rotatably attached to a front end portion of the portion and a support member, and the locking mechanism is constituted by a link mechanism including a part of the back support rod and a connecting member as link elements. The described chair. 3. The fixing means restrains one link element to fix the chair body at an arbitrary locking position, and the return means applies a force to the other link element to return the chair body to the normal position. The chair according to claim 2, wherein the chair is configured as follows. 4. The chair according to claim 3, wherein the fixing means is disposed between the connecting member and the support, and the return means is disposed between the back support and the support. 5. The chair according to claim 4, wherein the fixing means is a gas spring whose both ends are rotatably attached to the connecting member and the support, respectively. 6. A guide portion for rotatably attaching the back support rod to the rear end portion of the seat receiving portion and the support, respectively, and forming a guide portion for supporting the front end portion of the seat receiving portion so as to be rotatable and relatively movable on the support. The chair according to claim 1, wherein a locking mechanism is configured to perform a rocking operation of the chair main body as the seat receiving portion moves along the guide portion. 7. The chair according to claim 6, wherein the guide portion is a long hole formed in the support and extending in the front-rear direction. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fixing means is disposed between the support and the mounting portion of the seat receiving portion to the support, and the return means is disposed between the back support and the support. Item 7. The chair according to Item 7. 9. The chair according to claim 8, wherein the fixing means comprises a gas spring having both ends rotatably mounted on the support and the mounting portion of the seat receiving portion with respect to the support. . 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the return means applies elastic force to the back support rod in a direction in which the chair body returns by elastic deformation. 7, 8
Or the chair according to 9. 11. A torsion bar, wherein the return means is a torsion bar having a portion fixed to the support and a lower end fixed to the other portion at the mounting portion of the back support to the support. The chair according to claim 10, wherein: