JP2002336079A - Armrest - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile armrest excellent in operability and a usage state without damaging simplicity in a structure etc. SOLUTION: The armrest is provided with armrest bodies 1 and arm laying parts 2 arranged at the upper end side of the respective armrest bodies 1 so that a sitting person puts an elbow on the arm laying part 2 and uses the armrest. In the configuration, each arm laying part 2 is made to be movable from a normal usage position P for arrangement by permitting a longitudinal direction to be nearly coincident with a front and rear direction at each side of the sitting person to a front usage position R for arrangement by permitting the longitudinal direction to be nearly coincident with a right and left direction in front of the sitting person via an intermediate position Q which is set at a position displaced forward from the normal usage position, only a forward and backward operation is mainly permitted between the normal usage position P and the intermediate position Q as an operation for the movement and, then, only a rotary operation is mainly permitted between the intermediate position Q and the front usage position R.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an armrest suitably used in a chair or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of OA, an environment suitable for handling OA equipment has gradually been provided around desks.

[0003] In particular, the armrest attached to the chair can be used not only in a normal use position but also as an armrest for operating a keyboard on a desk, so that the longitudinal direction of the armrest substantially coincides with the front-back direction. There has been considered a device that can be moved from a normal use position to be moved to a front use position where the longitudinal direction substantially matches the left-right direction.

[0004]

The structure of such a conventional movable armrest is constituted by a slide support shaft slidably mounted on the elbow body in the front-rear direction, and an elbow rest rotatably mounted on the slide support shaft. Are known.

However, with such a structure, the armrest can be rotated at any sliding position and can be slid at any rotational position, so that there is too much extra movement and operability is deteriorated, and at the same time, the operating condition is poor. There is a drawback that it is easy to be stable. In addition, if there is an unnecessarily high degree of freedom in the movement of the armrest, the inconvenience that the armrest protrudes sideways without meaning and frequently interferes with surrounding fixtures, workers and the like is likely to occur.

On the other hand, in order to limit the movement of the elbow rest to a certain extent, a structure in which the elbow rest is attached to the elbow body via a link mechanism so that the elbow rest can be moved only on a fixed locus can be considered as a general method. This causes an increase in the number of parts and a complicated structure, and also causes a problem of finger pinching and a problem of strength.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such inconvenience, and imposes some restrictions on the trajectory of the elbow rest without impairing the simplicity of the structure and the safety, and through this, the operability and the use condition are reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an armrest capable of effectively improving and simultaneously avoiding the problem of interference with the surroundings.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures.

That is, the armrest of the present invention comprises an elbow body,
An elbow rest arranged on the upper end side of the elbow main body. When the elbow rest is placed on the side of the occupant, the elbow rest is placed on the side of the occupant. From the normal use position where the longitudinal direction is substantially aligned with the front-rear direction, through the intermediate position set at a position displaced forward from the normal use position, in front of the seated person and the longitudinal direction in the left-right direction It is possible to move between the normal use position and the intermediate position only as the operation for the movement between the normal use position and the intermediate position. It is characterized in that it is configured such that only a rotation operation can be mainly allowed between the use position.

[0010] In this case, the elbow rest moves along a substantially constant trajectory between the normal use position and the front use position, so that the movement of the elbow can be easily grasped and at the same time, the operation can be easily performed. In other words, it is possible to effectively avoid a situation in which an unexpected movement interferes with surrounding fixtures and workers. In addition, since the movement of the elbow rest at the both use positions is restricted to some extent, it is easy to stably arrange the elbow rest at the both use positions, and it is possible to improve the use condition.

In order to easily adapt to the physique and the like of the user, an intermediate position is set at a plurality of positions along the front-rear direction, and each intermediate position can be reached through a rotating operation. It is desirable to set the use position respectively.

As a specific embodiment, a first guide mechanism for inducing a front-rear movement and a second guide mechanism for inducing a rotational movement are provided between the elbow body and the elbow rest. And a configuration in which the guide function of the first guide mechanism and the guide function of the second guide mechanism are switched at an intermediate position.

[0013] As a structure which is simple in structure and easily secures strength, a first guide mechanism has a linear first guide groove formed on the elbow rest side and a follower fixedly provided on the upper end side of the elbow body. The second guide mechanism is constituted by an engagement between the follower and an arc-shaped second guide groove formed on the elbow rest side with one end continuous with the first guide groove. Are valid.

In this case, the follower engages at least two places spaced apart from the first guide groove in the groove direction, and the two places are two opposing places separated by the rotation center in the second guide groove. What is necessary is just to comprise so that each may be involved.

An example of a follower is a pair of pins provided at a fixed distance.

[0016]

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

An armrest A shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is used with a chair B attached thereto and can be used by a person sitting on the chair B with an armrest. 1 and an elbow rest 2 arranged on the upper end side.

The elbow body 1 is mainly composed of an elbow rod 11, and the elbow rod 11 has a pedestal 12 at an upper end portion, and a hexagonal column 13 is provided on the pedestal 12 so as to project upward in the center. ,
A female screw 14 opened upward is formed inside the pillar 13.

On the other hand, the armrest 2 has an elbow plate 3 and the elbow plate 3
And an armrest 4 attached to the upper end side of the armrest.
2 is mounted using first and second mounting tools 5 and 6.

The first mounting member 5 has a downwardly cap-shaped lid 50 having a through hole 51 at the center.
1 is arranged on the pedestal 12 with the column 13 inserted therethrough, and is fixed at that position by a screw v1. In addition,
An annular groove 52 is formed on the upper surface of the attachment 5,
An O-ring 53 is mounted in the groove 52.

The second fixture 6 has a tapered hole 61a at the center.
And a boss 62 projecting from a lower surface of a central portion of the flange 61.
2, a hexagonal hole 62a opening to the lower end side is formed. Then, the second attachment 6 is brought close to the first attachment 5, and a hole 62 a is inserted into the column 13. The second mounting member 6 is attached to the first mounting member 5 by screwing into the female screw 14 of the first mounting member 5. The reason why the pillar 13 and the hole 62 are hexagonal is to prevent the relative rotation between the elbow body 1 and the second mounting member 6. If such a relative rotation can be prohibited, a square or any other appropriate shape can be used. Shapes can be employed.

At this time, the elbow plate 3 is sandwiched between the two mounting tools 5 and 6 for mounting.
First and second guide mechanisms 7 and 8 are formed between the elbow plate 3 and the second attachment 6, and the elbow rest 2 is placed on the side of the seated person by the guide mechanisms 7 and 8. An intermediate position Q set at a position displaced forward from the normal use position P from a normal use position P (see solid lines in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4) in which the longitudinal direction is substantially aligned with the front-rear direction. Via the imaginary line (see FIG. 1, the imaginary line in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5), a front use position R (see the imaginary line in FIG. 6).

For this purpose, the elbow plate 3 is formed with a long hole 31 having a constant width at the center in the width direction so as to extend along the longitudinal direction, and the fixtures 5 and 6 are inserted through the long hole 31. Are interconnected. Further, a pair of upright walls 32 is provided along the side edge of the long hole 31 at positions opposed to each other with the long hole 31 interposed therebetween, and the lower surface of the flange portion 61 is slidable on the upper surface of the upright wall 32. The elbow plate 3 is sandwiched between the flange portion 61 and the lid portion 50 in the contact state. In this state, the lower surface of the elbow plate 3 and the lid 50 are connected via the O-ring 53 mounted on the upper surface of the lid 50.
Is in close contact with the upper surface.

The first guide mechanism 7 is for guiding the back and forth movement of the elbow rest 4, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3,
It is constituted by a linear first guide groove 71 formed between the pair of upright walls 32 and a pair of follower pins 72 fixed to the upper end of the elbow body 1. The pair of pins 72 are fixed at opposing positions across the tapered hole 61 a on the lower surface of the flange 61, and the diameter is set to a value slightly smaller than the groove width of the guide groove 71. When the boss portion 62 is located at one end of the long hole 31 and one of the pins 72 rides on the bottom wall 3a of the elbow plate 3 (in the case of FIG. 3), the armrest 2 is held at the normal use position P. When the boss portion 62 is located at the other end of the long hole 31 and the other pin 72 rides on the bottom wall 3b of the elbow plate 3 (in FIG. 5), the armrest 2 is held at the intermediate position Q. It has become.

The second guide mechanism 8 is for guiding the rotation of the armrest 2 and, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6,
An arc-shaped second guide groove 81 formed in the elbow plate 3 with one end continuous with the first guide groove 71;
It is constituted by the relationship with. The second guide groove 81 is formed between the partial arc-shaped upright walls 33 that are located at positions adjacent to the upright wall 32 and that form a pair inside and outside. The groove width is the same as the groove width of the guide groove 71. They are set almost equal. When the elbow plate 3 rotates with the boss portion 62 positioned at the other end of the long hole 31, the pair of pins 72 enter the second guide groove 81 at the corresponding position. Of the bottom wall 3b at the bottom of the groove
To get on. The second guide groove 8 ends at the position where the elbow plate 3 is rotated by 90 degrees, and stops rotating in the state of FIG. 6 in which the pin 72 is in contact with the upright wall 33a functioning as a stopper. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, a ball 92 is disposed on the lower surface of the other pin 72 while being elastically pressed by a spring 91. The ball 92 is inserted into a hole 3b1 formed in the bottom wall 3b. The elbow rest 2 is intermittently engaged and click-stopped at that position. The ball 92 is accommodated in a hole provided at the axial center of the pin 72, and is provided with an appropriate means for preventing the ball from dropping from below.

When the mounting of the armrest 3 is completed, the armrest 4 is put on the armrest 3 so as to cover the upper surface of the armrest 3, and the armrest 3 is screwed from below into the corresponding position of the armrest 4 through the screw v3. I have to.

As described above, in this embodiment, the armrest 2 is composed of the elbow body 1 and the elbow rest 4 arranged on the upper end side of the elbow body 1. In the configuration for use by the occupant, the elbow rest 4 is moved from the normal use position P, which is located on the side of the occupant and whose longitudinal direction is substantially aligned in the front-back direction, from the normal use position P
Through an intermediate position Q set at a position further displaced forward, it can be moved to a front use position R which is located in front of the seated person and whose longitudinal direction is substantially aligned in the left-right direction. Things. Then, as an operation for the movement, only the front-back operation is mainly allowed between the normal use position P and the intermediate position Q, and the intermediate position Q and the front use position R
Is configured so that only a rotational operation can be mainly allowed.

For this reason, the elbow rest 4 moves along a substantially constant trajectory between the normal use position P and the front use position R, so that the movement of the elbow can be easily grasped and at the same time it can be easily operated. In other words, it is possible to effectively avoid a situation in which an unexpected movement interferes with surrounding fixtures and workers. In addition, the degree of freedom of the armrest 4 is limited as described above, and the armrest is stopped by the stopper function when the armrest 4 is at both the use positions P and R, and at the same time, the pin 72 rides on the bottom walls 3a and 3b and the armrest 4 Movement is restricted to some extent,
The elbow rest 4 can be easily stably arranged at both the use positions P and R, and the use state can be improved.

As a specific configuration, an elbow body 1 and an elbow rest 2
, A first guide mechanism 7 for guiding the front-rear operation and a second guide mechanism 8 for guiding the rotation operation are provided. Since the guide function and the guide function of the second guide mechanism 8 are configured to be interchanged, the structure can be simplified as compared with the case where one function covers all the predetermined operations. Can be.

In particular, the first guide mechanism 7 is constituted by the engagement of a linear first guide groove 71 formed on the armrest 2 side and a follower 72 fixedly provided on the upper end side of the elbow body 1. The second guide mechanism 8 is constituted by the engagement of the follower 72 with an arc-shaped second guide groove 81 formed on the armrest side with one end continuous with the first guide groove 71. Therefore, the guide mechanisms 7 and 8 are made robust by using the strength of the members of the upright walls 32 and 33 constituting the guide grooves 71 and 81 and the strength of the pin 72 as a follower, and the armrest A Can be effectively secured.

In this case, the follower pin 72 is
The second guide groove 81 is engaged with at least two locations separated from each other in the groove direction by the guide groove 71, and the two locations are engaged with each other in the second guide groove 81 with the rotation center therebetween. For this reason, rattling at the time of performing the front-back operation and the rotation operation can be reduced as much as possible, and the smoothness and accuracy of the operation can be ensured.

Further, since the follower is constituted by a pair of pins 72 provided at a predetermined distance, the follower itself can be made compact and easy to assemble.

The specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, if the intermediate position is set at a plurality of positions along the front-rear direction, and each of the intermediate positions is set to a front use position that can be reached through a rotation operation, the user can be adapted to the physique or the like. It can be easily adapted. It is also effective to partially change the thickness of the bottom walls 3a and 3b so as to use the friction with the pin 72 to stably hold the armrest 2 at the use positions P and R.

[0035]

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

That is, in the armrest of the present invention,
In the case of being configured to be movable from the normal use position to the forward use position via the intermediate position, only the front-back operation is mainly allowed between the normal use position and the intermediate position, and between the middle use position and the front use position. In this configuration, only a rotation operation can be mainly allowed.

Therefore, the arrangement of the armrest can be changed between the normal time and the time when the OA equipment is used, so that various modes of use of the armrest can be provided. In addition, the movement of the armrest during that time can be smoothly performed without interference with surrounding fixtures and workers, etc., and the stability at the time of use can be improved, so that the usability of the armrest is extremely good be able to.

If the intermediate position is set at a plurality of positions along the front-rear direction, and a plurality of front use positions corresponding to the respective intermediate positions are set, the user adjusts the front use position according to the physique. Therefore, the use condition of the armrest can be improved.

A first guide mechanism for guiding the fore-and-aft movement and a second guide mechanism for guiding the rotation movement are provided between the elbow body and the elbow rest so that the functions can be suitably linked in the middle. , Each guide mechanism itself has a simple structure, and required operations can be effectively realized.

The first guide mechanism is constituted by engagement of a first guide groove formed on the elbow rest side and a follower provided on the elbow body side, and the second guide mechanism is connected to the first guide groove. If the second guide groove formed on the side of the elbow rest and the follower are engaged with each other, the number of parts is small, and the structure is simple and the high strength armrest can be effectively realized by using the member strength. it can. Moreover, as long as the guide groove is set to a width that does not allow a finger to enter,
Since there is no danger of pinching a finger between the follower and the guide groove, safety can be effectively improved.

If the follower is engaged with the first guide groove and the second guide groove at two places, the backlash during the back-and-forth operation and the rotation operation is reduced as much as possible, and the operation is smooth. And accuracy can be ensured.

If the follower is formed by providing a pair of pins at a fixed distance, it is useful in pursuing simplification and compactness of the structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a chair to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the embodiment with a part omitted.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view corresponding to FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Elbow main body 2 ... Elbow rest 7 ... 1st guide mechanism 8 ... 2nd guide mechanism 71 ... 1st guide groove 72 ... Follower (pin) 81 ... 2nd guide groove P ... Normal use position Q ... Intermediate position R … Front use position

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Fritz Frenkler Germany 60594 Frankfurt am Main Schweizerstrasse Lasse 7 FP Design Gae Mbeher (72) Inventor Annette Ponholzer Germany 60594 Frankfurt am Main Schweizerst Lasse 7 FP Design Gaie Mbeher (72) Inventor Takashi Nakamura 5331 Nishiharu Kinoshitagawara, Ina-shi, Nagano Takano Corporation Furniture Development Dept. (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Ueda 6-1-1 Oimazato Minami, Higashi-Nari-ku, Osaka City Inside Kokuyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yojiro Kinoshita O-Ima, Higashi-Nari-ku, Osaka City 6-1-1 Satonan F-term in KOKUYO Co., Ltd. (Reference) 3B087 DC01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An elbow body, comprising an elbow rest disposed on the upper end side of the elbow body, which can be used by a seated person with the elbow resting on the elbow rest. From the normal use position, which is located on the side of the seated person and is arranged with the longitudinal direction substantially aligned with the front-back direction, via the intermediate position set at a position displaced forward from the normal use position, in front of the seated person It can be moved up to a front use position where the longitudinal direction is substantially aligned with the left and right direction, and as an operation for the movement, it is mainly an anteroposterior operation between a normal use position and an intermediate position An armrest characterized in that the armrest is configured to allow only rotation operation between the intermediate position and the front use position. 2. An intermediate position is set at a plurality of positions along the front-rear direction, and a front use position that can be reached through a rotation operation is set for each intermediate position.
Armrest as described. 3. A first guide mechanism for guiding a fore-and-aft movement and a second guide mechanism for guiding a rotational movement are provided between an elbow body and an elbow rest, with an intermediate position as a boundary. The armrest according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide function of the first guide mechanism and the guide function of the second guide mechanism are interchanged. 4. A first guide mechanism comprising a linear first guide groove formed on an elbow rest side and a follower fixedly provided on an upper end side of an elbow body. The armrest according to claim 3, wherein the guide mechanism is configured by engagement of the arc-shaped second guide groove formed on the armrest side with one end continuous with the first guide groove, and the follower. 5. A follower is engaged with at least two places spaced apart from the first guide groove in the groove direction.
5. The armrest according to claim 4, wherein the two positions are respectively engaged with two opposing positions separated by a rotation center in the second guide groove. 6. The armrest according to claim 5, wherein the follower is a pair of pins provided at a fixed distance.