JP2006255047A - Chair - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chair helping easily and stably hold the body by facilitating the hands of an occupant to grip the fronts of the arms through a process of a posture change between a sitting position and a standing/sitting assisting position. <P>SOLUTION: The chair is provided with a chair body 10 having a seat 11, the back 12 and a pair of the right and left arms 13 and 13, a drive mechanism 20 having a dc motor or the like capable of selectively changing a posture of the chair body 10 at least in the standing/sitting assisting position and in the sitting position, an operation part 30 comprising a selector switch or the like for controlling the drive mechanism 20 to have positional options of the chair body 10 and gripping projections 40 disposed on the tops of the fronts of the arms 13 and 13 of the chair body 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a chair capable of selectively changing the posture of a chair body n to a standing / sitting assistance position and a sitting position.

  A chair provided with a standing assistance function configured to be able to selectively change the posture of the chair body to the standing / sitting assistance position and the sitting position is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The chair described in Patent Document 1 includes a chair body including a seat portion and a backrest with a tilt angle adjusting means provided continuously on the rear edge of the seat portion, and from a minimum height position to an intermediate height position. It has a top surface that moves in a horizontal direction and moves in parallel, and gradually rises from the middle height position to the maximum height position. A seat surface height adjusting device in which the chair body is mounted and fixed on the top surface, and a pedestal portion provided on the lower surface of the seat surface height adjusting device. The chair body is provided with a pair of armrests on the left and right sides of the seating portion in a tilting structure.

  This type of conventional chair is configured such that when standing assistance is performed from the seating state of the user, the user first operates the drive mechanism to change the state from the sitting position to the standing / sitting assistance position. Has been. At this time, the chair body is lifted, and the rear part of the chair body is pushed up and tilted forward. Thus, when the standing / sitting assistance position is reached, the user can easily take an easy posture to stand up because the weight moves forward while the legs are naturally stretched.

On the contrary, when the user sits on the chair, the chair is operated in advance to change the standing / sitting assistance position. Next, the user applies his / her waist to the seating portion and moves his / her weight to the chair side, and then operates the chair to change the state of the chair body to the seating position by the drive mechanism.
JP 2002-336073 A

  In the process of changing the state of the chair from the sitting position to the standing / sitting assistance position, the user feels uneasy that the sitting state becomes unstable and slides down. Therefore, if the seated person grasps the front part of the left and right armrests, and further presses the hand against the front part of the armrest to extend the arm so that the body does not slide down from the seating part, the state of the chair is changing It becomes easier to keep the body stable.

  However, this type of conventional chair has a structure with a flat upper surface, similar to the armchair of a general chair, so that it is difficult to grasp the front part of the armrest by hand or to press the hand. It was. Therefore, despite having a standing assistance function that can selectively change the chair body to the standing / sitting assistance position and the sitting position, not only must the chair be used with anxiety, but in some cases There was a risk that the user would fall out of the chair.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a chair that can easily keep a body stable by using a hand in a process of changing a state between a sitting position and a standing / sitting assist position.

  Further, the present invention provides a chair that can easily keep the body stable by making it easy to grasp the front part of the armrest by hand through the process of changing the state between the sitting position and the standing / sitting assist position. Is a concrete purpose.

    The chair of the present invention includes a chair body provided with a seating portion, a backrest portion, and a pair of left and right armrests; a drive mechanism capable of selectively changing the chair body to at least a standing / sitting assistance position and a seating position; And an operation portion that can select the chair body at a desired position; and a gripping convex portion disposed on the front upper surface of the armrest portion of the chair body.

  In the present invention and each of the following inventions, the definitions and technical meanings of terms are as follows unless otherwise specified.

  The chair body only needs to include a seating portion, a backrest portion, and a pair of left and right armrests, and the remaining configuration is not limited. In addition, the chair body is configured to be able to change its overall position or posture with respect to the floor surface by a drive mechanism to be described later for a standing / sitting assist operation.

  Furthermore, a chair body that is preferable in the present invention has a reclining function in addition to the above-described configuration, and has a sofa specification that uses many cushions. And, for the reclining function, the seating part may protrude forward, or the inclination angle of the backrest part may be adjustable so that the angle of the backrest part with respect to the seating part becomes a desired angle greater than 90 °. In addition, the chair body is allowed to have a footstool that can be deployed or pushed out.

  In the above, the footstool is deployed or squeezed out, the chair body is equipped with the footstool folded, and the footstool is deployed at the time of use and the footstool is placed at the use position, This means that the chair body has a foot stool accommodated in the lower part or inside of the chair body, and the foot stool protrudes to the use position during use. Further, as the reclining function, it is allowed to appropriately combine functions such as adjustment of the inclination angle of the backrest portion, deployment or projection of the foot stool, or projection movement of the seating portion.

  The pair of armrests are arranged at a position where the pair of the armrests are spaced apart from each other on the left and right sides, and are generally easy to put both the elbows of the seated person in an easy posture. The width of the portion on which the elbow is placed is preferably set with a margin so that the elbow can be easily placed. In addition, at least the portion on which the elbow is placed may be formed of any material, but is preferably configured to be soft so that the cushion acts.

  The drive mechanism is a power unit that selectively changes at least the chair body to a seating position and a standing / sitting assistance position. However, in addition to the above-described operation, a power for performing a reclining operation, for example, in addition to the above-described operation. May be configured to supply. As the driving force, an appropriate power source such as an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, or a pneumatic motor that operates with direct current or alternating current can be used.

  The standing / sitting assistance position means a standing assistance position and / or a sitting assistance position, and may be any position that is easier to stand up and / or a position that is easier to sit than the normal sitting position. The position where the user can easily stand and the position where the user can easily sit may be the same or different. These positions are generally such that the seating portion is higher than the normal seating position, and the posture of the chair body is inclined forward at an appropriate angle. How to change between the sitting position by the drive mechanism and the standing / sitting assistance position, in other words, the changing process is free. That is, when driving from the normal seating position to the standing / sitting assistance position, any of the following modes may be used. A mode in which the position of the seating portion first increases and then the seating portion tilts forward. A mode in which the height and inclination of the seating portion change almost simultaneously. A mode in which the seating portion first tilts forward, and then the position of the seating portion increases. Further, when driving from the standing / sitting assistance position to the normal sitting position, either the reverse of the above aspect or a different aspect may be employed.

  The operation unit is means for controlling the drive mechanism to perform an operation for selectively changing the chair body to at least one of a sitting position and a standing / sitting auxiliary position as desired. In addition, the operation unit can be configured to perform an operation when the chair body has a reclining function as desired.

  Furthermore, the operation unit may be integrated with the chair body, for example, the outer surface, inner surface, upper surface, or front surface of the armrest unit, or may be disposed in a state separated from the chair body. Good. In any case, it is desirable that the user can easily operate. The connection between the operation unit and the drive mechanism may be either wired or wireless.

  The grip convex portion is disposed on the upper front portion of the armrest portion of the chair body. Then, in the process of the chair body changing from the seating position to the standing / sitting assistance position while the seating part is raised and tilted forward, it will prevent the user, that is, the body of the seated person from slipping off the seating part. You can use this when In other words, in order to prevent the user's body from sliding off the seating portion, the user can extend the arm while pressing the gripping convex portion by hand and press the gripping convex portion by hand. .

  Therefore, the grip convex portion protrudes somewhat upward from the upper surface of the armrest portion, and is easily gripped by hand even when the chair body is in the forward tilted state. Further, in order to prevent the gripping convex portion from being undesirably deformed or misaligned when a part of the weight of the seated person acts on the gripping convex portion via the arm and the hand, It is desirable that it is structured to some extent. Materials that meet such conditions can be selected from, for example, wood, plastics, stones and metals. Moreover, leather, cloth, a plastic sheet, etc. can be affixed to the surface of the grip convex part, or a varnish or a coating material can be apply | coated as desired.

  Further, the grasping convex portion can be configured to be formed of a hard member relative to the armrest portion and fitted into the front portion position of the upper surface of the armrest portion. If it does so, an armrest part can be formed using the member excellent in cushioning properties, Therefore, said structure is suitable when the chair is a sofa.

  According to the present invention, the chair body has a gripping convex portion disposed in the upper front portion of the armrest portion, so that the user grips in the process of changing from the sitting position to the standing / sitting assistance position. It is possible to prevent the body from slipping down from the seating part by, for example, pressing the convex part by hand and grasping it. Therefore, the chair of the present invention can assist the user safely when using the chair, and can give the user a sense of security.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

    1 to 6 show a sofa as an embodiment for carrying out the chair of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a side view, and FIG. 3 is a side view in a standing / sitting assist position state. 4 is an enlarged front view and a side view of the gripping convex portion, FIG. 5 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the standing up assisting operation, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the reclining operation. In addition, FIG. 1 is a front view created using the perspective projection while looking from the front obliquely upward direction.

  In this embodiment, the chair includes a chair main body 10, a drive mechanism 20, an operation unit 30, and a grip convex portion 40.

  The chair body 10 includes a seating portion 11, a backrest portion 12, a pair of left and right armrest portions 13, 13 and a foot stool 14, and is moved to a predetermined position by a driving mechanism 20 described later, and its posture is changed. It is configured to be able to.

  The seating part 11 is a part where the user sits down while sitting down and is generally horizontal. Moreover, the seat part 11 is provided with the cushion cover 11a spread | laid on the upper surface. The cushion cover 11a is made of a cushion material that is relatively thin and easy to adapt to the shape of the covered part, and the front part is a cushion extension part 11a1 that extends from the front end of the seating part 11 to the front side, and is used as a sofa. In some cases, the cushion extension portion 11a1 is configured to hang downward from the seating portion 11 to improve the appearance.

  The backrest part 12 stands from the back side of the seating part 11 so that the seated person can bend his back. Further, the backrest 12 is pivotally attached to the chair body 10 so that the base end of the backrest 12 is pivotable with respect to the vicinity of the rear edge of the seat 11, and is tilted at a desired angle by a drive mechanism 20 described later.

  The pair of left and right armrests 13, 13 oppose each other at a position sandwiching the seating part 11 so that the upper surface thereof is at an appropriate height on both the left and right sides of the seating part 11 so that the seated person can put both elbows on. It is arrange | positioned so that the side wall surface shape may be made. And in the case of a sofa like this form, the surface of the skeleton part is covered with the cushion material, and the upper surface is almost flat.

  Further, the pair of left and right armrest portions 13 and 13 is configured such that the front portion of the upper surface thereof is shallowly recessed to form a mounting recess 13a, and a gripping convex portion 40 described later can be embedded.

  The foot stool 14 is retracted to the lower part of the seating part 11 when used as a sofa, and is concealed by the cushion extension part 11a1 of the cushion cover 11a. However, when the reclining function is used, it is configured to be driven out by a driving mechanism, which will be described later, so that the cushion extension 11a1 of the cushion cover 11a is pushed up and pushed out to a predetermined position. The foot stool 14 is divided into two parts, one of which mainly carries the user's buttocks. On the other hand, the other mainly places the user's calf part.

  The drive mechanism 20 includes, for example, a DC motor, a linear drive mechanism 21, a link mechanism 22, a base portion 23, and the like, and switches the chair main body 10 between a standing / sitting assist position and a seating position when used as a sofa, that is, a normal chair. The power is given to the chair body 10. In order to energize the DC motor, the commercial AC power supply voltage is rectified and converted to, for example, a 24V DC voltage, and this DC voltage is applied to the DC motor. The linear drive mechanism 21 and the link mechanism 22 cooperate to lift or tilt the chair body 10 from the base portion 23.

  The operation unit 30 is mainly composed of a changeover switch, and is disposed on the outer surface of the right armrest unit 13 when the chair is viewed from the front as an example. Then, each operation such as power on / off, standing / sitting assist operation, and reclining operation can be selected and executed.

  The grasping convex portion 40 is made of a wood plate material, and is attached to the mounting concave portion 13a of the pair of armrest portions 13 and 13 using fixing means such as screwing, adhesion or fitting. Further, the grip convex part 40 includes a substrate part 41 and a convex part 42. The board portion 41 has a substantially rectangular shape and fits into the mounting recess 13a. The convex portion 42 is a gentle bulge, protrudes upward from the upper surface of the front portion of the substrate portion 41, and is integrated with the substrate portion 41.

  Next, the standing / sitting assistance operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the state (a) shows a state where the chair body 10 is in a normal sitting position. When the chair user H stands up from the sitting state from this state, the operation unit 30 on the outer surface of the armrest portion 13 on the right side of the user H is operated so as to be in the standing / sitting assisting operation state. By this operation, the drive mechanism 20 starts to operate, and the chair body 10 starts to move upward while being inclined forward.

  The state (b) shows a halfway state in the middle of driving from the state (a) to the state (c). During this operation, the user H has the convex portion 42 of the grip convex portion 40 disposed on the front upper surface of the armrest portions 13 and 13 on both sides so that his / her body does not slide down from the seating portion 11 to the front side. If you hold each with both hands and extend your arms, you can prevent the body from slipping.

  The state (c) shows a state in which the chair body 10 is in the standing / sitting assistance position. Then, when the chair body 10 reaches the position shown in the state (c), it automatically stops. In the standing / sitting assistance position, the chair body 10 has a height and a forward tilt angle suitable for the user H to stand up with his / her foot on the floor, so that a standing assistance operation can be obtained. .

  When the user H tries to sit down again, in the state (c) of FIG. 5, the operation unit 30 is operated so as to be in the seating position with the waist pressed against the seating unit 11 backward. Then, the drive mechanism 20 operates in the reverse order to the above, and the state (a) is obtained through the state (b), and the seating assisting operation is performed.

  Next, the reclining operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The state (d) shows a state in which the chair body 10 is in the normal sitting position in FIG. When the chair user H intends to use the reclining function from this state, the operation unit 30 on the outer surface of the armrest portion 13 on the right side of the user H is operated so as to perform the reclining operation.

  In the state (e), the drive mechanism 20 starts operating by the above operation of the operation unit 30, and the chair body 10 starts to tilt slightly while being slightly lifted, and the seating unit 11 is slightly pushed forward, The footstool 14 concealed in the lower part of the part 11 shows a state in which it starts to protrude forward of the seating part 11 while pushing up the cushion extension part 11a1.

  The state (f) shows a state where the reclining position desired by the user H has been reached. At this time, the backrest part 12 is inclined backward to a desired angle with respect to the seating part 11. For this reason, the user H is in a relaxed posture with the body extended.

The front view which shows the sofa as one form for implementing the chair of this invention Same side view Side view of standing / sitting assistance position Similarly enlarged front view and side view of grip convex Also conceptual illustration of standing up assist Also conceptual illustration of reclining operation

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Chair main body, 11 ... Seating part, 11a ... Cushion cover, 12 ... Backrest part, 13 ... Armrest part, 13a ... Mounting recessed part, 2 ... Drive mechanism, 21 ... Linear drive mechanism, 22 ... Link mechanism, 23 ... Base Base part, 30 ... operation part, 40 convex part for gripping, 41 ... substrate part, 42 ... convex part

Claims (2)

A chair body provided with a seating part, a backrest part and a pair of left and right armrests;
A drive mechanism capable of selectively changing the chair body to at least a sitting position and a standing / sitting assistance position;
An operation unit that controls the drive mechanism to select the chair body at a desired position;
A gripping convex portion disposed on the front upper surface of the armrest of the chair body;
A chair characterized by comprising: The chair according to claim 1, wherein the grip convex portion is made of a hard member and is fitted into a front portion of the armrest portion.

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