JP2009207608A - Chair - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chair which can be stored compact while adjusting turning speed. <P>SOLUTION: The chair unit 1 is comprised of a pair of struts 10 (10R, 10L) arranged spaced apart by a predetermined distance in right and left directions, a top plate 20 horizontally supported by the struts 10R, 10L, a backrest 30, and a seat body 40 for sitting. The seat body 40 is turnably supported by a supporting shaft 14 and is biased in a direction in which a sitting seat face 41 becomes substantially vertical by a gas spring 50. The seat body 40 quickly turns till the same reaches a brake point when the seat body 40 stands up by being biased by the gas spring 50. The turning speed is suppressed by the second reaction force by the gas spring 50 and the seat body 40 slowly moves to and stops at a storing position where the sitting seat face 41 becomes substantially vertical when the seat body 40 pass over the brake point. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chair configured to rotate and displace to a storage position where a seating surface is substantially vertical and a use position where a seating surface is substantially horizontal.

  Conventionally, in a place where desks and chairs are grouped, such as a lecture room in a school, a seating seat for sitting is used when not sitting so that a person can easily move between the desk and the chair. A chair configured to stand up in a substantially vertical direction and be stowable is used. For example, there is disclosed a chair having a configuration in which a seat body is attached in a state of being rotatable with respect to a support shaft, and a columnar weight is horizontally provided in a rear portion of the support body in the seat body (Patent Document). 1). In the chair having such a configuration, the seat is urged by the weight in the direction in which the seat rises, and when the user leaves the seat, the seat automatically rises and is stored.

  However, in the above-mentioned chair, the seat body jumps up vigorously and abuts against the backrest and the stopper strongly, generating a loud impact sound and vibration, causing discomfort to the surroundings, and the impact damages and deteriorates the stopper. There is a risk of promoting. On the other hand, if the seat is configured to rise slowly, the user will have difficulty standing because the feet touch the seat. Therefore, the speed at which the seat body rotates can be as fast as possible until the seat body rotates to a position where it does not come into contact with the user's foot when the user stands up, and then slowly after that position. desired.

As a chair that solves such a problem, for example, a chair that includes a spring that biases the seat body in a rising direction, a cylinder filled with a fluid, and a piston that slides in the cylinder is provided. As the body rotates, the piston slides to compress or flow the fluid in the cylinder, transmits the reaction force to the seat body, and applies a reaction force against the seat body rotation direction. The chair which was made is disclosed (refer patent document 2). In the chair having such a configuration, when the user stands up, the seat is raised by the spring, and when the seat is rotated, the cylinder device suppresses the rotation speed of the seat, and the seat is in contact with the backrest or the like. Impact noise can be reduced.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-47903 Japanese Patent No. 3888992

  In the chair described in Patent Document 2 described above, the spring and the cylinder device need to be installed at different positions on the seat body. Therefore, if the cover is attached by arranging them, the seat body itself becomes thick. Therefore, even when the seat is in a standing state, the space between the desk and the chair becomes narrow, and there is a problem that the movement between the desk and the chair becomes inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a chair that can be accommodated in a small size while adjusting the rotation speed.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a pair of supports arranged at a predetermined interval and a pair of supports arranged horizontally, both ends are supported by the pair of supports. And a use position where the seating surface is substantially horizontal, and a storage position where the seating surface is substantially vertical by raising the front of the seating surface. One end is attached to the seat body supported by the support shaft and the first attachment portion provided on the seat body so that the position relative to the support body is constant. A gas spring that urges the seat toward the storage position by extending, the other end being attached to the attachment portion; The seat body in a storage area corresponding to a predetermined range from the position Extension rate of the gas spring when positioned is a chair, wherein the seat body in the region other than the storage area is smaller than the extension rate of the gas spring when positioned.

  In the chair configured as described above, the gas spring urges the seat body to move it to the storage position, suppresses the rotation speed of the seat body near the storage position, and suppresses the generation of a loud collision sound. . Conventionally, in order to obtain the above function, it was necessary to attach two types of biasing means such as a spring and buffering means such as a damper at different positions. The space required for mounting the parts can be reduced. Therefore, the chair of the present invention can be housed small while adjusting the rotation speed. Thereby, for example, by applying to a grouped chair such as a lecture room, a space for the user to move when the seat is stored can be increased.

  Conventionally, in order to adjust the rotation speed of the seat body, it has been necessary to adjust the restoring force of the spring and the reaction force of the cylinder device, and to adjust the resultant force to an appropriate value. Although it was difficult to make it difficult, in the chair of the present invention, it is only necessary to adjust the gas spring, and an appropriate rotation speed can be easily adjusted.

  The installation position of the second attachment portion is not particularly limited as long as it is a position where the positional relationship with the support body is constant, that is, a position that is not displaced with the rotation of the seat body. For example, it may be provided on the support body, or may be provided on the support shaft as long as the support shaft does not rotate with the seat body.

The invention according to claim 2 is the chair according to claim 1, wherein the gas spring is arranged in a region located on the back side of the seating surface in the seat body.
A chair constructed in this way makes it difficult for the user's body and clothes to come into contact with the gas spring, thus preventing accidents involving the body and clothes in the gas spring that moves and expands and contracts as the seat rotates. can do. In addition, when the seat is in the use position, the gas spring is located under the seat, so that the user's seating is not obstructed and the front and back spaces of the chair are used efficiently. be able to.

  Invention of Claim 3 is a chair of Claim 1 or Claim 2, Comprising: The said storage area is a positional relationship with respect to the said floor surface of the said seat when the said seat is in the said use position. It is located in the back side of the chair rather than the foot grounding position determined based on the above.

  If the chair is configured as described above, when the user tries to stand up, the seat quickly turns in the region where the foot is easy to contact when standing up, and when the user rotates to the region where the foot is difficult to contact, Will move slowly. Therefore, it does not interfere with the rising operation, which is convenient.

  The above-mentioned foot contact position is a position determined by the tip of the seating surface of the seat and the height of the seat from the floor surface, and a person with a general physique can naturally (easily) stand up from the chair. This is the position where the footpad touches down when trying. When there is a seat on the back side from this position, the seat does not come into contact with the user's foot. It can be.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(1) Overall Configuration As shown in FIG. 1, the chair unit 1 of the present embodiment includes a pair of support columns 10 (10 </ b> R, 10 </ b> L) disposed at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction (the AB direction in FIG. 1). The top plate 20 supported horizontally by the support columns 10R and 10L, the backrest 30 extending in the substantially vertical direction attached to the end of the top plate 20 in the front direction (direction C in FIG. 1), and the support columns 10R, 10L, and a seat 40 for sitting, which is supported at a position higher than the floor surface. The columns 10R, 10L and the top plate 20 function as a desk, and the columns 10R, 10L, the backrest 30. , And the seat 40 function as a chair. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of the chair units 1 are installed side by side in the front direction of the chair in a lecture room or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support columns 10R and 10L described above include a fixing portion 11 (11R and 11L) fixed to the floor surface and a column portion 12 (12R and 12L) extending upward from the fixing portions 11R and 11L. ) And protrusions 13 (13R, 13L) extending from the respective pillars 12 (12R, 12L) in the front direction of the chair. Between the projecting portion 13R and the projecting portion 13L, a support shaft 14 extending in the left-right direction and disposed horizontally is disposed. The support shaft 14 is fixed at both ends so as not to be rotatable by the protruding portion 13R and the protruding portion 13L. In addition, the support | pillars 10R and 10L mentioned above correspond to the support body in this invention.

  The seat body 40 described above includes a seat plate 42 having a seating surface 41 extending in the front-rear and left-right directions (CD, AB directions in FIG. 1), and the left and right sides of the seat plate 42 (AB directions in FIG. 1). The bearing 43 is attached to both ends and fixes the seat plate 42 rotatably with respect to the support shaft 14, and the cover 44 is formed so as to cover the area on the back side of the seating surface 41.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the seat 40 has a use position where the seating surface 41 is substantially horizontal (the position of the seat 40a in FIG. 3 and corresponds to the seat 40a in FIG. 2), and the seating surface. As the front of 41 rises, the seating surface 41 can be pivoted between the storage position (the position of the seat body 40c in FIG. 3 and corresponding to the seat body 40c in FIG. 2). Thus, the rear is supported by the support shaft 14. Note that rotation to other than the region between the use position and the storage position is restricted by a stopper (not shown).

  Further, a gas spring 50 is provided on the back surface of the seat plate 42 to urge the seat plate 42 in the direction in which the seating surface 41 becomes the storage position. The gas spring 50 has a first connecting portion 59 rotatably connected to a first attaching portion 45 provided on the seat body 40 and a second connecting portion connected to a second attaching portion 15 provided on the support shaft 14. 61 is rotatably connected. Accordingly, the seat body 40 is biased to the storage position where the seating surface 41 is in a substantially vertical state by the gas spring 50 extending.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the gas spring 50 includes a cylinder 53 in which a gas 51 and oil 52 are sealed, and one end inserted into the cylinder 53 and the other end protruding outside the cylinder 53. A rod 54 whose sliding amount changes by sliding, a piston 55 which is attached to the end portion of the rod 54 on the one end side described above and defines the inside of the cylinder 53 into two chambers, and a piston 55 which is formed in the two chambers. And a check valve 57 arranged side by side with the piston 55 on the rod 54. A first connecting portion 59 formed with a through hole 58 is formed at the tip of the cylinder 53 on the side where the rod 54 does not protrude. Further, a second connecting portion 61 formed with a through hole 60 is formed at the tip of the rod 54 on the other end side.

  In such a gas spring 50, the piston 55 is urged in the direction in which the rod 54 is pushed out (direction E in FIG. 4) due to the difference between the two chambers in the gas pressure applied to the piston 55. When an external force stronger than this urging force is not applied to the rod 54, the rod 54 moves toward the outside of the cylinder 53 (the gas spring 50 extends).

  Further, when the rod 54 moves, the gas 51 passes through the orifice 56, so that the moving speed is suppressed by the first reaction force determined by the moving speed of the rod 54 and the diameter of the orifice 56.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the check valve 57 is usually located at a certain distance from the piston 55, but the rod 54 moves toward the outside of the cylinder 53, and the piston 55 is oiled. When entering the layer 52, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), it moves to the piston 55 side and further narrows the exit path of the orifice 56. Thereby, the moving speed of the rod 54 is suppressed by the second reaction force stronger than the first reaction force described above.

  That is, the extension speed of the gas spring 50 is greatly reduced when the gas spring 50 exceeds a predetermined length (the length of the gas spring 50 when the piston 55 enters the oil 52 layer). When the rod 54 moves into the cylinder 53, the check valve 57 is in the position shown in FIG. 5A regardless of the position of the rod 54, and the second reaction force described above does not occur, The moving speed is suppressed by the reaction force of 1.

  The specific installation position of the second mounting portion 15 is not particularly limited as long as it is installed so that the positional relationship with the columns 10R and 10L is constant. For example, you may install directly with respect to the support | pillar 10R or the support | pillar 10L.

Further, the cover 44 is formed along the seat plate 42 so as to cover the bearing 43 and the gas spring 50 described above, and when the seat body 40 is operated as the seat body 40 rotates, Part is suppressed from being caught.
(2) Rotating operation of the seat body 40 The rotating operation of the seat body 40 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the seat body 40 a is in a state where the user 2 a is sitting and used, the seat body 40 b is in a state where the user 2 b is standing up, and the seat body 40 c is in a state after the user 2 c is up. .

  When the seat body 40 is located at a use position where the seating surface 41 of the seat body 40 is in a substantially horizontal state (position of the seat body 40a in FIG. 2), the gas spring 50 is in the most compressed state (the rod 54 is in the cylinder 53). The seat 40 is maintained by the weight of the user 2a.

  When the user 2a rises from this state and enters the state of the user 2b, the load due to the weight disappears, and thus the seat body 40 rotates as the gas spring 50 extends (the seat body 40b in FIG. 2). At this time, the rotation speed of the seat body 40 is suppressed by the first reaction force. However, since the first reaction force is smaller than the second reaction force, the seat body 40 rotates quickly.

  Then, as the gas spring 50 extends, the seat body 40 rotates to the storage position (seat body 40c in FIG. 2) where the seating surface 41 is substantially vertical. At this time, the gas spring 50 is in the most extended state (the rod 54 protrudes outside the cylinder 53). The predetermined length of the gas spring 50 described above is set to a length shorter than the length at this time.

  When the gas spring 50 extends beyond the predetermined length described above, the extension speed of the gas spring 50 becomes slow, and as a result, the rotation speed of the seat body 40 becomes slow. Assuming that the position of the seat body 40 when the gas spring 50 exceeds a predetermined length is a brake point, the rotational speed of the seat body 40 is slowed down after passing the brake point.

  Then, it slowly moves to the storage position and stops. Therefore, no collision sound or the like is generated when the seat body 40 stops. Further, in the state where the seat body 40 is located in the region from the brake point to the storage position, the width F in the front direction between the top plate 20 and the seat body 40 increases to such an extent that it does not come into contact with a person's foot, and the person can easily You will be able to pass between the chair and the desk. The area from the brake point to the storage position corresponds to the storage area in the present invention.

On the other hand, when rotating from the storage position to the use position, it can be realized by pressing the front side of the seat body 40 downward with a hand or the like. When the seat body 40 is rotated from the storage position in the brake point direction, even if the seat body 40 is located in the storage area, the speed suppression in the compression direction of the gas spring 50 is due to the first reaction force described above. Therefore, the reaction force is small compared to the case of rotating from the brake point to the storage position, and the seat body 40 can be rotated to the use position with a small force.
(3) Setting of brake points The brake points described above are determined as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the seated user 2a stands up, his / her foot contacts the floor like the user 2b. The position of the heel at this time is defined as a foot contact position 70. The foot contact position 70 is a position estimated according to the position of the front end 41a of the seating surface 41 in the use position and the height of the seating surface 41 from the floor surface.

  When the heel is grounded and stands on the foot contact position 70, the back surface of the foot of the user 2c is positioned along a line (line G in FIG. 2) extending from the foot contact position 70 in the vertical direction. The brake point is determined at the position of the seat body 40 when the front end 41a of the seat body 40 rotates in a region on the back side of the chair with respect to the line G. As long as the front end 41a is located on the back side from the G line, the brake point may be set at any position.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the height H of the top plate 20 is 720 mm, and the width I that the user 2 can move (the horizontal length from the support shaft 14 to the rear end 20a of the top plate 20). 380 mm, the height J of the seating surface 41 is 440 mm or less (approx. 420 to 440 mm is appropriate), and the depth K of the seating surface 41 (the length from the front end 41a of the seat body 40 to the support shaft 14) is 335 mm. In addition, when the top plate 20 exists in front of the seat body 40 as in the present embodiment, the posture of the user 2 changes so that the front surface of the foot does not hit the top plate 20 when standing up. The depth K may be determined based on the rear end 20a of the top plate 20.

The height H of the top plate 20 and the height J of the seating surface 41 are such that when a person with a general physique (height of about 165 cm) is seated, it is easy to use as a desk and the feet can be grounded easily. is there.
Further, the width I and the depth K are set to values at which the foot does not contact the top plate 20 or the seat body 40 when the user 2 stands up. If the width I is a value larger than the above, the user 2 can easily stand up and the depth K can be increased, but it is necessary to widen the installation interval before and after the column 10. Further, when the depth K is made smaller than the above, the sitting comfort on the seat body 40 is deteriorated.

When the top plate 20 and the seat body 40 are installed as described above, the foot contact position 70 when the person having the above-mentioned general physique naturally (easily) stands up is in front of the support shaft 14 and is the support shaft 14. The horizontal length L from the position is 200 ± 20 mm. If the seat body 40 is on the back side with respect to the line G extending in the vertical direction from the foot contact position 70, the foot does not come into contact even when the user 2b stands up. When the front end 41a is located on the line G, the angle of the straight line connecting the front end 41a and the support shaft 14 with respect to the horizontal direction (angle M in FIG. 6) is 55 °. Therefore, the brake point may be set so that the angle M is 55 ° or more.
(4) Effects In the case of the chair unit 1 configured as described above, the gas spring 50 urges the seat body 40 to stand up and a large collision due to the collision between the seat body 40 and the backrest 30 or a stopper. It is possible to realize deceleration that suppresses the generation of sound.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to provide two types of means for biasing, such as a spring, and means for buffering, such as a damper, as in the prior art, and the space for attaching the components in the chair unit 1 can be reduced.

  Therefore, compared with the above-described springs and dampers provided on the pillars 12R, 12L and the backrest 30, the space for mounting the device is reduced, so that the space for the feet when sitting and using the desk is reduced. It is possible to secure a wide space or install the chair unit 1 in the front direction.

  Moreover, compared with what the spring and damper which were mentioned above were provided in the back surface of the seat body 40, the thickness covered with the cover 44 of the seat body 40 becomes small, and the seat body 40 can be comprised thinly. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the back surface of the seat body 40 from hitting a person's foot while standing, and when the seat body 40 stands up and is stored, a wide space between the top board 20 and the seat body 40 can be secured. Therefore, the space can be easily moved.

  The first mounting portion 45 is provided as close to the seat plate 42 as possible on the back surface of the seat body 40, and the rod 54 is as close as possible to the support shaft 14 when the seat body 40 is in the storage position. If the second mounting portion is provided at a position closer to the floor surface than the support shaft 14, the thickness of the seat body 40 at the storage position is preferably reduced.

  Further, in the chair unit 1 having the above-described configuration, when the user tries to stand up, the seat of the knee or the back of the thigh of the user is likely to contact the seat body 40 (the region from the use position to the brake point). When the body 40 rotates quickly and rotates to an area that is difficult to contact (an area from the brake point to the storage position, that is, the storage area), the body 40 moves slowly. Therefore, it does not interfere with the rising operation, which is convenient.

Further, in the chair unit 1 having the above-described configuration, the rotational speed of the seat body 40 and the position of the brake point can be adjusted by adjusting only the gas spring 50.
In the conventional chair, since it was necessary to adjust both the restoring force of the coil spring and the reaction force of the damper, it was difficult to realize an appropriate turning operation. In addition, the combination of the coil spring quality variation and the damper quality variation is the variation in the force that controls the operation of the seat, making it difficult to reduce the variation in motion between chairs. . For this reason, when the seat is rotated toward the storage position, the rotation speed is reduced at a much earlier stage than when the seat is rotated to an area where it is difficult to contact the user's foot, and the seat is in contact with the user's foot. However, in the chair unit 1 of this embodiment, the adjustment is easy and the variation in quality can be reduced, so that an appropriate rotation operation can be easily realized. As a result, the above-described problems of the prior art can be solved.

  In addition, since the chair unit 1 having the above-described configuration uses only the gas spring 50 instead of the coil spring and the damper, it is possible to reduce the assembly man-hours and the cost by simplifying the management of the parts.

  Traditionally, this type of chair with a rotating seat is available in many variations, such as a light seat with a cushion made of wood or plastic, or a heavy seat with a cushion or pad attached. Commercialization was required. For each of these variations, various coil springs and dampers are required to control the rotation of the seat in accordance with the weight of the seat and how it is used, and these are produced and stored in stock. It was necessary to keep.

  On the other hand, in the chair unit 1 having the above-described configuration, it is only necessary to handle the gas spring 50 in the manufacturing stage, so that it is not necessary to manage various stocks, and it is possible to reduce the number of mounting steps and suppress component mounting errors. Thus, cost reduction can be achieved.

In addition, since the necessary parts are reduced, the design restrictions on the chair and desk are reduced, and the design is improved.
In the chair unit 1 having the above-described configuration, the gas spring 50 is disposed on the back surface of the seat plate 42, so that the cover 44 is positioned below the seat body 40 when the seat body 40 is in the use position. It will be. Therefore, when the user is seated, there is a low possibility that a part of the body will come into contact with the user, which is convenient because it does not interfere with the operation.
(5) Modifications Embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the said embodiment, although what provided the function of a chair and a desk was illustrated as the chair unit 1, the structure which does not have the top plate 20 but has only a chair may be sufficient.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the gas spring 50 illustrated the structure arrange | positioned at the back surface side of the seat body 40, if the seat body 40 can be urged | biased in the direction to stand up, the attachment position will not be specifically limited.

  For example, the structure by which a gas spring is arrange | positioned in the position along the pillar part 12 of the support | pillar 10 may be sufficient. In that case, it is preferable to provide the first attachment portion 45 behind the seat body 40 and attach the second attachment portion 15 above the protruding portion 13. With this configuration, a space for disposing the gas spring 50 on the support column 10 is required, but since there are no components disposed on the back surface of the seat body 40, the cover 44 is unnecessary, and the seat body 40 is a seat plate. As a result, the seat body 40 can be configured to be thin, and the space between the top board 20 and the seat body 40 in the stored state can be greatly increased.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the structure which the expansion speed of the gas spring 50 was suppressed by operation | movement of the check valve 57 was illustrated, if the expansion speed is suppressed when the gas spring 50 becomes predetermined length, The specific configuration is not particularly limited. For example, it is conceivable that a coil spring is attached in the cylinder 53 and the coil spring is compressed by contacting the piston 55 or the like when the gas spring 50 reaches a predetermined length.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the front end 41a of the seat body 40 illustrated the structure by which a brake point is defined in the seat body 40 position when rotating to the area | region of the back side of a chair rather than the line G in FIG. If the foot contact position 70 is determined as a reference, the specific position of the brake point is not particularly limited. For example, it is conceivable that the position when the entire seat body 40 is rotated to the region on the back side of the chair with respect to the line G is defined as a brake point.

A perspective view showing a chair unit of an embodiment Side view showing a state in which a plurality of chair units are arranged Side view showing the seat Sectional view showing structure of gas spring Sectional view showing operation of check valve Side view showing dimensions when the chair unit is placed

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Chair unit, 2 ... User, 10 ... Support | pillar, 11 ... Fixed part, 12 ... Pillar part, 13 ... Projection part, 14 ... Support shaft, 15 ... 2nd attaching part, 20 ... Top plate, 20a ... Rear end , 30 ... Backrest, 40 ... Seat, 41 ... Seating surface, 41a ... Front end, 42 ... Seat plate, 43 ... Bearing, 44 ... Cover, 45 ... First mounting portion, 50 ... Gas spring, 51 ... Gas, 52 ... oil, 53 ... cylinder, 54 ... rod, 55 ... piston, 56 ... orifice, 57 ... check valve, 58 ... through hole, 59 ... first connecting part, 60 ... through hole, 61 ... second connecting part, 70 ... Foot contact position

Claims (3)

A pair of supports disposed at a predetermined interval;
A support shaft arranged horizontally and supported at both ends by the pair of supports;
It has a seating surface that expands in the front-rear direction, and can be rotated between a use position in which the seating surface is substantially horizontal and a storage position in which the seating surface becomes substantially vertical by raising the front of the seating surface. And a seat body supported by the support shaft,
One end is attached to the first attachment portion provided in the seat body, and the other end is attached to the second attachment portion where the positional relationship with respect to the support body is constant. A gas spring biased toward the storage position,
The extension speed of the gas spring when the seat is located in a storage area corresponding to a predetermined range from the storage position in the region where the seat rotates is that the seat is located in a region other than the storage region. The chair is characterized in that it is smaller than the extension speed of the gas spring. The chair according to claim 1, wherein the gas spring is disposed in a region located on a back surface side of the seating surface in the seat body. The storage area is located on the back side of the chair with respect to a foot contact position determined based on a positional relationship of the seat to the floor when the seat is in the use position. The chair according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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