JP2010051613A - Armrest apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve usability of an elbow rest, which is slender viewed from above, of an armrest apparatus that can freely swivel in the horizontal direction. <P>SOLUTION: A third support body 30 is fixed on a lifting/lowering body 22 of the armrest apparatus 7 via first and second supports 26 and 28. A rotor 32 rotatably overlaps on the third support body 30 via a spindle 35. A guide pin 51 projected downward from the rotor 32 is fit in a guide groove 52 of the third support body 30. The guide groove 52 viewed from above is circular and both sides of the deepest part 52a tilt. An elbow rest receiver 33 is fixed on the rotor 32. An elbow rest 23 is slidably mounted on the elbow rest receiver 33. The rotor 32 flexibly returns to a predetermined attitude by the bias operation of a spring 47 and by the guiding operation of the guide pin 51 and the guide groove 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an armrest device.

The armrest device is generally widely used as an optional item for a chair. In many cases, an armrest device for a chair is provided to rest an arm, but it is also proposed to function as an auxiliary tool for work. The most common is to reduce the burden when using an OA device such as a personal computer. As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses that an elongated elbow rest can be swung horizontally on an elbow post in a plan view in the longitudinal direction. The structure attached so that it could slide freely is disclosed.
JP 2002-336079 A

  Now, personal computer and CAD operations can be divided into keyboard operations and mouse operations. In any case, there is a characteristic that the arm is moved considerably in the horizontal direction. Also, the wrist moves greatly left and right during the transition between the keyboard and the writing operation.

  As a result of observation by the inventors of the present application, it was found that the frequency of horizontal movement in the left-right direction as viewed from the user is high regardless of whether the operation is a keyboard operation or a mouse operation. In particular, since the keyboard of a desktop computer has a larger left-right dimension than a notebook computer, the hand is moved considerably to the left and right. When shifting between keyboard operation and writing work, the hand is moved left and right with considerable dimensions. As for mouse operation, when the mouse is equipped with a wheel, the cursor can often be moved up and down with the wheel, and therefore, it can be said that the frequency of the left and right movement is particularly high.

  And when using the elbow rest of patent document 1 for a keyboard operation or a mouse operation, in order to move an arm to the left and right, the elbow rest must be in a horizontally long posture. This is troublesome because the posture must be returned to this posture, and there is a concern that the elbow rest is turned horizontally by a slight external force and the stability is poor.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of such a current situation, and is intended to provide a more improved armrest device.

  Now, when using an armrest device for work assistance, the kind of work used becomes various. For example, as an example of other work of personal computer operation or CAD operation, precision work or assembly work on a line can be cited. And what kind of posture the elbow rest is easy to use is considered to be different depending on each work. The present invention is also based on such knowledge.

  The armrest device according to the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that the elbow rest having an elongated shape in a plan view is attached to the support means so as to be horizontally rotatable and to return to the reference posture when the external force is released. Have.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the support means includes a return means for returning the elbow rest to a reference posture by a spring force, and a stopper that holds the elbow rest in the posture when the elbow rest is turned to a posture substantially orthogonal to the reference posture. The rotation stop state by the stopper means is released when a certain amount of turning external force is applied to the armrest.

  Invention of Claim 3 applies the structure of Claim 1 or 2 to the armrest device for chairs. In this invention, the elbow rest has a laterally long posture as viewed from the seated person, and is a standard posture. The elbow rest is attached to the support means so as to slide freely in the longitudinal direction at least in the reference posture. Claim 4 also constitutes a part of the chair. In this example, contrary to claim 3, the elbow rest has a longitudinal posture as a reference posture as seen from the seated person. The elbow rest is attached to the support means so as to slide freely in the longitudinal direction when in the horizontally long posture.

  In the present invention, by setting the posture in which the operation is easy to perform as the reference posture, the elbow rest can be automatically held in the posture in which the operation is easy to perform. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of returning the elbow rest to an easy-to-use posture for the operator and to ensure stability in a posture where the work is easy to perform. In addition, the elbow rest can be turned horizontally to a posture other than the standard posture if a certain amount of force is applied without requiring a special operation such as lever operation or button operation. A desired posture can be selected as necessary so that the user can take and take a seat without any trouble even if the reference posture is set.

  The elbow rest may be used in a posture orthogonal to the reference posture. Alternatively, there is a case where it is desired to keep the posture orthogonal to the reference posture when not in use. In this regard, if the configuration of claim 2 is adopted, it is possible to select a state of returning to the reference posture and maintaining a posture substantially orthogonal to the reference state, so that the usability is remarkably improved. Moreover, the rotation stop state by the stopper can be canceled by applying a certain amount of turning external force to the elbow rest without requiring an operation like a button operation, and this is also excellent in terms of usability.

  As described above, when a person sits on a chair and performs a mouse operation on a desk, the arm is often moved mainly in the left-right direction. In addition, the elbow rest is slidable in the left-right direction in the standard posture, so that the arm rest posture is stably maintained while ensuring a light left-right movement of the arm. Excellent workability in operation. In the fourth aspect, the reference posture is opposite to that in the third aspect, and in this case, the elbow rest is returned to the vertically long longitudinal posture. Therefore, there is an advantage that the elbow rest does not get in the way when a person takes a seat.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is applied to a chair armrest device. FIG. 1 shows an outline, and FIG. 2 and subsequent figures show a specific structure. Hereinafter, description will be made sequentially. In the following description, the terms “front and rear”, “front”, “rear”, and “left and right” are used to indicate directions, but these terms are based on the posture of the person who is seated. “Front view” is the direction facing the seated person.

(1). Outline of chair First, the outline of the chair will be described with reference to FIG. 1A is a schematic side view, and FIG. 1B is a plan view. This embodiment is applied to a so-called swivel chair for office use, and the chair has, as main elements, a leg support 1 made of a gas cylinder, a seat receiving portion 2, a seat 3, a backrest 4, a back support 5, a back support 6, It has an armrest device 7. Although not shown, between the back column 5 and the backrest 4, a lumbar support that pushes forward the portion that the seated person's waist hits is disposed.

  The leg strut 1 constitutes a part of the leg device, and the leg strut 1 is fitted to the center of a leg main body having a plurality of (usually five) branch legs extending radially. The seat receiving portion 2 includes a base 9 fixed to the upper end of the leg support 1, a first intermediate fitting 11 that is slidably attached to the base 9 via a first pin (first support shaft) 10, and a first intermediate fitting 11. The first intermediate fitting 11 has a second intermediate fitting 12 connected to the rear end portion of the left and right laterally long second pins (first support shafts) 13 at the rear end of the intermediate fitting 11, and the seat 3 is interposed via an outer shell (not shown). The first intermediate fitting 11 and the second intermediate fitting 12 are supported. The seat receiving portion 2 further includes a lower bracket 15 fixed to the lower surface of the base 8, and the back support 6 is fixed to the lower bracket 15.

  The first pin 10 is slidably fitted into a first elongated hole 16 that is formed in the base 9 in the front and rear longitudinally and horizontally, and the second pin 13 is also formed in the base 9 in the front and rear longitudinal and horizontally oriented first. 2 is fitted in the long hole 17 so as to be slidable. For this reason, the first intermediate fitting 11 and the second intermediate fitting 12 and the outer shell supported by this and the seat 3 can slide back and forth, and the second intermediate fitting 12 is centered on the second pin 13. Can tilt. In FIG. 1A, the seat 3 and the backrest 4 are indicated by a thick line in a backward tilt state.

  The seat 3 is divided into a first part 3a occupying about 2/3 of the front side and a second part 3b occupying about 1/3 of the rear side. The first part 3a is the first part of the outer shell. The second portion 3b is attached to the second intermediate fitting 12 via the second portion of the outer shell. Then, the seat 3 slides back and forth as a whole (horizontal movement), while the second portion 3b can tilt backward with respect to the first portion 3a in a side view.

  The back surface of the backrest 4 near the upper end is fixed to the upper end of the back support 5, and the lower end of the backrest 4 is provided with a downward stopper 18. The downward stopper 18 is provided on the back support 5. It is supported by a lateral stopper (not shown) so that it cannot move forward and can move up and down.

  A guide body 19 having a vertically long slot is fixed to a portion of the back column 5 near the upper end (approximately the upper and lower middle portions of the backrest 4), and this guide body 19 is provided at the upper end of the back support 6. The guide pin 20 is slidable up and down. Therefore, when the seated person leans on the backrest 4, the backrest 4 descends while tilting backward about the guide pin 20, and the seat 3 moves forward as a whole while the second portion 3b tilts backward.

  The backrest 4 tilts backward about its upper and lower intermediate portions when locking, but since 3 moves forward as a whole, the backrest 4 can obtain high comfort even at a small rearward tilt angle. Further, since the upper body does not move greatly backward when locking, it is easy to see the monitor M on the desk even in the locked state.

  Similarly, since the upper body of the person hardly moves backwards even when locked, there is almost no difference between the body and the tabletop D before and after locking. The keyboard K and m can be continuously operated in the state. Furthermore, it is possible to smoothly shift to the operation of the keyboard k and the writing work in the locked state. In other words, it is possible to adopt a rocking posture while maintaining a state where desk work can be easily performed.

  The armrest device 7 includes an elbow strut 21 fixed to the lower bracket 15 of the seat support portion 2, an elevating body 22 attached to the elbow strut 21 so that the height can be adjusted, and an elbow rest attached to the upper end of the elevating body 22. 23. The elbow strut 21 and the lifting body 22 constitute support means.

  The elbow strut 21 is attached to the lower bracket 15 so as to rotate back and forth around its lower end. In this case, the elbow strut 21 is attached to the lower bracket at a position ahead of the front-rear intermediate point of the seat 3. In addition, the elbow strut 21 is tilted forward at a slight angle with respect to the vertical line when it is fully rotated forward, and is tilted backward at an angle larger than the forward tilt angle when it is fully tilted backward ( To fall back). The overall rotation angle is set to about 25 °.

  The elbow rest 23 has an elongated shape in a plan view, and is attached to the elevating body 22 so as to be able to freely adopt a horizontally long posture and a vertically long (front-rear longitudinal) posture (however, it does not rotate around). , And can be freely reciprocated at an angle close to 180 °.) Further, the elbow rest 23 can slide freely in the longitudinal direction in a horizontally long posture with almost no frictional resistance. Accordingly, when operating the keyboard K or the mouse m, a person can easily move his / her hand to the left and right in an easy state. On the other hand, the elbow rest 23 is difficult to slide in a longitudinal and longitudinal posture by the slide resistance switching means. Therefore, when the person is resting, the person's arm can be held in a comfortable state.

  The armrest 23 is urged by a return means built in the armrest device 7 so as to return to a horizontally long posture in which one end portion 23a is located inside (above the seat 3) and the other end portion 23b is located outside the seat 3. Has been. In addition, the elbow rest 23 is set so that the posture is maintained in the vertically long posture extending in the front-rear direction. In this case, the vertically long posture is set when the one end portion 23a is front and the other end portion 23b is rearward. When the one end portion 23a is rearward and the other end portion 23b is frontward, it is not in a completely vertically long posture, and the vertical posture is not held and it returns to the horizontally long posture.

(2). Basic structure and return means of armrest device Next, the details of the armrest device will be described with reference to FIG. First, the basic structure and return means of the armrest device 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A is a side view of the elbow rest 23 in a landscape orientation, FIG. 2B is a plan view of the elbow rest 23 in a landscape orientation, and FIG. 2C is a portrait orientation of the elbow rest 23. (D) is a plan view of the elbow rest 23 in a vertically long posture. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. ) Is a separated front view of the member, (B) is a plan view taken along the line BB of (A), (C) is a plan view taken along the line CC of (A), and (D) is a view taken along the line DD in (A). It is a top view.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an upper U-shaped first support body 26 is fixed to the upper end of the elevating body 22 with an upward first screw 27 through an upper plate 25. The first support 26 is fixed to the first support 26 with a downwardly-opening U-shaped second support 28 that is positioned inside the first support 26 with a second laterally extending screw 29, and the upper surface of the second support 28. A disk-shaped third support body 30 is fixed to the upper third screw 31. A flange 26 a projects from the front and rear of the first support 26, and the flange 26 a is fixed to the upper plate 25 with a first screw 27. The second support 28 is also formed with a flange 28 a protruding forward and backward, and the flange 28 a is fixed to the third support 30 with a third screw 31.

  A circular rotor 32 having substantially the same diameter as that of the third support member 30 is rotatably overlapped with the third support member 30, and an elbow rest receiver 33 is fixed to the rotor 32 with a downward fourth screw 33 ′. The elbow rest 33 is in the shape of an upward U-shape having a bottom plate and two side plates 33a, and one end and the other end of the bottom plate are fixed to the rotor 32 by a fourth screw 33 '. Two guide rollers 34 rotating around a horizontal axis are attached to the outer surface of the side plate 33a.

  The elbow rest 23 is slidably attached to the elbow rest 33, and therefore the rotor 32 and the elbow rest 33 are horizontally swiveled around the axis of the third support 30. A cylindrical upward boss portion 32 a is formed on the rotor 32, and the upward boss portion 32 a is fitted to the elbow rest 33 from below. In the return means, the third support 30 is an example of a fixed guide body, and the rotor 32 is an example of a movable guide body.

  The elbow rest 33 is in an upward U-shaped posture when viewed from the longitudinal axis direction of the elbow rest 23, and the elbow rest 23 can slide without friction by the guide action of the guide roller 34 in the lateral posture. On the other hand, in the vertically long posture, a frictional resistance is generated in the slide and it is difficult to slide (the details will be described later). In order to allow the elbow rest 23 to turn horizontally, a support shaft 35 passes through the elbow rest receiver 33, the rotor 32, the third support body 30, and the second support body 28. A head 35 a is formed at the upper end of the support shaft 35.

  FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 2B. As shown in this figure, the elbow rest 23 has an upper member 38 with a downward opening and a lower member 37 with an upward opening. Both overlap each other. Although the upper member 38 is drawn thick in the drawing, it is actually a soft and flexible thin sheet. A window hole 39 into which the elbow rest 33 is fitted from below is extended along the longitudinal direction at the bottom of the lower member 37, so that the elbow rest 23 can slide with respect to the elbow rest 33. Is allowed.

  Further, in the elbow rest 23, a first guide body 40 having a C-shaped cross section for embedding the elbow rest receiver 33 from above and a second guide body 41 positioned inside the elbow rest receiver 33 extend in the longitudinal direction. Are arranged as follows. The first guide body 40 is fixed to the lower surface of the auxiliary member 42, and the auxiliary member 42 is fixed to the upper member. The upper surface of the auxiliary member 42 is formed in a projecting shape in cross section, and a soft cushion material 23 ′ such as urethane is fitted in the space between the auxiliary member 42 and the upper member 38. An inward stepped portion 38 a is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the upper member 38, and the stepped portion 38 a is sandwiched and fixed between the auxiliary member 42 and the lower member 37.

  Further, the first guide body 40 has a lower lip 40a that is close to the guide roller 34 from below, so that the elbow rest 23 cannot slide over and can slide in a stable posture. On the other hand, the 2nd guide body 41 has the reinforcement board 41a extended along the centerline of the elbow pad 23, and this downward shaped character-shaped regulation part 41b provided in the lower end, and the inside of the regulation part 41b A head 35a of the support shaft 35 is disposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, a downward boss portion 30 a that enters the second support 28 is formed on the lower surface of the third support 30, while the support shaft 35 extends to the inside of the second support 28. A spring receiver 46 having a lower flange is fixed to the lower portion of the support shaft 35 with a screw 48. A spring (compression coil spring) 47 is interposed between the spring receiver 46 and the second support 28. Accordingly, the support shaft 35 is always biased downward by the spring 47. The second support 28 is square (square) in plan view, and the flange of the spring receiver 46 is also square, so that the spring receiver 46 and the support shaft 35 are held non-rotatable with respect to the second support 28. (It can be rotated slightly by the clear lath.)

  The third support 30 and the rotor 32 constitute the core of the return means. On the lower surface of the rotor 32, a pair of guide pins 51 are provided on both sides with the axis therebetween, The three support bodies 30 are formed with a pair of upward-opening guide grooves 52 into which the guide pins 51 are fitted. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the right armrest device as viewed from the position of the third support 30. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 4D, the guide groove 52 is 180 around the axis of the support shaft 35. ° Spreads in close range.

  FIG. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the guide groove 52 cut in the circumferential direction. As shown in this figure, the guide groove 52 has the deepest portion 52a at the lowest intermediate portion at both ends. It is in the form of a substantially V shape that increases in height. One end portion of the both ends of the guide groove 52 located on the front side in the clockwise direction in plan view is a flat portion 52b as an example of the stopper means described in the claims. One end located on the front side in the counterclockwise direction in plan view is a simple inclined surface.

  In the present embodiment, the members below the elbow pads 23, that is, the elbow struts 21, the lifting bodies 22, the first to third supports 26, 28, 30, the rotor 32, and the elbow pads 33 are claimed as a whole. The support means described in 1 is comprised.

(3) Action of Return Means Next, the action of the return means will be described including FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide grooves 52 of the third support 30 are arranged in a state of being roughly divided into the left and right sides when viewed from the front. Therefore, the latest portion 52 a of both guide grooves 52 is the axis of the support shaft 35. It is located on both sides of the heart. The guide pin 51 is positioned at the deepest portion 52a of the guide groove 52. In this state, the support shaft 35 is in contact with the seat portion 49 of the first support 28, and thus the rotor 32 and the elbow rest. 23, its posture is stable. In this state, the elbow rest 23 has a horizontally long posture. That is, the elbow rest 23 is stable in a horizontally long posture.

  Then, when the elbow rest 23 is turned horizontally in either direction, the rotor 32 also turns (rotates) together with the elbow rest 23, and then the guide pin 51 moves horizontally while being raised against the bottom surface of the guide groove 52. To do. Then, the elbow rest 23 ascends as a whole, so that the support shaft 35 is lifted through the second guide body 41 as shown in FIG. 6 (A), and therefore the support shaft 35 is separated from the seat portion 49. To do.

  Accordingly, the support shaft 35 is moved downward by the spring 47 and becomes free. When the external force applied to the elbow rest 23 is released during turning, the support shaft 35 is urged downward, so that the rotor 32 is When the guide pin 51 moves back to the deepest portion 52a of the guide groove 52 while being lowered by the guide action due to the contact of the guide pin 51 with the inclined surface in the guide groove 52 (the elbow rest 23 is When in the landscape orientation, the force of the spring 47 does not act and stabilizes.

  In addition, when the elbow rest 23 using the right hand of the seated person is correctly answered in the clockwise direction and the elbow rest 23 is in the vertically long posture, the guide pin 51 moves to a flat portion at one end of the guide groove 52, and thus the elbow rest 23. Is held in a portrait orientation. Accordingly, the human arm is supported in an easy state by the elbow rest 23. The elbow rest 23 can be turned toward a horizontally long posture by applying a slight external force. When the elbow rest 23 is turned counterclockwise, the elbow rest 23 does not shift to the vertically long posture as indicated by the slanted one-dotted line in FIG. Move. In the armrest device 7 on the left side, the elbow rest 23 is in a vertically long posture when turned in the counterclockwise direction.

  As described above, the elbow rest 23 is held in the vertically long posture when the one end portion 23a is facing forward. This is to make it easier to hold the elbow pad 23 in the vertically long posture when the person leaves the seat. Of course, instead of the reciprocating turning method, the elbow rest 23 turns in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions so that the posture is always maintained in the vertically long state. Is also possible.

  As shown in FIG. 6B as a modified example, a recess 52c may be formed at one end of the guide groove 52. In this way, the guide pin 51 is detached from the recess 52c if it does not rise at one end. This is not possible, and a slightly strong force is required for detachment from the recess 52c, so that the function of holding the elbow rest 23 in a vertically long position becomes stronger (it is also possible to hold a horizontally long position by the recess 52c). .)

(4) Slide resistance switching means Next, the slide resistance switching means will be described with reference to the drawings in FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view in the landscape orientation, and is a cross-sectional view from the front direction of the portion (a), and the cross-sectional view from the side direction is the portion (b). 9 is a partially broken plan view showing the inside of the elbow rest 23, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 9, FIG. 11A is a sectional view taken along the line XIA-XIA in FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an end portion of one guide body 40. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a stopper 55 that is in contact with the guide roller 34 and restricts the slide stroke of the elbow rest 23 is fixed to the end portion of the first guide body 40 by means such as a screw. It is preferable that the stopper 55 is made of a soft material such as urethane rubber at least at a portion that contacts the guide roller 34. The reinforcing member 42 is fixed to the boss portion 56 of the upper member 37 with screws 57.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11A, a horizontal end plate 41 c is integrally formed at the longitudinal end portion of the second guide body 41, and the end plate 41 c is a protrusion formed on the lower member 37. It is on 37a from above. Then, the end portion of the auxiliary member 42 and the end portion of the first guide body 40 are overlapped with the end plate 41c of the second guide body 41, and the sixth screw 58 inserted from below into the lower seat 37 is screwed into the auxiliary member 42. Thus, the members are fastened together. In FIG. 11A, the end portion of the first guide body 40 is overlapped with the end portion 38a of the upper member 38, but only the end portion of the auxiliary member 42 may be overlapped with the stepped portion 38a.

  The second guide body 41 constitutes a slide resistance switching means in cooperation with the support shaft 35, and as described above, as a core of the slide resistance switching means, a U-shape in which the head 35a of the support shaft 35 is fitted. The regulation part 41b is provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the head 35a of the support phrase 35 is formed in a plan view oval shape as an example of a non-circular shape, and a cap 34b having a similar shape is fitted to the head 35a. Yes. The cap is made of rubber, can be somewhat compressed and has a large coefficient of friction. The longitudinal dimension of the cap 35b is slightly larger than the groove width dimension of the restricting portion 41b in the second guide body 41, and the width direction dimension of the cap 35b is smaller than the groove width dimension of the restricting portion 41b in the second guide body 41. It has become.

  When the elbow rest 23 is in a horizontally long posture, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, there is a gap between the cap of the head 35 a of the support shaft 35 and the inner surface of the restricting portion 41 b of the second guide body 41. Therefore, the elbow rest 23 slides without frictional resistance by the guide action of the first guide body 40 with respect to the guide roller 34. Thereby, the operation of the keyboard K and the operation of the mouse m can be performed easily and lightly.

  On the other hand, when the elbow rest 23 is held in the vertically long posture, as shown in FIG. 7, the head 35 a of the support shaft 35 crosses the restricting portion 41 b in the second guide body 41. The cap 35b is stretched on the inner surface of the restricting portion 41b. Thereby, the elbow rest 23 is in a state in which it is difficult to slide back and forth when it is in a vertically long posture. Therefore, there is no discomfort due to the elbow rest 23 sliding easily in a comfortable state where the person does not move the arm. Further, it is possible to prevent a problem that the elbow rest 23 slides when the chair is moved.

  The magnitude of friction between the head 35a of the support shaft 35 and the restricting portion 41b of the second support 42 can be arbitrarily set as necessary. It is possible to adopt a mode of sliding when a certain amount of force is applied, or a mode of sliding hardly (or not at all). The second guide body 41 may have a C-shaped cross section.

(5) Advantages of the embodiment Now, even in Patent Document 1, the elbow rest slides freely in the longitudinal direction, but the guide means of the slide is a pin that extends through a slot formed in the elbow rest. It is a structure that is simply fitted so that it may slide, but there is a risk that the movement will be awkward. Then, the followability to the movement of the hand is bad, and there is a risk of giving the user a discomfort.

  On the other hand, when the rotatable roller 34 is used as in the present embodiment, the slide of the elbow rest 23 can be easily slid without friction. Therefore, the operation of the keyboard K and the operation of the mouse m can be easily performed. This point can only be invented independently of the claims. It is also possible to use other rolling elements such as balls instead of the rollers 34.

(6). Modification Although the above embodiment returns to the horizontally long posture and is selfish, it can be set to return to the vertically long posture and selfish. This can be realized by rotating the posture of the rotor 32 and the third support 30 by 90 ° in plan view. Further, in the above embodiment, the elbow rest 23 is swiveled within a range of 180 °, but can be configured to swivel within a range of about 90 °. This can be easily realized by making the guide groove 52 extend only in the range of about 90 degrees in the circumferential direction.

(7). Others The present invention can be embodied in various ways other than the above embodiment. For example, the armrest device can be attached to anything other than a chair. For example, it can be attached to a work table, floor / frame material, or installed in an assembly line. The armrest device does not necessarily have to rotate back and forth as a whole, and may have a structure in which the front / rear position is constant and only the armrest is horizontally turned. Alternatively, a second support body that can slide back and forth is attached to the fixed first support body, and an elbow rest can be attached to the second support body so as to be able to turn freely.

  For the return means and the slide resistance switching means, various other mechanisms of the above-described embodiment can be adopted. For example, as a return mechanism, the rotor can be urged to return to the original posture by a torsion spring. When using a spring, a spring or tension spring can also be used. It is also possible to employ an end face cam mechanism, and it is also possible to use the attractive force of the magnet as a power source for moving the member.

  As the slide resistance switching means, for example, a main body side member such as a support shaft is made non-rotatable, and its head is formed in a non-circular shape such as an ellipse, and a guide member (embodiment) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the head according to the posture of the elbow pad. (Similar to the second guide member) may be configured to contact and separate. It is also possible to use the lower member of the elbow rest also as a constituent member of the slide resistance switching means.

It is a figure which shows the outline of a chair, (A) is a typical side view, (B) is a top view. (A) is a side view when the elbow rest is in a horizontally long position, (B) is a plan view when the elbow rest is in a horizontally long position, and (C) is a side view when the elbow rest is in a vertically long position. (D) is a top view in the state where elbow rest 23 was made into the vertically long posture. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. (A) is a separated front view of a member, (B) is a plan view taken along line BB of (A), (C) is a plan view taken along line CC of (A), and (D) is a view taken along line D- of (A). FIG. It is the top view which looked at the right armrest apparatus from the location of the 3rd support. (A) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view in the middle of turning of the elbow rest, (B) is a cross-sectional view of the guide groove, (C) is another example of the guide groove. It is VII-VII sectional drawing of FIG. 2 (B). It is sectional drawing in the state where the elbow rest was made vertically long. It is a partially broken top view which shows the inside of an elbow pad. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9. (A) is XIA-XIA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 9, (B) is sectional drawing of the edge part of a 1st guide body.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Chair seat 4 Chair back 7 Armrest device 21 Elbow support 22 Lifting body 23 Elbow rest 26 First support 28 Second support 30 Third support 32 constituting return means 32 Rotor constituting return means 33 Elbow rest Receiver 34 Guide roller 35 Support shaft also serving as return means 41 First guide body 42 Second guide body constituting slide resistance switching means 47 Spring 51 Guide pin constituting return means 52 Guide groove constituting return means

Claims (4)

A long and narrow elbow rest in plan view is attached to the support means so as to be able to turn horizontally and return to the standard posture when the external force is released.
Armrest device. The support means includes a return means for returning the elbow rest to a reference position by a spring force, and a stopper means for holding the elbow rest in the posture when the elbow rest turns to a posture substantially orthogonal to the reference posture. When the turning external force is applied, the rotation stop state by the stopper means is released.
The armrest device according to claim 1. It constitutes a part of a chair, and the elbow rest is a standard posture in which the left and right sides are long when viewed from the seated person, and the elbow rest slides freely in the longitudinal direction at least in the standard posture. Attached to the support means,
The armrest device for chairs described in Claim 1 or 2. It constitutes a part of the chair, and the elbow rest has a longitudinal posture as viewed from the seated person, and the elbow rest slides freely in the longitudinal direction when the elbow rest is in the landscape orientation. Attached to the support means,
The armrest device for chairs described in Claim 1 or 2.

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