JP2014233314A - Chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chair that is improved in certainty and flexibility of automatically extending a gas cylinder by the flip-up of a seat, in the chair using the gas cylinder in a leg strut and enabling nesting.SOLUTION: An automatic rise lever 33 longitudinal in the front and rear is installed vertically and turnably in a rigid base 8 provided on an upper end of a leg strut 4. The automatic rise lever 33 is biased with a spring 40 in the direction of pushing an unlocking valve 36. The tip of a manual type operating rod 32 is positioned between the unlocking valve 36 and the automatic rise lever 33. In a state where a seat 2 is reclined, the automatic rise lever 33 is pushed with a movable base 16 against the spring 40. When the seat 2 is flipped up, the automatic rise lever 33 is turned and the unlocking valve 36 is pushed by the spring 40. The automatic rise lever 33 moves regardless of the turning structure of the seat 2, so that the operation is definite and an applicable object is wide and flexibility is high.

Description

  The present invention relates to a chair capable of nesting, which has a gas cylinder type leg support and can be fitted in the front-rear direction by flipping up a seat.

  In order to save storage space without using a chair, fitting (nesting) the chairs in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction) is widely performed. This type of nestable chair is often called a pipe chair with a skeleton made of metal pipe, but it can be nested with a chair (rotary chair) that uses an extendable gas cylinder as a leg post. A structure is also proposed, and examples thereof are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  Specifically, in Patent Document 1, first, the leg has four front and rear legs, the height of the front two legs is lower than the height of the two rear legs, By setting the spread angle of the two front legs smaller than the spread angle of the two rear legs, the leg devices placed at the front and back are set to fit together, and the seat jumps up to a substantially vertical posture. And the chairs arranged at the front and back can be fitted together (nesting is possible).

  Further, Patent Document 1 includes an automatic lifting device that unlocks the gas cylinder and raises the fixed base to the maximum height when the seat is flipped up. This automatic lifting device uses a circumferential cam with the outer circumferential surface around the pivot axis of the seat as a cam surface, and the gas cylinder lock release valve is activated by pushing the operating rod of the gas cylinder with the circumferential cam. It is supposed to be pressed. Then, when the seat is flipped up, the operating rod is rotated and the fixed base is raised at the end of the seat flip-up rotation.

Japanese Patent No. 3730119 Japanese Patent No. 4306922

  As described above, the nesting of the chair is to reduce the storage space when not in use, and conventionally, there are many simple structures such as a pipe chair. However, with a simple structure, the sitting comfort when sitting for a long time was not good. On the other hand, if a nesting structure is adopted for a gas cylinder type chair as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is preferable because the height of the seat can be adjusted according to the height of the user and the torsion of the body can be allowed.

  And since the thing of patent document 1 is the nesting state and the height of each chair is uniform, it is possible to make the fitting between the chairs deep as well as it looks good (the height of the seat and the backrest) If they are not aligned, there may be cases where the elements of the front and back chairs hit and cannot be fitted deeply.

  However, in the automatic lifting device using a cam as in Patent Document 1, the force that pushes the lock release valve of the gas cylinder acts as a resistance against the seat flip-up rotation. If the gas cylinder lock release valve acts as a resistance against the springing up of the seat, it would be misunderstood that the operator bounced up the seat and swung it all the way. There is concern about the problem of nesting without raising.

  Furthermore, the structure of Patent Document 1 is good when the pivot point of the seat is located in the vicinity of the unlocking valve, but it is practically inapplicable when the pivot point of the seat is away from the unlocking valve. There is an essential problem.

  The present invention has been made to improve the current situation.

  The chair of the present application is provided with a leg device having a leg column made of a gas cylinder that is free to expand and contract when unlocked, a fixed base provided at an upper end of the leg column, and the fixed base or the fixed base. It has a backrest attached to a support frame and a seat that is pivotably attached to the fixed base or the support frame or backrest, and is allowed to fit back and forth by raising the seat. ing.

  And a manual operation tool that allows a seated person to unlock the gas cylinder, and an automatic lifting device that unlocks the gas cylinder when the seat is flipped up and the gas cylinder is locked when the seat is tilted down. In the invention according to claim 1, the automatic lifting device includes an actuating member biased by a spring means so that the gas cylinder is held in a free state, and the seat is When it is tilted, the operating member moves against the spring force so that the gas cylinder shifts to the locked state.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the actuating member is attached to the fixed base and rotates in a seesaw shape, and a spring support is provided on the opposite side of the gas cylinder across the rotation fulcrum. And a pressing part by a seat are provided, and the gas cylinder is shifted to a free state at the initial stage of the seat flip-up rotation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the fixed base has a box-like shape that opens upward, and a lid covers from above, and a horizontally long horizontally supporting the seat at a front end portion of the lid. While the ridge is formed, the operating member of the automatic lifting device has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and a hole is formed in the ridge behind the ridge of the lid so that the pressing portion protrudes upward. It is provided in close proximity.

  In the present invention, since the seat flip-up rotation is assisted by the spring means of the automatic lifting device, the seat lifting does not become heavy by providing the automatic lifting device. Can be done lightly.

  In addition, the seat can be swung up and rotated to a predetermined posture without causing misunderstanding to the operator, and the seat and the backrest can be accurately raised to the maximum height. You can nest in a beautiful state with a uniform posture.

  Further, since the operating member of the automatic lifting device is moved by the spring means, the automatic lifting device can be accurately operated regardless of the pivot point of the seat. That is, the automatic lifting device can function properly without being restricted by the seat support structure or the pivot structure. Therefore, the applicable range is wide and the flexibility is excellent.

  The actuating member can adopt various forms depending on the structure of the gas cylinder, the structure of the fixed base, etc. However, if the seesaw-like form is adopted as in claim 2, the structure is simple, so that the movement is reliable. It is excellent and cost-effective.

  Further, when the configuration of claim 3 is adopted, the operating member of the automatic lifting device is hidden behind the ridge, so that it looks good when the seat is flipped up, and the operating member has clothes and objects. It is an advantage that can be prevented accurately.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view of the chair which concerns on embodiment, (A) is a perspective view in the attitude which raised the seat, (B) is a perspective view in the state which fell the seat, (C) is the state which removed the support frame of one side FIG. It is a separation perspective view of a 1st embodiment. (A) is the isolation | separation perspective view seen from the top, (B) is the isolation | separation perspective view seen from the bottom. (A) is a vertical side view of the main part, and (B) is a perspective view of the fixed base as seen from behind. (A) is a perspective view which shows the inside of a fixed base, (B) is a partial side view which shows a lock release state. (A) is a separated perspective view of a lock release lever and a bearing holder, (B) is a separated perspective view of a gas cylinder operation mechanism. (A) is a front view of a leg apparatus, (B) is a top view of the leg apparatus in a nesting state. It is a side view in a nesting state with the support frame on one side omitted. (A) (B) is a perspective view of the chair which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A) is a side view in a neutral state, (B) is a side view in a rocking state. (A) is a perspective view in a state where the seat is flipped up, (B) is a front view of the leg device. It is a side view which shows a nesting state.

(1). Outline Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an outline will be described. In the following description, the words “front and rear” and “left and right” are used to specify the direction, which is based on a state viewed from a person who normally sits on a chair.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the chair includes a leg device 1, a seat 2, and a backrest 3 as major elements. As clearly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the leg device 1 includes a leg column 4 made of a gas cylinder, a center tube 5 that holds the leg column 4, and two front and rear units fixed to the center tube 5 by welding or the like. It has branch legs 6a and 6b, and casters 7 are attached to the tips of the respective branch legs 6a and 6b.

  The branch legs 6a and 6b extend in a radial direction from the central tube 5 and are inclined downward from the central tube 5, and their tips are bent in a vertical posture. By making the inclined posture of the front two branch legs 6a and the left-right distance between the tips different from those of the rear two branch legs 6b, the leg devices 1 arranged at the front and rear are allowed to fit each other. (Details will be described later).

  A box-shaped fixed base 8 is attached to the upper end of the leg support 4 with an upward opening. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of left and right protruding from the left and right outer sides of the seat 2 to the upper side of the seat The support frame 9 is fixed, and the backrest 3 is rotatably connected to the upper end of the support frame 9.

  The backrest 3 is composed of a back frame 10 opened in the front and rear and a back support 11 arranged in the opening, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back frame 10 is located at a height position where the waist of the seated person hits. The projecting portion 10a projecting toward the front side and the outer side is provided so that the vertical width decreases toward the tip, and the outer end of the projecting portion 10a is connected to the upper connecting portion 12 of the upper end portion of the support frame 9 via the bearing bush 13. Are connected.

  Therefore, the backrest 3 rotates about the left and right horizontally long axis centering on the location of the upper connecting portion 12. Moreover, in this embodiment, the backrest 3 moves backward above the rotation fulcrum and moves forward before the rotation fulcrum for rocking. The bearing bush 12 also plays a role of regulating the rotation angle of the backrest 3.

  Although the boss part for connecting the back frame 10 is provided in the upper connection part 12 of the support frame 9, since the relationship with this invention is thin, illustration is abbreviate | omitted. The back support 11 of the backrest 3 has a structure in which a cushion is stretched on the front surface of the resin back plate, but it can also be made of a mesh material. At the upper end of the support frame 9, an elbow rest 9 a protruding forward is provided, and a pad 13 is attached to the elbow rest 9 a.

  The seat 2 has a structure in which a cushion is stretched on the upper surface of a resin seat plate, and the seat 2 is attached to a movable base 16 having a square shape in plan view. As shown in FIG. 2, a suspension arm 17 projecting upward on the left and right outer sides of the movable base 16 is integrally provided at the rear end portion of the movable base 16, and the upper end portion of the suspension arm 17 is connected to the upper and lower sides of the support frame 9. It is rotatably connected to the lower connecting portion 18 at a midway height position via a bearing member (not shown).

  Therefore, the movable base 15 (and the seat 2) is horizontally long with the rotation center (rotation fulcrum) O (see FIGS. 1C and 8) at the position of the lower connection portion 19 of the support frame 9 as the center. It rotates around the axis. Thereby, the seat 2 can be flipped up from a horizontal fallen posture to a raised posture opposite to the backrest 3. Although the movable base 15 is made of resin, an aluminum die cast product or a sheet metal processed product can also be adopted. It is also possible to configure the suspension arm 17 separately from the movable base 16. A large number of reinforcing ribs are provided on the movable base 16.

  A pair of left and right rails 19 are mounted on the movable base 16 so as to be movable back and forth, and the seat 2 is fixed to the rails 19. The rail 19 is biased in the backward direction by a built-in spring (not shown). Then, left and right horizontally long stays 21 are fixed to the rear end of the rail 19, and upward passive arms 21 a are integrally provided on both left and right ends of the stays 21, and the upper ends of the passive arms 21 a are provided at the lower ends of the backrest 3. Is inserted into the pushing portion 22 from below.

  Therefore, when the backrest 3 tilts backward by locking, the seat 2 moves forward, and when the pressure on the backrest 3 is released, the backrest 3 returns to the neutral posture and the seat 2 moves backward. A resin slider 23 is attached to the upper end of the passive arm 22. The slider 23 has a substantially circular shape in a side view, and its axis is substantially coincident with the rotational axis of the movable base 16 (therefore, the movable base 16 can be flipped up without being twisted). .)

(2). Fixed base and support frame mounting structure / elevating mechanism The fixed base 8 has a generally planar shape close to a square, and the left and right support frames 9 are fixed thereto. 1 and 2, the left and right support frames 9 appear to be outwardly convexly curved when viewed from the front, but this is because they appear to be curved backwardly as viewed from the side as shown in FIG. Therefore, in practice, as shown in FIG. 7A, it is substantially L-shaped in a front view having a lower horizontal portion and a vertical portion.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the center bracket 25 is fixed to the inside of the fixed base 8 by welding so that an upper and lower space is provided between the fixed base 8 and the bottom plate of the rear half. The bush 26 is fixed to the fixed base 8 and the center bracket 25, and the upper end of the leg support 4 is inserted into the bush 26 from below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed base 8 has a substantially square cross section. However, the left and right support frames 9 have a lower horizontal portion 9 b that forms the lower end and a rectangular protrusion 9 c that has a small front-rear width and a vertical width. The protrusion 9c is inserted into the lateral hole 27 provided in the fixed base 8. Screws (not shown) penetrating from below into the fixed base 8 are screwed into the protrusions 9c. Therefore, the protrusions 9c are fixed to the fixed base 8 so that they cannot be removed. It may be fixed by welding.

  The protrusion 9c is positioned so as not to move up and down by the fixed base 8 and the center bracket 23, and is moved back and forth by front and rear inward side pieces 8b (see also FIG. 5A) provided on the fixed base 8. The position is regulated.

  It is possible to integrally mold the fixed base 8 and the left and right support frames 9 with an aluminum die cast or a resin molded product. In this case, however, a very large mold is required and flexibility in design change is possible. There is also a bad problem. On the other hand, when the fixed base 8 and the left and right support frames 9 are configured as separate members as in the present embodiment, the support frame 9 can be manufactured with a mold having a general size, and the fixed base 8 and the support base 9 are supported. There is an advantage that the design change of the frame 9 can be easily handled.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixed base 8 is covered with a cover 28 that covers the whole. The lid 28 is made of resin, and the front and rear claws 28a (see FIG. 3A) are fitted into the engagement holes 8c (see FIG. 5A) provided in the front and rear plates of the fixed base 8. The lid 28 can be made of aluminum die cast, and can be fixed to the fixed base 8 with screws.

  At the front part of the lid 28, a horizontally elongated protrusion 29 is projected as a seat support part for supporting the movable base 16. A dent 30 is formed at the upper end of the ridge 29, leaving the left and right ends, and the movable base 16 is supported in two positions on the left and right. A large number of ribs 31 are provided on the inner surface of the ridge 29, and the ribs 31 are supported by the flange 8 a of the fixed base 8. For this reason, even if it is a big load, it is supported exactly. As shown in FIG. 1A, the movable base 16 is provided with a groove 15a into which the protrusion 29 is fitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, inside the fixed base 8, an operation rod 32 for a seated person to adjust the height manually, and the movable base 16 is automatically raised to the maximum height by jumping up the movable base 16. An automatic raising lever 33 is attached to raise it. The operating rod 32 constitutes a main part of the manual operating means, and the automatic raising lever 33 constitutes an operating member of the automatic raising means.

  The operation rod 32 is made of a metal round bar. For example, as is apparent from FIG. 6B, an outward laterally long part 32b is provided at the front end of the longitudinal longitudinal part 32a, and an inward laterally long side is disposed at the rear end of the longitudinal longitudinal part 32a. It has a crank-like appearance provided with a portion 32c. The outward laterally long portion 32b protrudes to the outside of the fixed base 8, and a finger resting knob 34 is attached to this. The knob 34 is an example of a manual operation tool described in the claims. It is also possible to unlock the leg column 4 with a wire, and in this case, the manual operation tool can be provided on the seat 2.

  The front / rear longitudinal part 32a is pressed and held by a resin bearing holder 35. Therefore, the operation rod 32 rotates about the axis of the front / rear longitudinal part 32a. The front end portion of the inwardly long lateral portion 32 c in the operation rod 32 is flattened and is positioned on the lock release valve 36 in the leg column 4. Accordingly, when the operation rod 32 is pulled upward, the lock release valve 36 is pushed downward, whereby the lock of the leg support 4 is released and the fixed base 8 is raised. The outwardly long horizontally extending portion 32 b of the operation rod 32 is fitted in a vertically elongated elongated hole 37 provided on the side plate of the fixed base 8. For this reason, the operating rod 32 is held so that it cannot be displaced forward and backward.

  The automatic raising lever 33 is long in the front-rear direction, and its rear end is located directly above the lock release valve 36 and above the tip of the inwardly long horizontally extending portion 32 c of the operation rod 32. Therefore, when the rear end of the automatic raising lever 33 is lowered, the lock release valve 36 is pushed down via the operation rod 32. It is also possible to employ a structure in which a rotating intermediate member for pushing down the unlocking valve 36 is provided on the fixed base 8 and this intermediate member is individually pressed by the operating rod 32 and the automatic raising lever 33. is there.

  The bearing holder 35 includes a first bearing portion 32a that rotatably holds the operation rod 32, a second bearing portion 32b having a rearward opening in which the automatic raising lever 33 is fitted, and a lower spring receiving portion 32c. The screw 42 is fixed to the center bracket 23. The first bearing portion 32a and the second bearing portion 32b of the bearing holder 35 are overlapped with the upper surface of the center bracket 23, but the spring receiving portion 32c is stepped downward, and the spring receiving portion 32c is the center bracket. It overlaps with the downward facing piece 23a provided at the front end of 23 from above. The forward facing lower piece 23 a of the center bracket 23 overlaps the bottom surface of the fixed base 8.

  On the left and right inner surfaces of the second bearing portion 32b in the bearing holder 35, bearing groove holes 38 that do not penetrate are vacated, while the automatic raising lever 33 has a bearing groove 39 in the second bearing portion 32b. The bearing projection 33a to be fitted is provided so as to project sideways. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the automatic raising lever 33 is turned upside down so as to be reversed in the front-rear direction, and then the bearing projection 33a is fitted into the bearing groove 39, and then the automatic raising lever 33 is raised to the front. Can be set in the bearing holder 35. Further, the automatic raising lever 33 is rotatable around the axis of the bearing projection 33a.

  The automatic raising lever 33 is provided with an upper spring receiving portion 33b opposed to the lower spring receiving portion 35c of the bearing holder 35, and a compression coil type as an example of a spring means between the upper and lower spring receiving portions 33b and 35c. The spring 40 is interposed. Accordingly, the automatic raising lever 33 is urged by the spring 40 in the direction of pushing down the lock release valve 36. Boss portions 33c and 35d are provided on the upper and lower spring receiving portions 33b and 35c to prevent the spring 40 from shifting.

  An upward portion 33d is provided at the front end of the automatic raising lever 33. When the movable base 16 is tilted, the automatic raising lever 33 is pushed by pushing the upward portion 33d of the automatic raising lever 33 with the movable base 16. The pushing action of the lock release valve 36 due to is released. Since the rear end of the automatic raising lever 33 is located on the tip of the inward portion 32c of the operation rod 32, the operability of the operation rod 32 is not hindered.

  The lid 28 covering the fixed base 8 has a hole 41 for exposing the upward portion 33d of the automatic raising lever 33 on the lid 28. The hole 41 is open so as to be hidden behind the ridge 29, and the upward portion 33d and the ridge 29 are set to have substantially the same height when the movable base 16 is flipped up. . For this reason, an object is not caught by the upward part 33d, or appearance does not deteriorate.

  When the movable base 16 is flipped up, the lock release valve 36 is pushed down by the spring 40 via the automatic raising lever 33, and thereby the fixed base 8 is raised. Therefore, the fixed base 8 can be automatically raised regardless of the position of the movable base 16 where the hand is lifted up without requiring a lever operation. As described above, the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of the leg device 1 are rotated relative to each other with the automatic elevation, and the relative postures of the leg device 1, the seat (the seat 2 and the movable base 16), the backrest, and 3 are changed. It is maintained in a nestable reference posture.

  Since the rotation stroke of the automatic raising lever 33 is small, in the present embodiment, the fixed base 8 is raised at the initial stage when the movable base 16 is flipped up and rotated. Further, when the movable base 16 is tilted, the lock of the leg device 1 is released at the final stage.

  Since the spring 40 pushes the movable base 16 in the flip-up direction, the elastic force of the spring 40 is preferably as small as possible from the viewpoint of the stability of the movable base 16. In this regard, the lever action by the automatic raising lever 33 should be made as large as possible (the automatic raising lever 33 can be arranged in a posture that is long in the diagonal direction of the fixed base 8). Further, the lifting operation means and the automatic lifting means do not need to be of a lever type, and it is possible to use a cable conduit in which a wire is slidably inserted into a tube.

(4) Leg device In the present embodiment, the leg device 1 is also improved. This point will be described next. The leg device 1 has two front and rear branch legs 6a and 6b as in the first embodiment, but in this embodiment, the roots of the branch legs 6a and 6b are at the same height. It branches off from the upper end of the center tube 5 at the same height.

  In order to enable front and rear nesting, as shown in FIG. 7B, the left-right distance between the front ends of the front branch legs 6a is made smaller than the left-right distance between the front ends of the rear branch legs 6b. As shown, the front branch leg 6a is inclined in a substantially straight line when viewed from the side, and the rear branch leg 6b is curved such that it is swollen upward in the side view. Since the branch legs 6a and 6b have such a side view shape, it is allowed that the front branch leg 6a of the chair positioned behind greatly enters the lower side of the rear branch leg 6a in the chair positioned forward. Yes.

  And since each branch foot 6a, 6b has the same base height, the aesthetics are remarkably excellent compared with what varied height. The rear branch leg 6b is longer in length than the front branch leg 6a. However, the rear branch leg 6b has an arch structure swollen upward, so that high strength can be maintained. The front and rear branches 6a and 6b can be reversed, but in order to prevent the user's legs from getting in the way, the front branches 6a and 6b are not provided as in the embodiment. It is preferable to use a short and inclined posture. Although not shown, a resin cushioning material for preventing any one or both of the front branch foot 6a and the rear branch foot 6b from being damaged by a collision when nesting is performed. Is provided.

(4). Others The present invention can be embodied in various ways other than the above embodiment. For example, the form of the seat and the backrest can be arbitrarily set as necessary. Various spring bodies (elastic bodies) such as a torsion bar, a leaf spring, and rubber can be employed as spring means for imparting resistance to the back tilt of the backrest and the movement of the seat. It is also possible to provide locking means such as a gas cylinder for controlling the back tilt posture of the backrest. The backrest or the seat may have a structure in which a flexible sheet material such as a mesh is stretched around a frame material constituting the outer periphery of the backrest or the seat.

  Although the support frame can be referred to as an intermediate support, the backrest and the seat (movable base) can be attached to separate intermediate supports. That is, it is possible to separately provide an intermediate support for the backrest and an intermediate support for the seat. The manual operation tool does not necessarily have to be a rotary type, and may be a push button type or a rotary type (rotary type).

  The present invention can be manufactured as a chair. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

1 leg device 2 seat 3 backrest 4 leg support (gas cylinder)
6 branch foot 7 caster 8 fixed base 9 support frame constituting intermediate support 12 upper connecting portion 16 fixed base 18 lower connecting portion 28 lid 29 ridge 32 operating rod 33 automatic raising lever as an example of operating member 34 manual Rotating knob as an example of operation tool 36 Lock release valve 40 Spring (spring means, elastic body)

Claims (3)

A leg device having a leg column composed of a gas cylinder that is free to expand and contract when unlocked, a fixed base provided at the upper end of the leg column, and the fixed base or a support frame provided on the fixed base. It has a back and a fixed base or a support frame or a seat attached to the back so as to be able to flip up and turn freely, and it is allowed to fit back and forth by flipping up the seat,
And a manual operating tool for releasing a lock of the gas cylinder by a seated person, and an automatic lifting device for releasing the lock of the gas cylinder when the seat is flipped up so that the gas cylinder is locked when the seat is tilted down. The configuration is
The automatic lifting device includes an operating member biased by a spring means so that the gas cylinder is held in a free state. When the seat is tilted, the operating member moves against a spring force. The gas cylinder shifts to the locked state,
Chair. The actuating member is attached to the fixed base and rotates in a seesaw shape, and a spring receiving portion and a pressing portion by a seat are provided on the opposite side of the gas cylinder across the rotation fulcrum. The gas cylinder shifts to the free state at the initial stage of the seat flip-up rotation.
The chair according to claim 1. The fixed base is covered with a lid in the form of a box that opens upward, and a laterally long ridge that supports the seat is formed at the front end of the lid, while the automatic ascent The operating member of the device has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and a hole in which the pressing portion protrudes upward is provided behind the ridge in the lid so as to be close to the ridge.
The chair according to claim 2.

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