JP7457538B2 - Chair - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a chair with multiple legs that can be nested (interlocked) one behind the other.

For example, in the case of chairs such as those used in conference halls, which need to be stored away in a storage room or a corner of a room when not in use, measures are taken to allow them to be stored in as small a space as possible. This means can be roughly divided into two types: configuring the chairs in a foldable manner and configuring them so that they can be stacked, and the latter includes a nesting type that allows chairs to be stacked one on top of the other.

Chairs that can be nested must have different left and right widths for the front and rear legs, and in general, the seats are often constructed in a flip-up style to reduce the spacing, but chairs that can be nested are fixed. It may also be an expression.

Looking at the shape of the front and rear legs, the front and rear legs are connected in an X-link shape, and the front legs form a dogleg shape that bulges forward in side view. Those that have a dogleg shape that bulges backwards when viewed from the side (Patent Document 1), the front legs and rear legs basically form an inverted V shape, while the front legs look forward when viewed from the side. The hind legs form a bulging dogleg shape, and the rear legs bulge backwards in side view (Patent Document 2), and the front legs and rear legs basically have an inverted V shape. However, the front legs are curved so as to bulge forward when viewed from the side, and the rear legs are curved so as to bulge backward when viewed from the side (Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-210153 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-218535 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-115331

When the front and rear legs are roughly in an inverted V-shaped posture as in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the front and rear legs are connected in an X-link shape as in Patent Document 1. It has the advantage of being simpler in structure and neater in design than the other embodiments. However, in Patent Documents 2 and 3, since the legs bulge outward in the front-rear direction of the chair, there is a problem that when a person walks in front of or behind the chair, belongings such as a bag are likely to hit the legs. be.

In addition, the front and rear legs are each composed of left and right leg rods, and the left and right front and rear leg rods are connected by left and right long stays for reinforcement, etc., but in a nested state, the rear leg rods are When the chair stays hit the legs of the chair in front, the distance between the front and rear chairs is restricted in the nested state, and the space between the front and rear chairs cannot be sufficiently narrowed, resulting in wasted storage space. There is also a risk that problems may arise.

On the other hand, the chair of Patent Document 1 has the advantage that the chair can be nested even though it is foldable, so the chair can be stored stably while making effective use of the storage space, but the backrest and the seat are connected so that they overlap each other. Therefore, there are concerns that the flexibility in designing the shape and position of the backrest will be reduced, and that folding and unfolding will be troublesome because the front and rear legs are folded to the point where they cross each other and stand on their own. Ru.

The present invention was made against the background of this current situation, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of chairs that can be nested.

In the invention of claim 1,
"A front leg having a pair of left and right front leg rods,
a hind leg having a pair of left and right hind leg rods;
a backrest supported directly or indirectly by the front leg or the rear leg;
It is directly or indirectly supported by the front leg portion and the rear leg portion, and is configured to be rotatable so as to be able to switch between an unfolded state in which it has a left and right longitudinal posture when viewed from the side, and a folded state in which it has an up and down longitudinal posture. with a seat,
Equipped with
A configuration in which a plurality of chairs can be nested in the front-rear direction by differentiating the left-right spacing between the pair of left and right front leg rods and the left-right spacing between the left and right pair of rear legs, the chair comprising:
At least one of the front leg portion and the rear leg portion is bent so as to protrude or bulge inward in the front-rear direction of the chair with respect to a reference straight line connecting the upper end portion and the lower end portion in side view. In addition, the pair of left and right legs are connected to each other by a left and right longitudinal connecting member at a first portion located below the seat in the unfolded state and away from the reference straight line.
The structure is as follows.

The invention of claim 2 is a preferred development example of claim 1,
“The front leg portion, the rear leg portion, and the seat portion are configured such that when the front leg portion and the rear leg portion are relatively rotated so that the included angle becomes small in side view, the seat portion shifts to the folded state. and in the folded state, there is a space between the lower end of the front leg and the lower end of the rear leg to allow the chair to stand on its own;
Further, a caster is provided at least one of the lower end of the front leg and the lower end of the rear leg.
The structure is as follows.

The invention of claim 3 is a development example of claim 2,
"At least one of the front legs and the rear legs has a substantially doglegged shape, a substantially V-shaped bent shape, or a substantially C-shaped curved shape when viewed from the side, and in the folded state, , the front leg portion and the rear leg portion are close to each other in a portion of the first portion above the apex portion farthest from the reference straight line, and are close to each other in a portion below the apex portion in a downward direction. The gap is widening.”
The structure is as follows.

The invention of claim 4 is an expansion of claim 3,
"One of the front legs and the rear legs has the connecting member and is bent in a generally L-shape or V-shape or generally C-shape in side view, and the other leg extends in a generally straight line from the upper end to the lower end in side view,
The seat is connected to the other leg so as to be freely rotatable, and is connected to the one leg so as to be freely slidable up and down with respect to a portion above the apex.
The structure is as follows.

In the present invention, the front leg rod or the rear leg rod is formed in a shape bent inward of the chair when viewed from the side, and the connecting member is provided in the first portion, so that when a person passes in front or behind the chair, it is possible to carry a bag, etc. It becomes harder to get your belongings.

Furthermore, when the leg rods are bent, they tend to twist due to the load during use, but since the left and right leg rods are connected by a connecting member, high rigidity can be ensured as a whole leg. In the nesting state, the connecting member of one of the adjacent chairs may hit the leg or seat of the other chair, restricting the distance between the two chairs, but in the present invention, the connecting member Since it is located inside the reference straight line connecting the upper end of the leg rod and the mold in the longitudinal direction, the distance between the front and rear chairs can be reduced as much as possible, contributing to effective use of storage space.

If the chair is constructed in a foldable manner as in claim 2, it can be made compact so that the front and rear widths are reduced while maintaining independence, which can greatly contribute to reducing the storage space. Furthermore, since the chair is equipped with casters, the chair can be moved by pushing and pulling on the floor, making it easy to move the chair. When a person uses it while sitting, it is easy to adjust the front and rear positions.

In addition, the chair is folded by closing and rotating the front and rear legs so that the included angle is small, so if you lift the chair by, for example, holding the casters on the floor, you can lift it by placing your hand on the backrest. Since the casters roll on the floor without resistance, it is possible to fold the product while the casters are in contact with the floor. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily perform the folding operation with light force.

In the case where the chair is configured in a foldable manner as in claim 2, if the configuration in claim 3 is adopted, the chair can be folded as flatly as possible and nested while maintaining its independence. Therefore, the storage space can be further reduced without sacrificing the advantages such as ease of movement of the chair in the folded state.

In the configuration of claim 4, the chair can be folded into a self-supporting position with a simple structure that simply requires bending either the front or rear legs, making it possible to effectively utilize storage space without compromising the chair's advantages, such as ease of movement, while keeping costs down. In addition, the seat is connected to the bent legs so that it can slide up and down, making it possible to fold the seat in conjunction with the closing rotation of the front and rear legs while minimizing the number of parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the backrest with virtual lines. 1A is a side view, FIG. 1B is a longitudinal side view of a main portion, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. It is a typical side view in the middle of folding. It is a side view of the folded and nested state. It is a typical side view of a 2nd embodiment. It is a typical side view of a 3rd embodiment.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the following, words such as front and back and left and right will be used to specify directions, but these directions are based on the orientation of a person sitting normally on a chair. The front view is the direction facing the seated person.

(1) First embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 5)
First, a first embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 5 will be described. The chair of this embodiment (and other embodiments) is of a type that is often used in conference rooms, lecture halls, etc., and comprises a seat 1, a backrest 2, and front legs 3 and rear legs 4 that support them, as shown in Figure 1. The upper ends of the front legs 3 and rear legs 4 are located above the seat 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the seat portion 1 has a structure in which a mesh material is stretched over a frame 5 that is substantially rectangular in plan view and has vertical openings. Note that the seat portion 1 can adopt various forms, such as a structure in which a cushioning material is stretched over a seat plate (inner plate) made of resin, wood, or metal plate. A type with an exposed seat plate without cushioning material can also be adopted.

The backrest 2 is a molded product made of synthetic resin, and has a U-shape in plan view with left and right forward facing parts 2a. Note that the backrest 2 may be made of wood. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which cushioning material is stretched on the front.

The front leg part 3 is provided with left and right front leg rods 7, and the rear leg part 4 is provided with left and right rear leg rods 8, and casters 9 and 10 are attached to the lower ends, respectively. These leg rods 7 and 8 are made of oval-shaped aluminum tubes or metal tubes such as steel tubes, which are long from front to back when viewed from the top. Items can also be used. Further, it is also possible to make the front leg portion 3 and the rear leg portion 4 different in material and cross-sectional shape.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3(A), the front leg rod 7 has a straight line shape and is tilted backwards when viewed from the side, and the front part of the seat part 1 is located at the mid-height part of the front leg part 7 at the left and right longitudinal sides. They are connected by a book support shaft 11. Therefore, the seat portion 1 can be rotated around the support shaft 11 (using it as a fulcrum). The support shaft 11 is made of a circular metal tube such as a steel tube (a round bar may also be used). The support shaft 11 may be non-rotatably fixed to the front leg lever 7, or the support shaft 11 may be fixed to the frame 5 of the seat portion 1 by welding the rear leg portion 4, and both ends thereof may be fixed to the front leg lever 7. It is also possible to fit it into a bearing pin. Further, the left and right front leg rods 7 may be connected by left and right longitudinal front stays (reinforcement stays).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3(A), the rear leg rods 8 constituting the rear leg portion 4 are basically in a forward-inclined position with the rear end located behind the upper end, and the seat portion 1 It is bent into a dogleg shape when viewed from the side so that the apex portion 12 is located at a slightly lower position. That is, the rear leg rod 8 is bent at an obtuse angle in a state of protruding forward (or swollen) with respect to the reference straight line O connecting its upper end and lower end, and has an upper part 8a and a lower part 8b with the apex part 12 in between. has a linear shape.

Note that the rear leg rod 8 may be entirely curved into an arched shape that bulges forward, or only the lower portion 8b may be curved. In either embodiment, since substantially the entire rear leg body 8 bulges out in front of the reference straight line O, substantially the entire portion constitutes the first portion described in the claims.

A vertically elongated guide hole 13 is formed in the inner plate of the upper part 8a of the rear leg rod 8 located above the apex 12 as an example of the guide means described in the claims. A slide pin 15, which projects laterally from the outer surface of the seat portion 1 via a bracket plate 14, is slidably fitted therein. As shown in FIG. 3(C), an edge material 16 made of resin is attached to the elongated hole 13 in order to allow the slide pin 15 to slide quietly and smoothly.

As shown in Figures 3(A) and 3(B), the bracket plate 14 protrudes below the seat 1, and the slide pin 15 is positioned slightly below the bottom surface of the seat 1. In other words, the slide pin 15 is offset downward from the bottom surface of the seat 1.

The left and right rear leg rods 8 are connected by left and right longitudinal connecting members 17 approximately at the apex portions 12 . The connecting member 17 is made of a metal tube such as a round pipe, and is fixed to the rear leg lever 8 by welding or the like. In order to improve the rigidity of the rear leg portion 4, the connecting member 17 is preferably disposed at or near the apex portion 12 of the rear leg rod 8.

As a guide means, a U-shaped or C-shaped guide rail can be used and fixed to the inside surface of the rear leg rod 8 with screws, while a pin or roller can be provided on the side of the seat 2 so that it can slide freely into the guide rail.

A forward facing portion 18 is provided at the upper end of the left and right rear leg levers 8, and the forward facing portion 18 and the upper end portion of the front leg lever 7 are connected by left and right longitudinal pivot pins 19 so as to be relatively rotatable. Therefore, the front and rear legs 3 and 4 are basically connected in an inverted V-shape, and the included angle changes by relative rotation about the pivot pin 19 as a fulcrum. That is, the front and rear legs 3 and 4 are folded and unfolded using the pivot pin 19 as a fulcrum.

A bracket plate 20 is fixed to the upper end of the front leg lever 7 by welding, and the forward-facing portion 18 of the rear leg lever 8 and the bracket plate 20 are connected by a pivot pin 19. The forward part 18 of the rear leg lever 8 is located inside the bracket plate 20.

Further, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, the left and right inner width L2 of the front leg portion 3 is made larger than the left and right outer width L1 of the rear leg portion 4. In other words, the rear leg section 4 is located on the left and right inner sides of the front leg section 3, thereby making it possible to nest chairs arranged in front and behind each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the front casters 9 are arranged in pairs on each side of the front leg lever 7, and the rear casters 10 are located inside the rear leg lever 8.

Although not shown in the figure, the front end of the forward-facing portion 2a of the backrest 2 is provided with a boss that fits into the front leg rod 7 from above, and the front leg rod 7 and the boss are fixed with a screw. Note that in this embodiment, the forward-facing portion 2a of the backrest 2 is extended significantly toward the front, but it is also possible to form a rearward-facing bent portion at the upper end of the front leg rod 7 and attach the backrest 2 to the rear end of the rearward-facing bent portion.

(2).Summary In this embodiment, the front legs 3 are inclined in opposite directions to the rear legs 4, basically forming an inverted V-shaped posture, resulting in a clean design as a whole. There is. Further, since the rear leg portions 4 are bent so as to bulge forward in a side view, it is possible to prevent or suppress a bag carried by a person passing behind the chair from hitting the rear leg portions 4.

When nesting, the connecting member 17 of the rear chair hits the seat 1 of the front chair from behind to define the nesting interval between the front and rear chairs. If the connecting member 17 is provided in the vicinity of the chair, the connecting member 17 is closer to the front than when the connecting member 17 is located on the reference straight line O, so that the nesting interval between the front and rear chairs can be narrowed.

Then, as shown by the arrow 23 in FIG. 4, when the backrest 2 is grasped by hand and the chair is lifted upward, the front leg section 3 and the rear leg section 4 are rotated so as to approach each other (to narrow the included angle). In conjunction with this, the seat 1 is rotated by the guiding action of the guide elongated hole 13 such that its front end descends and its rear end rises.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the connecting member 17 or the rear leg lever 8 comes into contact with the rear surface of the seat portion 1, the rotation of each member is stopped and the folded state is achieved. In this state, the seat portion 1 overlaps the front leg rod 7 when viewed from the side. And the posture overlaps with the seat part 1 in the front and back. Furthermore, since the slide pin 15 protrudes below the seat 1, the seat 1 and the rear leg lever 8 can be brought into a state where they overlap front and back in the folded state.

Since the front leg part 3 and the rear leg part 4 are connected in an inverted V shape, when the backrest 2 is grasped by hand and the chair is lifted up, the front casters 9 and the rear casters 10 are moved as shown in FIG. The front and rear legs 3, 4 can be rotated closed while maintaining the installed state.

In other words, the front casters 9 may be in a state where the rear casters 10 roll on the floor with the front casters 9 barely moving, the rear casters 10 barely moving while the front casters 9 roll on the floor, or the front and rear casters 9, 10 roll on the floor and approach each other, but in any case, the chair can be folded with the front and rear casters 9, 10 in contact with the ground. Therefore, the folding operation can be performed easily with little force.

In this embodiment, the backrest 2 is provided at the upper end of the front leg part 3, so the backrest 2 and the seat part 1 do not overlap in the folded state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of chairs can be nested at close intervals, with the connecting member 17 of the rear chair overlapping the seat 1 of the front chair. Therefore, space can be used effectively.

Since the chair of the embodiment is equipped with casters 9 and 10, the folded chair can be moved by pushing or pulling it with a hand on the backrest 2. Therefore, compared to the device that is lifted and moved as in Patent Document 1, the burden of moving work can be reduced. It is also possible to push and move a large number of nested chairs together.

Furthermore, since the rear casters 10 are arranged only on the inside of the rear leg rods 8, there is an advantage that the left and right inner width L2 of the front leg portions 3 can be reduced. Note that it is preferable to arrange the front casters 9 only on the outside of the front leg rod 8 because the left and right inner width L2 of the front leg portion 3 can be further reduced.

In this embodiment, the chair can also be folded by grasping and lifting the rear end of the seat 1 with your hands, as shown by the arrow 24 in FIG. In this case, since the seat part 1 is forcibly rotated, folding can be ensured by simply lifting the seat part 1. When the guide elongated hole 13 is formed in the rear leg lever 8 as in this embodiment, whether the backrest 2 is lifted or the seat part 1 is lifted, the rotation rate of the seat part 1 and the rotation rate of the front and rear legs 3 and 4 are Since it is not much different from the closing ratio, there is no increase in resistance during folding, and the folding process can be done smoothly without any discomfort.

When unfolding from the folded state, the seat part 1 may be pushed backward and downward, or the rear end of the backrest 2 may be pushed downward to spread and rotate the front and rear legs 3 and 4. If you grasp the backrest 2 with your hands and push the backrest 2 downward while keeping the rear casters 10 on the ground and the front casters 9 slightly floating, a forward tilting load will be applied to the rear legs 4, making it easy to open and rotate. can be moved.

Since the upper part 8a of the rear leg lever 8 is tilted backward in the folded state, in order to spread and rotate the front and rear leg parts 3 and 4, the upper part 8a of the rear leg lever 8 must be moved to a forward tilted position. Must be. Therefore, the rear leg portion 4 plays a role in maintaining the folded state.

Now, since the center of gravity of the chair is located above the area between the front and rear casters 9 and 10, the chair stands on its own, but the downward load on the center of gravity has a horizontal component force that causes the front and rear casters 9 and 10 to separate. There is. In this case, the closer the center of gravity is to the front, the greater the backward horizontal force on the rear casters 10 becomes, making it easier to open the legs. , the backward horizontal component force on the rear casters 10 can be reduced. This improves the ability to hold the folded state.

It is possible to provide elastic locking means to maintain the folded state. For example, by placing magnets on members that overlap in the folded state, it is possible to achieve a configuration that allows the folded state to be maintained by magnetic force and that can be unfolded by applying a certain amount of force. If at least one of the overlapping members is a magnetic material such as a steel plate, the magnet may be provided only on the other member.

Using a ball catch in which the ball is pressed by a spring or a locking claw made of a leaf spring or resin, the catch member such as the ball or locking claw is engaged with the engaging part of the mating member against elasticity. It is also possible.

(3) Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments will be described with reference to Fig. 6 and subsequent figures. In each embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, unlike the first embodiment, a guide elongated hole 13 is formed in the front leg rod 7 and a slide pin 15 is provided in the seat portion 1. The seat portion 1 is connected to the left and right rear leg levers 8 by left and right support shafts 11 via upwardly protruding brackets 30. In this embodiment, the seat part 1 is flipped up and rotated so that the front end is on top.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7, unlike the first embodiment, the front legs 3 are bent in a V-shape when viewed from the side, and a long guide hole 15 is formed in the upper part 7a of the front leg rod 7, and the rear leg rod of the seat 1 is connected to the rear leg rod 8 by a support shaft 11 via a bracket 30. In this embodiment, when folding, it is preferable to place your hand on the front end of the seat 1 and flip it up and rotate it.

The present invention can be embodied in various other ways. For example, it is also possible to bend both the front leg lever and the rear leg lever into a dogleg shape. As a condition for allowing nesting, it is also possible to make the left and right outer width of the front leg portion smaller than the left and right inner width of the rear leg portion. Further, the present invention can be embodied as a nesting type chair that is not foldable. In this case, the seat may be of a flip-up type or may be of a fixed type.

For example, if the chair has the appearance of the first embodiment but is not foldable, in order to enable nesting, the seat 1 must be configured as a flip-up chair, in which case the nesting distance between the front and rear chairs is determined by the connecting member 17 of the rear chair hitting the seat 1 of the front chair from behind. However, if the rear leg rod 8 is bent into an L-shape and the connecting member 17 is provided at or near the apex 12, the connecting member 17 will be closer to the front than if it were on the reference line O, and the nesting distance between the front and rear chairs can be narrowed. Therefore, the present invention is also valuable for chairs that are not foldable.

The connecting member 17 may be formed of a plate material or shaped steel. Moreover, it is also possible to provide it in a part above or below the apex part. Furthermore, it is also possible to connect the left and right leg rods with a plurality of upper and lower connecting members.

The present invention can be embodied in a chair. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 seat 2 backrest 3 front leg 4 rear leg 7 front leg rod 8 rear leg rod 8a upper part of rear leg rod 8b lower part of rear leg rod 9 front caster 10 rear caster 12 apex of bend 13 long guide hole as an example of guide means 15 slide pin 17 connecting member O reference straight line

Claims (4)

A front leg portion having a pair of left and right front leg rods;
a hind leg having a pair of left and right hind leg rods;
a backrest supported directly or indirectly by the front leg or the rear leg;
It is directly or indirectly supported by the front leg portion and the rear leg portion, and is configured to be rotatable so as to be able to switch between an unfolded state in which it takes a left and right longitudinal position when viewed from the side, and a folded state in which it takes an up and down longitudinal position. with a seat,
Equipped with
A configuration in which a plurality of chairs can be nested in the front-rear direction by differentiating the left-right spacing between the left and right pair of front leg rods and the left-right spacing between the left and right pair of rear legs, the chair comprising:
At least one of the front leg portion and the rear leg portion is bent so as to protrude or bulge inward in the front-rear direction of the chair with respect to a reference straight line connecting the upper end portion and the lower end portion in side view. and a pair of left and right legs are connected to each other by a left and right longitudinal connecting member at a first portion below the seat in the expanded state and away from the reference straight line;
Chair. The front leg portion, the rear leg portion, and the seat portion are configured such that when the front leg portion and the rear leg portion are rotated relative to each other so that the included angle becomes small in a side view, the seat portion shifts to the folded state. and in the folded state, there is a space between the lower end of the front leg and the lower end of the rear leg to allow the chair to stand on its own;
Further, casters are provided on at least one of the lower end of the front leg portion and the lower end of the rear leg portion,
A chair according to claim 1. At least one of the front legs and the rear legs is bent in a substantially V-shape, a substantially V-shape, or curved in a substantially C-shape in a side view, and in the folded state, the front leg and the rear The legs are close to each other at a portion of the first portion above the apex farthest from the reference straight line, and the front-to-back spacing increases downward at a portion below the apex.
A chair according to claim 2. one of the front legs and the rear legs has the connecting member and is curved in a generally L-shape, a generally V-shape or a generally C-shape in side view, and the other leg extends in a generally straight line from an upper end to a lower end in side view;
The seat is connected to the other leg so as to be rotatable, and is connected to the one leg so as to be vertically slidable with respect to a portion above the apex.
A chair as claimed in claim 3.

Images