WO1989006101A1

WO1989006101A1 - Ergonomic chair having the seat at a varying position

Info

Publication number: WO1989006101A1
Application number: PCT/IT1988/000088
Authority: WO
Inventors: Isao Hosoe
Original assignee: Isao Hosoe
Priority date: 1987-12-28
Filing date: 1988-12-23
Publication date: 1989-07-13
Also published as: AU618067B2; ES2013387A6; US5261723A; EP0397707B1; JPH01297009A; ATE87190T1; AU2921089A; BR8807867A; EP0397707A1; DE3879714D1; FI903124A0; DE3879714T2; CA1291939C

Abstract

An ergonomic chair has its seat portion (4) which, in addition to be adjustable as to the height, forms a variable tilting angle, positive or negative with respect to the horizontal, in consequence of the height thereof, said tilting angle being obtained through a swinging movement of the seat (4) such as to form an arc of circumference about a rotation center substantially coincident with the center of gravity (CG) of a person sitting on the chair. This swinging movement of the seat is preferably accompanied by the rotation of a lever arm (6) pivotedly mounted at an end (6a) to the stationary portion (1a) of the seat support (1) and hinged at the other end (6b) to the front side of the seat (4), the length of said lever (6) or the pivoting point with seat (4) being adjustable by a simple operation of the user to modify the variation of the tilting angle of the seat (4) in function of its height. Said lever arm (6) may be provided with some elastic feature.

Description

"ERGONOMIC CHAIR HAVING THE SEAT AT A VARYING POSITION"

The present invention relates to an ergonomic chair the seat portion of which can change its position for a better adaptation to the users' height and the level of the work table in front of which the user is seating.

It is known that some types of chair for use in an office or the like have a function which allows the height of a seat portion to be freely changed in accordance with the physique of a sitting person, the height of a desk employed and so forth.

Another type of chair is also known in which the angle of its seat portion can be tilted in a certain range toward the front and rear side of the seat portion in accordance with the intention of a sitting person. The function which allows adjustment of the height of a seat portion and the mechanism causing the seat portion to swing in a plane perpendicular to the work surface were devised as a result of a pursuit of a chair which allows a person to sit thereon at a height matching the height of the top plate of a desk or table employed, as well as on which a person can sit comfortably from the viewpoints of ergonomics and hence without experiencing fatigue or assuming any unnatural posture even if he continues to sir for a long time.

Chairs of almost all the conventional types each having a seat portion of different height can only be used in combination with desks having a top plate provided at substantially the same height. Conventionally, the top plates of tables or the like with substantially the same height have been used as working surfaces and therefore the height of chairs for use with such top plates have been limited to a certain range.

On the other hand the rapid introduction of so-called office automation on the basis of the recent development of electronic techniques and computers compels offices to introduce various desks or the like in which each of the working surfaces or top plates greatly differ from one another, with the working place being now characterized by volumes having different vertical extensions, instead of a simple horizontal surface. In this situation, it has been desired to provide a chair having the function which allows the height of a seat portion to be adjusted in accordance with various top plates which greatly differ from one another in height.

In other words, in an office in which advanced office automation has been introduced, but also in different situations such as at a doctor's or dentist's surgery, or in any case when a person must perform a variety of tasks in front of work surfaces having different heights, it will be necessary to introduce a chair which can be easily adapted to the user's requirements according to the various working surfaces (or top plates) which greatly differ from one another in height. However, in a conventional type of chair which allows adjustment of the height of a seat portion or has a seat portion swingable back and forth, the height of the seat portion can only be adjusted in a state wherein the seat portion is allowed to swing back and forth within a limited range. Accordingly, if the height of the seat portion of such a seat is greatly changed and the seat is combined with desks having top plates which greatly differ from one another in height, a sitting person cannot assume a posture which is desirable from the viewpoints of ergonomics. Accordingly, a . chair on which a person can sit comfortably will have to be found out among the conventional chairs and giving up the adjustability in height. As a matter of fact the swinging axis about which the seat portion swings back and forth is located below the seat portion in any position. Therefore, since the center of gravity of a person sitting on the chair is shifted up and down or back and forth by the swinging motion, it is impossible to avoid changes in position energy and there is a risk of compelling the sitting person to assume an unnatural posture which is not only tiring but also unstable and dangerous. It is an object of the present invention to provide a chair having a seat adjustable so as to overcome the above-mentioned inconveniences and drawbacks of the prior art and in particular such as to keep the center of gravity of a person sitting thereon as much as possible along a vertical axis within the base polygon upon variation of the seat height and tilting angle.

To this aim the chair according to the present invention, comprising a seat portion which is adjustable in height, is characterized in that, when the height of the seat portion is changed, its tilting angle changes in accordance with changes in the height of the seat portion by swinging the same along an arc of circumference about a center of rotation substantially coincident with the center of gravity of a person sitting on the chair.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said swinging movement of the seat is accompanied by the rotation of a lever arm pivotedly mounted at an end to the stationary part of a support of said seat and at the other end to the front side of the seat, wherein the length of said lever arm, or the point at which it is pivoted to the chair, can be changed according to the user's height and wilI.

Thereby when the height of seat of the chair according to the invention is changed not only the tilting angle of the seat is modified as a consequence of a swinging movement about the center of gravity of the sitting person, but the latter can adapt the variation of such an angle as a function of the seat height, according to his own height or however his willing so as to assume the mostly desirable posture, whichever the seat height may be.

The advantages and features of the chair according to the invention will become clearer on the ground of the following description given by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURES 1a-1c are diagrammatic side elevation al views showing various postures taken by persons sitting on conventional chairs with a tiltable seat, adjustable as to the height;

FIGURES 2a-2c are diagrammatic side views, similar to the preceding ones, of the positions taken by a chair provided with a seat according to the invention showing also the relationship existing between the seat height and the tilting angle and at the same time the corresponding postures of a person sitting on said chair;

FIGURE 3 shows the silhouette of a person sitting on a chair according to the invention at various heights of the seat but with his feet at the same position;

FIGURE 4 and FIGURE__5 are diagrammatic side elevational views of two alternative embodiments of the seat portion only of a chair according to the invent ion;

FIGURES 6a and 6b show two diagrammatic side views, at different heights of the seat, of a chair according to the invention in a preferred embodiment; and

FIGURES 7a and 7b are two diagrammatic side views of the seat portion only of a chair according to Figs. 6a and 6b, each of which shows a constructive possibility of a mostly preferred embodiment of said seat.

With reference to the drawings Figs. 1a, 1b and 1c are side views, taken from the left side of the posture assumed by a person sitting on a prior art chair being adjustable in height, the seat portion of which is tiltable and respectively positioned at a low, average and a higher level from the floor. In the situation of Fig. 1a it is seen that the femur is inclined along a frontally arising slope whereas the center of gravity of the sitting person, designated CG and substantially located in the vicinity of the navel, is shifted rearword to the vertical passing through the swinging center of the seat CR which is placed thereunder, substantially on the central upright supporting the same (not shown).

Fig. 1b shows the position of a person who has adjusted a seat height to an average value: only in this case, with horizontal seat, the center of gravity is along the vertical line passing through the point CR at a center position with respect to the base polygon, whereby this person is in equilibrium. However it is an unstable equilibrium because at a higher level (Fig. 1c) with the seat and therefore the femur inclined downwards, the center of gravity is dangerously shifted forward.

The center of gravity CG then moves along a line CGL, similar to an arc of circumference, when in a conventional adjustable chair the seat is changed as to the height and as a consequence also its tilting angle varies by swinging about a rotation center CR positioned thereunder. Therefore the human sitting will be subject to a sensation of instability which he will unavoidably try to oppose by exerting some muscular force involving fatigue and discomfort with the passing of time.

For a person sitting on a chair according to the invention, Figs. 2a-2c show, respectively at the same heights of Figs. 1a-1c, that the center of gravity CG of this person in any case remains on the vertical axis of support diag rammaticaIly indicated with a dashed and dotted line, even at considerable sloping angles of the seat, back or forth, with respect to the average position with horizontal seat of Fig. 2b. This results apparently from Fig. 3 were the overlapping profiles of a person sitting at different heights on a chair according to the invention have been shown with the feet coincident on the same position. The locus described by the center of gravity CG is a substantially vertical line CGI, without any forward or backward shifts. Every situation is therefore of stable equilibrium.

Turning now to Figs. 2a-2c the chair central support will have, as it is known, the function of freely allowing the height to be adjusted, such as by means of gas under pressure, but however while allowing at the same time the rotation of the chair about its vertical axis indicated with a dashed and dotted line. Also a chair base, preferably with casters, has not been shown as it is of known type, which is provided at the lower end of the vertical support. Reference character 3 denotes a support element of the seat 4 being provided at the upper end of the vertical support so as to extend rearwardly. The seat-portion supporting member 3 is formed as a surface having an arc-shape as viewed in side elevation. From the rear end of its bottom portion 3a a backrest 3b extends upwardly. Reference numeral 4 denotes a seat portion which is carried on the upper surface of the bottom portion 3a of the above-mentioned support member 3 in such a manner that the seat portion can slide with respect thereto back and forth.

As can be seen from Figs. 2a to 2c, one gist of the present invention is that, as the height of the seat portion 4 of the chair according to the present invention is increased or decreased, the tilting angle of the seat portion 4 is set by a rotation about a point substantially coincident with the center of gravity of a person sitting on the chair.

T h e a b o v e -d e s c r i b ed a s c e n d i ng or descending of the seat portion and the setting of the tilting angle of the seat portion which varies in a s s o c i a t io n with this ascending or descending can be embodied with a mechanism such as that schematically shown in Figs. 4 and 5 as an example. As the height of the seat portion 4 increases, this progressively inclines toward the front of the chair by a small amount, if the seat-portion height exceeds a certain value, such as about 60 cm, the weight which is applied to the legs of the person increases and the weight which is applied to the seat portion decreases. As a reaction, the seat portion is somewhat pushed toward the rear. Therefore, in the case of a chair with casters, it is desirable to provide a caster lock mechanism to be actuated according to the height of the seat.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational schematic view of an example of the swinging mechanism for the seat relating to the chair of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals of the other figures denote the same members, in particular the portion 3a of the supporting member 3 being formed as a portion of an arc which is drawn about a center of rotation ideally coincident with the average location of the center of gravity CG of the persons using the chair. Like in Figs. 2a-2c reference numeral 4 denotes a seat portion which is carried on said portion 3a of the supporting member 3 and the lower surface 4a of the seat portion is formed in accordance with a curvature which is equal to the curvature of the portion 3a of the supporting member 3. Specifically, the seat portion 4 is carried on the supporting member 3 like on an arc-shaped guide in such a manner that it can swing in the opposite directions indicated by arrows in the drawing. Also the vertical support 1 has been illustrated here, which is provided with a vertical adjustment mechanism, although not shown, which allows adjustment of the height of the seat-portion supporting member 3 as it is known. This vertical support 1 is centrally mounted on a chair base 2, e.g. having radial arms with casters 2a.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view, also schematic, of another example of the swinging mechanism In this example the seat portion 4 is pivotally supported at 4b on a seat-portion supporting member 31 which is formed like a pillar extending up from a side of the support 1, and is suspended from the pivot axis 4b which substantially coincides with the center of gravity CG of a person of average height sitting thereon. In Fig. 5, 4c denotes a suspended arm which projects upwardly from both sides of the seat portion 4, which therefore hangs like a swing.

With solutions of this type the swinging motion of the seat 4 is completely free about the stationary center of rotation and a sitting person will automatically assume the tilting angle of the seat which is the most suitable to the particular height chosen with an unavoidable instability due to the seat being brought to return always back to the horizontal orientation of equilibrium.

With reference to Figs. 6a, 6b the chair according to the invention has been shown with the seat portion at two different heights, in a preferred embodiment in which to avoid the above-mentioned inconvenience, the swinging movement of the seat portion 4 is accompanied by the corresponding motion of a lever 6 pivotedly mounted at an end 6a to the seat support 1 and in particular to the stationary portion 1a of such a support, also comprising a portion 1b adjustable in height as already indicated. such as by being telescopicaIly mounted for an axial movement within the stationary portion 1a to which it is lockable at each desired position in whichever known manner. The other end 6b of lever 6 is pivotedly mounted to the front portion of the seat 4. The user of the chair according to the invention provides for adjusting the height of seat 4 according to his own height and the level of the working surface in front of him, while at the same time the tilting angle of the seat 4 is automatically adjusted to assume the most comfortable position at this given height of the seat and maintains this particular angle without further swinging movements. According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, with reference to Figs. 7a and 7b, the length of said lever 6 is not fixed but it is also adjustable for having more possibilities of postures which the user can obtain for a maximum comfort. In the example of embodiment of Fig. 7a the lever 6 is connected to the seat portion 4 through an additional lever 7 to which it is hinged in 6b. As the angle comprised between levers 6 and 7 varies, such as in function of the user's height, or arbitrarily, the practical consequence is that also the distance changes between the stationary pivot point 6a and the pivot point to the lower surface of the seat 4, in other words the tilting angle of the seat while the height is the same. Fig. 7b schematically shows an alternative embodiment in which the different length of lever 6 is obtained by providing the same with an elongated slot at the end opposite to pivot 6a and arranging the pivoting point 6b onto the seat 4 to be adjustable at will within said slot. Furthermore the lever 6 may be made, instead of metal, of a relatively resilient material, such as plastic reinforced with glass fibers, so that the seat can have a certain spring-like movement about the tilting angle determined as stated before without disadvantages as to the stability of sitting which results thereby less rigid only.

As results from the foregoing description of the present invention, as the tilting angle of the seat changes according to the seat height, the latter can be smoothly and continuously moved upon changement of the posture of a person sitting on the seat while, according to the prior art, upon changing the height of the seat its tilting angle remained the same or its variation caused a forward or rearward movement of the center of gravity of the sitting person, whereby his posture was unstable and dangerous in addition to be tiring. It should also be appreciated that the tilting angle varies in an extremely smooth way with the seat swinging about a point near or coincident with the center of gravity of a person sitting on the chair as a function of the seat height. Therefore even if a person is sitting for a long time on a chair according to the invention at whichever height of the seat portion, this occurs in a comfortably way and without experiencing substantial fatigue. This in particular when adopting the preferred solution of rendering adjustable at will, especially according to the user's height, the way of varying the seat tilting angle in function of the height thereof.

Possible additions and/or modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to the above-described and illustrated embodiments of the chair according to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention itself. In particular there could be provided changements relating to the backrest portion of the chair, such as to modify for example also its slope with respect to the seat support according to the height of the latter.

Claims

CL A IM S

1. Ergonomic chair with variable position of the seat portion being adjustable as to the height, characterized in that, when the height of said seat portion (4) changes, its tilting angle with respect to the horizontal varies in accordance with changes in the height of said seat by swinging movements along an arc of circumference about a center of rotation substantially coincident with the center of gravity (CG) of a person sitting on said chair.

2. Chair according to claim 1 comprising, on a support base (2) a central vertical support (1) formed of a stationary lower portion da) and an upper portion (1b) which can be moved with respect to portion (1a), characterized in that a seat support (3) is mounted in said upper mobile portion (1b) being adjustable in a known manner as to the height with respect to said lower portion (1a) of the central support (1), said seat support (3) comprising a rear portion forming a backrest (3b) directed upwardly and a substantially horizontal portion (3a) for supporting said seat portion (4) with a swingable movement about a center point (CG) positioned above the seat and substantially corresponding to the average position of the center of gravity of a person sitting thereon.

3. A chair according to claim 2, characterized in that said seat support portion (3a) is provided with a slide or guide part shaped as an arc of circumference with the center in said point (CG), along which part said seat portion (4) can move.

4. A chair according to claim 2, characterized in that said seat portion (4) is supported on at least one side by a suspending arm (4c) which extends upwardly as it is hinged at an upper end (4b) substantially coincident with the said point (CG) to an associate side upright support (31).

5. A chair according to claim 2, characterized by further comprising a lever arm (6) hinged at an end (6a) to said stationary portion (1a) of the central support (1) and at the other end (6b) to said seat portion (4) near the front side thereof, whereby a predetermined tilting angle of the seat (4) corresponds to the given height of the latter.

6. A chair according to claim 5, characterized in that said lever arm (6) has a variable length, adjustable at will, whereby the law can be changed according to which the tilting angle of said seat (4) varies as a function of its height.

7. A chair according to claim 6, characterized in that said lever arm (6) is connected to the seat (4) through an additional lever (7) to which said lever (6) is hinged in (6b), the angle between lever (6 and 7) being fixable at will.

8. A chair according to claim 6, characterized in that said lever (6) at the end opposite to the one pivoted in (6a) is formed with an elongated slot (8) within which said pivot point (6b) can be fixed at will.

9. A chair according to claim 5, characterized in that said lever arm (6) is made of a material having some elasticity.

10. A chair according to anyone of the preceding claims, comprising a support base (2) with radial arms provided at their ends with casters (2a), characterized by comprising means for locking said casters (2a) said means being operable as a given height of the seat (4) is reached, with consequent tilting angle of the seat portion.