WO1997029665A1

WO1997029665A1 - Work seat consisting of desk and chair adjustable in height and inclination, particularly for use at school

Info

Publication number: WO1997029665A1
Application number: PCT/IT1997/000030
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vittorio Zuncheddu
Original assignee: Vittorio Zuncheddu
Priority date: 1996-02-14
Filing date: 1997-02-13
Publication date: 1997-08-21
Also published as: ITCA960004A1; DE19781580T1; JP2001527434A; AU1618297A; IT1288298B1; ITCA960004A0

Abstract

A work seat consisting of desk and chair, particularly for use at school, wherein desk and said chair include means capable of providing the user with a correct ergonomical posture by adjusting the height of the desk according to the height of the chair and by varying the inclination of the chair back and the desk as well as by adjusting the position and the height of a foot-rest bar.

Description

Work seat consisting of desk and chair adjustable in height and inclination, particularly for use at school

The present invention relates to the school furnishings and particularly a desk and a chair adjustable in height and inclination.

Current school furnishings are desks and chairs used by pupils and students and usually consisting of metal constructions of predetermined, unchanging size. As such furnishings are used by students of various statures and sometimes very different bodily characteristics, it is very unlikely that such furnishings will ensure a correct enough posture to the users. This may be a serious problem. It is evident that such a problem is stronger in the nursery and primary schools where there are pupils growing taller and big pupils whose physigue may be very different from those of slight frame. During the physical development of the child wrong postures can involve serious consequences to the bone structure.

The present invention seeks to overcome such problems by providing a desk and a chair which can easily be adapted to the physique of the users.

This is achieved by providing a work seat consisting of a desk and a chair as claimed in claim l.

A better understanding of the invention will ensue from the following detailed description with reference to the annexed drawings which show by way of a not limiting example a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show an elevation side view of a chair according to the invention at the minimum height, maximum height, and in the adjustment positions of its back, respectively;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show an elevation side view of a desk according to the invention at the minimum height, maximum height, and in an inclined position of its work table, respectively;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the chair and the desk according to the invention;

Figs. 8A and 8B show a partial detail view of the chair and desk feet.

With reference to the figures a first feature of the work seat of the present invention consists in that the height of the desk legs can be adjusted in a manner which ergono ically depends on the height adjusted for the chair. This is made possible due to particular threaded registers 3 and 8. Such threaded registers 3 and 8 of the desk and chair feet are provided with notches preferably designated by letters and/or numbers which allow a correct relation between the height of seat 2 and the height of the work table to be kept depending on stature and frame of the student. It is sufficient to adjust the height of the chair according to the physique of the student and then the height of the desk by screwing the desk leg registers to the notch corresponding to that of the chair leg registers.

To this regard, it should be noted that the height variation caused in the chair by screwing registers 3 is not necessarily the same as that caused in the desk by screwing registers 8 to the corresponding notch. Different variations in height between chair and desk depend on ergonomic conditions which provide a correct relation between the heights of chair and desk according to the physique of the student.

A second feature of the invention is the capability of adjusting height and inclination of chair back 4 relative to chair seat 2. A third feature of the invention is the capability of inclining the work table 9 of the desk by rotating the same about the long side of the desk facing the user. Pins 10 at both ends of such long side are the rotation axis, and side rods 11 hinged at the opposite long side of the work table and provided with saw tooth slots allow work table 9 to be blocked at predetermined inclinations by the engagement of pawls 12 secured to the legs of the desk in such saw tooth slots. Still another feature of the present invention is a foot-rest bar 13 of preferably rectangular cross section which is capable of three adjustments: a rotation about its longitudinal axis; a horizontal shift along side rods 16 of the desk; and a vertical shift along the desk legs. Foot-rest bar 13 has its ends secured to two sleeves 14 sliding along horizontal side rods 16 of the desk and provided with clamping dowels 15. Side rods 16 can vertically shift by means of sleeves 17 located at their ends and sliding along the front and back desk legs to reach a desired position which is maintained by means of clamping dowels 18.

It is evident from the foregoing that the features of the invention make the same adapted to the specific requirements of any user. Actually the invention allows foot-rest bar 13 not only to be independently adjusted in height and inclination but also to be either moved to or from the desk side near the user, thus providing a correct posture of the feet of the latter at a suitable distance from the work table. Therefore, the present invention avoids that the students crouch or squat in their work seat or sit with their legs dangling because the foot-rest bar is too far. Chair back 4 is adjustable in height by tightening screws 1 and in inclination by knobs 5 operating the lower end of the upright rods supporting the chair back 4, thus allowing a correct adaptation of chair back 4 to the user's body structure. The varying inclination of the work table further improves the student's posture both when writing or drawing and when reading a book because the student is thus prevented from bending his back.

Since desks and chairs can be individually adjusted in height, another advantage of the invention is that a number of work seats can be placed in a theatre, i.e. the lowest desks near the blackboard and/or the teacher's desk, the highest remote therefrom.

In case chair and desk are designed with legs not perpendicular to the floor, it is evident that the feet thereof will be provided with a ball joint ensuring a correct support in any position of registers 3 and 8.

The present invention is described and illustrated according to a preferred embodiment thereof, however, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can make modifications and/ore equivalent changes without departing from the scope of the present industrial invention.

Claims

1. A work seat consisting of desk and chair, particularly for use at school, characterized in that said desk and said chair include means capable of providing the user with a correct ergonomical posture by adjusting the height of the desk according to the height of the chair and by varying the inclination of the chair back and the desk as well as by adjusting the position and the height of a foot-rest bar.

2. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said chair is provided with means (3) for adjusting the height of the legs as well as means (1) for adjusting the height and means (5) for adjusting the inclination of chair back (4) .

3. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that said desk is provided with means (8) for adjusting the height of the legs, means (10, 11, 12) for adjusting the inclination of a work table (9) , and means (14-18) for adjusting the inclination, the height, and the position of a foot-rest bar (13).

4. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment of the height of the chair and desk legs according to the user's physique is carried out by means of threaded registers (3, 8) arranged on the desk and chair feet.

5. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that said threaded registers 3 and 8 of the desk and chair feet are provided with notches designated by alphanumeric characters which allow a correct relation between height of seat (2) and height of work table (9) to be kept depending on stature and frame of the student by only adjusting chair registers (3) and desk registers (8) to the corresponding notch designated by the same character, the variation in height of the chair due to the shift of registers (3) from one notch to the other being not necessarily the same as that of the desk due to the shift of registers (8) to the corresponding notch.

6. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that the chair back (4) is adjustable in height by tightening screws (1) and in inclination by knobs (5) operating the lower end of the upright rods supporting the chair back (4) .

7. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that the work table (9) of the desk can be inclined by rotating the same about pins (10) located at both ends of the long side of the desk towards the user, side rods (11) hinged at the opposite long side of the work table being provided with saw tooth slots allowing work table (9) to be blocked at predetermined inclinations by the engagement of pawls (12) secured to the legs of the desk in such saw tooth slots.

8. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that said desk is provided with a foot-rest bar (13) which is capable of three adjustments: a rotation about its longitudinal axis; a horizontal shift along horizontal side rods (16) ; and a vertical shift along the desk legs.

9. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that the horizontal position of said foot-rest bar (13) can be adjusted as its ends are secured to two sleeves (14) sliding along the horizontal side rods (16) of the desk and being provided with clamping dowels (15) .

10. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that the vertical position of said foot-rest bar (13) can be adjusted as the ends of said side rods (16) are secured to sleeves (17) which are able to slide along the front and back legs of the desk to reach a desired position which is maintained by means of clamping dowels (18) .

11. The work seat consisting of desk and chair as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized in that said foot-rest bar (13) has a rectangular cross section.