Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/36—Support for the head or the back
  • A47C7/40—Support for the head or the back for the back
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/02—Seat parts
  • A47C7/029—Seat parts of non-adjustable shape adapted to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/02—Seat parts
  • A47C7/14—Seat parts of adjustable shape; elastically mounted ; adaptable to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C7/00—Parts, details, or accessories of chairs or stools
  • A47C7/36—Support for the head or the back
  • A47C7/40—Support for the head or the back for the back
  • A47C7/46—Support for the head or the back for the back with special, e.g. adjustable, lumbar region support profile; "Ackerblom" profile chairs
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
  • B60N2/64—Back-rests or cushions
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
  • B60N2/70—Upholstery springs ; Upholstery
  • B60N2/7094—Upholstery springs
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
  • B60N2/70—Upholstery springs ; Upholstery
  • B60N2/72—Attachment or adjustment thereof

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a seat frame bridge unit, for example for a vehicle seat.
• the invention also relates to a conformable seat uphold arrangement comprising a plurality of such units, and to a seat provided with such arrangement.
• Seats for example in truck driver compartments, are conventionally upholstered by thick sections of foamed resins such as polyurethane. In their backrests, they may also have adjustable lumbar support sections comprising, for example, inflatable pockets.
• the foamed resins make the seats thick and bulky, using up valuable free space.
• the massive bolstering also inhibits heat transmission so that the seats sometimes have to be equipped with fan-assisted ventilation systems. It is therefore desirable to use less foamed resins in the seats.
• the seat frame bridge units have the shape of belt-like members extending round the backrest seat frame.
• the slack or tension of the belt-like members is individually adjusted by releasing locked ends of the belt-like members and allowing them to move to a new locking position for tightening or loosening the respective belt-like member.
• the belt-like members are adjusted only along their peripheral direction, they cannot by themselves positively maintain a shape varying in a direction normal to the seating surface.
• An object of the present invention is to provide an improved relatively thin and lightweight seat frame bridge unit, a conformable seat uphold arrangement and a seat which requires less bolstering than conventional seats and is capable of being more positively adjusted.
• the seat frame bridge unit comprises a support member and an uphold member.
• the support member When mounted in a seat, the support member is distant to the seating surface, and the uphold member is close to the seating surface and spring-biased away from the support member.
• the unit also comprises a restrainer having a releasable clamp between the support and uphold members for holding the uphold member at an adjustable distance from the support member.
• the units mounted side by side for example in a backrest, will be capable not only of positively maintaining an adjusted shape but also of positively returning to an expanded initial shape, prepared to conform to a new shape of a person sitting in the seat.
• the support and uphold members can thereby also be made as thin-walled, self-ventilated structures of plastics material of low weight and small overall thickness.
• the conformable seat uphold arrangement comprises a plurality of seat frame bridge units in a side-by-side array, and an elongated clamp releaser having a variable radial or lateral extension.
• the clamp releaser extends through the clamp of each seat frame unit for releasing the clamp of each unit by engaging the clamp with the variable lateral extension when adjusting the arrangement to conform to a contour of a person sitting in the seat.
• the lateral extension can be variable by expanding a cross section of the clamp releaser or by rotating a varying cross section of the clamp releaser.
• FIG. 1 is a view of an incomplete seat uphold arrangement according to the invention
• FIG. 2 is a view of a seat frame bridge unit of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 3 is a cutaway view in larger scale of an end portion of the unit shown in FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 is a cutaway view in larger scale of a central portion of the unit shown in FIG. 2;
• FIG. 5 is a cutaway view showing an alternative embodiment of a clamp releaser shown in FIG. 4; and [0014] FIG. 6 is a cutaway view showing an alternative embodiment of a releasable clamp according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 shows a conformable seat uphold arrangement according to the invention incorporated in a backrest 102 of a seat 100. Only a few parts of the inner structure of the backrest are shown in full line. The arrangement is, however, not restricted to backrests but may also be implemented in the sitting portion 104 of a seat.
• the uphold arrangement comprises a plurality of elongated units 10 (only two are shown) bridging a seat frame 60, i.e. joining as a bridge opposite sections of the seat frame 60.
• seat frame 60 comprises a pair of curved, hollow backrest bars 62 spaced away from each other.
• lower portions of the backrest bars 62 are connected to the seat frame of the sitting portion 104 of the seat 100, and the upper portions of the backrest bars 62 may be interconnected by a U-bar that in turn may support a neck rest.
• the opposite ends of each unit 10 have connection means in the shape of bores 12 (FIG.
• each unit 10 extends transversely over the seat frame 60. They may, however, alternatively extend lengthwise over the frame (not shown). That may be the case when the units are implemented in the sitting portion 104 of a seat.
• each unit 10 is composed, on the one hand, of a relatively rigid support member 20 distant to a seating surface 74 of a seat cover 70 (shown only fragmentarily), and, on the other hand, of an uphold member 40 opposing the support member close to the seating surface 74.
• Members 20, 40 are suitably made of a plastics material.
• members 20, 40 are further interconnected in an interleaved manner at their respective end portions forming the above-mentioned bores 12.
• the support member 20 is a curved lightweight structure shaped as a pair of spaced blades or strips 22, 24 interconnected by a plurality of transverse webs 26 providing bending stiffness to the support member 20.
• the uphold member 40 is a curved, resiliently flexible lightweight structure comprised of a pair of elastic blades or strips 42, 44, in this case only centrally interconnected by a few transverse webs 50.
• the inner strip 44 of member 40 acts as a spring leaf by having its curved ends 48 pre-stressed to engagement with the opposing surface of the support member 20. Thereby, the uphold member 40 is biased to impart a spring force in the direction of arrow 76.
• the spring leaf needs not necessarily be an integral part of the uphold member but can also be integral with the support member or provided as a separate part between the members (not shown).
• the spring force may alternatively be provided by other springs, for example a number of helical springs (not shown) seated between members 20 and 40, or even by the elastic blade 42 itself, like an archer's bow.
• the elastic blade 42 is formed to an elastic meandering shape or U- shape 46.
• the U-shapes 46 are capable of being widened and narrowed for making possible the movements of elastic strip 42, when adjusting the distance between members 20 and 40 or when the elastic strip 42 is subjected to varying forces from a person sitting in the seat 100.
• each unit 10 is interconnected by a centrally located restrainer 80 including a releasable clamp 84 for holding the uphold member 40 back - or forward - at an adjustable distance from the support member 20.
• the restrainer 80 has a stiff tongue 82 received and clamped between a pair of clamping jaws 86, 86 of clamp 84.
• the clamping jaws 86 are projections extending from the opposing surface of the support member 20. If needed, the interengaging surfaces of the tongue 82 and the jaws 86 may be provided with yieldable rifles (for example having a curved and shallow cross section) or the like to improve the holding action (not shown).
• the clamping force of the jaws 86 is provided by the external pressure from the opposite spring faces of a closed profile leaf spring 88 mounted to enclose the clamping jaws 86.
• the restrainer 80 is a structure composed of parts integral with the respective members 20, 40, the restrainer may as well be a separate assembly (not shown) to be mounted on the unit 10 between the members 20,40.
• An elongated clamp releaser 90 having a radially or laterally variable extension is provided for temporarily releasing the clamp 84 of all units 10 when the conformable seat support arrangement is to be adjusted for being conformed to a back contour of a person sitting in the seat.
• the clamp releaser 90 is a flexible tube extending 92 through the clamp 84 of each unit 10. More precisely, each section of the flexible tube 92 is received in a flattened or laterally reduced state in the gap of the clamping jaws 86, 86 of the respective clamp 84.
• the flexible tube 92 is internally pressurized, for example by a fluid pressure source (not shown) in a vehicle where the seat support arrangement is installed, to such extent that the gap of the clamping jaws 86, 86 is widened when the flattened flexible tube 92 expands and the tongue 82 of restrainer 80 is released.
• a fluid pressure source not shown
• all uphold members 40 in the side-by- side arrangement of units 10 are moved to an initial position determined by the combined forces from the seat cover 70, possibly including a relatively thin bolstering material 72, and the springs 44. If a person is sitting in the seat when the clamps are released, said combined forces will interact with the forces from the back of the sitting person, resulting in that the seating surface 74 will be conformed to the contour or shape of the back of the sitting person.
• the seat cover 70 is stretched over the backrest and possibly bonded to the adjacent surfaces of the uphold members 40.
• an alternative or additional relatively thin bolstering layer 72A may be bonded to the surfaces of the uphold members 40 facing the inside of seat cover 70, or formed integrally with members 40, for example by a co- extrusion or similar molding process.
• the elongated clamp releaser 90 is a torsionally rigid member 94, for example a steel shaft.
• the variable lateral extension is obtained by rotating the clamp releaser 90 which has a non-circular cross section, for example the elliptical cross section shown.
• the torsionally rigid member 94 may also be a flexible member, for example a flexible shaft capable of following the curvature of the backrest bars 62.
• the non-circular cross section of the clamp releaser 90 may be present only at the respective clamping areas of the clamp releaser 90.
• the clamp releaser 90 does not necessarily need to extend through the actual gap of each clamp 84 but can alternatively engage the clamp 84 via engagement surfaces of tabs 86A, 86B connected to the respective clamping jaws 86, 86 outside the gap.
• the tongue 82 may be made longer, extending into the support member 20 for allowing a larger extent of adjusting movement of the uphold member 40 relative to the support member 20.
• the longer tongue 82 may need, for example, be thicker or formed with stiffening ribs (not shown).
• each unit can have more than one set of restrainer 80, clamp 84 and clamp releaser 90 spaced along its length (not shown).
• a seat according to the invention can conveniently be provided with perforations (not shown) for ventilating the hollow interior space between members 20, 40 to the exterior.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chair Legs, Seat Parts, And Backrests (AREA)
• Seats For Vehicles (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=37310301

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (5)

Citations (3)

• 2005
  • 2005-10-14 SE SE0502275A patent/SE528399C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2006
  • 2006-09-28 DE DE112006002498.1T patent/DE112006002498B4/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-09-28 WO PCT/SE2006/050358 patent/WO2007043960A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (3)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events