EP0022933B1 - Chair with reclining seat and reclining backrest - Google Patents

Abstract

In a seat having a seat plate of adjustable inclination and a backrest of adjustable inclination, gas springs are provided for adjusting the inclination of the seat plate and backrest, the valve actuating pins of the gas springs being oppositely disposed and actuatable by an adjusting lever. The adjusting lever extends transversely to the valve actuating pin arrangement and is mounted to pivot vertically and horizontally about a common pivot point disposed beyond the straight connecting line between the valve actuating pins. In the preferred embodiment, two control arms on the seat carrier are movable in a scissor-like manner in a vertical plane containing the valve pin arrangement, the adjusting lever engaging between and co-operating with the control arms which co-operate with the valve actuating pins. This permits the inclination of the seat plate and the inclination of the backrest to be adjusted with a single operating element either at independent times or simultaneously.

Description

The invention relates to a seat, in particular an office chair, with a seat plate arranged on a seat support and adjustable in inclination and a backrest adjustable in inclination, a first gas spring for adjusting the seat plate inclination between the seat plate and the seat support and a second gas spring for adjustment the backrest angle between the seat support and the backrest is effective and both gas springs can be blocked or unlocked by means of a handle.

Such a seat is known for example from DE-A-2 501 673. However, this document does not provide any further details regarding the function and operation of the handle.

With the invention, a seat of the type mentioned is now expediently designed such that the inclination of the seat plate and the inclination of the backrest can be adjusted either independently of one another or simultaneously with the single handle.

This object is achieved in that the valve actuation pins of the gas springs are provided at the ends assigned to the seat support and, preferably V-shaped, are arranged opposite one another and that as a handle a horizontal adjusting lever extending transversely between the valve actuation pins about a pivot point that is outside the straight connecting line lies between the valve actuating pins, is pivotally and vertically pivotably mounted on the seat support and engages with a wedge-shaped control body between the two valve actuating pins.

If in this arrangement the adjusting lever is pivoted in the horizontal direction towards the one valve actuating pin, then the blocking of the one gas spring, for example the gas spring for the seat plate inclination, is released, so that the seated person displaces the force exerted with the thighs on the inclination of the seat plate can adjust while the other gas spring remains blocked due to lack of actuation, for example the inclination of the backrest cannot change. Conversely, the blocking of the other gas spring can be released without unlocking the one gas spring when the adjusting lever is pivoted in the opposite horizontal direction so that it pushes in the associated valve actuating pin. If the adjustment lever is returned to the starting position, i.e. to the middle position between the two valve actuation pins, both gas springs are blocked again, and the seat plate or the backrest remain in the position they were in before the associated gas spring was blocked.

However, it is also possible to unlock both gas springs at the same time by pivoting the adjusting lever vertically upwards from its starting position, so that the two inclined surfaces of the wedge-shaped control body act simultaneously on the valve actuating pins and press them in to release the blocking of both gas springs. The backrest and seat plate then adapt automatically and automatically to every posture. When the adjustment lever is released so that it returns to its original position, the inclinations of the seat plate and the backrest set in this way are maintained.

As should be noted without further ado, it is not necessary to resiliently bias the adjusting lever in order to automatically return it to the starting position, since the necessary restoring moments come from the valve actuation pins.

In a second embodiment, which is alternative to the above construction, instead of the wedge-shaped control body, two control arms, which are movably arranged in the manner of a pair of scissors in a vertical plane containing the valve pin arrangement, are provided, which are fastened to the seat carrier, the adjusting lever reaching through the control arms and the control arms with their outside interact with the valve actuation pins. The function of the control body, which grips like a wedge between the two valve actuation pins, of a vertical pivoting of the adjusting lever is thus taken over by the two control arms, which spread out when the adjusting lever is pivoted vertically and in this way act on the valve actuating pins simultaneously. When the adjusting lever is pivoted horizontally, only one or the other control arm and thus only one or the other valve actuating pin is moved. For the rest, what has been said about the above embodiment applies to this embodiment.

In both embodiments of the invention, the adjusting lever can now be locked in its vertical swivel end position, that is to say in the position in which both valve actuation pins are acted on. In this case, since the gas springs remain unblocked and can therefore yield or follow, depending on how the posture is changed, a dynamic sitting position is achieved.

A guide is expediently provided for guiding the adjusting lever. This can be plate-shaped and a horizontal, parallel to the arrangement of the valve actuating first guide slot at the level of the basic position of the adjusting lever, in which the valve actuation pins are not acted upon, and starting from the horizontal guide slot, one in the middle Arrangement of the valve actuating pins and vertically extending second guide slot. To achieve the locking of the adjusting lever in the upper vertical swivel end position for the dynamic sitting position, the link can consist of an elastic material, preferably plastic, and the vertical guide slot can have a constriction in its end region facing away from the horizontal guide slot, with incisions from the vertical guide slot extend to either side of the neck. The incisions, which must have a certain width for the necessary play, have the task of making the constriction area flexible. It is readily understandable that the tabs created by the constriction, on which the constriction is formed, are so flexible that they can be pushed away by the adjusting lever protruding through the guide slot with increased application of force, so that the adjusting lever is guided to the end of the guide slot where it is then locked by the recessed constriction.

In terms of design, it is particularly advantageous if the pivot point of the pivotable adjustment lever is located at one end of the adjustment lever and the link through which the adjustment lever extends is provided on the side of the arrangement of the valve actuation pins opposite the pivot point.

The second embodiment of the invention is particularly important when it is, for example, an office chair with a single, centrally arranged support leg. The adjusting lever is then ring-shaped in the area of the scissor-like control arms, and the scissor-like control arms are articulated at two spaced-apart pivot points, so that the pillar can extend through the ring of the adjusting lever and between the pivot points of the control arms .

In a further special embodiment of the invention, the support holding the backrest extends under the seat plate and is pivotally fastened there in the central region to the seat support about a horizontal pivot axis, about which the seat plate can also be tilted, and are the first gas spring at the front edge of the seat plate and on the seat support and the second gas spring on the seat support and on the backrest support in the rear area lying below the seat plate each articulated. The gas springs therefore assume a V-shaped position.

In the above, it has not been ruled out that the pivot point of the scissors lies below the valve actuation pins, so that the adjusting lever would have to be moved down for simultaneous actuation of both valve actuation pins. In practice, however, the fulcrum of the control arms acting as scissors is placed above the valve actuation pins, so that the adjusting lever must be pivoted vertically upwards for simultaneous action on the two valve actuation pins. The same applies, moreover, when using a wedge-shaped control body instead of the control arms.

Finally, it is within the scope of the invention if, starting from the first embodiment, the wedge is not effective in the vertical direction but in the horizontal direction. The same applies to the scissors, which can just as well open in a horizontal plane instead of opening in the vertical plane. Then, however, the adjusting lever must be displaceable in its horizontal longitudinal direction in both cases. The horizontal swiveling is retained. Even though these embodiments are structurally much less complex, the same effects can nevertheless be achieved with these embodiments.

• Figur 1 eine Seitenansicht eines erfindungsgemäßen Bürostuhls, teilweise im Schnitt,
• Figur 2 eine Draufsicht auf die Mechanik zur Betätigung der Gasfedern,
• Figur 3 die wesentlichen Teile der Mechanik der Figur in Seitenansicht und
• Figur 4 eine Kulisse zur Führung des Verstellhebels.

Further advantages, details and features of the invention emerge from the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment which is given with reference to the drawing. In the drawing:

• FIG. 1 shows a side view of an office chair according to the invention, partly in section,
• FIG. 2 shows a top view of the mechanism for actuating the gas springs,
• Figure 3 shows the essential parts of the mechanics of the figure in side view and
• Figure 4 is a backdrop for guiding the adjusting lever.

The office chair shown in the drawing has a standpipe 10 which extends into a seat support 12, which is only indicated schematically by dashed lines, and is connected to it in a manner not shown in more detail. A seat plate 13 is arranged to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 14 which is mounted on the seat support 12 and extends essentially above the standpipe 10. An L-shaped backrest support 16, as shown in FIG. 1, can also be pivoted about the same pivot axis 14 and carries the backrest 18 on its upwardly projecting leg. The arrangement can be made in a manner known per se such that the seat support 12 is rotatable together with the seat plate 13 and the backrest 18 around the standpipe 10.

A first gas spring 20 is articulated with its cylinder-side end on the underside of the seat plate 13 in its front area and is pivotally mounted with its piston-side end on the seat support 12 about a bolt 22. A second gas spring 24 engages with its cylinder-side end on the backrest support 16, while its piston-side end is fastened to the seat support 12 so as to be pivotable about a bolt 26. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the gas springs 20, 24 are then arranged in a V-shape with respect to one another.

The gas springs 20, 24 each have a valve actuating pin 28, 30 on their piston-side ends, as shown in FIG. 1, which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the respective gas spring and, when not under pressure, protrudes from the piston ends projecting inward beyond the bolts 22 and 26 . If the valve actuation pins 28, 30 are acted upon, that is to say pressed into the piston ends, the blocking in the gas springs 20 and 24 is released, so that these expand and adjust the inclination of the seat plate 13 or the backrest 18. However, when a back pressure exceeding the gas spring pressure is exerted, the gas springs 20, 24 shorten and the seat plate and the backrest tilt in the opposite direction. If the valve actuation pins 28, 30 are not acted upon and the gas springs are thus blocked, their length cannot be changed, so that the inclination of the seat plate 13 and the backrest 18 is retained regardless of the respective load.

As shown in FIG. 2, an adjustment lever 32 is mounted on the seat support 12 so that it can be pivoted vertically and horizontally about a pivot point 34. The adjusting lever 32 extends essentially in the horizontal direction transversely to the V-shaped arrangement of the gas springs 20, 24 and is formed in its area lying between the valve actuation pins 28, 30 as a rectangular ring 36 through which the standpipe 10 extends. As shown, a link 38 for guiding the adjusting lever 32 is provided on the side of the seat support 12 opposite the pivot point 34, which will be discussed in more detail later.

As can be seen in particular from FIG. 3, two control arms 40, 42 are also provided which can be pivoted on the seat support 12 about horizontal axes 44, 46 extending transversely to the V-shaped gas spring arrangement. The axes 44, 46 lie above the pivot point 34 of the adjusting lever 33, and the control arms 40, 42 extend substantially vertically downwards, the control arm 40 between the valve actuation pin 28 and the ring 36 and the control arm 42 between the ring 36 and the Valve actuating pin 30 passes through. The outer control cams work with the valve actuation pins, while the inner control cams of the control arms work with the ring 36 of the adjusting lever 32. As can be seen from Figure 3, when the ring 36 is lifted vertically, the control arms 40, 42 are spread so that the control arms act on the valve actuation pins 28 and 30 of the gas springs 20, 24, whereby the gas springs are unlocked. With a horizontal movement of the ring 36, either only one or the other control arm 40 or 42 is deflected, depending on the direction in which the adjusting lever 32 is pivoted, so that only one or the other valve actuating pin 28 or 30 is acted upon while the other remains unaffected. In this connection, it is pointed out that the lower ends of the control arms 40, 42 are each offset outwards, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the ring 36, when it is in a central position between the lower ends of the control arms 40, 42 is located, neither engages on one control arm nor on the other control arm and thus none of the valve actuation pins 28, 30 is acted upon by the control arms.

The adjusting lever 32 extends through the link 38, which is essentially plate-shaped and, as shown in FIG. 4, is provided with a specially designed opening, which is described in more detail below. The breakthrough includes a horizontal guide slot 48 for the horizontal movement of the adjusting lever 32 in the area in which the ring 36 of the adjusting lever is located between the ends of the control arms 44 and 46 which are offset to the outside. A further guide slot 50, which has a constriction 52 in its upper end region, extends centrally and vertically upward from this horizontal guide slot 48. Before and after the constriction 52, incisions 54 are provided on the side of the guide slot 50 and in each case bend upwards; that have a certain width. Flaps 56 are formed between these incisions 54 and carry the projections forming the constrictions 52. Since the backdrop 38 also consists of a resilient plastic material, the following effect is achieved with this design. If the adjusting lever 32 is moved upwards in the vertical guide slot 50 starting from the horizontal guide slot 32, the hand operating it experiences a counterforce when the adjusting lever comes into contact with the constriction 52.

In this position at the latest, the two valve actuation pins 28 and 30 are also acted on, as described above. If the adjusting lever 32 is then pressed further upwards with increased effort, the flaps 56 deflect laterally, and the adjusting lever 32 comes behind the constriction 52, where it is held in place by the flaps 56 returning to their original position. In this way, a locking of the adjusting lever is ensured in its upper pivot end position, so that the valve actuation pins 28, 30 remain under constant pressure. The gas springs are then not blocked, and the inclination of the seat plate and the backrest in this dynamic sitting position continuously adapts to the posture assumed by the seated person. This dynamic sitting position can of course be reversed if the adjusting lever 32 is returned downward to its starting position against the force of the tabs 56.

In summary it can be said that with the present invention a 3-way mechanism has been shown, which allows very simple and convenient handling.

Claims (12)

1. Seat, especially an office chair, with a seat-panel (13) which is installed on a seat-carrier (12) and the inclination of which is adjustable, and with a seat-back (18), the inclination of which is adjustable, a first pneumatic spring (20) acting between the seat-panel (13) and the seat-carrier (12), in order to adjust the seat-panel inclination, and a second pneumatic spring (24) acting between the seat-carrier (12) and the seat-back (18), in order to adjust the seat-back inclination, and it being possible to lock or, as the case may be, to unlock the two pneumatic springs by means of a handle (32), characterised in that the valce-actuating pins (28, 30) of the pneumatic springs (20, 24) are provided at the ends which are associated with the seat-carrier (12) and are arranged opposite one another, preferably in a >V<, and in that a horizontal adjusting lever (32) is mounted, as a handle, on the seat-carrier (12), extending transversely between the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), in a manner permitting it to pivot vertically and horizontally about a pivot-point (34) lying outside the straight connecting-line between the valve-actuating pins, this adjusting lever (32) engaging, by means of a wedge-shaped control-body, between the two valve-actuating pins (28, 30).

2. Seat, especially an office chair, with a seat-panel (13) which is installed on a seat-carrier (12) and the inclination of which is adjustable, and with a seat-back (18) the inclination of which is adjustable, a first pneumatic spring (20) acting between the seat-panel (13) and the seat-carrier (12), in order to adjust the seat-panel inclination, and a second pneumatic spring (24) acting between the seat-carrier (12) and the seat-back (18), in order to adjust the seat-back inclination, and it being possible to lock or, as the case may be, to unlock the two pneumatic springs by means of a handle (32), characterised in that the valve-actuating pins (28, 30) of the pneumatic springs (20, 24) are provided at the ends which are associated with the seat-carrier (12) and are arranged opposite one another, preferably in a >V<, and in that a horizontal adjusting lever (32) is mounted, as a handle, on the seat-carrier, extending transversely between the valve-actuating pins, in a manner permitting it to pivot vertically and horizontally about a pivot-point (34) lying outside the straight connecting-line between the valve-actuating pins, and in that two control-arms (40, 42) are fastened to the seat-carrier (12), these arms being installed so that they can move, in a scissors-like manner, in a vertical plane which contains the valve-pin arrangement, through which arms the adjusting lever (32) which functions in conjunction with them, engages, while these arms interact with the valve-acetuating pins (28, 30).

3. Seat according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the adjusting lever (32) can be latched in the position corresponding to the limit to which it can be pivoted vertically.

4. Seat according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a gate-device (38) is provided in order to guide the adjusting lever (32).

5. Seat according to claim 4, characterised in that the gate-device (38) possesses a first, horizontal, guide-slot (48), running parallel to the arrangement comprising the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), at the height corresponding to the normal position of the adjusting lever (32), in which position no force is applied to the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), and possesses a second guide-slot (50), starting from the horizontal guide-slot (48), running centrally with respect to the arrangement comprising the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), and running vertically.

6. Seat according to claim 5, characterised in that the gate-device (38), which is designed in the form of a plate, is composed of a resilient material, preferably plastic, and in that the vertical guide-slot (50) exhibits a constriction (52) in its end-region which faces away from the horizontal guide-slot (48), incisions (54) extending away from the vertical guide-slot (50), to both sides, in order to form the tabs (56) carrying the constrictions (52).

7. Seat according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterised in that the pivot-point (34) of the pivotable adjusting lever (32) is located at one end of the adjusting lever (32), and in that the gate-device (38), through which the adjusting lever (32) extends, is installed on that side of the arrangement comprising the valve-actuating pins (28, 30) which is opposite to the pivot-point (34).

8. Seat according to one of claims 2 to 7, with a single, centrally-located pedestal-column (10), characterised in that, in the region of the control-arms (40, 42), which are installed in a scissors-like manner, the adjusting lever (32) is designed as a ring (36), in that the control-arms (40, 42), which are installed in a scissors-like manner, are hinged at two hinge-pins (44, 46), which are spaced apart, and in that the pedestal-column (10) extends through the ring (36) of the adjusting lever (32), and between the hinge-pins of the control-arms (40,42).

9. Seat according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the support (16) holding the seat-back (18) extends beneath the seat-panel (13) and can there be pivoted on the seat-carrier, in the central region about a hinge-pin (14), about which the seat-panel (13) can also be tilted, and in that the first pneumatic spring (20) is fastened to the front edge of the seat-panel (13), and to the seat-carrier (12), while the second pneumatic spring (24) is fastened to the seat-carrier (12), and to the seat-back support (16), in the rear region located beneath seat-panel (13), these fastenings being, in all cases, of an articulated nature.

10. Seat according to one of claims 2 to 9, characterised in that the hinge-pins (44, 46) of the control-arms (40, 42) are located above the valve-actuating pins (28,30).

11. Seat, especially an office chair, with a seat-panel (13) which is installed on a seat-carrier (12) and the inclination of which is adjustable, and with a seat-back (18), the inclination of which is adjustable, a first pneumatic spring (20) acting between the seat-panel (13) and the seat-carrier (12), in order to adjust the seat-panel inclination, and a second pneumatic spring (24) acting between the seat-carrier (12) and the seat-back (18), in order to adjust the seat-back inclination, and it being possible to lock or, as the case may be, to unlock the two pneumatic springs by means of a handle (32), characterised in that the valve-actuating pins (28, 30) of the pneumatic springs (20, 24) are provided at the ends which are associated with the seat-carrier (12) and are arranged opposite one another, and in that a horizontal adjusting lever (32) is mounted, as a handle, on the seat-support (12), extending transversly between the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), this lever being pivotable in the horizontal direction and being capable of being shifted in the longitudinal direction, and engaging, by means of a control-body, between the two valve-actuating pins (28, 30), the control-body coverging, in the longitudinal direction of the seat-carrier, in the manner of a wedge.

12. Seat, especially an office chair, with a seat-panel (13) which is installed on a seat-carrier (12), and the inclination of which is adjustable, and with a seat-back (18), the inclination of which is adjustable, a first pneumatic spring (20) acting between the seat-panel (13) and the seat-carrier (12), in order to adjust the seat-panel inclination, and a second pneumatic spring (24) acting between the seat-carrier (12) and the seat-back (18), in order to adjust the seat-back inclination, and it being possible to lock or, as the case may be, or to unlock the two pneumatic springs by means of a handle (32), characterised in that the valve-actuacting pins (28, 30) of the pneumatic springs (20, 24) are provided at the ends which are associated with the seat-carrier (12) and are arranged opposite one another, and in that a horizontal adjusting lever (32) is mounted, as a handle, on the seat-support (12), extending transversely between the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), this lever being pivotable in the horizontal direction and being capable of being shifted in the longitudinal direction, and in that two control-arms (40,42) are fastened to the seat-carrier (12), these arms being installed so that they can move, in a scissors-like manner, in a horizontal plane containing the valve-actuating pins (28, 30), between which arms the adjusting lever (32), which functions in conjunction with them, engages, while the arms interact, via their outer surface, with the valve-actuating pins (28, 30).

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