Forward sliding reclining chair

Abstract

An office chair includes a seat and a backrest that are pivotally connected together at a pivot axis such that the backrest can pivot with respect to the seat between an upright position and a reclining position. The seat is mounted on a base such that the seat can move with respect to a base, and the seat includes front and rear portions that can pivot with respect to one another. When the backrest is pivoted from the upright position to the reclining position, both of the seat and the pivot axis move forward with respect to said base, and the seat front portion flexes with respect to the seat rear portion such that the angle between said upward faces of said seat front portion and the seat rear portion increases. The backrest may also include an upper portion and a lower portion that can pivot with respect to one another. When the backrest is moved to the recline position, the angle between the forward faces of the upper and lower backrest portions decreases.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to an improved reclining swiveling task chair of the type used in offices.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Modern reclining office chairs can be quite comfortable for many people, and, due to advances in recline technology, can be comfortable for users sitting in various positions from upright to reclined. However, common office chair recline mechanisms may not be fully accommodating for certain users that prefer to work in a reclined position with the body stretched into a straightened form. For example, it is common to see a designer or computer programmer in an extremely reclined position where they have slid forward into a position where their buttocks is supported only by the front edge of their chair seat and their back is only supported in the upper back area by the chair backrest support. With their feet on the floor, the seat front edge is serving as a ledge for the user's buttocks to stop them from sliding completely off t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The above noted movement of the chair of the present invention provides good back and upper leg support for a user from full upright to an extreme reclined position. More particularly, the progressive bending of the back support in the area just below the user's shoulders maintains the user's head and shoulders substantially upright while the user moves from fully upright to a reclined posture, and the progressive bending of the back support in the area just below the user's shoulders maintains support to the user's lower back while the user moves from fully upright to a reclined posture. The bending of the seat portion of the chair relieves pressure from under the user's upper legs as the user moves from fully upright to a fully reclined position.

[0014]In another embodiment, the chair includes a lumbar pressure arm and the backrest includes a lumbar support having a surface for supporting the seated user's lower back area. The lumbar support is mounted on a support arm, and the support arm is pivotally mounted to the backrest. The lumbar pressure arm is mounted to the chair and configured to engage the lumbar support arm as the backrest rotates from the upright position to the reclined position. The rotation of the backrest to the reclining position increases the engagement force of the lumbar support arm on the pressure arm, and consequently moves the lumbar support towards a seated user's lower back. The adjustable lumbar support device can thus move forwardly with respect to the chair backrest as the user moves from fully upright to a reclined posture to maintain engagement with the user's back.

[0015]In yet another embodiment, the movements of the chair can be controlled with electrically powered motion for moving the user from fully upright to intermediate positions or a fully reclined position and returning back to the fully upright position with reduced effort.

Problems solved by technology

However, common office chair recline mechanisms may not be fully accommodating for certain users that prefer to work in a reclined position with the body stretched into a straightened form.

Typical reclining office chairs provide substantially planar seat support and back support surfaces that may adequately support the user when the user sits upright, but they do not provide adequate contours and / or bends that will support a user in the above described reclined body position.

This may limit or eliminate the effectiveness of the lumbar support while increasing the pressure of the buttocks on the seat ledge.

Unfortunately, the user sacrifices proper lower back and upper leg support to achieve this working position.

However, neither the seat nor the backrest of this chair conform to the shaped of a user in the above noted reclined body position.

Also, the upper back of a user in this chair tends to fall away from the user's computer monitor, moving the user's eyes significantly rearward.

Similarly, the upper back of a user in this chair tends to fall away from the user's computer monitor and other objects sitting on the user's worksurface, moving the user's eyes significantly rearward.

However, the seat and backrest do not move forward as backrest reclines, leaving the seat out of position, and the backrest (and any lumbar support) spaced away from the back of a person in the above noted recline position.

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