Chair and seat body for chair

Abstract

To provide a seat body for a chair with improved durability while maintaining the effect of improving sitting comfort by forming a slit without increasing the thickness and weight of the seat body more than necessary.SOLUTION: The seat body for the chair has a plurality of slits (6,7,8). Each of the plurality of slits has slit end parts 12 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and is formed so as to communicate the upper surface side and the bottom surface side of the seat body by penetrating the seat body 4. At least one slit (side 6A) of the plurality of slits (678,) is provided with a rib 13 surrounding a slit end part 12 of the slit and projecting to the bottom surface (side 4b) side of the seat body. Preferably, the rib 13 is formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape along the peripheral edge of the slit end part 12 formed in a circular shape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to chairs (e.g., meeting chairs, refreshment chairs, cafe chairs, lounge chairs, lobby chairs, etc.), and in particular to a chair seat (abbreviated as "chair seat" or simply "seat"), which is a type of seat component for a chair. [Background technology]

[0002] Improving the comfort of chairs when seated is always a challenge, and various solutions have been proposed to improve or enhance the comfort of chair seats. For example, one solution is to increase the thickness of the urethane in urethane seats, but this has the drawback of reducing stacking efficiency when multiple chairs are stacked. Another solution is to construct the chair seat from a relatively flexible resin such as elastomer, but this softens the entire seat, resulting in a lack of strength in the area where it is attached to the chair support. To address this drawback, another solution is to use a highly rigid resin for the area where the seat is attached to the support, while using a more elastic resin for the seating area, but this approach has the drawback of increasing manufacturing costs.

[0003] Another solution proposed to improve or enhance seating comfort while avoiding the drawbacks described above is to form multiple slits in the seat body. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses multiple rows of slits arranged concentrically in the seat body (seat core 29 in the document) (see Figures 2 and 3 of the document, etc.). A seat body with multiple slits improves seating comfort by allowing the seat body itself to deform appropriately under the load of sitting. However, when slits are formed in the seat body, stress is easily applied to the ends of the slits, which can lead to problems such as cracks starting from the ends of the slits due to repeated load application (a problem of insufficient durability).

[0004] To ensure the durability of a seat body with slits, it has been proposed to (i) extend reinforcing ribs along the periphery of the seat body so as to surround the central region of the seat body, or (ii) form reinforcing ribs along the rows of slits in the areas between the rows of slits (for example, auxiliary rib 49 shown in Figure 2(B) of Patent Document 1). However, providing many long ribs of a certain length leads to an increase in weight. Furthermore, although the slits are provided in the first place in the expectation that the seat body will deform due to the load when sitting, providing many long ribs actually restricts the deformation of the seat body. In this respect, there is a contradiction in providing both slits and long ribs together, and it lacks rational consistency as a seat body design.

[0005] In order to ensure the durability of the seat body with slits, it is also possible to (c) increase the thickness of the resin of the entire seat body. However, increasing the resin thickness not only leads to an increase in the product weight, but also reduces the amount of deformation of the slits when a load is applied, which does not lead to an improvement in seating comfort, and therefore is not an essential solution. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5592171 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a seat body for a chair that maintains the effect of improving comfort by forming slits and also enhances durability without increasing the thickness or weight of the seat body more than necessary, and also to provide a chair equipped with such a seat body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a seat body for a chair that constitutes a seating portion on which a user sits in a chair, the seat body for a chair having an upper surface and a bottom surface and having a plurality of slits, The plurality of slits each have a slit end portion at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and are formed to penetrate the seat body and communicate with the top surface side and the bottom surface side of the seat body, At least one of the plurality of slits is provided with a rib that surrounds the end of the at least one slit and protrudes toward the bottom surface of the seat body.

[0009] The seat body for a chair of the present invention is preferably configured as follows. (i) The slit end of at least one of the slits is formed as a hole that penetrates the seat body and has a contour that is curved at least in part without corners, and the rib is formed along the periphery of the slit end that has a contour that is curved at least in part without corners. (b) The "outline having no corners and at least a curved portion" is a circle, an ellipse, an oval, or an oval. (c) The slit end of the at least one slit is formed as a circular hole penetrating the seat body, and the rib is formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape along the periphery of the circular slit end. (iv) The inner diameter (D) of the rib formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape is set to 1.5 to 6 times the width (W) of the slit, and more preferably, 2 to 5 times.

[0010] The present invention also provides a chair having a seat body for a chair as described above and legs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, in a seat for a chair having a plurality of slits, by providing a rib in at least one of the plurality of slits that surrounds the slit end of the slit and protrudes toward the bottom surface of the seat, it is possible to increase the durability of the seat without increasing the thickness or weight of the seat more than necessary, and while maintaining the effect of improving sitting comfort achieved by forming the slits. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from its underside (bottom side). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a seating body according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a seating support according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] (A) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 2, and (B) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Figure 2. [Figure 5] (A) is a perspective view of the seat from the bottom side, and (B) is an enlarged view of a portion of (A). [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one slit and its surroundings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the chair of this embodiment is composed of legs 1, a backrest 2, and a seating portion 3 on which the user sits. The seating portion 3 has at least a seat body 4 that serves as its core material. In addition to the seat body 4, the seating portion 3 can also have cushioning material and / or a cover material (neither of which are shown) as needed. The seat body 4 is a resin molded product made of synthetic resin. Examples of synthetic resins that can be used for the seat body include polypropylene, ABS, polyamide, and compounds made by blending these resins with fillers (such as glass or talc).

[0014] 2 to 5 show an overview of the overall structure of the seat body 4. As shown in these figures, the seat body 4 is a plate-like member that is generally rectangular in plan view and has a certain thickness, and has an upper surface 4a and a bottom (lower surface) 4b. The seat body 4 is given a gentle curve in both the front-to-back direction and the left-to-right direction (width direction) to provide a seat surface that is comfortable to sit on (see Fig. 4 (A) and (B)). The bottom surface 4b of the seat body 4 is provided with a mounting structure 5 on the periphery of the seat body for mounting (or connecting) the other components that make up the seating section 3, the legs 1, etc.; however, as this mounting structure 5 is well known, a description of this mounting structure 5 will be omitted.

[0015] A number of slits (6, 7, 8) are formed in the central region of the seat body 4 (the region inside the periphery of the seat body 4). These slits vary in shape, size (length), and direction of extension, but are generally grouped into three groups: The first slit group G1 is composed of a plurality of slits 6 located approximately in the center of the seat body 4 and arranged along the center line L of the seat body 4 (a line extending in the front-to-back direction while dividing the seat body 4 into left and right halves).

[0016] The second slit group G2 is present in the left region of the seat body to the left of the first slit group G1, The third slit group G3 is present in the right region of the seat body to the right of the first slit group G1. The second and third slit groups each include a plurality of slits 7 that are slightly inclined but extend generally in the width direction, and a plurality of slits 8 that are arranged to surround these slits 7 and extend generally in the front-to-rear direction. However, the plurality of slits (7, 8) that make up the second slit group G2 and the plurality of slits (7, 8) that make up the third slit group G3 are arranged so as to be symmetrical in shape, size (length), extension direction, etc., with the center line L as the line of symmetry. The second slit group G2 and the third slit group G3 correspond to the meat mass on the left and right sides of the user's buttocks (buttocks), respectively.

[0017] Although the slits (6, 7, 8) provided in the seat body 4 vary in shape, size (length), and extension direction, they share common structural features as far as the structure that constitutes the gist of the present invention is concerned. This common structural feature will be explained below, focusing on one of the slits 6 (6A) that constitutes the first slit group G1.

[0018] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the slit 6A as seen from the bottom side of the seat body 4. As shown in this figure, the slit 6A has a slit main body 11 extending in the longitudinal direction and two slit end portions 12 located at both ends of the slit main body 11. Each slit end portion 12 has a circular shape in a plan view, and the inner diameter D of this circle is larger than the width dimension W of the slit main body 12 (in the slit 6A in FIG. 6, the inner diameter D of the slit end portion 12 is set to approximately 3.5 times the width W of the slit main body 11). The slit 6A is formed to penetrate the seat body 4 in its thickness direction at all portions of the slit main body 11 and the slit end portions 12, and the slit 6A connects the top and bottom sides of the seat body 4. In this way, the slit end portions 12 are provided as circular holes penetrating the seat body 4. Note that a circular shape is one form of the "contour having no corners and at least a curved portion" referred to in this application.

[0019] As shown in Figure 6, a rib 13 is provided at each of the slit ends 12. This rib 13 protrudes toward the bottom surface 4b of the seat body and is provided so as to surround the periphery of the circular slit end 12. In other words, the rib 13 is formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape. Incidentally, a "Landolt ring" is the C mark used on vision test charts. The location where the ring is broken in the C-shaped or Landolt ring-shaped rib 13 corresponds to the connection position between the slit end 12 and the slit main body 11.

[0020] In this embodiment, the inner diameter D of the C-shaped or Landolt ring-shaped rib 13 is the same as the inner diameter D of the slit end 12. In the present invention, the inner diameter (D) of the circular slit end and the inner diameter (D) of the C-shaped or Landolt ring-shaped rib are preferably set to about 1.5 to 6 times, more preferably 2 to 5 times, the width (W) of the slit main body.

[0021] The structural features (including the shape of the ribs, etc.) of the slit 6A described with reference to Figure 6 also apply to the other slits 6 that make up the first slit group, as well as to many of the slits (7, 8) that make up the second and third slit groups.

[0022] According to this embodiment, the following excellent effects can be achieved. (a) The slit end 12 is formed as a circular hole penetrating the seat body 4, so that the force (or load) is prevented from concentrating locally and is dispersed more effectively than when the slit end 12 is, for example, wedge-shaped or polygonal. This prevents cracks from occurring at the slit end 12 as much as possible, thereby improving the durability of the seat body 4. The fact that the inner diameter D of the circular slit end 12 is sufficiently large relative to the width W of the slit main body 11 also contributes to improving durability.

[0023] (b) In addition to the circular shape of the slit end 12, the formation of the C-shaped or Landolt ring-shaped rib 13 at the slit end 12 increases the mechanical strength of the slit end 12 and further enhances its resistance to concentrated forces. This makes it possible to prevent cracks from occurring at the slit end 12 as much as possible and improve the durability of the seat body 4. Furthermore, the fact that the inner diameter D of the circular slit end 12 and the inner diameter D of the C-shaped or Landolt ring-shaped rib 13 are sufficiently large relative to the width W of the slit main body 11 greatly contributes to further improving durability.

[0024] (c) The ribs 13 are provided only on the slit ends 12, and in this embodiment, no long ribs are provided along the slit main body 11 (or extending approximately parallel to the slit main body). In other words, the slits are mechanically reinforced while avoiding the inconvenience of increasing weight or restricting the deformability of the seat body that would be caused by employing long ribs. Therefore, with the seat body 4 of this embodiment, durability can be increased without increasing the weight of the seat body 4 more than necessary, while maintaining the effect of improving sitting comfort due to the formation of the slits.

[0025] [Example of change] In the above embodiment, the slit end 12 and the rib 13 are described as being basically circular, but the shape of these (12, 13) is not limited to circular, and may be elliptical, oblong, or oval. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1 leg 2 Backrest 3 Seating area 4 Seat 4a Top of seat 4b Bottom surface of seat 6,6A Slits (first slit group G1) 7 slits (second slit group G2, third slit group G3) 8 slits (second slit group G2, third slit group G3) 11 Slit body 12 Slit end 13 Ribs

Claims

1. A seat body for a chair for forming a seating portion on which a user sits in a chair, the seat body for a chair having an upper surface and a bottom surface and having a plurality of slits, The plurality of slits each have a slit end portion at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and are formed to penetrate the seat body and communicate with the top surface side and the bottom surface side of the seat body, A seat body for a chair, characterized in that at least one of the plurality of slits is provided with a rib that surrounds the slit end of the at least one slit and protrudes toward the bottom surface of the seat body.

2. 2. The seat body for a chair according to claim 1, wherein a slit end of the at least one slit is formed as a hole that penetrates the seat body and has a curved contour at least in part without corners, and the rib is formed along a periphery of the slit end that has a curved contour at least in part without corners.

3. 3. The seat body for a chair according to claim 2, wherein the "contour having no corners and at least a part of a curved shape" is a circular shape, an elliptical shape, an oval shape, or an oval shape.

4. 2. The seat body for a chair according to claim 1, wherein a slit end of the at least one slit is formed as a circular hole penetrating the seat body, and the rib is formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape along the periphery of the circular slit end.

5. 5. The seat body for a chair according to claim 4, wherein the inner diameter (D) of the rib formed in a C-shape or a Landolt ring shape is set to 1.5 to 6 times the width (W) of the slit.

6. A chair comprising the seat body for a chair according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and legs.

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