Chair with armrests

Abstract

To prevent the degradation in the aesthetic appearance due to the exposure of a head of a fastening bolt in a chair formed by attaching a backrest and an arm rest to a column part of a tilting frame.SOLUTION: A tilting frame 10 connected to a base in a freely backward tiltable manner comprises: right and left column parts 12; and an upper stay 14. A lower shell body 18 constituting a backrest 3 is positioned with respect to the column parts 12 by fitting a dovetail groove female shaped rail part 22 to a dovetail tenon male shaped rail part 23, and in this state, the upper stay 14 and the lower shell body 18 are fastened to each other with a bolt. A boss part 40 of an elbow body 36 is fitted from above into the column part 12 through a relay holder 39. The relay holder 39 is fixed to the column part 12 with a first bolt 44 that faces forward, and the elbow body 36 is fixed to the relay holder 39 with a second bolt that faces downward. The chair is excellent in the aesthetic appearance since a head of any of the bolts 44, 45 is not exposed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a chair with armrests. [Background technology]

[0002] In chairs, the positioning of armrests is often such that the armrests protrude from the backrest. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method in which left and right support pillars are formed on a backrest support body to which the backrest is attached, the backrest is fixed to the left and right support pillars, and arm bodies are integrally formed at the upper ends of the left and right support pillars of the backrest support body so as to protrude forward, and arm pads are attached to the arm bodies. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-10937 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, there is no armrest support, which has the advantage of providing an overall sleek appearance. However, because the armrest body is formed integrally with the backrest support, the mold for manufacturing the backrest support has to be large and complex, which results in increased costs.

[0005] Regarding this point, it is conceivable to manufacture the armrest separately from the backrest support body and fix the armrest to the backrest support body with a bolt. By manufacturing the armrest as a separate member in this way, when attaching an operating lever operated by a wire cable to the inside of the armrest, it is said that it is easy to realize the wiring structure of the wire cable. Furthermore, it is easy to apply it to a type without armrests, a fixed arm type, or a movable arm type. BecomingThis method also has the advantage of making it easier to vary the design of the armrest device. However, there is a concern that the bolt heads exposed to the outside may spoil the aesthetic appearance.

[0006] The present invention has been made to improve this current situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention includes the structures of the claims, and the invention of claim 1 is as follows: "The seat includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, and the tilting frame is provided on both the left and right sides of the backrest. From behind or from the outside It has left and right support parts that are covered, and armrests are attached to the support parts. In this configuration, "The support column has a hollow structure that opens upward, and a hollow intermediate member is inserted from above into the support column, and a part of the elbow body is inserted from above into the intermediate member, and the elbow body Part of The above Long in the axial direction of the support By downward or upward bolt The relay member While it is fixed, The relay member is arranged so that the head is hidden by the side of the backrest. the head toward the side of the backrest so as to The first bolt is fixed to the support. Unable to move up and down It’s fixed.” It is given the following characteristics.

[0008] Claim 2 states: "The seat includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, and the tilting frame has left and right support parts that are covered by the left and right side parts of the backrest, The support column has a hollow structure that opens upward, and a relay member is disposed inside the support column. Armrest The elbow body is fixed by a downward or upward bolt, The relay member is fixed to the support by a first bolt whose head is hidden by the side of the backrest. In this basic configuration, "The relay member is cup-shaped and opens upward, while the elbow body is formed with a boss portion that fits into the relay member from above, and the boss portion is fixed to the relay member by the second bolt that faces downward or upward." The structure is as follows.

[0009] Also, claims 3 has the same basic structure as claim 2 In "The backrest and the support pillar are held together by a dovetail-shaped female rail portion and a dovetail-shaped male rail portion that fit together from above and below, and the head of the first bolt is located at the point where the male rail portion and the female rail portion fit together." The structure is as follows.

[0010] Furthermore, the invention of claim 4 has the same basic configuration as claim 2, " The elbow body is formed with a boss portion that fits into the intermediate member from above, An operating lever for controlling the movable member of the chair is attached to the underside of the armrest, and a hole is provided in the boss and relay member through which a wire cable for transmitting the movement of the operating lever to the control unit of the movable member can be inserted. The structure is as follows. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In the present invention, the elbow body is fixed to the support post via a relay member built into the support post. The head of the first bolt that fixes the relay member is hidden by the backrest and cannot be seen. bolt( Second Bolt ) The bolts face either downward or upward; when a downward bolt is used, it can be hidden by the elbow pad, whereas when an upward bolt is used, it is usually not visible to the public even if it is exposed downward; it can also be made invisible from the outside by covering it with a cover or hiding it in a countersink.

[0012] Therefore, in the present invention, the cantilever-shaped armrest protruding forward from the support portion can be attached in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

[0013] The relay member may be formed, for example, in a block shape. 1,2 Like a cup Hollow etc. Formed into This includes the elbow body ( Boss ) When the relay member is inserted, Elbow body ( Boss ) This has the advantage of improving the unity with the base and improving the fixing strength.

[0014] By adopting the configuration of claim 3, the head of the first bolt is hidden by utilizing the fitting portion between the backrest and the support portion, thereby improving the fixing strength between the backrest and the support portion (tilting frame) while improving the aesthetic appearance of the armrest.

[0015] The armrest of the present invention can be fitted with an operating lever for adjusting the height, etc., just like in Patent Document 1, but by adopting the configuration of claim 4, the wire cable that transmits the movement of the operating lever can be inserted inside the support part, which also contributes to improving the aesthetic appearance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing the appearance of a chair according to an embodiment, in which (A) is a perspective view seen from the front, (B) is a side view, and (C) is a perspective view seen from the rear. [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are perspective views in which some components are separated, and 1B is a perspective view showing the framework. [Diagram 3] 1A is a perspective view of the back shell body and the tilting frame separated from each other, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the tilting frame. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] (A) is a perspective view of the chair from below, (B) is an exploded perspective view of the armrest, and (C) is a bottom view of the armrest. [Figure 6] 1A is a perspective view showing an armrest, a tilting frame, and a back shell body separated from each other, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing an armrest separated from each other. [Figure 7] 13(A) and (B) are exploded perspective views showing the mounting structure of the armrest. [Figure 8] 1A is an exploded perspective view of the armrest, and FIG. 1B is a plan view with the armrest removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this application, the terms front, back, left and right are used to specify directions, but these are based on the state seen from a person normally sitting on a chair. The front view is the direction facing the seated person.

[0018] (1) Overview of the chair First, the chair will be outlined with reference mainly to Figs. 1 to 4. As shown in Fig. 1, the chair comprises, as main elements, a leg device 1, a seat 2, and a backrest 3, with a headrest 4 disposed above the backrest 3. The chair of this embodiment also comes standard with armrests 5. The leg device 1 has a leg support 6 made of a gas cylinder and branches extending in radial directions, with casters provided at the tip of each branch. A roughly box-shaped base 7 opening upward is fixed to the upper end of the leg support 6.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2(B), a front block 8 made of resin or die-cast aluminum is fixed to the front end of the base 7 with bolts, and a pair of left and right front links 9 are attached to the front block 8 via front shafts so that they can tilt rearward.

[0020] 2(B), forward-facing arm sections 11 of a tilting frame 10 are disposed on both the left and right sides of the base 7, and the forward-facing arm sections 11 are connected to the base 7 by hollow shafts (not shown) so as to be able to tilt backward. In addition, left and right support sections 12 are provided at the rear of the tilting frame 10, and the backrest 3 and armrests 5 are attached to the support sections 12.

[0021] As described above, the front end of the forward arm 11 constituting the tilting frame 10 is connected to the base 7 via the left and right longitudinal hollow shaft, so that the backrest 3 tilts rearward around the front end of the tilting frame 10. A torsion bar (not shown) as an example of spring means is built into the hollow shaft, and the tilting frame 10 tilts rearward against the elasticity of the torsion bar.

[0022] 4, in the tilting frame 10, a lower stay 13 and an upper stay 14 that are gently curved so as to bulge backward (concave forward) in plan view are integrally connected to the left and right support parts 12, and the left and right support parts 12 and the upper and lower stay parts 13, 14 form the base of the tilting frame 10, and separate forward arm parts 11 are fixed to both left and right ends of the base (the forward arm part 11 may be formed integrally with the base). The base and forward arm part 11 of the tilting frame 10 are each an aluminum die-cast product, but resin products can also be used.

[0023] The seat 2 has a structure in which a cushion body is stretched over a resin seat plate 15, a part of which is shown in Fig. 1(B), and the seat plate 15 is attached to a seat support shell body 16 disposed below it. The front part of the seat support shell body 16 is connected to the above-mentioned front link 9 by a left-right long pin, and the rear part of the seat support shell body 16 is connected to a left-right long pin to a rear link 17 protruding upward from the forward arm 11 of the tilting frame 10. Therefore, when the backrest 3 tilts backward, the seat 2 also tilts backward while moving backward.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 3, the backrest 3 has a back shell body 20 consisting of a lower shell body 18 and an upper shell body 19 made of synthetic resin, and as shown in Fig. 2(A), a cushion body 21 is disposed on the front surface of the back shell body 20. The back shell body 20 and the cushion body 21 are entirely covered with a bag-shaped skin material (not shown). The skin material is omitted in Figs. 1 and 2, etc. Note that, although the back shell body is composed of upper and lower shells 18, 19 in this embodiment, it may be composed as a single unit.

[0025] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower part of the lower shell body 18 protrudes forward, and as shown in FIG. (i.e., on the left and right sides of the backrest 3) A dovetail-shaped female rail portion 22 is formed on the rear surface of the support portion 12 of the tilting frame 10, and a dovetail-shaped male rail portion 23 is integrally formed on the rear surface of the support portion 12 of the tilting frame 10, into which the female rail portion 22 fits from above. Therefore, the left and right sides of the backrest 3 are located behind the support pillars 12.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 3, the upper stay 14 of the tilting frame 10 is formed with a left-right long positioning protrusion 24 and a left-right long groove frame body 25 that opens up and down, while the lower surface of the lower shell body 18 is formed with a downward recess 26 into which the positioning protrusion 24 and the groove frame body 25 fit. The upper stay 14 and the lower shell body 18 are fastened with a plurality of bolts (three bolts) spaced apart from each other on the left and right. A bolt insertion hole 28 is shown in Fig. 3, and the bolt is screwed into a nut arranged on the lower shell body 18.

[0027] In the end, the lower shell body 18 (or the backrest 3) is fastened to the upper stay 14 with bolts while its posture is maintained by fitting the male and female rail portions 22, 23 together. The bolts are screwed in from below, so the head is not visible to the public. The groove frame body 25 is fitted with a lever 30 (see FIG. 3(B)) for vertically moving the lumbar pad 29 shown in FIG. 2(A)(B).

[0028] As shown in Fig. 3(B), the lower stay 13 of the tilting frame 10 has an inverted L-shaped cross section, and by arranging a center cover 31 and a side cover 32 on its underside, a horizontally elongated recess that opens forward is formed in the lower stay 13. The center cover 32 is fixed to the lower stay 13 with screws 33, and the side cover 32 is engaged with the lower stay 13 and is held down by the center cover 25. The side cover 32 also covers the underside of the forward arm 11.

[0029] (2) Basic structure of armrest Next, the armrest 5 will be described mainly with reference to Figures 5 to 8. First, the basic structure will be described. As shown in Figure 5(B), the armrest 5 has an arm body 36 attached to the support 12 of the tilting frame 10, and an arm pad 38 attached to the arm body 36 via an inner lid 37. The arm body 36 is made of aluminum or resin, and has the shape of a long container that opens upward and is elongated from front to back. An operating mechanism is located inside (this will be described later).

[0030] As described above, the support column 12 has a hollow structure, and as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a boss body 40 that fits into the support column 12 via a bottomed cylindrical relay holder 39 is integrally formed with the elbow body 36. To be precise, since the support column 12 has a rectangular cylindrical (trapezoidal) shape that is slightly elongated in the front-rear direction, the relay holder 39 and boss body 40 also have a rectangular shape that is slightly elongated in the front-rear direction. The relay holder 39 is a specific example of a relay member recited in the claims.

[0031] The intermediate holder 39 has a flange 41 that overlaps the upper surface of the support column 12, and two tapped holes 43 are formed at the top and bottom of the rear surface that overlaps the rear surface of the support column 12, and a first bolt (screw) 44 that faces forward and penetrates from the rear into the male rail portion 23 formed on the rear surface of the support column 12 is screwed into the tapped hole 43. Therefore, the intermediate holder 39 is fixed to the support column 12 by the first bolt 44. The first bolt 44 is in a horizontal position.

[0032] The boss portion 40 has a bolt insertion hole 46 through which a downward-facing second bolt (screw) 45 is inserted, and an upper relief hole 47 through which the wire cable is inserted. The lower surface of the boss portion 40 overlaps the bottom portion 39a of the relay holder 39 from above, and the bottom portion 39a of the relay holder 39 has a nut holding groove 49 that non-rotatably holds a nut 48 into which the second bolt 45 is screwed, and a lower relief hole 50 through which the wire cable is inserted. The elbow body 36 is therefore fixed to the relay holder 39 by the second bolt 45.

[0033] As mentioned above, the tilting frame 10 is an aluminum die-cast product, and the support portion 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape. However, while the support portion 12 is deep, the boss portion 40 does not need to be very tall. Therefore, if the intermediate holder 39 did not exist, the boss portion 40 would have to be directly fixed with a horizontal bolt inserted into the support portion 12, which would result in the bolt head being exposed to the outside, detracting from the aesthetic appearance.

[0034] In contrast, when the intermediate holder 39 is used as in the embodiment, the head of the first bolt 44 for fixing the intermediate holder 39 is fixed by the back shell body 20 (lower shell body 18) constituting the backrest 3. From behind Since the head of the second bolt 45 that secures the boss portion 40 to the relay holder 39 is hidden inside the boss portion 40 and cannot be seen from the outside, the elbow body 36 can be secured to the support portion 12 without spoiling the aesthetic appearance. Note that a tapped hole may be formed in the relay holder 39 instead of attaching the nut 48. Conversely, a nut into which the first bolt 44 screws may be attached to the relay holder 39.

[0035] (3) Armrest operating mechanism As mentioned above, the chair has leg supports 6 made of gas cylinders, so that the height of the seat 2 and backrest 3 can be adjusted by extending or retracting the leg supports 6. The chair also has a tilt control mechanism that switches the backrest 3 between a free state in which it can be tilted freely and a locked state in which it is held at a specific angle. The height adjustment mechanism and tilt control mechanism are operated via a wire cable that has a wire slidably inserted through a tube.

[0036] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5(A), a first operating lever 51 is attached to the underside of the right armrest 5 so as to be horizontally rotatable, and a second operating lever 52 is attached to the underside of the left armrest 5 so as to be horizontally rotatable, with the first operating lever 51 operating a first wire for tilt control and the second operating lever 52 operating a second wire for lifting and lowering operation (the left and right may be reversed). Next, the operating mechanism that pulls the wires with the operating levers 51, 52 will be described. Note that the left and right operating mechanisms are the same in structure, except that they are symmetrical, so the right armrest 5 will be described.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 8, the operating mechanism includes a shallow dish-shaped base plate 53 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and is disposed in a recess in the elbow body 36. The base plate 53 includes a lever member (link plate) 54 that is elongated in the front-rear direction. but , and is connected to the arm 36 by a support shaft (screw) 55 so as to rotate horizontally around its rear end. The base plate 53 is fixed to the arm body 36 at a portion near the rear end by a screw 56. The front part of the base plate 53 is held in place by the engagement of a positioning pin 57 with a positioning hole 58 so that it cannot shift.

[0038] The lever member 54 is a resin molded product, a die-cast product, or a processed sheet metal product, and in the neutral state, is inclined in a plan view so that the tip is closer to the seat 2. The first operating lever 51 and the portion of the lever member 54 near the tip are fixed with two screws 59, one at the front and one at the back. The screws 59 are screwed into a stepped boss portion 60 that protrudes upward from the first operating lever 51, and the stepped boss portion 60 passes through an elongated hole 61 formed in the elbow body 36 and the base plate 53. The elongated hole 61 is formed in an arc with the support shaft 55 as its center.

[0039] Therefore, when the first operating lever 51 is pulled in the opposite direction (outward) from the seat 2 with the fingertip placed on it, the first operating lever 51 rotates. The lever member 54 is pulled by the base plate 53 by the spring 62 so as to return to the neutral position in which it is tilted inward.

[0040] One end of a first wire cable 63a for tilting operation is fixed to the base plate 53. That is, the first wire cable 63a includes a tube 64 and a wire 65 inserted therethrough, a locking device 66 is fixed to one end of the tube 64, and a ball 67 is fixed to one end of the wire 65. One end of the first wire cable 63a is disposed on the inside of the base plate 53 near the seat 2 in a longitudinal direction, but the locking device 66 is attached to a holder portion 53a formed on the base plate 53 so as not to slip, and the ball 67 is locked to an inward protruding portion 54a formed on the lever member 54.

[0041] 8(B), an annular groove 66a is formed in the locking device 66, while a rib 53b into which the annular groove 66a fits is formed in the holder portion 53a, thereby holding the locking device 66 so that it cannot come off. Also, a ball retaining hole 68 into which the ball 67 fits from above and a wire passing groove 69 communicating with the ball retaining hole 68 are formed in the inward protruding portion 54a of the lever member 54, and the wire passing groove 69 is cut in the circumferential direction to hold the ball 67 so that it cannot slip out upward.

[0042] The first wire cable 63a passes through the upper escape hole 47 provided in the boss portion 40 of the elbow body 36 and the lower escape hole 50 provided in the relay holder 39 to reach the inside of the support portion 12, and then passes through a passage hole 70 (see FIG. 11(A)) formed in the lower end portion of the support portion 12 to reach above the base 8. In other words, the first wire cable 63a is pulled into the inside of the elbow body 36 from the support portion 12 through the relay holder 39 and the boss portion 40.

[0043] 8, side engagement claws 53c are provided on both the left and right sides of the base plate 53 so as to protrude upward, and a rear engagement protrusion 53d is provided on the rear end of the base plate 53. The inner lid 37 is attached using these engagement claws 53c and engagement protrusions 53d so as not to shift forward, backward, left or right.

[0044] In this embodiment, the operating levers 51, 52 are arranged on the underside of the armrest 5 so as to be horizontally rotatable, and therefore, it is sufficient for the operating levers 51, 52 to protrude downward to a degree that allows the fingertips to rest on them. Therefore, it is possible to make the operating levers 51, 52 as inconspicuous as possible, thereby realizing a streamlined design.

[0045] As a reference example of this embodiment, it is possible to fix the boss portion 40 to the support portion 12 with the first bolt 44 without using the intermediate holder 39. Even with this configuration, the head of the first bolt 44 is hidden by the backrest 3, so that the aesthetic appearance can be prevented from being deteriorated. However, in this case, the armrest 5 is fixed to the support portion 12 first, and then the lower shell body 18 is fixed, so that the large lower shell body 18 is fixed to the male shape of the support portion 12. Rail section When fitting the lower shell body 18 into the elbow 23, the lower end of the lower shell body 18 may hit the rear end of the elbow body 36, causing damage to the elbow body 36.

[0046] In contrast, when the intermediate holder 39 is used as in the embodiment, the intermediate holder 39 is first fixed to the support 12, the backrest 3 is then assembled, and the armrest body 36 is then attached, so that the armrest 5 can be prevented from being damaged (since the armrest body 36 is light, it can be carefully attached to the support 12 so as not to hit the backrest. Also, since the backrest 3 is covered with a skin material, it will not be damaged if the armrest 5 hits it. thing (There is no need to worry about this.) In this way, the present invention also has advantages in the assembly process. Repairs and replacement of the armrest 5 can also be easily performed.

[0047] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various other ways. For example, the backrest can be a type in which a mesh material is stretched over a frame body that is open at the front and back. The tilting frame does not need to have upper and lower stays as in the embodiment.

[0048] The first bolt is in a forward-facing position, but if the support part of the tilting frame is covered from the left and right outer sides by the left and right side parts of the backrest, it can be in a roughly left-right longitudinal position. It is also possible to use multiple first bolts, with some first bolts facing sideways and others facing forward. The first bolts may be inclined relative to the horizontal. The armrest in the embodiment is in a cantilever shape, but a loop structure can also be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0049] The present invention is embodied in a chair. in Therefore, it can be used industrially. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 2nd seat 3. Backrest 5 Armrest 10 Tilting Frame 12 Support section 14 Upper stay of tilting frame 22 Female rail section 23 Male rail section 36 Elbow body 39 Intermediate Holder 40 Elbow body boss 32 tapped holes 44 First Bolt 45 Second Bolt 47,50 Relief hole (wire cable insertion hole)

Claims

1. The seatback includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, the tilting frame has left and right support pillars that are covered from behind or from the left and right outer sides by the left and right sides of the backrest, and armrests are attached to the support pillars, The support column has a hollow structure that opens upward, and a hollow intermediate member is inserted from above into the support column, and a part of the elbow body is inserted from above into the intermediate member, and the part of the elbow body is fixed to the intermediate member by a bolt that is long in the axial direction of the support column and faces downward or upward. The relay member is fixed to the support column by a first bolt that faces the head toward the side of the backrest so that the head is hidden by the side of the backrest. chair.

2. A seatback includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, the tilting frame having left and right support pillars covered by the left and right side portions of the backrest, The support pillar is a hollow structure that opens upward, and the armrest body of the armrest is fixed to the intermediate member disposed inside the support pillar by a downward or upward bolt. The relay member is fixed to the support column by a first bolt whose head is hidden by a side portion of the backrest, The relay member is cup-shaped and opens upward, while the elbow body is formed with a boss portion that fits into the relay member from above, and the boss portion is fixed to the relay member by the downward or upward second bolt. Chair with armrests.

3. A seatback includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, the tilting frame having left and right support pillars covered by the left and right side portions of the backrest, The support pillar is a hollow structure that opens upward, and the armrest body of the armrest is fixed to the intermediate member disposed inside the support pillar by a downward or upward bolt. The relay member is fixed to the support column by a first bolt whose head is hidden by a side portion of the backrest, The backrest and the support pillar are fitted from above and below with a female rail part in the form of a dovetail groove and a tenon part in the form of a dovetail groove. and the head of the first bolt is located at a position where the male rail portion and the female rail portion are fitted together. Chair with armrests.

4. A seatback includes a tilting frame connected to a base so as to be tiltable backward, and a backrest attached to the tilting frame, the tilting frame having left and right support pillars covered by the left and right side portions of the backrest, The support pillar is a hollow structure that opens upward, and the armrest body of the armrest is fixed to the intermediate member disposed inside the support pillar by a downward or upward bolt. The relay member is fixed to the support column by a first bolt whose head is hidden by a side portion of the backrest, A boss portion is formed on the armrest body, which fits into the inside of the relay member from above, and an operating lever for controlling the movable member of the chair is attached to the underside of the armrest, and an escape hole is provided in the boss portion and the relay member, through which a wire cable for transmitting the movement of the operating lever to the control unit of the movable member is inserted. Chair with armrests.

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