Lumbar support stretching device suitable for seat, lumbar support and seat

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of design and manufacturing of seats. The present disclosure is achieved through the following technical solution: a lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat includes a backrest frame, and further includes a pneumatic assembly installed on the backrest frame and an X frame connected thereto, the X frame stretches and retracts along a horizontal front-rear direction while the pneumatic assembly moves. The objective of the present disclosure is to provide a lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat, a lumbar support and the seat to overcome defects in the prior art. When a user moves back and forth on the seat, the lumbar support is configured to move in synchronization with the user while maintaining a close fit to the lumbar and back region of the human body.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of design and manufacturing of seats, in particular to a lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat, a lumbar support and the seat.BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Seats are a type of furniture that is widely used in daily life and at work, typically including bases, backrests, supporting structures, armrests, and other components. In order to meet the personalized requirements of people and to bring more comfortable and healthier user experience, structures and functions of the seats are constantly being improved. When users sit the seats, they often rely on the bases and the backrests for the support of their buttocks and backs, whereas support for lumbar regions is relatively insufficient. In this way, muscles and vertebrae in lumbar and back regions of human bodies will withstand the burdens from weights of the upper bodies, which, if sustained over time, will lead to lumbar muscle strain and vertebral lesions, resulting in inconvenience in daily life, work, and learning.

[0003] In recent years, the seats with lumbar supports have been appearing in the market in order to provide support force to the lumbar regions, for which the lumbar supports are connected to the bases or the backrests to provide good support for users' lumbar regions, allowing the users to maintain straight postures and providing excellent protection for lumbar vertebrae. However, the existing seats with the lumbar supports suffer from a defect of poor degree of fit between the lumbar supports and the human bodies. Specifically, when the users' sitting postures are adjusted, such as by body creep, the lumbar supports usually may not stretch and retract for adjustment with movements of the human bodies, and are unable to effectively maintain a close fit to the human bodies for supporting the lumbar regions, and the usage effect of the lumbar supports is therefore relatively unsatisfactory.

[0004] In order to allow the lumbar supports to constantly support the lumbar and back regions of the human bodies, elastic members are used to act on the lumbar supports, allowing the lumbar supports to have both elasticity and displacement. However, there are two defects to this technical solution: on one hand, many elastic members provide elastic force using components, such as springs. However, the elastic force of the springs, affected by the Hooke's law, is unable to provide sustained and stable elastic force, with the elastic force varying with changes in positions. On the other hand, the movement direction of the lumbar supports is often rotational in the prior art, such as rotation in the horizontal direction, whereas the movement of the human bodies does not follow a rotational path. Consequently, the movement trajectory of the lumbar supports does not align well with the natural movement trajectory of the human bodies.SUMMARY

[0005] The objective of the present disclosure is to provide a lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat, a lumbar support and the seat to overcome defects in the prior art. When a user moves back and forth on the seat, the lumbar support is configured to move in synchronization with the user while maintaining a close fit to the lumbar and back region of the human body, thus increasing support force to the lumbar region while maintaining a real-time fit to the lumbar region. Moreover, the lumbar support also moves back and forth during the overall process, which corresponds closely to a movement trajectory of the human body, thus ensuring a high degree of conformity.

[0006] The technical objective of the present disclosure is achieved by the following technical solution:

[0007] The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat includes a backrest frame, and further includes a pneumatic assembly installed on the backrest frame and an X frame connected with the pneumatic assembly, the X frame stretches and retracts along a horizontal front-rear direction while the pneumatic assembly moves, which provides stable and uniform support force for the lumbar and back region of the human body.

[0008] As a preference of the present disclosure, the pneumatic assembly includes a cylinder installed on the backrest frame and a piston rod connected with the cylinder, and the piston rod is connected with the X frame.

[0009] As a preference of the present disclosure, the X frame includes a first frame and a second frame, wherein the first frame is articulated with the second frame, the first frame is in sliding connection with the backrest frame, the second frame is articulated with the backrest frame, a slide frame is connected to the piston rod, and the slide frame is connected with the first frame.

[0010] As a preference of the present disclosure, the backrest frame stretches in a vertical direction, the backrest frame further includes a limiting slot stretching in the vertical direction, and the first frame includes a sliding axle which slides in the limiting slot in the vertical direction.

[0011] As a preference of the present disclosure, the slide frame includes a connecting rod plate connected with the piston rod and a side connecting frame connected with the connecting rod plate, and the side connecting frame is connected with the first frame.

[0012] As a preference of the present disclosure, the two side connecting frames are provided, which are positioned on two sides of the pneumatic assembly, and a spacing between the two side connecting frames gradually gets larger towards a direction of getting close to the cylinder vertically.

[0013] As a preference of the present disclosure, the lumbar support stretching device further includes minor springs, one end of the minor spring is connected to the backrest frame, while the other end is connected to the slide frame.

[0014] As a preference of the present disclosure, both the minor springs and the piston rod stretch in the vertical direction, the minor springs are positioned on one side of the slide frame in the vertical direction, and the piston rod is positioned on the other side of the slide frame in the vertical direction.

[0015] As a preference of the present disclosure, a switch configured to control the pneumatic assembly that is running to be turned off is arranged on the piston rod, and the lumbar support stretching device further includes an operation device for operating and controlling the switch.

[0016] As a preference of the present disclosure, the operation device includes a pull rope, a central fixing plate articulated with the X frame, and a rope connecting hook connected with the central fixing plate, the pull rope is connected to the rope connecting hook, and the central fixing plate is configured to abut against the switch.

[0017] As a preference of the present disclosure, the rope connecting hook, the piston rod, and the cylinder are sequentially arranged from top to bottom in the vertical direction.

[0018] As a preference of the present disclosure, a rope passing slot for allowing the pull rope to pass through is formed in the rope connecting hook.

[0019] As a preference of the present disclosure, the central fixing plate is connected to the piston rod, and a rope fixing hole for allowing the pull rope to pass through is formed in the central fixing plate.

[0020] As a preference of the present disclosure, the first frame includes a first abut-against column stretching in a horizontal direction, and connecting and support sheets which are pivotable in the vertical direction are connected to the first abut-against column.

[0021] As a preference of the present disclosure, the second frame includes a second abut-against column stretching in the horizontal direction.

[0022] The lumbar support includes a lumbar support body and the lumbar support stretching device, wherein the lumbar support body is connected with the X frame.

[0023] The seat includes seat legs, a seat frame, and a seat stool which is connected with the seat frame, and further includes the lumbar support, wherein the seat frame is connected with the backrest frame.

[0024] In conclusion, the present disclosure has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] 1. Elastically stretched and retracted power originates from the pneumatic assembly, which differs from the springs in a pneumatically driven method, and is not affected by the Hooke's law, and the support force and elastic force provided by the pneumatic assembly are sustained and stable.

[0026] 2. The counteracting effect experienced by the human body originates from the stretching and retraction of the X-frame, the latter of which achieves the stretching and retraction effect by moving in the horizontal back-and-forth direction. This ensures that the counteracting effect on the human body fits with the movement effect of the user when sitting the seat, thus enhancing the comfort level of the human body.

[0027] 3. The inclined arrangement of the two side connecting frames achieves three effects: it concentrates guiding force more emphatically onto the piston rod, allows force from the side connecting frames to be transmitted to two sides of the larger-sized first frame, and reduces the area occupied by components in the central region of the integral backrest frame.

[0028] 4. The pneumatic assembly is positioned in the central region between the two side connecting frames, which optimizes arrangement space and stability in force transmission.

[0029] 5. The state switching of the pneumatic assembly is achieved by the operation device.

[0030] 6. The pneumatic assembly is positioned below a pressing plate, so that the whole pull rope is routed from top to bottom, resulting in a smoother routing.

[0031] 7. The configuration of “upper pivoting and lower support” of the support sheets ensures that an abut-against plate maintains a fixed angle in the vertical direction whereby to provide the better counteracting effect for the human body in the back-and-forth direction.

[0032] 8. The minor springs provide assistance to the pneumatic assembly, which facilitates the smooth start of the lumbar support in forward movement.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 1;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of FIG. 1 from another angle of view;

[0035] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating a detail at B in FIG. 2.

[0036] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating Part A in FIG. 2.

[0037] In the drawings, 1. Backrest frame, 11. Limiting slot, 12. Cylinder block, 2. Pneumatic assembly, 21. Cylinder, 22. Piston rod, 23. Switch, 3. X-frame, 31. First frame, 311. First abut-against column, 312. Slide axle, 32. Second frame, 321. Second abut-against column, 33. Slide frame, 331. Connecting rod plate, 332. Side connecting frame, 4. Minor spring, 5. Connecting and support sheet, 6. Operation device, 61. Rope connecting hook, 611. Rope passing slot, 62. Pressing plate, 63. Central fixing plate, and 631. Rope fixing hole.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0038] The present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to drawings.

[0039] The specific embodiment only explains the present disclosure instead of limiting it. Those skilled in the art can make modifications without inventive contributions according to requirements after reading the specification, however, the modifications are protected by patent laws as long as they fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

[0040] Embodiment 1 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat includes a backrest frame 1, wherein the backrest frame may be a rectangular frame body stretching in a vertical direction, which may be referred to as an immobile component. An X-frame 3 is installed on the backrest frame 1, which serves as a component that presses against a lumbar and back region of a human body. A power component originates from a pneumatic assembly 2 installed on the backrest frame 1. In this technical solution, the pneumatic assembly 2 provides power for the stretching and retraction of the X-frame in a horizontal back-and-forth direction, with a direction towards the lumbar and back region of the human body being considered as the front, and a direction away from the lumbar and back region of the human body being considered as the back.

[0041] Therefore, in this technical solution, on one hand, elastically stretched and retracted power originates from the pneumatic assembly 2, which differs from the springs in a pneumatically driven method, and is not affected by the Hooke's law, and the support force and elastic force provided by the pneumatic assembly are sustained and stable. On the other hand, the counteracting effect experienced by the human body originates from the stretching and retraction of the X-frame 3, and the X-frame 3 achieves the stretching and retracting effect by moving in the horizontal back-and-forth direction rather than by rotating. Similarly, a user also moves in the back-and-forth direction while sitting the seat. This alignment ensures that the counteracting effect on the human body fits with the movement effect of the user when sitting the seat, thus enhancing the comfort level of the human body.

[0042] Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the backrest frame 1 is provided with a cylinder block 12 stretching in a horizontal direction, and a cylinder 21 is fixedly installed on the backrest frame. A piston rod 22 is connected to the cylinder 21, and the piston rod moves in the vertical direction. The X-frame includes a slide frame 33, the slide frame 33 includes a connecting rod plate 331 connected with the piston rod 22, and the piston rod 22 moves in the vertical direction to drive the connecting rod plate 331 to move in the vertical direction. Side connecting frames 332 are respectively connected to two sides of the connecting rod plate 331, which are in an inclined arrangement, with a spacing between the two side connecting frames 332 gradually increasing towards a bottom, and a lower end of the side connecting frame 332 is connected to a first frame 31. This inclined arrangement achieves three effects: firstly, it concentrates guiding force more emphatically onto the piston rod 22. Secondly, it allows for the transmission of force from the side connecting frames 332 to two sides of the large-sized first frame, resulting in more balanced movement between the two sides. Thirdly, it reduces the area occupied by components in the central region of the integral backrest frame 1, allowing for the arrangement of a part of functional components among some products in the central region. The pneumatic assembly 2 is positioned in a central region between the two side connecting frames 332, which optimizes arrangement space and stability in force transmission.

[0043] The whole pneumatic assembly 2 may be divided into two states: an active state and an inactive state. The pneumatic assembly 2 in the active state may operate to drive the X-frame 3 to move, making a whole lumbar support in a free movement state in a back-and-forth direction. The pneumatic assembly 2 in the inactive state is turned off and locked, preventing it from driving the X-frame 3 to move. At this point, the whole lumbar support is in the locked state, which is unable to move back and forth.

[0044] The switching of the two states of the pneumatic assembly 2 is achieved by an operation device 6. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pressing plate 62 is articulated with the slide frame 33, a rope connecting hook 61 is connected with a pull rope, the pull rope, which is not depicted in the figure, is routed through a rope passing slot 611 and a rope fixing hole 631 in a central fixing plate 63 from top to bottom. The user pulls the pull rope, the pressing plate 62 is driven to be flipped in the vertical direction, and the pressing plate 62 touches a switch 23 on the piston rod 22 to switch the state of the whole pneumatic assembly 2.

[0045] In this technical solution, the pneumatic assembly 2 is positioned below the pressing plate 62. In such a spatial arrangement, the whole pull rope is routed from top to bottom, resulting in a smoother routing.

[0046] When the whole lumbar support needs to move ahead, the piston rod 22 ejects to drive the whole slide frame 33 to move upwards, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, and a lower end of the first frame 31 moves upwards. A sliding axle 312 is arranged at the lower end of the first frame 31 and moves in a limiting slot 11, which achieves the following two effects: a stable trajectory in a movement direction is ensured, and a distance where the whole X-frame 3 stretches and retracts in a back-and-forth direction is restricted, thus preventing excessive stretching and retracting.

[0047] The first frame 31 and a second frame 32 are articulated at central ends, an upper end of the second frame 32 is articulated with the backrest frame 1, and when the lower end of the first frame 31 moves downwards, an upper end of the first frame 31 and a lower end of the second frame 32 move ahead. Although the first frame 31 and the second frame 32 move along a pendular trajectory, the upper end of the first frame 31 and the lower end of the second frame 32, in practical applications, are commonly sleeved with a component, such as a flexible lumbar support body. Therefore, for the lumbar and back region of the human body, force experienced by the human body is a counteracting effect in the back-and-forth direction, rather than a rotational counteraction.

[0048] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first frame 31 includes a first abut-against column 311 stretching in a horizontal direction, and the second frame 32 includes a second abut-against column 321 stretching in the horizontal direction. Connecting and support sheets 5 which are pivotable in the vertical direction are arranged to the first abut-against column 311. A component such as an abut-against plate is installed on the connecting and support sheets 5, with a lower end of the abut-against plate abutting against the second abut-against column 321. Such a configuration of “upper pivoting and lower support” ensures that the abut-against plate maintains a vertical fixed angle in the vertical direction whereby to provide the better counteracting effect for the human body in the back-and-forth direction.

[0049] When the whole lumbar support needs to move backwards, the piston rod 22 retracts, an entire transmission principle is the same as previously described herein, but a movement direction is opposite to that as mentioned above.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 2, one end of each of minor springs 4 is connected to the backrest frame 1, while the other end is connected to the slide frame 33. The minor spring 4 achieves the effect of providing an assistance for the pneumatic assembly 2. This is because the pneumatic assembly 2 is filled with inert gases, which, over a long period of use, will result in a less responsive initial startup. When the lumbar support needs to move ahead, the power is provided by the pneumatic assembly 2, the piston rod 22 pushes the slide frame 33 upwards, while the minor springs 4 pull the slide frame 33, which serves the effect of auxiliary start. Additionally, at the start stage, the minor spring 4 attains its maximum elongation, thus exerting the greatest tension on the slide frame 33.

[0051] When the lumbar support needs to move backwards, force is generated by the human body during a backward movement process, and thus, there is no requirement for force from the pneumatic assembly 2, resulting in no need for the minor springs 4 to provide auxiliary force.

[0052] The lumbar support includes a lumbar support body and the lumbar support stretching device as mentioned above, wherein the lumbar support body is connected with the X frame 3, and specifically, connected with the connecting and support sheets 5.

[0053] A seat includes seat legs, a seat frame, and a seat stool which is connected with the seat frame, and further includes the lumbar support as mentioned above, wherein the seat frame is connected with the backrest frame 1.

Claims

1. A lumbar support stretching device suitable for a seat, comprising a backrest frame, wherein the lumbar support stretching device further comprises a pneumatic assembly installed on the backrest frame and an X frame connected with the pneumatic assembly, the X frame stretches and retracts along a horizontal back-and-forth direction while the pneumatic assembly moves, which provides stable and uniform support force for a lumbar and back region of a human body.

2. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 1, wherein the pneumatic assembly comprises a cylinder installed on the backrest frame and a piston rod connected with the cylinder, and the piston rod is connected with the X frame.

3. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 2, wherein the X frame comprises a first frame and a second frame, wherein the first frame is articulated with the second frame, the first frame is in sliding connection with the backrest frame, the second frame is articulated with the backrest frame, a slide frame is connected to the piston rod, and the slide frame is connected with the first frame.

4. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 3, wherein the backrest frame stretches in a vertical direction, the backrest frame further comprises a limiting slot stretching in the vertical direction, and the first frame comprises a sliding axle which slides in the limiting slot in the vertical direction.

5. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 3, wherein the slide frame comprises a connecting rod plate connected with the piston rod and side connecting frames connected with the connecting rod plate, and the side connecting frames are connected with the first frame.

6. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 5, wherein the two side connecting frames are provided, which are positioned on two sides of the pneumatic assembly, and a spacing between the two side connecting frames gradually gets larger towards a direction of getting close to the cylinder vertically.

7. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 3, wherein the lumbar support stretching device further comprises minor springs, one end of the minor spring is connected to the backrest frame, while the other end is connected to the slide frame.

8. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 7, wherein both the minor springs and the piston rod stretch in a vertical direction, the minor springs are positioned on one side of the slide frame in the vertical direction, and the piston rod is positioned on the other side of the slide frame in the vertical direction.

9. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 2, wherein a switch configured to control the pneumatic assembly that is running to be turned off is arranged on the piston rod, and the lumbar support stretching device further comprises an operation device configured to operate and control the switch.

10. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 9, wherein the operation device comprises a pull rope, a central fixing plate articulated with the X frame, and a rope connecting hook connected with the central fixing plate, the pull rope is connected to the rope connecting hook, and the central fixing plate is configured to abut against the switch.

11. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 10, wherein the rope connecting hook, the piston rod, and the cylinder are sequentially arranged from top to bottom in a vertical direction.

12. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 11, wherein a rope passing slot for allowing the pull rope to pass through is formed in the rope connecting hook.

13. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 12, wherein the central fixing plate is connected to the piston rod, and a rope fixing hole for allowing the pull rope to pass through is formed in the central fixing plate.

14. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 3, wherein the first frame comprises a first abut-against column stretching in a horizontal direction, and connecting and support sheets which are pivotable in a vertical direction are connected to the first abut-against column.

15. The lumbar support stretching device suitable for the seat according to claim 14, wherein the second frame comprises a second abut-against column stretching in the horizontal direction.

16. A lumbar support, comprising a lumbar support body and the lumbar support stretching device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lumbar support body is connected with the X frame.

17. A seat, comprising seat legs, a seat frame, and a seat stool which is connected with the seat frame, and further comprising the lumbar support as claimed in claim 16, wherein the seat frame is connected with the backrest frame.

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