Piece of seating furniture

Abstract

The invention relates to a rocking mechanism for an actively dynamic piece of seating furniture having a seat base (2) and a support frame (10) supporting the seat base (2); the support frame (10) is formed with the resilient rocking mechanism (20) such that the seat base (2) is resiliently supported on the support frame (10).

Description

[0001] SEATING FURNITURE

[0002] Description:

[0003] The invention relates to an improved rocking mechanism for an active-dynamic seating device, in particular a seat or chair, to enable a rocking motion of the seat, as well as to a seating device equipped with such a rocking mechanism. Seats and chairs that can be tilted forwards and backwards or moved are already known, for example, in the field of standing aids and, in their conventional design, feature electrically assisted elements such as actuators, gas cylinders, springs, or other lifting devices. These are controlled by the user or another person and support the user of the furniture by reducing the effort and movement required when leaving the seated position. Such solutions are currently mostly implemented via movement sequences along curves around a fixed axis of rotation.To maintain mobility as much as possible for elderly and people with limited mobility when getting up and sitting down, mainly well-known products such as lift chairs, self-contained lift aids for chairs, etc. are used.

[0004] However, these mechanisms aim to simplify getting out of the seated position, not to facilitate dynamic movements while seated. Alongside this support function, there is also a growing need for movement options for seated users. Specifically, movements while seated should be possible to improve blood circulation in the legs, change seating position, alter posture, etc.

[0005] Chairs are also known in practice where the seat, along with the backrest, can be tilted backwards around a tilting axis, for example, between a working position and a so-called relaxed position. The tilting mechanisms required for this are often complex and require considerable height, so that such functional fittings are accepted on office chairs and similar functional chairs, but are often undesirable in the home or private sphere for purely aesthetic reasons. Furthermore, such seats do not offer the movement possibilities of the present invention. The starting point is to allow active dynamic forward and backward movement, and preferably also lateral movement, on the seat by the user. In addition, a known difficulty lies in achieving coordination of the movement between the seat and the backrest. For example,It is also known to provide two areas in the backrest that are movable relative to each other, by allowing an upper section of the backrest to be angled backwards relative to a lower section.

[0006] From DE 202011000805 U1, for example, a chair is known with a seat and a backrest, as well as with a base that supports the seat and the backrest, wherein the seat is mounted to tilt relative to the base about a horizontal tilting axis, and the backrest has two sections that are movable relative to each other and arranged one above the other, the upper section of which can be angled relative to the lower section about a similarly horizontal tilting axis. This solution serves to allow for different adjustments of the tilting movement of the seat and the backrest, so that, in particular, the tilting movement of the seat and the tilting movement of the backrest sections can be adjusted depending on the user's body weight, thereby enabling adjustment of the actuating forces for the tilting movements of the seat and the backrest.

[0007] However, the proposed tilting and adjustment mechanism is elaborate and complex, resulting in high costs for such a chair.

[0008] There is a need to provide a chair with a stable yet easy-to-manufacture tilting mechanism that is suitable for various seat shell shapes and chair types. Furthermore, the mechanism should be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, so that these chairs can also be used, for example, in private homes or in areas where attractive design is a priority. The invention also aims to create a movement pattern that most closely resembles dynamic sitting from a physiognomic perspective. Therefore, the invention is based on the objective of solving the aforementioned problems and providing a chair with a tilting mechanism that is also aesthetically pleasing, simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and ensures sufficient stability for users with a higher body weight during movement.

[0009] German patent DE 10 2017 103 651 A1 discloses an improvement to a rocker mechanism. However, this involves a rather complex design, which entails time-consuming assembly due to the interaction of the various spring arms and components.

[0010] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved kinematics, i.e., rocking mechanism, which also offers advantages in terms of assembly and is generally more cost-effective to implement. Furthermore, the spring characteristics and thus the overall kinematic properties of an active dynamic chair are to be optimized.

[0011] This problem is solved by the combination of features according to claim 1.

[0012] A key concept of the invention is to provide an easy-to-assemble and cost-effectively manufactured elastically springy rocking mechanism to which a seat is directly attached, thus enabling active, dynamic movements by the user. In contrast to the prior art, the rocking mechanism according to the invention is realized entirely from elastic plastic arms that are attached directly to the seat, eliminating the need for elastically deformable discs or connecting elements. However, other comparably elastic materials, such as mixtures of different materials, are also conceivable, allowing the concept to be implemented without elastic couplings or discs. The invention provides a rocking mechanism for a seat and a piece of seating furniture incorporating such a rocking mechanism.When used on a chair, the chair is designed with a column that supports the seat. The column is connected to a spring-loaded rocking mechanism, allowing the seat to move freely relative to the column and thus enabling rocking movements. The movement of the seat connected to this rocking mechanism can be described as a rocking motion with a dynamically oscillating axis of rotation.

[0013] The spring-loaded rocking mechanism forms a lower adapter body made of plastic with a mounting opening for the upper end of a chair column. Alternatively, the adapter body could also be attached to a chair frame in a different way. According to the invention, however, no separate elastic connecting element to the chair column or the frame is required.

[0014] The plastic adapter body has forward-projecting and rearward-projecting spring arms, preferably attached to the adapter body in pairs. According to the invention, the spring arms are also made entirely of plastic. However, additives can be mixed into the plastic to modify its elastic properties, thus allowing the desired elasticity and mechanical properties of the rocker mechanism to be adjusted or optimized.

[0015] The core of the invention can therefore be described as a rocking mechanism or a piece of seating furniture with a spring-loaded rocking mechanism for a seat part of the seating furniture for performing movements with the seat part relative to a support frame, in particular a chair column of the seating furniture, wherein the seat part is spring-loaded and movable via the rocking mechanism on the support frame, wherein the spring-loaded rocking mechanism has an adapter body made of plastic for attachment to the support frame and several, in particular (preferably) four, spring arms made of plastic are formed on the adapter body and each is directly attached to the adapter body with a first spring arm end, and with their other end directly attached to the seat part.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the spring arms are attached directly to the adapter body in such a way that no separate bearings or elastically deformable bearings are provided between the connected spring arm ends and the adapter body, which facilitates assembly.

[0017] In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the spring arms are attached directly to the seat part in such a way that no separate bearings or elastically deformable bearings are provided between the spring arm ends connected thereto and the seat part, which facilitates assembly.

[0018] Preferably, the adapter body is designed with two retaining arms projecting from a mounting section and preferably forms a V-shaped structure.

[0019] Furthermore, it is advantageously provided that two of the spring arms are directly connected or attached to the two ends of the adapter body. One or two of the spring arms can also be directly connected or attached to the central mounting section and preferably extend in pairs in a direction opposite to the other, and in particular both, mounting arms.

[0020] In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that two of the spring arms are directly connected or attached to the retaining arm ends of the adapter body as outer spring arms, and that the two further spring arms are directly connected or attached to the central mounting section as intermediate (preferably parallel) spring arms.

[0021] It is also advantageous if the two outer spring arms and the two intermediate spring arms each extend in opposite directions with their other spring arm ends towards the seat part.

[0022] The rocker mechanism, and in particular the spring arms and the adapter body, are preferably manufactured as injection-molded plastic parts using an injection molding process. The mechanical properties, and especially the spring characteristics, can then be specifically adjusted via the type of plastic used and the addition of additives.

[0023] In an advantageous embodiment, the adapter body has an insertion or mounting opening for receiving one end of a chair column and preferably also integrally has a channel that leads to the opening through which an actuating lever for adjusting the chair column height projects.

[0024] In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the adapter body has blind holes with stepped heights into which fastening means for connecting the spring arms are inserted, the fastening means being fully immersed in the blind holes with a fastening head. The spring arms can be connected to each other in a hinge-like manner.

[0025] It is also advantageous to have a design in which the adapter body has an integral, protruding collar around the opening.

[0026] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the adapter body (30), viewed in the vertical direction of the chair, corresponds approximately to twice the thickness of the spring arms, preferably having a thickness in the range of 170–250% of the thickness of the spring arms. However, the thickness can also deviate from this.

[0027] It is also advantageous for assembly and / or mounting reasons if the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) each have an end section (43, 53) projecting outwards.

[0028] Furthermore, the design can be such that the spring arms do not cross each other along their extension. Thus, the spring travels are independent and not superimposed. In an alternative design, however, the spring arms can cross, resulting in different spring dynamics.

[0029] Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims or are described in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the figures.

[0030] Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism;

[0031] Fig. 2 shows another perspective view of the rocker mechanism from Figure 1;

[0032] Fig. 3 shows a view from below of the rocker mechanism;

[0033] Fig. 4 shows a side view of the rocker mechanism.

[0034] The invention is described in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 4, where the same reference numerals indicate the same structural and / or functional features.

[0035] Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a perspective view of a spring-loaded rocking mechanism 20 for a seat part of a piece of seating furniture that can be attached to it. For this purpose, a seat or a seat part is attached to the ends of the four spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b shown.

[0036] Below, a chair column 10 of the seating furniture protrudes, which is attached to the adapter body 30 of the rocking mechanism 20.

[0037] The spring-loaded rocker mechanism 20 comprises, in addition to the aforementioned spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b, an adapter body 30 and is made of plastic. Thus, the adapter body 30 and the spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b are made of plastic. The spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b are each directly attached to the adapter body 30 at one end 41, 51 and at their other end 42, 52 directly to the seat part (not shown). "Directly" means that no rubber buffer, elastomer element, or other intermediate element is arranged between the connected elements; rather, they are attached directly to their mounting partners. In addition to its simpler construction and integrated spring function, such a rocker mechanism 20 also consists of fewer parts and is easier to assemble, which is achieved in particular by the fact that there is no space between the spring arm ends and the adapter body.The seat part does not require separate bearings or elastically deformable bearings, but can be attached directly with a fastening device.

[0038] The adapter body 30 is designed with two retaining arms 30a, 30b projecting from a central mounting section 33 and has a V-shaped structure, which can be clearly seen in Figure 3. Other structures, such as a U-shaped, T-shaped or X-shaped one, are also conceivable.

[0039] Two of the four spring arms 40a, 40b are directly connected or attached to the retaining arm ends 34 of the retaining arms 30a, 30b. The spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b extend in pairs in opposite directions to the other two spring arms. The two spring arms 40a, 40b are directly connected or attached to the retaining arm ends 34 as outer spring arms, and the two spring arms 50a, 50b are directly connected or attached to the central mounting section 33 as intermediate spring arms. The spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b each have an end section 43, 53 that projects outwards (bent, in particular curved, in a curved shape). The spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b are arranged in such a way that they do not cross each other during their extension.The respective ends of the spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b, to which they are attached to the seat part, are not connected to any further spring arm, but the individual spring arms are each attached independently of each other to the adapter body and are therefore not connected to each other, so that each spring arm acts individually.

[0040] The adapter body 30 has an opening 35 at the central mounting section 33 for receiving a chair column 10. Furthermore, the adapter body 30 has an integral channel 36 that leads to the opening 35, through which an actuating lever 60 for adjusting the chair column height protrudes.

[0041] The adapter body 30 shown here has blind holes 37 that are stepped in the vertical direction. Fasteners for connecting the spring arms 40a, 40b, 50a, 50b are inserted into these blind holes, and their fastening heads can be fully inserted into them. The adapter body 30 has a protruding collar 38 around the opening 35, which is integrally formed with the adapter body 30. The thickness of the adapter body 30, viewed in the vertical direction H of the chair, corresponds to approximately twice the thickness of the spring arms, preferably a thickness in the range of 170–250% of the thickness of the spring arms, as can be clearly seen in Figure 4.

[0042] The invention is not limited in its implementation to the preferred embodiments specified above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable, which utilize the illustrated solution even in fundamentally different designs. For example, the previously described course and orientation of the brackets can be exactly reversed or opposite in direction, or mirrored.

[0043] * * * * *

Claims

Patent claims 1. Seating furniture (1) with a spring-loaded rocking mechanism (20) for a seat part (10) of the seating furniture for performing movements with the seat part relative to a support frame (10), in particular a chair column (10) of the seating furniture (1), wherein the seat part is spring-loadedly mounted on the support frame (10) via the rocking mechanism (20), wherein the spring-loaded rocking mechanism (20) has an adapter body (30), preferably made of plastic, for attachment to the support frame (10), and on the adapter body (30) several, in particular four, spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) preferably made of plastic are formed and each is directly attached to the adapter body (30) with a first spring arm end (41, 51), and with their respective other end (42, 52) is directly attached to the seat part (10).

2. Seating furniture according to claim 1, characterized in that the adapter body is made of plastic and / or the spring arms are made of plastic.

3. Seating furniture (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) are attached directly to the adapter body (30) in such a way that no separate bearings or elastically deformable bearings are provided between the spring arm ends connected thereto and the adapter body (30).

4. Seating furniture (1 ) according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, characterized in that the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) are attached directly to the seat part (10) in such a way that no separate bearings or elastically deformable bearings are provided between the spring arm ends connected thereto and the seat part (10).

5. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter body (30) is designed with two retaining arms (30a, 30b) projecting from a central mounting section (33) and preferably forms a V-shaped, U-shaped, T-shaped or X-shaped structure.

6. Seating furniture (1 ) according to claim 4, characterized in that two of the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) are directly connected or attached to the retaining arm ends (34).

7. Seating furniture (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that one or two of the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) are directly connected or attached to the central fastening section and preferably extend in pairs in a direction opposite to the other, in particular both, retaining arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b).

8. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two of the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) are directly connected or attached as outer spring arms to the retaining arm ends (34) and two spring arms are directly connected or attached as intermediate spring arms to the central mounting section.

9. Seating furniture (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that the two outer spring arms and the two intermediate spring arms each extend in opposite directions with their other spring arm ends towards the seat part (10). - 15 - 10. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rocking mechanism (20) and in particular the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) and the adapter body (30) are plastic injection molded parts manufactured using an injection molding process.

11. Seating furniture (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter body (30) has an opening (35) for receiving a chair column and integrally has a channel (36) leading to the opening (35) through which an actuating lever (60) for adjusting the chair column height projects.

12. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter body (30) has blind holes (37) that are stepped in height, into which fastening means for connecting the spring arms are inserted, which fully immerse themselves in the blind holes (37) with a fastening head.

13. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims 11 or 12, characterized in that the adapter body (30) has an integrally projecting collar (38) around the opening (35).

14. Seating furniture (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) each have an end section (43, 53) projecting outwards. - 16 - 15. Seating furniture (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) do not cross each other along their extension.

16. Seating furniture (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ends of the spring arms (40a, 40b, 50a, 50b) at which they are attached to the seat part are not connected to any further spring arm, but rather the individual spring arms are each attached to the adapter body independently of one another.

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