Curved-Guide Footrest Chassis for Compact Seating Furniture

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing seating furniture chassis with swiveling footrests do not efficiently utilize space when the footrest is folded, often protruding excessively and requiring complex mechanisms.

Innovation Solution

A seating furniture chassis design featuring a footrest that folds beneath the seat frame, utilizing a lever mechanism and curved guide rails to facilitate easy deployment and storage, ensuring a compact footprint.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the footrest is folded out in existing seating furniture chassis, then the footrest can be extended for use, but the seat frame moves translationally and/or tilts requiring complex mechanisms

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefootrest deploymentVSAvoidmechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs curved guide rails with arc-shaped paths to guide the guide elements during footrest movement. This curvature enables the footrest to follow a predetermined trajectory that achieves folding and extending motions without requiring the seat frame to move translationally or tilt, thereby simplifying the overall mechanism while maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Volume of moving object

If the footrest is folded in existing seating furniture chassis, then the footrest is stored, but it protrudes excessively and does not save space efficiently

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvespace occupationVSAvoidfootrest positioning
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The curved guide rails constrain the guide elements to follow an arc-shaped path that brings the footrest into close proximity with the seat frame when folded. This curved trajectory optimizes space utilization by minimizing the protrusion of the folded footrest while maintaining smooth and easy deployment motion through the predetermined arc path.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

3Adaptability or versatility

If a lever mechanism is used to move the footrest, then the footrest can be folded and extended, but the mechanism requires precise guidance to achieve compact folding

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefootrest movementVSAvoidguide rail precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The curved guide rails provide predetermined arc-shaped paths that guide the guide elements through the necessary motion trajectory. This curvature design inherently defines the movement path, reducing the need for high-precision manufacturing tolerances while still achieving compact folding positioning and versatile footrest movement capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP3945942B1Seating furniture chassis
Publication Date: 2026.01.28 INNOTEC MOTION GMBH
  • EP3945942B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP3945942B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP3945942B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

The present invention relates to a seating furniture chassis, comprising a seat surface frame (100), a footrest (200), a lever mechanism (106; 111), a first guide element (102) and a first guide rail (103), wherein the footrest (200) is connected to the seat surface frame (100) via the lever mechanism (106; 111), wherein the footrest (200) can be transferred from a retracted state into an extended state, and vice versa, wherein the footrest (200) in the retracted state is arranged below the seat surface frame (100), wherein the footrest (200) in the extended state encloses an obtuse angle with the seat surface frame (100), wherein the seat surface frame (100) is connected in a positionally fixed manner to the first guide element (102), wherein, when the footrest (200) is transferred from the extended state into the retracted state, and vice versa, the first guide element (102) is guided in the first guide rail (103), characterized in that the first guide rail (103) has a curved shape.