Seating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing synchronous mechanisms in seating furniture, such as office chairs, often require a high number of rotating or pivoting joints, leading to a complex design and increased component count.
Innovation Solution
A seating furniture design featuring a support structure, a seat, a backrest, and a spring structure forming a kinematic unit, where the spring structure is pivotably mounted on the support structure with a rear joint axis and a movably connected front joint axis, allowing for a reduced number of components and enabling the chair to pivot from an upright to a reclined position with elastic deformation, which also raises the seat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a synchronous mechanism is implemented with multiple swivel joints, then the chair can pivot smoothly from upright to reclined position, but the number of components and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single spring structure that simultaneously acts as a pivot point, energy storage device, and lifting mechanism. The L-shaped spring structure integrates the rear pivot axis and front pivot axis into one component, eliminating the need for separate swivel joints while maintaining smooth pivoting motion from upright to reclined position.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring structure serves multiple functions: it provides the pivot point for rotation, stores elastic energy during compression, and acts as a lifting mechanism to raise the seat during recline. This multi-functionality reduces the overall component count while maintaining the required operational smoothness.
2Ease of operation
If a leaf spring is used as a lifting mechanism, then the seat can be raised during recline, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting mechanism is merged with the pivot structure by making the spring structure itself serve as both the rotation pivot and the lifting element. The L-shaped design allows the spring to compress during recline and automatically lift the seat through elastic recovery, eliminating the need for separate lifting mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring structure automatically performs the lifting function through its own elastic deformation without requiring external actuators or additional mechanisms. As the chair reclines and the spring compresses, the stored elastic energy automatically raises the seat during the reclining motion, making the system self-sufficient.
3Volume of moving object
If the spring structure is designed as an L-shaped kinematic unit, then the overall design becomes more compact and flat, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The L-shaped spring structure combines what would traditionally be separate components (rear pivot, front pivot, spring) into a single integrated unit. This integration reduces the overall footprint and creates a flatter design while the pivot axes are built into the spring structure itself, reducing alignment requirements compared to assembling multiple separate parts.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves a compact, flat structure with a reduced component count while maintaining the functionality of a synchronous mechanism, allowing the chair to pivot smoothly and raise the seat during recline, with the spring structure acting as both an energy accumulator and a lifting mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
the guide is oriented such that pivoting the seat from the upright position to the reclined position and vice versa results in a change in the distance between the two pivot axes and a consequent elastic deformation of the spring structure
Implementation Method 2
By cleverly connecting the seat to the spring structure, the elastic deformation of the spring structure can be used to lift the seat during the reclining movement
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a seating furniture comprising a support structure (1), a seat (2), a backrest (3) and a spring structure (4), wherein the spring structure (4) forms a kinematic unit with the backrest (3) and the seat (2) is connected to the spring structure (4), and wherein the spring structure (4) is pivotably mounted on the support structure (1) in a central area about a rear pivot axis (5) and has a front pivot axis (6) fixedly connected to the spring structure (4) in a front area, which is movably held in a guide (7) on the support structure (1), so that the seating furniture can be pivoted at least from an upright basic position about the rear pivot axis (5) into a backward-leaning position.The spring structure (4) is L-shaped in a side view, with a substantially horizontal leg for attaching the seat and an upwardly extending leg for attaching or forming the backrest, and the rear joint axis (5) is also firmly connected to the spring structure (4), the guide (7) of the front joint axis (6) being aligned such that when the seat is pivoted from the upright basic position to the tilted position and vice versa, a change in the distance between the two joint axes (5, 6) and a resulting elastic deformation of the spring structure (4) occur.