Chairs and seats – Bottom or back – Cushioned
Patent
1992-07-17
1995-04-11
Crowder, Clifford D.
Chairs and seats
Bottom or back
Cushioned
297DIG5, 297DIG1, 2974521, A47C 702
Patent
active
054051789
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a seat comprising a foam plastics cushion having a seat surface, an underside remote from the seat surface and side surfaces between the seat surface and the underside, the side surfaces defining edges with the seat surface and the underside. The cushion comprises a supporting member of an open-cell resilient plastics foam having a first specific gravity, the supporting member having a top surface facing the seat surface, an intermediate layer of high temperature-resistant threads forming a network arranged on the top surface of the supporting member, and a flame-proof layer of an open-cell resilient plastics foam impregnated with a liquid flame-proofing agent and having a second specific gravity different from the first specific gravity, the flame-proof layer covering the intermediate layer. The supporting member and the intermediate layer, and the intermediate layer and the flame-proof layer are respectively bonded to each other by an adhesive at regions distributed over the surfaces thereof, and the intermediate layer and the flame-proof layer extend at least along the seat surface, and preferably over the side surfaces of the cushion. The cushion also has a flame-resistant upholstery material covering the seat surface, the side surfaces and the underside of the cushion. Such a seat is known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,487 and 5,248,185. These seats meet the safety requirements and test regulations, particularly for use in aircraft, but the construction makes it difficult to fit an interchangeable facing layer, capable of being removed from the seat and re-inserted at frequent intervals for routine cleaning. In addition, the seat is constructed so that the cushion has low resistance to mechanical stresses, since the connection between the individual parts of the flame-proof layer is subjected to high stresses which often result in destruction thereof.
Other known seats for public means of transport, e.g. from German utility model 85 06 816, comprise a seat cushion covered by a seat cover, the seat cover and the seat cushion being made of low-flammable, low-fuming material. Often the process consists in disposing a glass fibre mat, preventing the seat cover from burning through in the direction of the cushion, between the low-flammable seat cover and the seat cushion, which is usually made of plastics foam. It has been found, however, that in many cases the flame acts from the ground and the plastics foam in the seat cushion tends to burn and discharge dense fumes, so that if a fire occurs the public means of transport quickly becomes so smoke-filled that the occupants have difficulty in finding their way. In the case of this known seat, therefore, a fire-inhibiting plate is disposed in the seat supporting frame under the seat cushion. This means that a special section member must be used to hold the seat cushion, and there is the additional expense of installing the fire-inhibiting plate. In this embodiment also, the seat is not adequately ventilated.
Seats with foam plastics cushions are very widely used in modern vehicle construction, particularly in rail and road vehicles and also to a predominating extent in aircraft. The specifications for rail vehicles set very strict guidelines regarding evolution of fumes or the materials used, which must be self-extinguishing, but the specifications for the aircraft industry are still more strict. For example, seats licensed for use in aircraft must undergo a test in which the cushion, in the fitting provided for installation, is directly exposed to a flame from a burner. The flame acts directly on the cushion for two minutes, after which the flame is extinguished or removed. The cushion is extinguished after five minutes, if the flame has not gone out by itself. After this burning test the weight lost by the cushion must not be higher than 10%. In order to comply with these extremely strict specifications and also to obtain low weight and a very comfortable seat during lengthy aircraft journeys, various open-cell resilient soft foam mate
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Moseneder Johann
Weingartner Rudolf
C.A. Greiner & Sohne Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Crowder Clifford D.
Mohanty Bibhu
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