Chairs and seats – Having detachably interfitting parts or components; i.e.,... – Interfitted bottom and bottom frame
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-19
2001-08-28
Barfield, Anthony D. (Department: 3624)
Chairs and seats
Having detachably interfitting parts or components; i.e.,...
Interfitted bottom and bottom frame
C297S452550, C297S338000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279998
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for mounting a seat on a support. In one embodiment, this invention relates to a mobile chair (e.g. a chair mounted on wheels or a slide base for ease of movement over a surface) and preferably an office chair.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rhyner (U.S. Pat. No. 1,693,120), Kimura (U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,646) and Tamura et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,591) each disclose the use of a rack and pinion to adjust the position of a car seat. Rhyner discloses an adjustment mechanism comprising a hand wheel mounted on a shaft on which pinions are provided. Racks are provided on opposed sides of the bottom of the seat. Upon turning the hand wheel, the pinions rotate causing the cat seat, to which the rack is mounted, to move forwardly or rearwardly. This design is disadvantageous for use with an office chair or the like as it uses two widely spaced apart racks to provide transverse stability to the seat.
Kimura and Timura et al each also disclose the use of spaced apart racks. In addition, these references disclose multiple support and linking members between the seat and the floor of the car. The mechanism discloses a plurality of parts which are complicated to manufacture and are not suitable for use with an office chair or the like.
Ambasz (Canadian Patent No. 1,076,944) discloses a chair which operates on the principle of independent forward and backward movement of the seat and tilting of the back such that a chair may automatically adopt a configuration that will provide excellent anatomical support to a person seated in the chair. To this end, Ambasz discloses a seat which has on its underside, adjacent to the centre and removed from the sides, a pair of elongated sleeves of uniform internal cross-section which extend lengthwise. The sleeves are in telescoping and sliding relation on seat support such that the seat is slidable forwardly and rearwardly. The seat is spring-loaded toward the rearward most position. Accordingly, one disadvantage of this design is that it does not permit the operator to fix the seat in a pre-set position with respect to the chair back.
Matthews et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,466) discloses an ergonomic chair wherein the seat support member is movable between a forward seated position and a rearward seated position. The mounting means for the seat includes a channel having a generally dovetail shaped configuration and a runner having a mating of dovetail shaped configuration that slidable engages the channel. As with Ambasz, the mounting means also includes means for biasing the seat support member toward the rearward position. Thus, the user may selectively apply force while seated in the chair to adjust and retain the position of the seat support member in a desired position between the rearward and forward position of the seat. Upon standing, the user removes the external force from the seat and the contraction force of the biasing means (i.e. A spring) will urge the runner back towards its original rearward seated position. Thus, one disadvantage of Matthews et al is that the chair will not maintain itself in a pre-selected position while the user stands.
Olsen et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,743) discloses a chair in which the seat member is movable with respect to the back-rest of the chair. The adjustment mechanism comprises a pair of parallel spaced tubular members telescopically received in the control bracket. The seat may be fixed in position by a clamping bar which clamps the tubular members to the control bracket. Accordingly, one disadvantage of this design is that, when the clamp is removed, there is no restriction on the movement of this seat with respect to the chair back. Accordingly, the seat would become free floating.
Accordingly, previous disclosures have shown seat adjustment mechanisms for chairs which do not provide adequate controlled adjustment of the position of the seat with respect of the seat support. In addition, prior designs have incorporated constructions which are difficult to employ and/or which are complicated to construct.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a chair comprising a seat; a support for the seat; and, a plurality of biasing members mounted between the support and the seat, the biasing members, in combination, have a compressive strength sufficiently high to essentially resist static movement of a person while seated in the chair and sufficiently low to cushion dynamic loads applied to the seat when a person sits down quickly in the chair The biasing members may deform up to about 0.2 inches. Preferably, the biasing members comprise springs.
In one embodiment, the biasing members are located adjacent the perimeter of the seat. Alternately, or in addition, the biasing members may be positioned adjacent the corners of the seat.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a chair comprising a seat having a lower surface; a support for the seat; and, a plurality of connecting members extending between the seat and the support, each connecting member having at least one first detent member to lockingly connecting the seat to the support.
In one embodiment, the connecting members releasably lockingly connect the seat to the support. One of the support and the seat may have a plurality of second detent members configured to lockingly engage one of the first detent members. One of the first and second detent members may be slidably received in the other of the first and second detent members. Alternately, one of the first and second detent members may be resiliently deformable to be received in the other of the first and second detent members. In a further alternate embodiment, one of the first and second detent members has an engagement surface to abut a surface of the other of the first and second detent members. The seat may have a plurality of recesses in the lower surface and each connecting member has a bulbous portion sized to fit within one of the recesses. Alternately, or in addition, the support may have a plurality of recesses and each connecting member has a portion sized to fit and expand within one of the recesses.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a chair comprising a seat; a support for the seat; a plurality of individual biasing members positioned between the support and the seat and located adjacent the perimeter of the seat; and, a plurality of connecting members extending between the seat and the support, each connecting member having at least one first detent member to lockingly connecting the seat to the support.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a chair comprising a seat; a support for the seat; a plurality of individual biasing means positioned between the support and the seat and located adjacent the perimeter of the seat; and, means for removably connecting the seat to the support.
The means for removably connecting the seat to the support may comprise connecting means having a first end and a second end and extending between the seat and the support, one end of the connecting means having first detent means and one of the seat and the support having second detent means to lockingly connecting the seat to the support.
The biasing members, in combination, may have a compressive strength sufficiently high to essentially resist static movement of a person while seated in the chair and sufficiently low to cushion dynamic loads applied to the seat when a person sits down quickly in the chair.
Preferably the connecting means releasably lockingly connect the seat to the support.
Preferably the chair is an office chair.
One advantage of the instant invention is that it provides a seat which may easily be connected to a support when the chair is being manufactured. Further, the construction of the instant invention allows the seat of the chair to be easily replaced (eg. if it is desired to change the colour of the seat to match the decoration of an office) or i
Bock Hermann
Chu Zooey
Wurl Harald
Barfield Anthony D.
Michael Best & Friedrich LLC
Teknion Furniture Systems Inc.
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