Chairs and seats – Bottom or back with means to alter contour
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-08
2004-11-23
Nelson, Jr., Milton (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Bottom or back with means to alter contour
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820933
ABSTRACT:
1. TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a spine support, in particular for the use in a seat of a vehicle.
2. THE PRIOR ART
Spine supports are typically built into a seat, chair or the like to provide the backrest with a curved shape to support the vertebrae of the spine so that even under prolonged use, for example of an office chair or a seat of a vehicle a comfortable and healthy posture is assured.
For the adaptation to the anatomy of the respective user, spine supports are often adjustable. In this context typically not only an adjustment of the curvature (more or less curved) but also a height adjustment is provided allowing that the shape of the backrest of for example the seat of a car can be adapted to persons of a different body height. By means of the height adjustment the vertical position of the curvature of the spine support can be modified.
Spine supports of the above mentioned type, as they are described for example in DE 43 14 325 and DE 42 20 995, consist typically of two vertically arranged struts or the like to which a plurality of lateral laths are attached. By means of one or more tightening devices, for example bowden cables or tightening straps which engage the topmost and lowermost lath, the two vertical struts can be adjustably bent so that the lateral laths arranged thereon form approximately a tunnel vault. When seen from the side, an essentially circular cross-section of the spine support is obtained. From the AT 396 734, a construction is further known, where several different vaults controlled by a common main bowden cable are superpositioned to a resulting shape.
A farther spine support construction is known from the DE 29 35 352.
For the height adjustment, the topmost and lowermost lateral lath are typically slidably arranged on one or more vertical rods so that the complete support can be adjustably moved up and down by means of a further bowden cable or the like.
Although theoretically the curvature and the position of a spine support can be adjusted with the described constructions according to the prior art, several difficulties arise during operation:
When the support is used in the backrest for example of the seat of a vehicle, the flexible framework of struts and lateral laths is arranged below the upholstery. As a result, a curved spine support can, if at all, only with difficulties be moved up or down, because of the pressure and the corresponding friction under a movement of all lateral laths along the upholstery. An easy vertical adjustment is only possible, if the spine support is completely relaxed, i.e. without any curvature. This, however, leads to a complicated procedure, since for every height adjustment the spine support has at first to be brought into the non-curved starting position and can only after the vertical adjustment be bent again.
Further, the upholstery is often heavily compressed in the area of the curvature of the support by the lateral laths so that the backrest loses its original flexibility. In some cases, a spine support in a vehicle being for this reason too inflexible may cause in case of an accident injuries of the spine.
It is therefore the problem of the present invention to provide a simple an inexpensive spine support which overcomes the above explained disadvantages of the prior art and wherein the position of the curvature can be easily adjusted.
According to a further aspect, the present invention is based on the problem to provide a simple spine support having also in the curved state a sufficient flexibility to improve the comfort and the safety of the user.
3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a spine support, in particular for the use in a seat of a vehicle with at least one bending element and at least two independent operating elements to bend the bending element, wherein the first operating element engages a first portion of the bending element to produce a first curvature of the spine support and the second operating element engages a second portion of the bending element to produce a second curvature of the spine support so that the overall curved shape of the spine support is a superposition of the first and second curvature.
Depending on the extent to which each operating element is tightened, the spine support of the construction according to the invention is bent in different portions. As a result, the position of the vertex of the curved shape can be modified without having to move the complete spine support as in the prior art. An arrangement of the first and second portion above each other is particularly preferred, in order to achieve a height adjustability of the curved shape. A vertical movement for adjusting the spine support against the frictional force of the surrounding upholstery is no longer necessary.
Preferably, a plurality of supporting elements are attached to the at least one bending element. Whereas the at least one bending element determines the curved shape of the spine support, the plurality of supporting elements distributes this shape onto the area of the backrest.
The first and the second operating element comprise preferably at least one bowden cable, wherein the sheath of the first bowden cable is preferably attached to the bending elements in the part of a supporting element which is not the lowermost supporting element and wherein the end of the inner steel cable of the first bowden cable is attached in the part of the topmost supporting element or vice versa. The sheath of the second bowden cable is on the contrary preferably attached at the bending elements in the part of the lowermost supporting element and the end of the inner steel cable of the second bowden cable is attached in the part of a supporting element which is not the topmost supporting element or vice versa. Depending on whether the first, the second or both bowden cables are tightened, the curved shape is particularly curved in the upper, the lower or the intermediate part.
According to a further aspect, the present invention relates to a spine support, in particular for the use in the seat of a vehicle with at least one bending element and at least one supporting element, wherein the at least one supporting element is flexibly mounted to the at least one bending element. By means of the flexible mounting of the at least one supporting element to the at least one bending element, the spine support and therefore also the backrest of the corresponding seat has also in the curved state the necessary flexibility for a high degree of comfort and safety.
Preferably, a plurality of supporting elements are arranged on the two bending elements comprising each preferably one intermediate part interconnecting the two bending elements and two flexibly suspended supporting areas. Thus, a flexible overall construction is provided extending preferably over the complete width of the spine support. In a particularly preferred embodiment the support areas are in a z-shaped manner interconnected with the intermediate part. The z-shaped connection provides in a simple and cost efficient way the flexibility according to the invention.
Preferably, the supporting areas are forward bent in the outer areas and backward bent in the inner area to provide the backrest with the inserted spine support with the shape of an integral-molded seat. This improves in particular in the case of a seat for a vehicle the comfort of the seat.
Further improvements are the subject matter of further depending claims.
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Fico Cables, LDA
Jr. Milton Nelson
Renner , Otto, Boisselle & Sklar, LLP
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