GB2588772A

GB2588772A - Chair with adjustable foot rest

Info

Publication number: GB2588772A
Application number: GB1916053.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fahy Emma
Original assignee: CAREFLEX Ltd
Current assignee: CAREFLEX Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-05
Filing date: 2019-11-05
Publication date: 2021-05-12
Also published as: GB201916053D0; GB2589439A; GB2589439B; GB202014198D0

Abstract

A chair having a seat (7, fig. 1) and a foot rest (11, fig.1) the foot rest being adjustable relative to the seat. The adjustment mechanism comprises a slide element 15 having an adjustment axis; a guide 13 associated with the slide element and permitting relative movement along the adjustment axis; a ratchet profile (19, fig.3) associated with the slide element and extending along the adjustment axis; and a detent (32, fig.4) associated with the guide to engage the ratchet profile, the detent preventing movement of the footrest away from the seat. The detent may be a manually operable spring loaded plunger. Preferably, the slide element moves with the foot rest, and the guide is fixed to the seat. Also claimed is a chair and footrest having an adjustment mechanism comprising a pivot member (51, fig. 12) having a pivot axis; a latching profile (63-67, fig.12) extending circumferentially and axially around the pivot member; a latch member (40, fig.8) movable axially of the pivot member and a latch element carried by the latch member to engage the latching profile, the latch element holding the foot rest in different angular positions depending on the axial position of the latch member.

Description

CHAIR WITH ADJUSTABLE FOOT REST

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to chairs with adjustable foot rests, and particularly, but not exclusively, recliner chairs intended for use by the elderly or infirm.

BACKGROUND

In known chairs which have a seat and an adjustable foot rest the foot rest may be adjustable towards and away from the seat as well as providing angular adjustment. A range of positions are therefore provided which can be changed according to the leg length and foot position of the user. In a reclining chair the position of the foot rest may also need to be adjusted depending on whether the user occupies a relined or a more upright position.

Such adjustments are frequently made by a carer or assistant. Often, the adjustment process is not obvious to people unfamiliar with a particular chair and it takes time to find out how to operate the system. Adjustments may therefore take up valuable nursing time. Furthermore, in some circumstances the foot rest may -2 -come into contact with the ground or another object, e.g. when the chair is moved from an inclined to an upright position, which can put the chair into an unexpected or unstable condition. In an extreme case, the user may panic and attempt to get out of the chair, which could risk serious injury.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When viewed from one aspect the present invention proposes a chair having a seat (7) and a foot rest (11), wherein the foot rest is adjustable relative to the seat: - a slide element (15) having an adjustment axis; - a guide (13) associated with the slide element such as to permit relative movement along said adjustment axis; - a ratchet profile (19) associated with the slide element to extend along the adjustment axis; - a detent (32) associated with the guide (13) to engage the ratchet profile (19) whereby the detent prevents movement of the foot rest away from the seat.

When viewed from another aspect the present invention proposes a chair having a seat (7) and a foot rest (11), wherein the foot rest is adjustable relative to the seat: - a pivot member (51) having a pivot axis; - a latching profile (63-67) extending circumferentially and axially about the pivot member; - a latch member (40) movable axially of the pivot member; -3 - -a latch element (46; 47) carried by the latch member (40) to engage the latching profile whereby the latch element holds the foot rest in different angular positions depending on the axial position of the latch member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a general view of a chair with an adjustable foot rest, looking from the front left side of the chair; Figure 2 is another general view of the chair looking from below; Figure 3 is a general view of the foot rest and slide elements, including an inset detail; Figure 4 is a general view of the foot rest mount; Figure 5 is an elevation of the foot rest mount as viewed from the rear of the chair; Figure 6 is an end elevation of the foot rest mount as -4 -viewed from the right in Fig. 5; Figure 7 is section VII-VII through the foot rest mount at the position indicated in Fig. 5; Figure 8 is a bottom view of a first part of a pivot assembly of the foot rest; Figure 9 is a general view of a second part of the pivot assembly, looking from the front and above; Figure 10 is a top view of the second part of the pivot assembly, looking from above; Figure 11 is section XI-XI of Fig. 10; Figure 12 is a detailed view of the pivot tube looking from below, including four sections E-E to H-H at the positions indicated; Figures 13A-E are five side views of the chair showing the foot rest in five different pivotal positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring firstly to Fig.s 1 and 2, the chair has a frame 1 supported by four castor wheels 2. Two side cheeks 3 and 4 are -5 -secured to opposite sides of the frame 1 each supporting a respective arm rest 5, 6. Between the side cheeks 3 and 4 are a seat 7, a back 8 and a leg rest 9. The seat 7 occupies a generally horizontal position. The back 8 and leg rest 9 occupy a generally upright position, but by releasing a handle 10 on the side of the chair the angle of the leg rest 9 in relation to the seat 7 can be changed. The angle of the chair can also be adjusted relative to the ground using a handle bar 101 at the upper end of the seat back 8. Pulling a release lever on this handle 101 (not shown) allows the tilt angle of the chair to be adjusted from the upright position shown to a reclined position. On a motorised chair there is a handset with four buttons, two of which change the leg rest angle and another two which change the tilt angle of the whole chair. The lower end of the leg rest 9 carries a plate-like foot rest 11 which, with the leg rest substantially vertical as shown, projects horizontally from the lower end of the leg rest at an angle of about 900. The foot rest 11 can be adjusted in two ways. Firstly, it can be moved towards and away from the seat 7 along a linear path indicated by the arrow A. Secondly, the foot rest can be angularly adjusted about a horizontal pivot axis at the rear of the foot rest as indicated by the part-circular arrow B. Referring in particular to Fig. 2, a foot rest mount 12 is secured to the rear of the leg rest 9. The mount 12 provides a pair of spaced guides 13 and 14. A pair of parallel slide elements 15 and 16 having respective longitudinally-extending adjustment axes are slidably received in respective tubular guides 13 and 14 to facilitate the linear adjustment A. Forwardly-extending bottom -6 -portions of the slide elements 15 and 16 carry a pivot assembly 17 which facilitates the pivotal adjustment B. Turning now to Fig. 3, lower ends of the slide elements 15 and 16 are connected together by a strengthening cross-member 18. In addition, one of the slide elements 15 carries an outwardly-extending ratchet formation 19 having a number of ratchet teeth 20 arranged axially of the slide element. The inset detail shows that each ratchet tooth 20 has a sloping upper face 21 and a perpendicular lower face 22, relative to the adjustment axis.

As seen in Fig.s 4-7, the foot rest mount 12 includes a mounting plate 23 which is shaped to provide a central mounting portion 24 and two outer mounting flanges 25 and 26 which are bolted or otherwise secured to the leg rest 9. These flanges are separated from the central portion 24 by two channel-section ribs 27 and 28. Further channel sections 29 and 30 are joined to the ribs to form the tubular guides 13 and 14, which are thus spaced from the leg rest 9. Inclined tabs 31 are provided at the lower end of the ribs 27 and 28 assist insertion of the slide elements 15 and 16. It will also be noted that one of the guides 13 is wider than the other guide 14 in order to receive the ratchet formation 19 of the slide element 15. A lower end of the guide 13 receives a detent in the form of a spring loaded plunger assembly 32 incorporating a plunger 33 (Fig. 7), which projects into the guide 13, and an external head 34 forming a handle which can be grasped to withdraw the plunger 32 against its spring loading. When the slide -7 -elements 15 and 16 are received within the tubular guides 13 and 14 the spring loaded plunger 33 engages the ratchet formation 19. The inclined upper faces 21 of the ratchet teeth 20 allow the slide elements to move in an upward direction relative to the foot rest mount 12, moving the plunger 33 against its spring loading. However, the perpendicular lower faces 22 stop outward movement of the plunger and prevent downward movement of the slide elements unless the plunger in manually withdrawn. An inclined tongue 35 on one side of the channel section 29 ensures that the teeth of the ratchet formation 19 do not catch on the upper end of the guide 13 during downward movement. The spring loaded plunder 33 thus prevents movement of the foot rest away from the seat whilst allowing unimpeded movement of the foot rest towards the seat.

The pivot assembly 17 comprises a first part 36.1, shown in Fig. 8, which is fixed to the forward end of the bottom portions 15a and 16a of the two slide elements 15 and 16. The first part 36.1 includes a cross plate 37, fixed to both slide elements, with two end flanges 38 and 39. Both flanges are slotted to slidably receive a latch member 40 having a pull handle 41 at one end, which is also seen in Fig. 3. The latch member 40 is held to the cross plate by a U-plate 42, the ends of which are received in slots 43 and 44 in the latch member. One of the slots 44 receives a compression spring 45 which bears against the U-plate 42 and the latch member 40 to bias the latch member towards the right as viewed from the front of the chair. An upper edge of the latch member 40 has two upwardly-projecting latch elements 46 and 47 to engage -8 -the second part of the pivot assembly, described below, which is pivotably secured to the first part 36.1 by a pair of pivot pins 48 and 49 inserted through the end flanges 38 and 39.

The second part 36.2 of the pivot assembly 17 is shown in Fig.s 9-11 and comprises a bracket 50 which holds a pivot tube 51. The bracket is bolted or otherwise secured to the underside of the foot rest 11 adjacent to its rear edge using mounting flanges 52 and 53. The flanges are connected together by a cross plate 54 via short perpendicular walls 55 and 56. The walls 55 and 56 are both extended rearward to provide two mounting flanges 57 and 58 which hold the pivot tube 51 between them (see Fig. 11.) These flanges are also used to pivotally connect the second part 36.2 to the first part 36.1 using the two pivot pins 48 and 49 which are both axially aligned with the pivot tube 51.

Moving on to Fig. 12, opposite ends of the pivot tube 51 are non-rotationally keyed to the bracket 50 by keys 60, shown in the section F-F. The ends may also have part-circumferential recesses 61, shown in the section E-E, to provide access to the pivot pins, e.g. to fit retaining nuts. Two identical latching profiles 62 and 63 are also cut into the pivot tube to co-operate with the latch elements 46 and 47 of the latching member 40 (Fig. 8). It should be noted that only one latching profile is strictly necessary, but the provision of two (or more) identical profiles gives an additional safety margin and reduces wear. Commencing at the left hand end as viewed in the drawing, towards which the latching member 40 is spring loaded, each profile has three circumferential -9 -steps 64-66 providing three latch positions. Following the third latch position, section H-H, there is a fourth latch position 67, section G-G, which is positioned in the opposite circumferential direction from the first three, separated from the third position by a stop 68. The opposing edge of the profile, 69, extends axially on the opposite side of the pivot tube. The end faces of the profile, 70 and 71, extend circumferentially.

When the latch member 40 is fully retracted by its spring 45 the latch elements 46 and 47 are in the first position 64, at the far left of the profile. If desired, the foot rest can be pivoted upwards into a stowed condition, parallel to the slide elements 15 and 16, as seen in Fig. 13B. The foot rest can also be rotated down to a perpendicular position, at 90° to the slide elements, Fig. 13A, but the profile prevents further downward movement. This can be considered the default position in normal use.

If the latch member 40 is pulled out to its second position 65 the foot rest can be pivoted down by a further 15°, seen in Fig. 13C. If the latch member is released with the foot rest in this position the stepped profile prevents the latch from returning to the first position, and the foot rest remains in the same position. Pulling the latch member out to the third position 66 enables the foot rest to be rotated down by a further 15° until it is 30° below the first position -Fig. 13D. Again, the foot rest remains in this position when the latch is released since the latch is once again held by the steps in the profile.

-10 -In both the second and third positions, 65 and 66, upward movement of the foot rest, e.g. due to manual movement or contact with an object, will allow the foot rest to rotate upwards. When it does so the latch member 40 is no longer held by the profile so the latch can return under under its spring loading. Provided the foot rest is moved sufficiently it can rotate upwards as far as the stowed position without impediment.

If the latch member 40 is pulled fully out to its fourth position 67 while the foot rest is raised, the foot rest can be rotated down to a position 30° above the perpendicular position, but no further. See Fig. 13E. Releasing the latch in this position causes the latch to engage the stops 68, which keeps the foot rest in this position until the foot rest is raised sufficiently to disengage the stops. When this happens the latch will again return to the far left position under spring loading allowing the foot rest to rotate up to the stowed position of Fig. 13B and down to the default position of Fig. 13A, but no further.

The foot rest adjustment mechanisms therefore allow the foot rest to be slid or rotated to a range of positions by pulling a respective handle, but in each position the foot rest is free to return to a retracted position without having to touch either of the handles.

Whilst the above description places emphasis on the areas which are believed to be new and addresses specific problems which have been identified, it is intended that the features disclosed herein may be used in any combination which is capable of providing a new and useful advance in the art.

Claims

-12 -CLAIMS1. A chair having a seat (7) and a foot rest (11), wherein the foot rest is adjustable relative to the seat: - a slide element (15) having an adjustment axis; - a guide (13) associated with the slide element such as to permit relative movement along said adjustment axis; - a ratchet profile (19) associated with the slide element to extend along the adjustment axis; - a detent (32) associated with the guide (13) to engage the ratchet profile (19) whereby the detent prevents movement of the foot rest away from the seat.
2. A chair according to claim 1 wherein the detent engages the ratchet profile such as to permit movement of the foot rest towards the seat.
3. A chair according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the detent is manually operable to disengage the ratchet profile.
4. A chair according to any preceding claim wherein the detent is a spring-loaded plunger.
5. A chair according to any preceding claim wherein the slide element moves with the foot rest and the guide is fixed with the seat.
-13 - 6. A chair having a seat (7) and a foot rest (11), wherein the foot rest is adjustable relative to the seat: - a pivot member (51) having a pivot axis; - a latching profile (63-67) extending circumferentially and axially about the pivot member; - a latch member (40) movable axially of the pivot member; - a latch element (46; 47) carried by the latch member (40) to engage the latching profile whereby the latch element holds the foot rest in different angular positions depending on the axial position of the latch member.
7. A chair according to claim 6 wherein the pivot member (51) and the latch member (40) are part of a pivot assembly (17) by which the foot rest is secured to the chair.
8. A chair according to claim 6 or 7 wherein the latching profile (63-67) has a stepped configuration circumferentially of the pivot member.
9. A chair according to any of claims 6 to 8 wherein the latch member (40) is spring-loaded to engage the latching profile.
10. A chair according to any of claims 6 to 9 wherein rotation of the foot rest away from each held position causes the latch member to disengage from the latching profile (63-67) under its spring loading.
11. A chair according to any of claims 6 to 10 wherein the -14 -pivot member (51) is associated with the foot rest and the latch member (40) is associated with the seat.
12. A chair according to any of claims 1 to 5 in combination with any of the features specified in any of claims 6 to 11.