WO1999043280A1

WO1999043280A1 - Chair with tiltable seat

Info

Publication number: WO1999043280A1
Application number: PCT/SE1999/000273
Authority: WO
Inventors: Göran LINDEROTH
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-02-27
Filing date: 1999-02-26
Publication date: 1999-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 2000-08-27
Also published as: SE9800593D0; SE9800593L; AU2754399A

Abstract

The invention relates to an adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat, which is intended to facilitate sitting down in and rising from an armchair or chair mounted rigidly thereon. The underframe is characterized by a slab (5), frame or the like which bears the armchair or the chair seat and which can, in the intended front part of the armchair edge or chair edge, be raised and pivoted in the vertical direction on a base part by means of two pivotably mounted arms (12, 13) on either side of the latter, one (13) being pivotably mounted on the other (12), and also a drive arrangement (10) for raising and pivoting.

Description

TITLE

Chair with tiltable seat

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat, which underframe is intended to facilitate sitting down in and rising from an armchair or chair mounted rigidly thereon for a person who finds it difficult to rise from an ordinary armchair or low chair. The invention comprises only the underframe on which any type of armchair or chair seat can be mounted.

STATE OF THE ART

A countless number of different constructions of armchairs and chairs are known. The idea of all of them is in the first place that sitting is to be comfortable. However, many people are restricted in their mobility and may have, for example, stiff and weak knees. Such people may often find it difficult to sit down in an armchair or a chair and in most cases even more difficult to rise from such a chair or armchair. Various aids have therefore been produced in order to make it easier to rise from such a comfortable chair or armchair. A common construction in this connection is that the upper part of the underframe, which part bears the chair seat or armchair seat, is pivotably mounted at its front end and is arranged so as to be tipped up at the back end. Other constructions intended to facilitate the sitting-down and rising movement are also previously known.

THE TECHNICAL PROBLEM

In many cases, it can be very helpful for an armchair to be tipped forwards during rising therefrom but in many or most cases it is not sufficient, especially for tall people. Even though the seat is tipped forwards, they have a markedly bent 2 position at the knees which makes it difficult to support the body. It has therefore long been desirable to be able to produce an underframe for an armchair or chair, which underframe is constructed in such a manner that it can, by means of an electric motor or the like, give the person sitting in the chair or the armchair a virtually upright position on rising therefrom.

THE SOLUTION

According to the present invention, the abovementioned problems have therefore been solved and an adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat has been produced, which underframe is intended to facilitate sitting down in and rising from an armchair or chair mounted rigidly thereon and which is characterized by a slab, frame or the like which bears the armchair or the chair seat and which can, in the intended front part of the armchair edge or chair edge, be raised and pivoted in the vertical direction on a base part by means of two pivotably mounted arms on either side of the latter, one being pivotably mounted on the other, and also a drive arrangement for raising and pivoting.

According to the invention, it is suitable that the arm which is pivotably mounted on the base part is at its one end pivotably mounted on the intended front part of the base part and at its other end slidably mounted on the side edge on the raisable, pivotable slab, frame or the like.

According to the invention, it is suitable that the arm which is at its one end pivotably mounted on the other arm is pivotably but stationarily mounted on the pivotably anchored, intended front part of the slab, frame or the like.

According to the invention, it is also suitable that the intended front part of the base part, at the upper edge of which the raisable, pivotable slab, frame or the like is pivotably anchored, can be raised and lowered.

According to the invention, it is suitable that the raisable and lowerable front part of the base part is mounted by means of a linear bearing in the fixed stationary part of the base part.

According to the invention, it is also suitable that the arm which is pivotably mounted on the base part and slidably mounted on the side edge on the raisable, 3 pivotable slab, frame or the like is slidably mounted in a profiled rail mounted on the side edge.

According to the invention, the drive arrangement can consist of an electrically driven ball screw or the like which is mounted pivotably in the vertical direction by its one end on the bottom of the underframe and mounted pivotably in the vertical direction at its other end on the intended rear edge of the pivotable slab, frame or the like.

According to the invention, it is also advantageous that, when the underframe is arranged rotatably in relation to the ground, for example the floor, a lock can be arranged for automatic locking of the underframe in relation to the ground when the upward pivoting of the slab, frame or the like is started.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the appended drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows an underframe according to the invention seen from above, Fig. 2 shows the same underframe seen from the side, and Fig. 3 shows the underframe according to the invention seen from the front with the slab pivoted up.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figures 1-3 show a preferred embodiment of the invention. In Fig. 1 , which shows the underframe for an armchair or chair seen from above, the underframe is shown with a bottom slab which can suitably consist of a thick slab of wood so that good stability is achieved for the armchair or chair. The bottom slab 1 can of course be made from another material or consist of a frame or the like. Arranged on the bottom slab 1 is an open, four-sided box-like construction which has a front side 2, two sides 3 and a rear side 4. These four sides 2, 3 and 4 are also suitably made of a thick wooden material which can bear an armchair with the person sitting in it and which at the same time imparts good stability to the arrangement. 4

The box-like arrangement can also consist of a stand made of angle iron or the like especially if it is covered by fabric hanging down from the armchair or chair.

In the embodiment shown in Figs 1-3, a slab preferably made of wood 5 is arranged as a cover on the box-like construction. This slab 5, which does not have to be a slab but may also be a frame construction, bears two rigid band- shaped supports 6 and a similar support 7 intended to bear the armchair itself. The supports 6 and 7 are in the present case screwed firmly to the slab 5. They are turned downwards slightly at the sides and turned outwards at their ends 8. These ends 8 are provided with through-holes for screwing the armchair itself firmly to these ends 8.

At the two corners which face forwards, that is to say where the person sitting in the chair has his legs, the slab 5 is mounted in an articulated manner by means of hinges 9 or the like on the front wall 2 on the box.

At the edge which faces backwards on the slab 5, a drive arrangement 10 is connected in an articulated manner to the slab 5. This drive arrangement, which in the present case consists of a ball screw which is driven electrically, is at its other end anchored in an articulated manner in a plate which is screwed firmly to the bottom part 1. When the screw in the drive arrangement 10 is screwed out, the drive arrangement will be extended, which results in the slab 5 being pivoted upwards because it is pivotably anchored on the other side in the front wall 2 by means of the hinges 9.

On the sides 3, on the outside of these, two arms 11 are arranged on either side. These and their function are shown in greater detail in Figure 2.

As stated above, Figure 2 is a side view of the underframe with a raised slab 5. The reference numbers in this figure relate to the same elements as are indicated by the corresponding numbers in Figure 1.

The plate 5 has been raised in this figure by virtue of the drive arrangement 10, which in the present case consists of a ball screw, having been screwed out, which has caused the screwed-out shaft to become longer outside the driving arrangement. The slab 5 has been pivoted up via the pivoting point, in other words the hinge 9. 5

As can be seen from the figure, the front part 2 of the box-like construction has also moved up a little. This was possible by virtue of the arrangement 11 consisting of the arm 12 and the arm 13 raising it. The arm 12 is at its one end pivotably mounted on the side piece 3 and by its other end 14 slidingly mounted in a profiled rail 15 which is screwed firmly to the side of the slab 5. The other arm 13 is in turn pivotably but stationarily mounted on the arm 12 and at its other end 16 pivotably but once again stationarily mounted close to the front edge of the slab 5. The result of this is that, when the drive arrangement 10 raises the slab 5 at the rear part of the underframe, the front part is also forced up by the interaction of the arms 12, 13.

The arm 12 does not have to be slidably mounted in the profiled rail 15 but can be stationarily but pivotably mounted thereon and adjustable in the longitudinal direction. It can consist of two parts arranged telescopically in one another. The arm 12 can in this connection also be provided with a drive arrangement which lengthens or shortens the arm.

In order that the front part will be capable of being moved up at all, it is mounted slidably in the vertical direction between the side pieces 3. This mounting is preferably effected by means of linear bearings known per se.

Figure 3 shows the same arrangement as those according to Figures 1 and 2 but from the front and with the slab raised. As can be seen clearly from the figure, the front wall 2 on the underframe has also been raised a little above the base plate 1. In this way, it becomes easier for a person to rise from an armchair located on the underframe when the armchair has been both imparted a forward inclination and raised so that the lower legs can assume an essentially vertical position while the knees are to a great extent straightened.

As mentioned above, the drive arrangement 10 is preferably electric and the person sitting in the armchair can easily operate it by means of a simple switch arranged in a suitable location. Many armchairs are made in such a manner that they can be rotated in relation to the floor by means of, for example, incorporating two base slabs with intermediate ball bearings, or the base slab being arranged on wheels. It is important that, when the person is to rise, this turning or rotation movement is locked, so that the person does not run the risk of falling backwards during rising. Such a lock can be made in various ways and should be operated 6 when the drive arrangement 10 is started in order for the person sitting in the armchair to rise.

By means of the present invention, an improved underframe for armchairs, chairs and the like, compared with those that only tip the person out, has been produced. This makes it comfortable to rise from the armchair which can be used by people with quite serious disabilities without assistance.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown but may be modified in various ways within the scope of the patent claims.

Claims

7PATENT CLAIMS

1. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat, intended to facilitate sitting down in and rising from an armchair or chair mounted rigidly thereon, characterized bya slab (5), frame or the like which bears the armchair or the chair seat and which can, in the intended front part of the armchair edge or chair edge, be raised and pivoted in the vertical direction on a base part by means of two pivotably mounted arms (12, 13) on either side of the latter, one (13) being pivotably mounted on the other (12), and also a drive arrangement (10) for raising and pivoting.

2. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to claim 1, characterized in that the arm (12) which is pivotably mounted on the base part is at its one end pivotably mounted on the intended front part of the base part and at its other end (14) slidably mounted on the side edge on the raisable, pivotable slab (5), frame or the like.

3. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the arm (13) which is at its one end pivotably mounted on the other arm (12) is pivotably but stationarily mounted on the pivotably anchored, intended front part of the slab (5), frame or the like.

4. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the intended front part (2) of the base part, at the upper edge of which the raisable, pivotable slab (5), frame or the like is pivotably anchored, can be raised and lowered.

5. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to claim 4, characterized in that the raisable and lowerable intended front part (2) is mounted by means of linear bearings in the fixed stationary part (3) of the base part.

6. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the arm (12) which is pivotably 8 mounted on the base part (3) and slidably mounted on the side edge on the raisable, pivotable slab (5), frame or the like is slidably mounted in a profiled rail

(15) mounted on the side edge.

7. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the drive arrangement (10) consists of an electrically driven ball screw or the like which is mounted pivotably in the vertical direction by its one end on the bottom of the underframe and mounted pivotably in the vertical direction at its other end on the intended rear edge of the pivotable slab (5), frame or the like.

8. Adjustable underframe for an armchair or chair seat according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, when the underframe is arranged rotatably in relation to the ground, a lock is arranged for automatic locking of the underframe in relation to the ground when the upward pivoting of the slab (5), frame or the like is started.