WO2007042033A1

WO2007042033A1 - Seat adustment arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO2007042033A1
Application number: PCT/DK2006/000559
Authority: WO
Inventors: Flemming MØLLER
Original assignee: R82 AS
Current assignee: R82 AS
Priority date: 2005-10-07
Filing date: 2006-10-06
Publication date: 2007-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 2008-04-07

Abstract

Seat adjustment arrangement, for adjusting the seat's position in relation to a seat carrying structure, wherein the arrangement comprises: - a first connection member, connecting the seat to the chassis, by means of pivotable joints in either end of the first connection member; a second connection member, which is fixed to either the seat or the carrying structure in one end of said second connection member, and which member is provided with an oblong aperture, in which aperture a pin provided on the seat or the carrying structure, may guide and limit the movement of the second connection member; adjustable and lockable telescopic means arranged between and fastened to the carrying structure and the seat.

Description

Seat adjustment arrangement

Field of the Invention The present invention discloses an arrangement which may be used in order to change the orientation, inclination and position of a seat in relation to an undercarriage.

Background of the Invention hi the art, there are numerous ways of tilting a seat, i.e. changing the inclination of the seat in relation to the undercarriage, but the prior art techniques are either very complicated mechanisms, require great strength or are not very comfortable to use.

Object of the Invention

The present invention aims at providing an arrangement which is both easy to use re- gardless of the weight of the user, uncomplicated to construct and thereby also simple to maintain, and at the same time allows the inclination of the seat to be changed for example from horizontal to an angle of more than 45° in relation to the horizontal position.

Description of the Invention

The present invention addresses this by providing an arrangement for adjusting the seat's position in relation to a seat carrying structure, wherein the arrangement comprises:

- a first connection member, connecting the seat to the chassis, by means of piv- otable joints in either end of the first connection member;

- a second connection member, which is fixed to either the seat or the carrying structure in one end of said second connection member, and which member is provided with an oblong aperture, in which aperture a pin provided on the seat or the carrying structure, may guide and limit the movement of the second connection member;

- adjustable and lockable telescopic means arranged between and fastened to the carrying structure and the seat. By changing the length of the telescopic means, the second connection member will slide in relation to the pin such that the seat will rotate about the pivotal joints of the first connection member. In this manner, more than one movement is created. Firstly, the inclination of the seat is changed due to the slidable movement of the pin in the oblong aperture in the second connection member due to the change of the length of the telescopic means and the length of the first connection member. At the same time, the point of gravity is moved in relation to the movement of the seat such that in applications where the carrying structure has a limited ability to compensate for excessive eccentric loads, this may be compensated by the seat sliding in the horizontal plane as well, in order to maintain the point of gravity at substantially the same position in which it was before the seat's inclination was altered.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the carrying structure comprises two substantially parallel beam members arranged with a mutual distance, and that first and sec- ond connection members are provided for each beam member. In this embodiment, a dual set of first and second connection members is provided such that the seat will be attached to the beam members in either side by identical but separate first and second connection members. The stability of the overall arrangement is thereby greatly improved, and for a number of applications, as will be discussed below, this will be the typical construction of the carrying structure.

In a number of advantageous embodiments, the arrangement provides for the telescopic means to be in the shape of a spindle. A spindle is a simple mechanical and well-proven device which will make the adjustments of the seat inclination in relation to the carrying structure very safe, simple and reliable. Depending on the pitch of the thread in the spindle and thereby the force needed to rotate the spindle in order to change the length of the telescopic means may be such that a relatively small force is necessary in order to activate the spindle and thereby change the length of the telescopic means and thereby the inclination of the seat structure.

In a further advantageous embodiment, a first transverse member is provided perpendicular to and between the first connection members, and a second transverse member is provided perpendicular to and between the second connection members, and that a spindle is arranged between the first and second transverse members, where said spindle is substantially parallel to said beams. This embodiment is particularly useful in connection with the embodiment where the carrying structure comprises two substantially parallel beam members in that one single spindle may be provided substantially in the middle between the two beams such that the telescopic means in the shape of a spindle will be able to activate the inclination of the seat which will be guided and controlled by the first and second connection members. Therefore, a relatively simple construction is provided which at the same time due to parallel beams and the dual construction of the first and second connection members provides for a well-guided and well-controlled movement of the seat due to the changes in the length of the spindle resulting in an inclination change of the seat in relation to the carrying structure.

hi a further advantageous embodiment, the oblong aperture has a curved shape, and the first connection member has a certain length between the pivotal joints arranged in either end of said first connection member. The curved shape of the aperture, which aperture interacts with the pin such that the movement of the seat is controlled by the shape of the curved shape of the aperture facilitates that the point of gravity will be transferred during the movement such that as the telescopic means is extended or retracted, the first connection member will rotate around the fastening point to the carry- ing structure whereas the second connection member will slide in relation to the pin along the curved shape of the oblong aperture provided in the second connection member. By dimensioning and placing the second connection member and in particular the shape of the oblong aperture correctly, it is possible to make the seat arrangement slide forwards or backwards depending on the inclination of the seat such that the point of gravity may also be translated in relation to the support whereby the overall stability of the device may be maintained.

hi a further advantageous embodiment, it is foreseen that the spindle may be extended or retracted by rotation, and that the rotation may be supplied by a manually operated handle or an electrically operated motor optionally with remote control. The mechanical version is substantially unproblematic in that the handle will assure that the spindle will always be workable and not dependent on a battery or the like. The electrical motor option is interesting in particular with a remote control such that the user of for example a wheel chair will be able to alter the inclination of the chair without getting out of the chair and without help from bystanders. In applications where the seat arrangement is provided in vehicles, it may be less interesting to have the manual option in that it will be difficult to be in a seat and at the same time change the inclination by rotating the handle arranged in a spindle whereas the electrical option may be operated simply by pushing a button or having a remote control.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the second transverse member further has attachment means for means for adjusting the back rest's inclina- tion in relation to the seat, which back rest is pivotably connected to the seat, and that the means for adjusting the inclination may be locked in any desired position, and further that the means comprises resilient means allowing slight movement of the backrest in relation to the seat. Usually seat arrangements have a back rest as well, and as the inclination of the seat is changed, the comfort for the user might not be optimal with the back rest in the same relative position to the seat as it was before the inclination of the seat was commenced. Therefore, the invention foresees that also the inclination of the back rest may be adjusted independently of the seat rest. For this reason, means for adjusting the inclination are provided and by further providing a resilient feature in the adjustment means, the back rest will have a certain flexibility which will add comfort to the user.

As already implied above, the inventive arrangement according to the invention may in further advantageous embodiments be incorporated in a wheelchair or in seat constructions used in cars, trucks, trains, air crafts or other vehicles.

Description of the Drawing

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 illustrates a cross-section through a wheelchair wherein the inventive prin- ciple according to the present invention is incorporated,

Fig. 2 illustrates the wheelchair in an inclined position, and Fig. 3 illustrates the wheelchair in a substantially straight position. In fig. 1, a cross-section through the carrying and seat structure of a wheelchair is illustrated. Cushions and other supports are not depicted in order to visualise the inventive seat adjustment arrangement according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the Invention

The seat adjustment arrangement in this particular embodiment comprises a seat from which the carrying beam 1 of a seat structure is depicted. Attached to the seat beam 1 is a first connection member 2 and a second connection member 3. The carrying structure comprises two parallelly arranged beams 4 of which only one is shown. The carrying structure corresponds to the applicant's prior invention filed in the Danish priority founding application, PA 2004 01668. hi this context, it should be noted that the seat adjustment arrangement according to the present invention may be applied to any carrying structure but by way of example, the carrying structure from the above mentioned prior patent application will be used as an example.

In particular when the inventive seat adjustment arrangement is used in combination with the carrying structure disclosed in Danish application PA 2004 01668, the principles of the present invention are important. The carrying structure in the applicant's prior patent may pivot about a joint connecting upper and lower beam members. The angle/inclination of the upper beam is thereby altered. The present invention may consequently as explained within the present invention compensate for this and adjust the seat's inclination in any described angle regardless of the carrying structure.

The carrying structure and seat adjustment arrangement is in fig. 1 cut in half such that the other half will be a mirrored image of fig. 1. This implies that there will be corresponding features along the other side of the wheelchair. Connected to the first connection member, is a first transverse member 5, and connected to the second connection member is a second transverse member 6. Between the two transverse members 5,6, a spindle 7 is arranged. By rotating the handle 8 of the spindle 7, the distance be- tween the first transverse member 5 and the second transverse member 6 will be changed. In the second connection member 3, an oblong aperture 9 is provided such that a pin 10 fastened to the beam 4 will limit the movement of the second connection member 3 to the extent of the oblong aperture 9. Therefore, as the spindle 7 is extended or re- tracted and thereby the distance between the two transverse members 5,6 is becoming longer or shorter, the pin 10 will move in the oblong aperture 9 and guide the movement to the seat beam 1.

Due to the shape of the first connection member 2 and the fact that the second connec- tion member 2 is fastened to the beam 4 and the seat beam 1 by pivotable joints 11,12, movements as depicted in figs. 2 and 3 become possible.

Attached to the second transverse member 6 is a means for adjusting the inclination of the back rest. The back rest is here depicted by the back rest beam 13, and the means for adjusting the inclination is in the shape of a gas spring 14. The gas spring provides for resiliency such that forces applied to the back rest beam 13 will be resiliently absorbed by the gas spring 14. The gas spring furthermore comprises a release mechanism 15 such that the piston part 16 of the gas spring 14 may be moved in order to compensate for the inclination of the back rest 13 in relation to the seat beam 1. In this embodiment, it is advantageous that the second transverse member 6 extends a certain distance behind the pivot point 17 of the back rest beam 13 such that a firm support may be provided by the gas spring 14 due to its fastening to the second transverse member 6.

In fig. 2, a side view of one half of the wheelchair is illustrated where the seat inclination is such that it is tilting slightly forwards, m this situation, the pin 10 is in one of the extremities of the oblong aperture 9 provided in the second connection member 3. The limiting factor in this direction is the length of the oblong aperture 9 such that if the oblong aperture had been longer, it would have been possible to tilt the seat even further forwards. A further limitation may be in the positioning of the spindle 7 which may interfere with other features of the seat. In order to alleviate this, the first transverse member 5 could have been arranged in a lower position by redesigning the first connection member 2 in a manner which would have brought the first transverse member in a lower position in relation to the seat 1. Also the second transverse member 5 could have had a curved shape such that the attachment point of the spindle 7 on the first transverse member 5 could have been lower without changing the shape of the first connection member 2.

Turning to fig. 3, the other extremity is depicted wherein the pin 10 hidden by the spindle 7 has travelled to the opposite extremity of the oblong aperture 9 as what is depicted at in fig. 2. Again if the inclination of the seat 1 was desired to be more extreme, the spindle could have been rearranged in another position and the oblong aper- ture longer whereby the seat 1 could have been inclined even further in relation to the ground.

The curved shape of the oblong aperture 9 foresees that a smooth movement of the inclined seat beam is achieved. Furthermore, as is visible by comparing the two posi- tions of the seat depicted in fig. 2 and fig. 3, the point of gravity is further back in the situation depicted in fig. 2 as is the case with the positioning of the seat as depicted in fig. 3.

Although the invention has been explained with reference to a very specific example depicting a seat adjustment arrangement mounted or integrated in a wheelchair, the invention shall not be limited apart from the inherent limitations of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Seat adjustment arrangement, for adjusting the seat's position in relation to a seat carrying structure, wherein the arrangement comprises: - a first connection member, connecting the seat to the chassis, by means of piv- otable joints in either end of the first connection member; a second connection member, which is fixed to either the seat or the carrying structure in one end of said second connection member, and which member is provided with an oblong aperture, in which aperture a pin provided on the seat or the carrying structure, may guide and limit the movement of the second connection member; adjustable and lockable telescopic means arranged between and fastened to the carrying structure and the seat.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the carrying structure comprises two substantially parallel beam members arranged with a mutual distance, and that first and second connection members are provided for each beam member.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the telescopic means are in the shape of a spindle.

4. Arrangement according to claim 2 where a first transverse member is provided perpendicular to and between the first connection members, and a second transverse member is provided perpendicular to and between the second connection members, and that a spindle is arranged between the first and second transverse members, where said spindle is substantially parallel to said beams.

5. Arrangement according to claim I, wherein the oblong aperture has a curved shape, and the first connection member has a certain length between the pivotal joints ar- ranged in either end of said first connection member.

6. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein the spindle may be extended or retracted by rotation, and that the rotation may be supplied by a manually operated handle or an electrically operated motor optionally with remote control.

7. Arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the second transverse member further has attachment means for means for adjusting the back rest's inclination in relation to the seat, which back rest is pivotably connected to the seat, and that the means for adjusting the inclination may be locked in any desired position, and further that the means comprises resilient means allowing slight movement of the back rest in relation to the seat.

8. Arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 7 where the arrangement is incorporated in a wheelchair, or in seat constructions used in cars, trucks, trains, aircrafts or other vehicles.