A chair includes a base structure, a seat support structure, a back frame comprising a front surface, a rear surface and a forwardly extending bottom portion pivotably connected to the base, a biasing member biasing the back frame from a reclined position toward an upright position, wherein the biasing member is located entirely forward a rearward most edge of the seat support structure, and a back shell comprising a forwardly extending bottom portion connected to the seat support structure, a front surface, a rear surface positioned in front of the front surface of the back frame, a pair of laterally spaced side portions defining an opening therebetween, and a top portion extending laterally between and connected to the side portions, wherein each of the side portions are exclusively connected to the back frame at a first location.

A portable lumbar support and ergonomic chair having a lumbar support. The lumbar support has a seat hingedly coupled to a seat back having a teardrop-shaped lumbar support seat back cushion. A rigid back support portion may be rotated forward about hinges to collapse substantially parallel to the seat frame and backward to open to a variety of angles with respect to the seat frame. The seat back freely pivots around an upper lateral axis, and the rigid back support portion is linearly adjustable to space the seat back toward and away from the hinges to enable raising or lowering the upper lateral axis and thus the seat back with respect to the lower lateral axis. This provides multiple ways of changing which part of the teardrop-shaped lumbar support curve hits your lumbar curve for proper support. Variable lumbar lordotic support is thus provided.

A portable lumbar support and ergonomic chair having a lumbar support. The lumbar support has a seat hingedly coupled to a seat back having a teardrop-shaped lumbar support seat back cushion. A rigid back support portion may be rotated forward about hinges to collapse substantially parallel to the seat frame and backward to open to a variety of angles with respect to the seat frame. The seat back freely pivots around an upper lateral axis, and the rigid back support portion is linearly adjustable to space the seat back toward and away from the hinges to enable raising or lowering the upper lateral axis and thus the seat back with respect to the lower lateral axis. This provides multiple ways of changing which part of the teardrop-shaped lumbar support curve hits your lumbar curve for proper support. Variable lumbar lordotic support is thus provided.

A chair is provided with a seat support frame which may be comprised of at least two tubes spaced apart by a polymer connector. The seat support frame supports a foam cushion and the frame may be embedded in the foam and may include flexible supports across the support frame also embedded in the foam. A rigid panel has a cavity and the rigid panel is arranged adjacent an outer surface of said foam cushion with at least part of said foam cushion positioned within the cavity, wherein said rigid panel is affixed to said support frame and an inner surface of said rigid panel faces the outer surface of said foam cushion.

A lounge having a matrix mat and a plurality of modules capable of being inserted into the matrix mat. The lounge may include a frame configured as a rigid frame, a modular frame, and combinations thereof. The modular frame may further include a tri-cable suspension. The tri-cable suspension may be attached to a dilator retractor mechanism. The modules may be a mushroom cap module, a spider spring module, a web module, a lighting module, an electronics module, and combinations thereof.

A seat cushion comprises a relief portion to selectively provide cushioning to a user's sitz bones received when the user is seated on a seating surface. The selective cushioning provided by the relief portion to the user's sitz bones can be greater than cushioning provided by the remainder of the seat cushion to portions of the user's body other than the sitz bones. The relief portion can be in the form of a pair of relief pockets offset to be depressed below the second surface. A resiliency of the relief pockets is different from a resiliency of areas of the second surface surrounding the relief pocket. The first surface and the second surface of the seat cushion can be contoured so as to form a central core, a relief portion substantially surrounding the central core, and an outer portion defined so as to surround the relief portion.

A pneumatically adjustable bladder system (90) for use in a cushioned seat bottom (24) has one or two rear foam filled bladders (62, 64) for location under the ischial tuberosities of a seated occupant of the seat bottom, and one or more expansion chambers (14, 16) or front foam filled bladders (66, 68) for location under the thighs of the seated occupant. There are air passageways (70, 72, 74, 92) interconnecting the bladders with each other or with an expansion chamber. The system is air tight and the bladders are compressible under the weight of the seated occupant and are expandable when the weight is removed. The compression of a bladder causes air therewith in to be displaced through the air passageways to the expansion chambers or to the other bladders, which then expand. The compression of a bladder under the ischial tuberosities of the seated occupant and the expansion of the expansion chambers or of the other bladders under the thighs of the seated occupant cause the seated occupant to experience a correct level of immersion into the cushioned seat bottom which is desired for effective postural support and prevention of lower back pain.

A pneumatically adjustable bladder system (90) for use in a cushioned seat bottom (24) has one or two rear foam filled bladders (62, 64) for location under the ischial tuberosities of a seated occupant of the seat bottom, and one or more expansion chambers (14, 16) or front foam filled bladders (66, 68) for location under the thighs of the seated occupant. There are air passageways (70, 72, 74, 92) interconnecting the bladders with each other or with an expansion chamber. The system is air tight and the bladders are compressible under the weight of the seated occupant and are expandable when the weight is removed. The compression of a bladder causes air therewith in to be displaced through the air passageways to the expansion chambers or to the other bladders, which then expand. The compression of a bladder under the ischial tuberosities of the seated occupant and the expansion of the expansion chambers or of the other bladders under the thighs of the seated occupant cause the seated occupant to experience a correct level of immersion into the cushioned seat bottom which is desired for effective postural support and prevention of lower back pain.

A support surface including a cutout on a bottom surface of the support surface. The cutout, which can include a plurality of cutouts, provides a controlled structural collapse of the support surface by varying a stiffness in a cross-section. That is, the area in which the cutouts are positioned collapses more easily than the surrounding area of the support structure, thus making the area with the cutouts perceived as being softer. The cutouts can reduce the peak pressures on the portion of the user's body (for example, the user's ischial tuberosities) that is positioned over the cutouts. The support surface can also include a low-friction interface extending across a top surface of the support surface.

A chair back assembly includes a back shell member including laterally extending top, bottom and side portions cooperating to define an open space therebetween, where a portion of the back shell member is located in a lumbar region, a cover having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the cover covers at least a portion of the open space, and a back frame assembly operably supporting the back shell member and movable between upright and reclined positions, wherein the back frame assembly causes the back shell to flex in a fore-to-aft direction as the back frame assembly is moved between the upright and reclined positions independent of an external force being exerted on the back shell member, and where the lumbar portion of the back shell member remains spaced from the back frame as the back frame is moved between the upright and reclined positions.