Seating and Support Furniture

Abstract

A piece of seating and supporting furniture with or without an armrest, comprising an upright and a basic seat and supporting structure (seat and structure) arranged thereon such that it can be pivoted about at least one horizontal axis, wherein the seat and structure has a seat surface which, in a first end position of pivoting about the horizontal axis, is arranged substantially in a horizontal plane, wherein the seat surface, in a second pivoting end position, is arranged transversely to the horizontal plane, wherein the seat and structure has a supporting surface arranged on a side of the seat and structure spaced apart from the seat surface. In another embodiment, a first end of a spring is connected to the upright, a second end of the spring is connected to the seat and structure, and the spring assists pivoting of the seat and structure about the horizontal axis.

Claims

1. A seating and support furniture with or without armrests, comprising a stand (24), and a seating and support corpus (14) which is arranged on the stand (24) such that it is pivotable about at least one horizontal axis (26), wherein the seating and support corpus (14) has a seat surface (16) which is arranged in a first end position (12a) of a pivoting movement about the horizontal axis (26) in a substantially horizontal plane, wherein the seat surface (16) in a second end position (12b) of the pivoting movement is arranged transversely to the horizontal plane, wherein the seating and support corpus (14) has a support surface (20) which is arranged on a side of the seating and support corpus (14) spaced apart from the seat surface (16), characterized in that a first end (30a) of a spring (28) is attached to the stand (24), that a second end (30b) of the spring (28) is attached to the seating and support corpus (14), and that the spring (28) supports a pivoting movement of the seating and support corpus (14) about the horizontal axis (26).

2. The seating and support furniture as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the spring (28) pretensions the seating and support corpus (14) in a direction of the second end position (12b) of the pivoting movement.

3. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivoting can be triggered by a mechanism which releases a lock.

4. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first end (30a) of the spring (28) is pivotably attached to the stand (24), and that the second end (30b) of the spring (28) is pivotably attached to the seating and support corpus (14).

5. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the horizontal axis (26) and at least one articulation axis (32a; 32b) of the spring (28) run parallel to one another.

6. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first end (30a) of the spring (28) is attached in a base plane below the horizontal axis (26), and that the second end (30b) of the spring (28) is arranged in a moving-around plane above the horizontal axis (26).

7. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one side of the seating and support corpus (14) opposite the support surface (20) forms a backrest (18).

8. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the seating and support corpus (14) comprises a rigid load-bearing structure, and that the load-bearing structure reinforces and stiffens the seat surface (16) and the support surface (20).

9. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring (28) is lockable by a locking means, and that the locking means is releasable by an actuating button.

10. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring (28) is housed in the seating and support corpus (14).

11. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring (28) is configured as a gas spring.

12. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stand (24) is attached to a movable castor system (36).

13. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stand (24) is height-adjustable by a spring system (34).

14. The seating and support furniture as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that the spring system (34) is housed in the stand (24).

15. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the stand (24) has an extendable stopping mechanism (38), and that the extendable stopping mechanism (38) can be activated from a predefined height.

16. The seating and support furniture as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the stopping mechanism (38) can be triggered by a vertical force on the seating and support corpus (14) and blocks a movable castor system (36) attached to the stand (24).

17. The seating and support furniture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a cover part (42) is movably attached to the seating and support corpus (14), and that the cover part (42) is movable in respect of the seating and support corpus (14), so that on one side of the seating and support corpus (14) facing away from the support surface (20), an extended backrest (19) is formed by the extended cover part (42), the surface of said backrest being sectionally formed from the seating and support corpus (14) and from the cover part (42).

18. The seating and support furniture as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that a kinematics of the cover part (42) is coupled to the pivoting movement.

Description

[0051] The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the attached drawings with the help of a preferred exemplary embodiment.

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a seating and support furniture in a first end position in side view;

[0053] FIG. 2 shows the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in side view in a second end position with an extended stopping mechanism;

[0054] FIG. 3 shows a front view of the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in a first end position;

[0055] FIG. 4 shows a front view of the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in the second end position with the stopping mechanism not yet extended;

[0056] FIG. 5 shows the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in its second end position in front view with the stopping mechanism extended;

[0057] FIG. 6 shows the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in side view with a partially extended cover part;

[0058] FIG. 7 shows the seating and support furniture from FIG. 1 in side view with the cover part completely extended.

[0059] FIG. 1 shows a seating and support furniture 10 in a first end position 12a in side view. The seating and support furniture 10 comprises a seating and support corpus 14 which is configured in the form of a square with legs standing substantially perpendicular to one another. Similarly, this is also the case with traditional office chairs. The seating and support corpus 14 comprises a seat surface 16 on which a user can rest his bottom region. On a surface side of the seating and support corpus 14, on which the seat surface 16 is arranged, a backrest 18 is additionally arranged, against which the user's back region can rest. In an upwardly curved region of the seating and support corpus 14, the seat surface 16 changes seamlessly into the backrest 18. In the present case, a plane of the seat surface 16 and a plane of the backrest 18 form an angle of approximately 90 degrees. The seat surface 16 runs substantially along a horizontal plane, whereas a support surface 20 runs substantially along a vertical plane.

[0060] On one side of the seating and support corpus 14 facing away from the backrest 18 is arranged the support surface 20. This support surface 20 may be used by a user for sit-standing during a corresponding pivoting movement of the seating and support furniture 10. In relation to a vertical line which runs between the backrest 18 and the support surface 20 along the seating and support corpus 14, the backrest 18 is configured in a concave shape and the support surface 20 in a convex shape.

[0061] The seating and support corpus 14 is mounted in a single pivot 22 in a stand 24. The single pivot 22 comprises a horizontal axis 26 about which the seating and support corpus can be pivoted about approximately 90 degrees—in an anti-clockwise direction in FIG. 1.

[0062] In order to support a pivoting movement of this kind about the horizontal axis 26, a spring 28 configured as a gas pressure spring is arranged on the seating and support furniture 10. In this case, the spring 28 is attached at a first end 30a via an articulation axis 32a to the stand 24 in an articulated manner and at a second end 30b in an articulated manner by means of a second articulation axis 32b to the seating and support corpus 14. The spring 28 in the present case is configured as a gas pressure spring which is shown in a pretensioned state in FIG. 1. The articulation axis 32a of the spring 28 is located in a horizontal base plane which is spaced further apart from the seat surface 18 than a horizontal plane which runs through the horizontal axis 26. The articulation axis 32b of the spring 28 is located in a horizontal moving-around plane which is spaced less far away from the horizontal plane of the horizontal axis 26 than the horizontal plane which runs through the horizontal axis 26. In the first end position, the moving-around plane has a smaller height than in the second end position, as it follows the pivoting movement. This height-offset arrangement of the articulation axes 32a, 32b from the horizontal axis 26 guarantees that the pretensioned spring 28 can exert a torque on the seating and support corpus 14 which supports the pivoting movement about the horizontal axis 26 in a clockwise direction. In this way, the spring 28 can easily pivot the seating and support corpus 14 into the second end position 12b which is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2 the spring 28 is in a relaxed state. During a pivoting-back from the second position 12b into the first end position 12a, the spring 28 has a damping action, so that impact noises or forces are reduced or damped.

[0063] A locking mechanism is preferably provided which locks the seating and support furniture both in the first position 12a shown in FIG. 1 and also in the second end position 12b shown in FIG. 2, so that an accidental pivoting movement is prevented. To achieve this, the locking mechanism blocks the pivoting movement.

[0064] The stand 24 in the present case is configured as a height-adjustable stand 24. For this reason, the stand 24 has a two-part configuration. A spring system 34 is contained in the stand 24, wherein the spring system 34 is configured as a height-adjustable spring system 34 and controls the height adjustment of the sitting and support furniture 10. To achieve this, the spring system 34 is housed centrally in the stand 24 and enclosed thereby, so that a visually more attractive appearance results, but also, for example, the user's fingers are prevented from easily getting between movable parts of the spring system 34, thereby injuring the user. In the present case, the axis of the spring system 34 coincides with the vertical axis 24 of stand 24.

[0065] In a lower region of the stand 24 facing away from the seating and support corpus 14, a movable castor system 36 with five castors is attached to the stand 24, so that the seating and support furniture 10 can be moved quickly and easily on a base by the user sitting on the seat surface 16, in the manner of a traditional office chair.

[0066] The spring system 34 additionally comprises a stopping mechanism 38. At one end of the stand 24 facing away from the seating and support corpus 14 is arranged an end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 which is shown in FIG. 1 in the retracted state, so that there is no contact with a planar base and the seating and support furniture 10 can be moved by the movable castor system 36.

[0067] FIG. 2 shows the seating and support corpus 24 in its second end position 12b, so that a user can use the support surface 20 for sit-standing. The support surface 20 is arranged substantially parallel to a horizontal plane of the seat surface 16 from FIG. 1, wherein the seat surface 16 in FIG. 2 is arranged substantially parallel to a vertical plane of the support surface 20 from FIG. 1. It follows from this that the seating and support corpus 14 has moved through a pivot angle of substantially 90 degrees. Both in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 2, so in both end positions 12a, 12b of the pivoting movement, the first articulation axis 32a of the spring 28 is arranged in a base plane which is spaced less far away from the castor system 36 than the horizontal axis 26. Both in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 2, so in both end positions of the pivoting movement 12a, 12b, the second articulation axis 32b is spaced further apart from the castor system 36 than the horizontal axis 26. In the second end position 12b, a perpendicular line which starts from a surface of the backrest 18 points in a direction which runs parallel to an extent of the stand 24.

[0068] In the second end position 12b, the support surface 20, starting from an initial point arranged substantially vertically above the stand, up to an end point in the direction of the castor system 36, exhibits a slightly sloping curve which results in a comfortable sit-standing position.

[0069] In FIG. 2, the height-adjustable spring system 34 is in an extended state; in this case the single pivot 32 is spaced further apart from the castor system 36 than in FIG. 1. In addition, FIG. 2 shows that the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is in an extended state, so that the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is spaced at least exactly as far from the horizontal plane through the horizontal axis 26 as a side of the castor system 36 facing away from the horizontal plane. It therefore follows that the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is in contact with a floor or a base and thereby prevents movement of the castor system 36, so that the seating and support furniture has a fixed position when a user rests or perches on the support surface 20 for sit-standing. It is thereby ensured that the seating and support furniture 10 cannot accidently roll away and the risk of injury to the user is reduced. For this purpose, the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is preferably made of a material such as hard rubber, plastic or a similar brakeable material.

[0070] FIG. 3 shows the seating and support furniture 10 as a front view in the first end position 12a. In this first end position 12a, the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is retracted, so that the seating and support furniture 10 can be moved by the castor system 36.

[0071] FIG. 4 shows the seating and support furniture 10 in front view in the second end position 12b, wherein the stand 24 is at the same height as in FIG. 3 and has not yet been moved by the spring system 34 into a lowered blocking position. In this state, the seating and support furniture 10 is not yet completely suitable for sit-sanding, as the support surface 20 is too low for an adult of normal height. In this state, the seating and support furniture 10 can still be moved along a floor by means of the castor system 36 to the preferred position in which the seating and support furniture 10 is to be used for sit-standing. FIG. 4 therefore shows that when the stand 24 is not yet height-adjusted, the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is furthermore retracted.

[0072] FIG. 5 shows the seating and support furniture 10 in turn as a front view in the second end position 12b, wherein by contrast with FIG. 4, the stand 24 has been height-adjusted by means of the spring system 34, so that a greater distance has been achieved between the castor system 36 and the support surface 20. The seating and support furniture 10 is located at such a height that the support surface 20 can be used by the user for sit-standing. In order to prevent the seating and support furniture 10 from accidentally moving, the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 is extended, so that the contact of the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 with a base or floor causes a braking effect to be initiated which blocks the movable castor system.

[0073] FIG. 1 shows that the seating and support corpus 14 comprises a cover part 42 which is arranged on a side of the seating and support corpus 14 facing away from the backrest 18. In this case, a surface of the cover part 42 forms the support surface 20. In FIG. 1, the cover part 42 is shown in its retracted position, so that an upper end of the cover part 42 does not extend beyond the remaining seating and support corpus 14.

[0074] FIG. 5 shows the cover part 42 in a partially extended position and FIG. 6 shows the cover part 42 in its completely extended position. The completely extended cover part 42 means that a lengthened backrest 19 is configured which is sectionally formed from the seating and support corpus 14 and from the cover part 42.

[0075] The cover part 42 may be attached to the seating and support corpus 14 via a sliding guide or guide kinematics, wherein the sliding guide or the guide kinematics is coupled to the pivoting movement of the seating and support corpus 14 in such a manner that the cover part 32 is extended or retracted according to the end position.

[0076] The invention works as follows: A user may use the seating and support furniture 10 in the first end position 12a shown in FIG. 1 for sitting. In this first end position, the user may extend the backrest 18 by means of the cover part 42 to the extended backrest 19. If the user would like to use the seating and support furniture 10 in the second end position 12a shown in FIG. 2 for sit-standing, he releases a lock which may be arranged on the spring 28, for example, so that the pivoting movement about the horizontal axis 26 is released. After the lock has been released, the spring 28 supports the pivoting movement into the second end position 12b or, if a correspondingly large spring force is chosen, the pivoting movement can be performed independently about the horizontal axis 26.

[0077] In the second end position, the seating and support furniture 10 is not yet at a suitable height for sit-standing. In this case, the spring system 34 exhibits such properties that it only triggers the stopping mechanism 38 from a predefined height through a vertical pressing force.

[0078] Initially, at the end of the pivoting movement in the end position 12b, the seating and support furniture 10 is not yet in a raised, height-adjusted position, so that a vertical force which is exerted on the support surface 20 would not yet lead to an extension of the end region of the stopping mechanism 40, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0079] Consequently, the spring system 34 adjusts the stand 24 to a desired height which corresponds to the height in FIG. 5, for example. This height exceeds the predefined height from which the spring system 34 can extend the stopping mechanism 38. If a vertical force is now exerted on the support surface 20, the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 extends, as shown in FIG. 5, and thereby blocks the movable castor system, as a result of which the seating and support furniture 10 provides a secure hold for sit-standing. In this case, the spring system 24 provides both the height adjustment and also the property of extending the end region 40 of the stopping mechanism 38 from a certain height adjustment.

[0080] The user can lock the seating and support furniture 10 in the second end position 12b. By releasing this lock, the seating and support furniture 10 can pivot from the second end position 12b back again into the first end position 12a. In this case, the spring 28 damps the pivoting movement, i.e. the spring 28 is tensioned by manual pivoting. In a next step, the user releases the stopping mechanism 38, so that the seating and support furniture 10 can be moved again by means of the castor system 36 and adjusts the stand 24 to a desired seat height.