Active dynamic seating furniture

Abstract

The invention relates to a rocker mechanism for an active dynamic seating furniture with a seat surface (2) and with a supporting frame (10), which bears the seat surface (2), wherein the supporting frame (10) is designed with the spring-loaded rocker mechanism (20) and in this way the seat surface (2) is mounted movably sprung on the supporting frame (10).

Claims

1. An active dynamic seating furniture with a spring-loaded rocker mechanism for executing movement for a seat portion having a seat surface of said seating furniture relative to, and arranged on, a supporting frame, wherein the seat portion is mounted movably sprung and tiltable on the supporting frame, wherein the spring-loaded rocker mechanism forms at least one lever arm comprising a first stirrup, which is connectible to a rear portion of the supporting frame, and a second stirrup with at least one lever arm, which is connectible to a front portion of the supporting frame, wherein the seat portion is fastened to the rocker mechanism across elastically deformable bearings, wherein fastening points on the first and second stirrup are provided with elastically deformable spacer disks on which the seat portion is fastened, wherein the supporting frame has four chair legs, running at a slant toward each other from bottom to top and the stirrups are connected to said chair legs directly, or indirectly at the upper ends of the chair legs, and wherein the stirrups are each fastened by their respective holding sections indirectly by connection means provided with elastically deformable spacer disks on the supporting frame in the region of each of the chair leg upper ends.

2. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lever arm or arms of the first stirrup extend substantially in a forward oriented direction, while the lever arm or arms of the second stirrup extend in a substantially backward oriented direction and they intersect each other.

3. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat portion is held with the seat surface on the spring-loaded rocker mechanism such that the seat surface can be activated from a starting position into both a forward and a backward tilted position against the spring force of the elastically deformable bearings.

4. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the stirrups has two lever arms and the two lever arms of this stirrup are joined together in U-shape by a connection arm.

5. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein both stirrups have two lever arms and the two lever arms of the respective stirrup are each joined together in U-shape by a connection arm.

6. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the other stirrup has a holding section consisting of two holding arms by which the stirrup is connected to the front part of the supporting frame and one lever arm extends away from the holding section, slanting upward in a direction substantially toward the rear portion.

7. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting frame has four chair legs which run toward each other at a slant from bottom to top and which are joined together at the upper chair leg ends by means of a connection plate.

8. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lever arms of the two stirrups cross each other in X-shape, looking from the chair side.

9. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting frame and the rocker mechanism are formed as a single piece.

10. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 9, wherein said supporting frame and said rocker mechanism are made of tubular material.

11. The active dynamic seating furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elasticity and/or spring property of the elastically deformable bearings can be altered by means of an adjustment mechanism.

Description

(1) Other advantageous modifications of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims and shall be represented more closely below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention by means of the figures. There are shown:

(2) FIG. 1 a sample embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism;

(3) FIG. 2 a side view of an alternative rocker mechanism;

(4) FIG. 3 an alternative sample embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism;

(5) FIG. 4 a chair with a tilting device according to the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 an alternative design of a chair with rollers with a tilting device according to the invention;

(7) FIG. 6 an alternative sample embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism;

(8) FIG. 7 an alternative sample embodiment of a design of a supporting frame with integrated rocker mechanism and

(9) FIG. 8 a chair with the supporting frame of FIG. 7.

(10) In the following, the invention shall be described more closely by means of sample embodiments with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8, where the same reference numbers indicate the same structural and/or functional features.

(11) FIG. 1 shows a first sample embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism 20 and FIG. 2 shows a side view of an alternative rocker mechanism 20.

(12) The rocker mechanism 20 is designed to be arranged on or integrated in a supporting frame 10, as shown in FIG. 1. In this context, refer to FIGS. 4 and 5 in which each time an active dynamic chair 1 is shown with a seat surface 2 and with a supporting frame 10, which bears the seat surface 2, while the supporting frame 10 is designed with a spring-loaded rocker mechanism 20.

(13) Thanks to such a design, the seat surface 2 or the entire seat with the seat surface 2 is mounted movably sprung and tiltable on the supporting frame 10 without the need for a pendulum column.

(14) The spring-loaded rocker mechanism 20 comprises a first stirrup 21 consisting of two lever arms 21a, 21b, each of which is connected to a rear portion 10h of the supporting frame 10.

(15) Moreover, the rocker mechanism 20 comprises a second stirrup 22 with a lever arm 22a, which is connected to a front portion 10v of the supporting frame 10.

(16) One will notice that the two lever arms 21a, 21b of the first stirrup 21 extend substantially in a forward oriented direction, while the lever arm 22a (or the two lever arms 22a, 22b in the embodiment of FIG. 6) of the second stirrup 22 extend in an opposite direction, substantially oriented to the rear. By the terms rear in the sense of the present invention is meant each time the region in relation to the chair where the back rest or the rear chair legs are situated, while front defines the opposite region on the chair, as also emerges from the figures.

(17) In a general description, one may describe the course of the first stirrup 21 as follows: a holding section 21h of the first lever arm 21a is fastened directly above a rear chair leg 4 or connected to it directly or indirectly; the lever arm 21a then runs slanting upward and forward to a first fastening point 24 for the seat portion 2; from the first seat portion fastening point 24 runs a connection arm 21c of the stirrup 21 to a second seat portion fastening point 24 adjoining the second lever arm 21b of the stirrup 21; the second lever arm 21b runs in the direction toward a second rear chair leg 4 slanting downward and backward and is fastened by its holding section 21h directly above the second rear chair leg 4 or connected to it directly or indirectly by the latter.

(18) In a general description, one may describe the course of the first stirrup 22 as follows (see FIG. 1): two holding arms 23a, 23b which form a holding section 23 of the stirrup 22 are fastened each time at the end directly above a front chair leg 4 or connected to the latter indirectly; a lever arm 22a runs slanting backward and passes into a V-shaped fastening section 27, consisting of two fastening arms 27a, 27b at whose ends are arranged each time fastening points 24 for the seat portion 2.

(19) The active dynamic chair 1 is preferably designed such that the seat surface 2 is held movably sprung on the spring-loaded rocker mechanism 20 across the elastically deformable spacer disks 25, so that the seat surface 2 can be activated from a starting position in both a forward and a rearward tilted position against the spring force of the elastically deformable spacer disks 25.

(20) In FIGS. 1 and 2 is represented an embodiment in which the two lever arms 21a, 21b of the first stirrup 21 are connected by a connection arm 21c, so that the stirrup 21 has a U-shaped configuration.

(21) FIG. 6 shows an alternative sample embodiment of a perspective view of a rocker mechanism 20 in which the two lever arms 22a, 22b of the second stirrup 22 are also connected by a connection arm 22c, so that the stirrup 22 likewise has a U-shaped configuration.

(22) In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the second stirrup 22 has a holding section 23, consisting of two holding arms 23a, 23b, by which the stirrup 22 is connected to the front part 10v of the supporting frame 10 and one lever arm 22a extends away from the holding section 23, slanting upward in a direction substantially toward the rear portion 10h.

(23) On the first and second stirrup 21, 22 there are formed fastening points 24 with elastically deformable spacer disks 25, to which is fastened on the one hand the seat portion 2 and which on the other hand produce the connections of the lever arms of the stirrup 21, 22. The stirrups 21, 22 may have a single-piece or alternatively a multiple-piece configuration (e.g., being composed of three individual lever arms).

(24) Moreover, the supporting frame 10 in the embodiments depicted has four chair legs 4, which run from bottom to top, slanting toward each other. The stirrups 21, 22 are connected at the upper ends 4a of the chair legs 4 indirectly to the latter across chair leg connections 5. FIG. 5 shows an alternative solution, in which the rocker mechanism 20 is mounted on a central chair column 6, adjoined by an otherwise known foot cross 7 with rollers 8. The legs 4 of the foot cross 7 likewise run at a slant, as in the example of FIG. 4.

(25) In FIG. 6 one can see how the chair leg connections 5 are an integral component of the stirrup 20.

(26) The two stirrups 21, 22 are fastened by their respective holding sections indirectly across connection means 26 and making use of elastic spacer disks 25 to the supporting frame 2, each time in the region of the chair leg ends 4a.

(27) The supporting frame 2 of FIG. 2 is moreover connected to four chair legs 4, die which run from bottom to top slanting toward each other and are joined together at the upper chair leg ends 4a by means of a connection plate 50. On the connection plate 50 are formed directly the four chair leg connections 5 as a single piece. The chair leg connections 5 are fashioned as cylindrical tubular elements in whose open end the ends 4a of the chair legs 4 are inserted and secured. An especially easy assembly can by accomplished by a press fit, so that no mechanical connection materials are required. In addition or alternatively, a bonding method can be used in order to create a mechanical connection between the chair legs 4 and the chair leg connections 5.

(28) As is evident from FIG. 3, for the desired tilting effect 20 by means of the spring-loaded tilting device 20 the lever arms 21a, 21b and 22a, 22b of the two stirrups 21, 22 cross each other in roughly the shape of an X, as seen from the chair side. A comparable configuration is easily noticed in the side view of FIG. 2, where one notices the X-shaped arrangement of the two stirrups 21, 22.

(29) FIGS. 7 and 8 show another alternative sample embodiment of the invention, in which the supporting frame 2 and the rocker mechanism 20 are formed integrally or as a single piece from tubular material. The concept of the invention is likewise realized here by the two spring stirrups 21, 22, which in this embodiment are also configured in an X-shaped intersecting arrangement.

(30) The invention is not limited in its implementation to the above indicated sample embodiments. Instead, a number of variants are conceivable, which make use of the presented solution even with fundamentally different configurations. Thus, the above described course and orientation of the stirrups may be precisely the reverse or opposite direction, or a mirror image.