Pivoting seat bench assembly
10098469 ยท 2018-10-16
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
B60N2/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
There is provided a pivoting bench comprising a central spine extending along a longitudinal axis; seat slats configured to be mounted to the central spine and to rotate about the longitudinal axis for alternating a seating surface formed by at least a part of the seat slats from a first side of the bench to a second side of the bench opposite the first side with respect to the longitudinal axis of the central spine; and a support structure for supporting the central spine, the boomerang-shaped seat slats and the bench to the ground. The seat slats are boomerang shaped seat slats.
Claims
1. A pivoting bench comprising: a central spine extending along a longitudinal axis; seat slats configured to be mounted to the central spine and to rotate about the longitudinal axis for alternating a seating surface formed by at least a part of the seat slats from a first side of the bench to a second side of the bench opposite the first side with respect to the longitudinal axis of the central spine; a support structure for supporting the central spine, the seat slats and the bench to the ground; and a stopper respectively for each side of the bench mountable on the support structure and extending along the longitudinal axis for stopping and supporting the seat slats when they reach a sitting position.
2. The pivoting bench of claim 1, wherein the seat slats are boomerang-shaped seat slats.
3. The pivoting bench of claim 1, wherein the seat slats are configured to have a predefined displacement angle range therebetween while rotating.
4. The pivoting bench of claim 3, wherein the seat slats comprise pins and slots adapted to link the seat slats between each other in a manner to enable a coordinated movement therebetween according to the predefined displacement angle range.
5. The pivoting bench of claim 4 wherein each seat slat has two pins on a first side of the slat adjacent a first proximity slat and two slots on another side of the slat adjacent a second proximity slat, wherein the pins of the slat are adapted to engage the slots of the first proximity slat and the slots of the slat are adapted to engage the pins of the second proximity slat.
6. The pivoting bench of claim 5, wherein the seat slats are adapted to be coupled to the central spine using slat rotating components.
7. The pivoting bench of claim 6, wherein the seat slats have bend portions, and wherein the slat rotating components are adapted to enrobe the bend portions of the slats.
8. The pivoting bench of claim 7, wherein the predefined displacement angle range is 0-8 degrees.
9. The pivoting bench of claim 8, wherein the seat slats are adapted to rotate between 0 and 90 degrees.
10. The pivoting bench of claim 9, wherein a 90 degrees rotation of the seat slats results in shifting the seating surface formed by the rotated seat slats from the first side of the bench to the second side of the bench.
11. The pivoting bench of claim 10, wherein the central spine consists of a cylindrical shaft extending along the longitudinal axis.
12. The pivoting bench of claim 11, wherein the stoppers consist of cylindrical shafts extending along the longitudinal axis.
13. The pivoting bench of claim 12, wherein the support structure comprises two or more stands adapted to sit on the ground and to support the central spine and the stoppers.
14. The pivoting bench of claim 1, wherein the seat slats are divided into 2 or more groups, such that each group of slats are interlinked independently of the other groups for forming respective 2 or more sitting areas within the bench.
15. The pivoting bench of claim 1, wherein the plurality of seating slats are adapted to be connected together in such a manner that the rotation of one or more seat slats triggers the rotation of one or more other seat slats with a predefined angular displacement there between.
16. The pivoting bench of claim 15, wherein the seat slats are adapted to rotate between 0 and 90 degrees and wherein a 90 degrees rotation of the seat slats results in shifting the seating surface formed by the rotated seat slats from the first side of the bench to the second side of the bench.
17. The pivoting bench of claim 16, wherein the displacement angle range defined between the slats enable for the slats located adjacent the 90 degrees rotated ones to form a gradually inclined slat separator.
18. The pivoting bench of claim 17, wherein the seat slats are adapted to be rotated such that 2 or more sitting areas are formed separated by gradually inclined slat separators within the bench.
19. The pivoting bench of claim 18, wherein the seat slats are boomerang-shaped seat slats.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(59) The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
(60) The pivoting seat bench assembly 2, shown in the drawings, is designed for providing seating facility in public facilities such as parks, streets, waiting rooms, malls, waiting rooms and lounges of airport, subways or the like comprises two or more stands 14 having an angled configuration, a plurality of seating slats 10, a central spine 13 for interlinking said slats 10 along the central spine axis 20 and mounted to said stands 14, a slat-rotating component 24 respectively for each seating slat 10 for enabling a coordinated rotation of the slats 10 around the central spine 13 about the central spine axis 20; and a seating angle position stopper 15 for stopping the rotation of the seating slats 10 and supporting these for forming the seating surface.
(61) The term bench assembly as used herein is to be understood to include any sitting installation/furniture, swings and other devices having a seat and a back upon which people sit. The bench assembly may further include a table and other suitable fixtures without deviating from the overall scope of the invention.
(62) Referring to
(63) Each stand 14 preferably has an angular V shaped structure with a central bend portion and two legs adapted to be extended towards the floor surface to form the ground support for the seat bench assembly 2. The central bend portions of the stands 14 have holes 50 for receiving and holding the central spine 13, two or more slots 26 for receiving and holding the seating angle position stoppers 15, and two or more cuts 28 for controlling the rotation of the slat-rotating component 24.
(64) The slat rotating component 24 comprises a sleeve component 11 having outer cladding sheet 11a, movement control slots 11b and movement control pins 11c. The outer cladding sheet 11a has a hole 60 concentric with the hole 40 of the seating slat 10 for receiving holding the central spine 13. The movement control slots 11b are preferably two slots 11b located at a first side of the outer cladding sheet 11a. The movement control pins 11c are preferably two movement control pins 11c located at a second side of the cladding sheet 11a opposing the first side. When the seat slats 10 are mounted on the central spine 13 along the central spine axis 20, the movement control pins 11c associated with first seat slats 10 are secured within the movement control slots 11b of second seat slats 10 adjacent to the first seat slats 10 from a first side along the central spine axis 20. The movement control slots 11c associated with the first seat slats 10 receive and secure the movement control pins 11b of third seat slats 10 adjacent the first seat slats 10 from a second side opposite the first side along the central spine axis 20. This interlinking/interconnection between the seat slats 10 allow for a controlled and synchronized movement of the seat slats 10 such that when one seat slat 10 is rotated, the adjacent seat slats 10 are rotated in consequence.
(65) The sleeve component 11 is adapted to be coupled to the seating slats 10 such the sleeve component 11 enrobes the seating slat 10 bending portion. The sleeve component 11 has a cavity defined by the walls of the sleeve component 11 which is adapted to receive and enrobe the bending portion of the seating slat 10 such that the hole 40 of seat slat 10 coincides with the hole 60 of the outer cladding sheet 11a.
(66) The plurality of the seat slats 10 are mounted on the central spine 13 along the central spine axis 20 such that the plurality of the seat slats 10 are interconnected with each other in such a manner that the movement control pin 11c associated to one seating slat 10 protrudes into the movement control slot 11b associated to an adjacent seating slat 10.
(67) The slat rotating component 24 further comprises a rotating bearing structure 12 having an external cladding 12a and an internal bearing 12b. The rotating bearing structure 12 is adapted to be positioned inside the coinciding holes 40 & 60 of the seat slats 10 and sleeve component 11 such that the external cladding 12a is firmly fixed to the coinciding holes 40 & 60 and the internal bearing 12b is physically connected to the external cladding 12a from the outside and forms a central spine hole 30 on the inside to allow the central spine 13 to pass through.
(68) A slat rotating component 24 is coupled to each one of the seating slats 10 to form a mechanical rotation joint between the central spine 13 and the seat slats 10 such that seat slats 10 can be mechanically rotated at any rotational displacement angle 70 ranging from 0 to 90. The rotational displacement of the seating slats 10 is perpendicular to the central spine axis 20 with the rotation being centered on the central spine axis 20.
(69) The rotational displacement of one seating slat 10 is mechanically transferred to the adjacent seating slat 10 by means of movement control pins 11c which allow the adjacent seating slat 10 to rotate at an angular rotational angle 80 which depends on the size of the movement control slot 11b. This rotational displacement is gradually transferred from one seating slat 10 to another seating slat 10 along the central spine axis 20 allowing each adjacent slat 10 to gradually rotate at a gradually reducing angular rotational angle 80 such that when each adjacent seating slat 10 completes the maximum rotational displacement of 90, the angular rotational angle 80 between the adjacent slat and the previous seating slat become 0.
(70) The rotational displacement angle 70 is the angle formed between the initial position and the final position of the seating slats 10 when the seating slat is applied with mechanical rotational force causing the change in position of the seating slats 10. The rotational displacement angle can vary from 0 to 90.
(71) The angular rotational angle 80 is the angle formed between two adjacent seating slats 10 when the rotational displacement of one seating slat is mechanically transferred to the adjacent seating slat. The angular rotational angle depends of the size of the seating slat 10 and the size of the movement control slots 11b.
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(74) The rotational displacement can range from a partial displacement wherein few seating slats 10 are rotated such that rotational displacement angle 70 ranges from 0 to 90 such that the seating surf ace is now partially shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly or to a full displacement wherein all the seating slats 10 are rotated to a rotational displacement angle of 90 such that the seating surface is now completely shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly.
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(76) The rotational displacement can range from a partial displacement wherein some seating slats 10 are rotated partially with rotational displacement angles 70 varying between 90 to 0 resulting in the seating surface being partially shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly, or to a full displacement wherein the seating slats 10 are rotated completely with rotational displacement angles 70 of 90 resulting in the seating surface formed by these completely shifted slats being completely shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly 2.
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(78) The rotational displacement is gradually transferred from one seating slat 10 to subsequent seating slats 10 such that the seating slats 10 are arranged to form a second seating surface on the other side of the pivoting seat bench assembly.
(79) The rotational displacement can range from a partial displacement wherein some seating slats 10 are rotated partially with rotational displacement angles 70 varying between 0 to 90 resulting the s eating surface being partially shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly 2, or to a full displacement wherein all the seating slats 10 are rotated completely with a rotational displacement angle 70 of 90 resulting in the seating surface formed by these completely shifted slats being completely shifted to the other side of the seat bench assembly 2.
(80) As illustrated in
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(82) The mechanical rotational displacement of any one of the seating slats 10 causes the movement control pin 11c attached to that seating slat 10 to move inside the movement control slot 11b of the adjacent slat in the direction of rotation causing the adjacent slat to rotate in the direction of rotation with an angular rotational angle 80 formed between the first slat and the adjacent slat.
(83) The angular rotational angle 80 is formed depending on the size of the seating slat 10 and the size of the movement control slot 11b which decides the available distance for the free movement of the movement control pins 11c before reaching the end of the movement control slot 11b and pulling/forcing the adjacent seating slat 10 to rotate in the same direction.
(84) Preferably, the movement control pin 11c of the terminal seating slats 10 which are physically connected to the stand 14 locks the rotational displacement of seating slat 10 by fixing itself in the cuts 28 available on the stand 14. The seating slats 10 are further structurally supported by the seating angle position stopper 15 which holds the seating slats 10 to form the seating surface on either side of the bench.
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(86) The seating slats 10 are preferably made by any suitable material which has sufficient strength and comfort to provide a stable seating surface and back surface of the seat bench assembly 2. The suitable examples of the material used for seating slats 10 includes but not limited to metals, wood and hard plastics.
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS ACCORDING TO AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
(92) Component 10: (Timber/Plastic/Metal Etc) Boomerang Shape Elements (Seat Slats)
(93) 8 degrees limited relative rotation to each other Seating and back support Can be rotated to each side seating around the spine
Component 11: (Metal) Sleeves Attached to each boomerang shape elements includes interlinking mechanical rotation movement joint (boomerang shape elements rotation angle control to max 8 degrees relative to each other) Added for structural strength 3 mm thick metal cladding with metal pin accessories attached to its surface Sleeve's surface is flush with boomerang surface
(94) Sub-Components: 11A: Metal cladding sheet/sleeve 11B: Movement moment slot 11C: Movement moment pin
Component 12: (Nylon) Bearings with External (Metal) Tube Cladding includes mechanical rotation movement joint (between central structural spine pipe and boomerang shape elements) Nylon bearing fixed to external metal ring support Attached to the metal sleeve within the central spine hole of the boomerang shape Creates smooth rotation around the spine pipe element
(95) Sub-Components: 12A: Metal ring/external cladding 12B: nylon ring/internal nylon bearing
Component 13: (Metal) Spine Pipe Structural Element (Central Spine) Structural component interlinking the boomerang shape elements with a regular distance Connected to the metal legs at its ends Boomerang shape elements are sitting on it interlinking to each other and rotating around this spine
Component 14: (Metal) Structural Legs (Stands) Placed at regular distances to hold the spine pipe and the boomerang shape elements The seating angle position stopper structural pipe element is fixed to this at its ends
Component 15: (Metal) Seating Angle Position Stopper Structural Pipe Element Structural support for the boomerang shape elements at seating level angle Sitting between the metal legs Sits on both sides of the legs symmetrically along the central spine axis
Component 22: Slat-Rotating Component