U.S. patent application number 10/689125 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-21 for chair assembly.
Invention is credited to Tsai, Sung-Tsun.
Application Number | 20050082889 10/689125 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44343988 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050082889 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai, Sung-Tsun |
April 21, 2005 |
Chair assembly
Abstract
A chair assembly includes a main body including an adjusting
base, a support frame, and a backrest support rack. The support
frame has two opposite sides each formed with a slide slot having a
wall formed with a plurality of fixing holes and each having a
first end formed with an arcuate positioning recess. The backrest
support rack has a horizontal section provided with an adjusting
rod slidably mounted in the slide slot and detachably locked in
either one of the fixing holes and provided with a fixing rod
detachably locked in the positioning recess. Thus, the chair
assembly can function as the office chair and the computer chair,
thereby enhancing the versatility of the chair assembly.
Inventors: |
Tsai, Sung-Tsun; (Taichung,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIKOLAI & MERSEREAU, P.A.
900 SECOND AVENUE SOUTH
SUITE 820
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Family ID: |
44343988 |
Appl. No.: |
10/689125 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/337 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 1/022 20130101;
A47C 1/027 20130101; A47C 9/005 20130101; A47C 9/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/337 |
International
Class: |
A47C 001/02 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A chair assembly, comprising a main body including: an adjusting
base; a support frame mounted on the adjusting base and having two
opposite sides each formed with a slide slot having a wall formed
with a plurality of fixing holes and each having a first end formed
with an arcuate positioning recess; and a backrest support rack
movably mounted on the support frame and having a first section
provided with an adjusting rod slidably mounted in the slide slot
of the support frame and detachably locked in either one of the
fixing holes of the slide slot and provided with a fixing rod
detachably locked in the positioning recess of the support
frame.
2. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the
backrest support rack is substantially L-shaped.
3. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the main
body further includes a seat support rack adjustably mounted on the
support frame, a seat mounted on the seat support rack, and a
backrest adjustably mounted on a second section of the backrest
support rack.
4. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 3, wherein the seat
support rack has a bottom provided with a first pivot base
pivotally mounted on the support frame, and each of the two
opposite sides of the support frame has a mediate portion formed
with a pivot hole for pivotally mounting the first pivot base of
the seat support rack.
5. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 3, further
comprising a control device mounted between the support frame and
the seat support rack so as to adjust and inclined angle of the
seat.
6. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 5, wherein the each
of the two opposite sides of the support frame has a second end
formed with a through hole, and one of the two opposite sides of
the support frame is formed with two opposite elongated slits each
located beside the through hole, and the control device includes a
pivot member movably mounted on the support frame and having two
opposite sides each extended through a respective one of the two
elongated slits of the support frame, a mounting member secured on
one of the two opposite sides of the support frame and formed with
a receiving hole for mounting the two opposite sides of the pivot
member, a pivot pin extended through the through hole of one of the
two opposite sides of the support frame, the pivot member and the
through hole of the other one of the two opposite sides of the
support frame, a screw member screwed on a threaded distal end of
the pivot pin and rested on the other one of the two opposite sides
of the support frame, an adjusting member pivotally mounted on the
pivot pin and having an end pivotally mounted on the seat support
rack, and a control lever pivotally mounted on the mounting member
and having an end pivotally mounted on the pivot member, so that
the pivot member is moved by pivot of the control lever to urge on
or detach from the adjusting member.
7. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the pivot
member is substantially U-shaped.
8. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
control device further includes an elastic member mounted on the
pivot pin and urged between one of the two opposite sides of the
support frame and the pivot member to press the pivot member to
urge the adjusting member.
9. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
control device further includes two mounting tubes each mounted on
the pivot pin and each respectively located between the adjusting
member, the pivot member and the other one of the two opposite
sides of the support frame, and two washers each mounted on the
pivot pin and each located between the adjusting member and a
respective one of the two mounting tubes.
10. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
pivot member is formed with a through hole for mounting the pivot
pin.
11. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
adjusting member is made of a plurality of laminated plates.
12. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
adjusting member is formed with an oblong slot mounted on the pivot
pin for adjusting the inclined angle of the seat.
13. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the main
body further includes a seat support rack adjustably mounted on the
support frame and having a bottom provided with a second pivot
base, and the end of the adjusting member is formed with a pivot
hole for pivotally mounting the second pivot base of the seat
support rack.
14. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 6, wherein the
mounting member is formed with an elongated hole, each of the two
opposite sides of the pivot member is formed with a through hole,
the end of the control lever is formed with a through hole, and the
control device further includes a positioning pin extended through
the elongated hole of the mounting member, the through hole of the
pivot member and the through hole of the control lever, and a
C-shaped snap secured on a distal end of the positioning pin and
rested on the mounting member.
15. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein when the
adjusting rod of the backrest support rack is rested on a front end
of the slide slot of the support frame and the fixing rod of the
backrest support rack is locked in the positioning recess of the
support frame, the backrest support rack is disposed at an upright
state.
16. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein when the
backrest support rack is lifted to detach the fixing rod of the
backrest support rack from the positioning recess of the support
frame, the adjusting rod of the backrest support rack is slidable
from a front end to a rear end of the slide slot of the support
frame, and the backrest support rack is disposed at a horizontal
state.
17. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein when the
fixing rod of the backrest support rack is detached from the
positioning recess of the support frame and the adjusting rod of
the backrest support rack is locked in either one of the fixing
holes of the slide slot, the backrest support rack is disposed at
an inclined state.
18. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the main
body further includes a plurality of braking wheels mounted on the
bottom of the adjusting base.
19. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the
backrest support rack has an inclined angle that is adjusted by
adjusting the relative position between the adjusting rod of the
backrest support rack and the fixing holes of the slide slot.
20. The chair assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the
first section of the backrest support rack is movably mounted
between the two opposite sides of the support frame, the adjusting
rod is mounted on a distal end of the first section of the backrest
support rack, and the fixing rod is mounted on a mediate portion of
the first section of the backrest support rack.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a chair assembly, and more
particularly to a chair assembly that can function as the office
chair and the computer chair, thereby enhancing the versatility of
the chair assembly.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A conventional office chair comprises a stand, a support
frame mounted on the stand, a seat mounted on the support frame, an
L-shaped backrest support rack having a horizontal section mounted
on the support frame, and a backrest mounted on a vertical section
of the backrest support rack. A conventional computer chair
comprises a stand, a support frame mounted on the stand, a seat
mounted on the support frame, an inclined support rack having a
first section mounted on the support frame, and a resting cushion
mounted on a second section of the support rack. In operation, the
user is seated on the computer chair, with his hip being rested on
the seat, and with his knees being rested on the resting cushion,
so that the user has the optimum seating attitude when operating
the computer. However, the conventional office chair or computer
chair only has a single function, thereby limiting the versatility
of the chair.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a chair assembly that can function as the office chair and the
computer chair, thereby enhancing the versatility of the chair
assembly.
[0006] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
chair assembly, wherein the adjusting rod of the backrest support
rack is locked in either one of the fixing holes of the slide slot,
so that the inclined angle of the backrest support rack can be
adjusted by adjusting the relative position between the adjusting
rod of the backrest support rack and the fixing holes of the slide
slot, and the inclined angle of the backrest can be adjusted
arbitrarily to fit users of different heights.
[0007] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a
chair assembly, wherein the fixing rod of the backrest support rack
is locked in the positioning recess of the support frame, so that
the load applied on the backrest and the backrest support rack is
entirely distributed to the support frame, thereby preventing the
fixing rod from being broken due to a stress concentration.
[0008] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a
chair assembly, wherein when the seat is disposed at an inclined
state, the user's center of gravity is inclined forward, so that
the user's weight is absorbed by the backrest so as to decrease the
user's burden, thereby enhancing the user's working efficiency when
operating the computer.
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided
a chair assembly, comprising a main body including:
[0010] an adjusting base;
[0011] a support frame mounted on the adjusting base and having two
opposite sides each formed with a slide slot having a wall formed
with a plurality of fixing holes and each having a first end formed
with an arcuate positioning recess; and
[0012] a backrest support rack movably mounted on the support frame
and having a first section provided with an adjusting rod slidably
mounted in the slide slot of the support frame and detachably
locked in either one of the fixing holes of the slide slot and
provided with a fixing rod detachably locked in the positioning
recess of the support frame.
[0013] Further benefits and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed
description with appropriate reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a chair assembly
in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective assembly view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective assembly view of the chair assembly
in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side plan operational view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 3;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic operational view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 4;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic operational view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 5;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a schematic operational view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 6;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a partially cut-away front plan cross-sectional
view of the chair assembly as shown in FIG. 2;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a schematic operational view of the chair assembly
as shown in FIG. 8;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a schematic operational view of the chair
assembly as shown in FIG. 6;
[0024] FIG. 11 is a schematic operational view of the chair
assembly as shown in FIG. 6; and
[0025] FIG. 12 is a schematic operational view of the chair
assembly as shown in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1-4, a
chair assembly in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the
present invention comprises a main body 1 including an adjusting
base 10, a support frame 12 mounted on the adjusting base 10 and
having two opposite sides each formed with a slide slot 13 having a
wall formed with a plurality of fixing holes 15 and each having a
first end formed with an arcuate positioning recess 19, and a
substantially L-shaped backrest support rack 14 movably mounted on
the support frame 12 and having a first section provided with an
adjusting rod 16 slidably mounted in the slide slot 13 of the
support frame 12 and detachably locked in either one of the fixing
holes 15 of the slide slot 13 and provided with a fixing rod 18
detachably locked in the positioning recess 19 of the support frame
12.
[0027] The first section of the backrest support rack 14 is movably
mounted between the two opposite sides of the support frame 12. In
addition, the adjusting rod 16 is mounted on a distal end of the
first section of the backrest support rack 14, and the fixing rod
18 is mounted on a mediate portion of the first section of the
backrest support rack 14.
[0028] The main body 1 further includes a seat support rack 20
adjustably mounted on the support frame 12, a seat 11 mounted on
the seat support rack 20, a backrest 17 adjustably mounted on a
second section of the backrest support rack 14, and an adjusting
member 70 mounted on the support frame 12 to control a vertical
displacement of the adjusting base 10.
[0029] The seat support rack 20 has a bottom provided with a first
pivot base 25 pivotally mounted on the support frame 12. Each of
the two opposite sides of the support frame 12 has a mediate
portion formed with a pivot hole 22 for pivotally mounting the
first pivot base 25 of the seat support rack 20.
[0030] The chair assembly further comprises a control device 30
mounted between the support frame 12 and the seat support rack 20
so as to adjust the inclined angle of the seat 11.
[0031] Each of the two opposite sides of the support frame 12 has a
second end formed with a through hole 21, and one of the two
opposite sides of the support frame 12 is formed with two opposite
elongated slits 23 each located beside the through hole 21.
[0032] The control device 30 includes a substantially U-shaped
pivot member 31 movably mounted on the support frame 12 and having
two opposite sides each extended through a respective one of the
two elongated slits 23 of the support frame 12, a mounting member
36 secured on one of the two opposite sides of the support frame 12
and formed with a receiving hole 34 for mounting the two opposite
sides of the pivot member 31, a pivot pin 33 extended through the
through hole 21 of one of the two opposite sides of the support
frame 12, the pivot member 31 and the through hole 21 of the other
one of the two opposite sides of the support frame 12, a screw
member 42 screwed on a threaded distal end of the pivot pin 33 and
rested on the other one of the two opposite sides of the support
frame 12, an adjusting member 41 pivotally mounted on the pivot pin
33 and having an end pivotally mounted on the seat support rack 20,
and a control lever 45 pivotally mounted on the mounting member 36
and having an end pivotally mounted on the pivot member 31, so that
the pivot member 31 is moved by pivot of the control lever 45 to
urge on or detach from the adjusting member 41.
[0033] The control device 30 further includes an elastic member 38
mounted on the pivot pin 33 and urged between one of the two
opposite sides of the support frame 12 and the pivot member 31 to
press the pivot member 31 to urge the adjusting member 41.
[0034] The control device 30 further includes two mounting tubes 39
each mounted on the pivot pin 33 and each located between the
adjusting member 41, the pivot member 31 and the other one of the
two opposite sides of the support frame 12 respectively, and two
washers 40 each mounted on the pivot pin 33 and each located
between the adjusting member 41 and a respective one of the two
mounting tubes 39.
[0035] Preferably, the pivot member 31 is formed with a through
hole 32 for mounting the pivot pin 33. Preferably, the adjusting
member 41 is made of a plurality of laminated plates. Preferably,
the adjusting member 41 is formed with an oblong slot 44 mounted on
the pivot pin 33 for adjusting the inclined angle of the seat
11.
[0036] The bottom of the seat support rack 20 is provided with a
second pivot base 26, and the end of the adjusting member 41 is
formed with a pivot hole 43 for pivotally mounting the second pivot
base 26 of the seat support rack 20.
[0037] The mounting member 36 is formed with an elongated hole 47,
each of the two opposite sides of the pivot member 31 is formed
with a through hole 34, the end of the control lever 45 is formed
with a through hole 48, and the control device 30 further includes
a positioning pin 35 extended through the elongated hole 47 of the
mounting member 36, the through hole 34 of the pivot member 31 and
the through hole 48 of the control lever 45, and a C-shaped snap 50
secured on a distal end of the positioning pin 35 and rested on the
mounting member 36.
[0038] In operation, referring to FIG. 4, when the adjusting rod 16
of the backrest support rack 14 is rested on a front end of the
slide slot 13 of the support frame 12 and the fixing rod 18 of the
backrest support rack 14 is locked in the positioning recess 19 of
the support frame 12, the backrest 17 and the backrest support rack
14 are disposed at an upright state, so that the chair assembly can
function as the office chair.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 5, the backrest support rack 14 is lifted
to detach the fixing rod 18 of the backrest support rack 14 from
the positioning recess 19 of the support frame 12, so that the
adjusting rod 16 of the backrest support rack 14 can slide from the
front end to the rear end of the slide slot 13 of the support frame
12, and the backrest support rack 14 is disposed at a horizontal
state.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 6, the backrest support rack 14 is moved,
so that the adjusting rod 16 of the backrest support rack 14 is
moved into and locked in either one of the fixing holes 15 of the
slide slot 13. Then, the backrest support rack 14 is pivoted about
the adjusting rod 16 to move downward to the position as shown in
FIG. 6 where the fixing rod 18 of the backrest support rack 14 is
detached from the positioning recess 19 of the support frame 12 and
the adjusting rod 16 of the backrest support rack 14 is locked in
either one of the fixing holes 15 of the slide slot 13, so that the
backrest support rack 14 is disposed at an inclined state. Thus,
the chair assembly can function as the computer chair.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 7, the user is seated on the chair
assembly, with his hip being rested on the seat 11, and with his
knees being rested on the backrest 17, so that the user has the
optimum seating attitude ergonomically when operating the computer.
In addition, the main body 1 further includes a plurality of
braking wheels 60 mounted on the bottom of the adjusting base
10.
[0042] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 8, when the control lever 45 is
pivoted on the mounting member 36 to move upward, the pivot member
31 is driven by pivot of the control lever 45 to move toward the
mounting member 36 and compress the elastic member 38, thereby
releasing the adjusting member 41 from the pivot member 31, so that
the adjusting member 41 is movable on the pivot pin 33. At this
time, the seat support rack 20 is pivoted relative to the support
frame 12, and the adjusting member 41 is moved by the seat support
rack 20, so as to adjust the inclined angle of the seat 11 as shown
in FIG. 10.
[0043] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, after the inclined angle of the
seat 11 is adjusted already as shown in FIG. 10, the control lever
45 is pivoted on the mounting member 36 to move downward so as to
release the pivot member 31, so that the pivot member 31 is pushed
by the restoring force of the elastic member 38 to move toward the
adjusting member 41 so as to press the adjusting member 41, thereby
retaining the adjusting member 41 in place. Thus, the seat support
rack 20 and the seat 11 are fixed without movement.
[0044] In such a manner, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, when the seat
11 is disposed at an inclined state, the user's center of gravity
is inclined forward, so that the user's weight is absorbed by the
backrest 17, so as to decrease the user's burden, thereby enhancing
the working efficiency when operating the computer.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the adjusting rod 16 of the
backrest support rack 14 is locked in either one of the fixing
holes 15 of the slide slot 13. When the adjusting rod 16 is locked
in the fixing hole 15 located adjacent to the rear end of the slide
slot 13 of the support frame 12, the backrest support rack 14 has a
maximum inclined angle. Thus, the inclined angle of the backrest
support rack 14 can be adjusted arbitrarily by adjusting the
relative position between the adjusting rod 16 of the backrest
support rack 14 and the fixing holes 15 of the slide slot 13.
[0046] Accordingly, the adjusting rod 16 of the backrest support
rack 14 is locked in either one of the fixing holes 15 of the slide
slot 13, so that the inclined angle of the backrest support rack 14
can be adjusted by adjusting the relative position between the
adjusting rod 16 of the backrest support rack 14 and the fixing
holes 15 of the slide slot 13, and the inclined angle of the
backrest 17 can be adjusted arbitrarily to fit users of different
heights. In addition, the fixing rod 18 of the backrest support
rack 14 is locked in the positioning recess 19 of the support frame
12, so that the load applied on the backrest 17 and the backrest
support rack 14 is entirely distributed to the support frame 12,
thereby preventing the fixing rod 18 from being broken due to a
stress concentration. Further, when the seat 11 is disposed at an
inclined state, the user's center of gravity is inclined forward,
so that the user's weight is absorbed by the backrest 17 so as to
decrease the user's burden, thereby enhancing the user's working
efficiency when operating the computer.
[0047] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its
preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood
that many other possible modifications and variations can be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is,
therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will
cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true
scope of the invention.
* * * * *