U.S. patent application number 11/812764 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-10 for adjustable headrest assembly.
Invention is credited to Denis Viger.
Application Number | 20080007105 11/812764 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38920857 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080007105 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Viger; Denis |
January 10, 2008 |
Adjustable headrest assembly
Abstract
A headrest assembly for a chair or sofa includes a fixed rear
section, and a front section adapted to slide upwardly and
forwardly to an inclined orientation with respect to the rear
section. Movement of the front section is controlled by a linear
actuator, which is connected via a switch to a source of power such
as a battery.
Inventors: |
Viger; Denis; (Magog,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GEORGE A. SEABY;SEABY & ASSOCIATES
250 CITY CENTRE AVNUE
OTTAWA
ON
K1R6K7
US
|
Family ID: |
38920857 |
Appl. No.: |
11/812764 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60818548 |
Jul 6, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
297/408 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 7/38 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/408 |
International
Class: |
A47C 7/38 20060101
A47C007/38 |
Claims
1. A headrest assembly comprising a rear section for mounting in a
fixed position on a chair or sofa; a front section pivotally and
slidably mounted on said front section for movement between various
inclined positions with respect to said rear section; and an
actuator for moving said front section with respect to said rear
section between the various inclined positions.
2. The headrest assembly of claim 1, wherein said rear section
includes a back plate for mounting on the chair or sofa, and a pair
of rear end plates extending forwardly from said back plate; and
said front plate includes a front wall and a pair of front end
walls extending rearwardly from said front wall into overlapping
relationship with said rear end plates.
3. The headrest assembly of claim 2, wherein said rear and front
sections are generally C-shaped when viewed from above or
below.
4. The headrest assembly of claim 2, wherein said rear end plates
have an inverted L-shaped configuration.
5. The headrest assembly of claim 4 including a vertical slot in a
vertical arm of each said rear end plate, an inclined slot in an
upper, forwardly inclined arm of each said rear end plate; and a
pair of pins extending inwardly from each said end wall of the
front section through said slots, whereby the front section can
slide vertically while tilting outwardly with respect to said rear
section of the assembly.
6. The headrest assembly of claim 5, wherein said linear actuator
includes a housing having first and second ends, the first end
being pivotally connected to a bottom end of said back plate of the
rear section; and a reciprocating shaft extending out of the second
end of the housing, the shaft having a free end pivotally connected
to a top end of said front wall of the front section, movement of
said shaft in said housing causing tilting of the front section
with respect to said rear section.
7. The headrest assembly of claim 6, wherein the linear actuator
extends between the bottom center of the rear plate and the top
center of the front wall.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority on U.S. Provisional
Application 60/818,548 filed Jul. 6, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to an adjustable headrest
assembly.
[0004] While the headrest assembly was designed primarily for use
on a chair or sofa, it will be appreciated that the assembly can be
used in an automotive or other vehicle.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] There is a considerable volume of patent literature relating
to adjustable headrests. In this connection, reference is made to
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,370,898, which issued to K. Maruyama on Feb. 1,
1983, 4,640,549, which issued to M. Yokota on Feb. 3, 1987,
4,668,014, which issued to B. Boisset on May 26, 1987, 4,674,797,
which issued to T. Tateyama on Jun. 23, 1987, 5,236,246, which
issued to D. J. Harrell on Aug. 17, 1993, 5,238,295, which issued
to D. J. Harrell on Aug. 24, 1993, 5,346,283, which issued to U.
Steininger et al on Sep. 13, 1994 and 6,471,296, which issued to M.
A. Lance on Oct. 29, 2002.
[0007] It will be noted that most of the apparatuses disclosed by
the above listed patents are somewhat complicated and consequently
expensive to manufacture.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention provides a relatively simple headrest
assembly which includes a few, easily assembled elements.
[0009] Accordingly, the invention relates to a headrest assembly
comprising a rear section for mounting in a fixed position on a
chair or sofa; a front section pivotally and slidably mounted on
said front section for movement between various inclined positions
with respect to said rear section; and an actuator for moving said
front section with respect to said rear section between the various
inclined positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The invention is described below with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a isometric view of a headrest assembly in
accordance with the present invention in a first position;
[0012] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the headrest assembly of FIG.
1 in a second position;
[0013] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a rear section of the
headrest assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2; and
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the headrest assembly of
FIGS. 1 to 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] With reference to the drawings, the principal elements of
the headrest assembly of the present invention include a rear
section 1, a front section 2 and a linear actuator 3. The rear
section 1 of the assembly includes a rectangular back plate 4 for
mounting in a fixed position on a chair or sofa back (not shown).
The rear section can be mounted on the rear of a padded headrest
(not shown). It will be appreciated that the plate 4 could also
define the back of a headrest. A pair of generally inverted
L-shaped end plates 5 are integral with the back plate 4 and extend
forwardly therefrom. Each end plate 5 includes upper and lower
slots 7 and 8, respectively for slidably receiving pins 9 and 10,
respectively. The upper slots 7 are inclined upwardly and
outwardly, and the lower slots 8 are vertical. The pins 9 and 10
extend inwardly from the end walls 13 of the front section 2 of the
headrest assembly. The end walls 13 are integral with a rectangular
front wall 14. Thus, the front section 2 of the assembly is
generally C-shaped when viewed from above or below, and the end
walls 13 overlap the end plates 5 of the rear section 1. While they
are not shown, it will be appreciated that padding and a cover
would be added to the whole assembly or at least to the end walls
13 and the front wall 14 of the front section. Accordion pleats in
the cover would permit movement of the front section relative to
the rear section.
[0016] The linear actuator 3, which is a piece of off-the-shelf
hardware, includes a direct current electric motor 16 connected
through switches to a source of electrical power such as a battery
(not shown). The switches can be mounted for manual operation in or
on the arm of a chair or sofa. The motor 16 is connected to a
spindle (not shown) in the housing 17 by a transmission 18. A
coupling 20 on the bottom, transmission end of the housing is
pivotally connected to the center of the bottom end of the rear
section back plate 4 by a clevis 21. A reciprocating shaft 22
extending out of the top end of the housing 17 is pivotally
connected to the center of the top end of the front wall 14 of the
second section 2 by a clevis 23. A suitable linear actuator is
available from Jaeger Industrial Co. Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan,
R.O.C.
[0017] In operation, with the shaft 22 of the linear actuator 3
retracted (FIG. 3), the bottom wall 14 of the front section 2
defines a small acute angle with the back plate 4 of the rear
section 1 (FIG. 1). When the shaft 22 of the linear actuator is
extended, the pins 9 slide upwardly and outwardly in the slots 7
and the pins 10 side upwardly in slots 8 so that the front wall 14
defines a larger acute angle with respect to the plate 4, i.e. the
front section 2 becomes more inclined with respect to the rear
section 1. Thus, by connecting the linear actuator 3 to a forward
and reverse switch (not shown), which is in turn connected to a
source of electrical power, the inclination or tilt of the front
section of the headrest assembly can be changed.
* * * * *