U.S. patent application number 14/851137 was filed with the patent office on 2017-03-16 for omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device of office chair armrest.
The applicant listed for this patent is ZHONGSHAN SHI SONGLIN FURNITURE CO., LTD. Invention is credited to Hsuan-Chin Tsai.
Application Number | 20170071345 14/851137 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58257824 |
Filed Date | 2017-03-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170071345 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai; Hsuan-Chin |
March 16, 2017 |
Omnidirectional Adjustment-oriented Positioning Device of Office
Chair Armrest
Abstract
An omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device of an
office chair armrest includes two parallel inner links pivotally
connected between an armrest rotation fixing unit and a rotation
base. The inner links are enclosed in outer links to form a
parallel four-link swing link component. The rotation base is
axially disposed at a pad. An armrest component capable of
horizontal rotation and displacement is disposed at the armrest
rotation fixing unit. Inner and external wheel components with
bevel gears meshing with each other are disposed between upper ends
of the outer links and the armrest rotation fixing unit.
Positioning gears which mesh with each other are disposed at the
armrest rotation fixing unit. A positioning wheel is mounted at the
armrest rotation fixing unit and rotatable such that a rotation
component for rotating the inner wheel component abuts against the
inner wheel component and thus drives the positioning wheel to move
outward.
Inventors: |
Tsai; Hsuan-Chin; (Chai-Yi
Hsien, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ZHONGSHAN SHI SONGLIN FURNITURE CO., LTD |
Zhongshan City |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
58257824 |
Appl. No.: |
14/851137 |
Filed: |
September 11, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 1/03 20130101; A47C
1/0307 20180801; A47C 1/0308 20180801 |
International
Class: |
A47C 1/03 20060101
A47C001/03; A47C 7/54 20060101 A47C007/54 |
Claims
1. An omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device of an
office chair armrest, comprising: an armrest component axially
disposed at an upper end of an armrest fixing unit fixed at a pad
laterally and at an upper end of a swing link component of a
parallel four-bar linkage device so as to be rotatable, wherein the
swing link component comprises a rotation base pivotally disposed
on the armrest fixing unit and having an upper end provided with a
pivot portion and an armrest rotation fixing unit pivotally fixed
to an armrest component and having a lower end provided with a
pivot portion, wherein an inner link is pivotally connected between
and slightly outside the two pivot portions of the armrest rotation
fixing unit and the rotation base, wherein two sides of a middle of
each of the two pivot portions are pivotally fixed in place to
enclose an inner link and two parallel opposing outer links; a bump
portion and a rotation-proof recess being substantially polygonal
and annular and having a bottom which an oblong hole is disposed on
are centrally disposed on a lateral surface of the pivot portion of
the armrest rotation fixing unit, wherein an inner wheel component
and an external wheel component each have two opposing surfaces
which annular continuous bevel gears meshing each other are
disposed on and each have a lateral surface which an engaging slot
corresponding in position to the oblong hole is disposed on are
disposed in the rotation-proof recess, such that the inner wheel
component is centrally fitted around the bump portion and thus
rotatable, wherein the external wheel component corresponds in
shape to the rotation-proof recess and is received therein to
thereby be able to move axially only, wherein a positioning wheel
abuts against an outer side of the external wheel component and is
centrally provided with a polygonal rotation-proof hole, such that
the rotation-proof hole gets fitted around a polygonal
rotation-proof bump convexly formed and corresponding in position
to the outer link, wherein a spring serving to push is disposed
between the outer link and the positioning wheel, wherein an
annular gear portion is disposed at the pivot portion of the
armrest rotation fixing unit and the positioning wheel to
effectuate the resilient abutting and meshing thereof, wherein the
inner side of the positioning wheel abuts against the external
wheel component resiliently, wherein a rotation component is
disposed in the armrest rotation fixing unit, wherein the rotation
component has its substantially central part pivotally fixed in
place to thereby extend outward, wherein a post portion is convexly
formed on each of the two sides at the inner end of the rotation
component, wherein the post portion penetrates an oblong hole
disposed on a lateral side of the armrest rotation fixing unit and
thus gets engaged with the engaging slot disposed on the inner side
of the inner wheel component, wherein the rotation component is
rotated to drive the inner wheel component to rotate, such that the
bevel gears drive the external wheel component to move outward and
thus cause the positioning wheel to withdraw together with the
external wheel component, wherein the positioning wheel and the
pivot portion of the armrest rotation fixing unit operate to
separate positioning gears otherwise meshing with each other, such
that the swing link component can rotate and adjust the forward,
backward and vertical positions of the armrest component.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an omnidirectional
adjustment-oriented positioning device of an office chair armrest,
characterized in that: a swing link component of a parallel
four-bar linkage device is mounted on each of the two sides of a
pad; an armrest component capable of forward, backward and
rotational positioning is disposed at an upper end of the swing
link component such that the positions of armrests can be adjusted
vertically, forward, backward and laterally while keeping the
horizontal posture of the armrests; and a device which is easy to
adjust and exercise positioning control is disposed at the pivotal
connection point of the armrest component and the swing link
component.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Armrests disposed on the two sides of a conventional office
chair are stationary, as the armrests are fixed to the two sides of
a pad from below and thus cannot be adjusted any more in whatever
way. However, the appropriate heights of the armrests which users'
forearms rest on depend on the users' body heights. In view of
this, armrest devices capable of adjusting armrest height or even
capable of adjusting the positions of armrests forward and backward
are commercially available, such that users of different heights
can put their forearms on the armrests with appropriate heights and
forward and backward positions.
[0005] In addition to body height, users vary in terms of
waistline, as the number of obese users and skinny users is on the
rise. If the positions of the armrests on the two sides of an
office chair are fixed rather than adjustable, for example,
laterally, the forearms of full-figured users may not rest
comfortably on the armrests which are inevitably closer to the
bodies of the full-figured users than the bodies of users with
normal body weights, whereas the forearms of skinny users must tilt
outward in order to rest on the armrests which are inevitably
farther from the bodies of the skinny users than the bodies of
users with normal body weights. Hence, the aforesaid two situations
occur, because the positions of the armrests cannot be adjusted
laterally.
[0006] Therefore, the positions of armrests are not only adjustable
vertically, forward and backward, but also adjustable laterally,
such that the positions of the armrests can be adjusted in a
three-dimensional manner to thereby ensure the comfort of the users
forearms which are resting on the armrests.
[0007] However, armrest devices capable of three-dimensional
adjustment have disadvantages. First, their assembly process is
never smooth for structural reasons. Second, its adjustment process
must be carried out stage by stage and direction by direction and
thus never occurs at one go; hence, it is inconvenient to carry out
the adjustment process. Third, due to poor design of adjustment
positioning structures, not only are the armrest adjustment devices
rarely operated ergonomically, but a parallel four-bar linkage
device which supports the upper portion of the armrest may also
clamp the users' fingers inadvertently and thus has to be enclosed
by a casing for shielding sake; however, the shield is seldom
satisfactory but definitely adds to structural complexity and
causes difficulties to the assembly process, not to mention that it
compromises the appearance of the device. One of the aforesaid
armrest adjustment devices is disclosed in US20150157131A.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] To overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of conventional office
chair armrests in terms of adjustment of positions, for example,
the low likelihood of ergonomic operation of an armrest adjustment
device and the hassles of enclosing the armrest adjustment device
in a casing for shielding sake, the present invention provides an
omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device of an office
chair armrest, characterized in that: an armrest component axially
disposed at the lower end of a swing link component of a parallel
four-bar linkage device and axially disposed on each of the lateral
sides of the chair so as to be rotatable, such that the armrest
component maintains its horizontal posture and are able to swing
upward and downward, wherein the armrest component is inherently
capable of horizontal rotation as well as forward and backward
displacement, wherein two parallel inner links of the swing link
component are enclosed in two opposing outer links, wherein an
inner wheel component driven by a rotation component to abut
against and drive an external wheel component to move outward is
disposed at the pivotal point of the armrest component and the
upper ends of the outer links, such that a positioning wheel driven
under an elastic force and an armrest rotation fixing unit
pivotally fixed to upper ends of the inner and outer links abut
against each other. As a result, positioning gears otherwise
meshing with each other are separated, and in consequence the
armrest component can undergo three-dimensional adjustment.
[0009] The technical solution employed to solve the technical
problems addressed by the present invention is described below. An
armrest component is axially disposed at an upper end of an armrest
fixing unit and is rotatable. An armrest component capable of
horizontal rotation and forward and backward displacement and thus
positioning is disposed at the upper end of the swing link
component of the parallel four-bar linkage device. The swing link
component comprises a rotation base pivotally disposed on the
armrest fixing unit and having an upper end provided with a pivot
portion and an armrest rotation fixing unit pivotally fixed to an
armrest component and having a lower end provided with a pivot
portion, wherein an inner link is pivotally connected between and
slightly outside the two pivot portions of the armrest rotation
fixing unit and the rotation base, wherein two sides of a middle of
each of the two pivot portions are pivotally fixed in place to
enclose an inner link and two parallel opposing outer links. A bump
portion and a rotation-proof recess being substantially polygonal
and annular and having a bottom which an oblong hole is disposed on
are centrally disposed on a lateral surface of the pivot portion of
the armrest rotation fixing unit. An inner wheel component and an
external wheel component each have two opposing surfaces which
annular continuous bevel gears meshing each other are disposed on
are disposed in the rotation-proof recess. The inner wheel
component is fitted around the bump portion and thus rotatable. The
external wheel component is slidingly received in the
rotation-proof recess to thereby be able to move axially only. A
positioning wheel, which slidingly engages with the outer links and
thrusts under an elastic force, abuts against the external wheel
component. Positioning gears, which are annular and resiliently
mesh with each other, are disposed at a pivot portion of the
armrest rotation fixing unit and the positioning wheel. A rotation
component is pivotally fixed inside the armrest rotation fixing
unit. The rotation component has an inner end for rotating the
inner wheel component and an outer end which can be extended and
thus moved by the users. The inner wheel component rotates to
thereby cause the bevel gears to drive the external wheel component
to move outward, such that the positioning wheel withdraws together
with the external wheel component. The positioning wheel and the
pivot portion of the armrest rotation fixing unit operate to
separate the positioning gears otherwise meshing with each other,
such that the swing link component can rotate and swing upward and
downward, so as to adjust the forward, backward, lateral and
vertical positions of the armrest component.
[0010] The advantages of the present invention are described below.
A swing link component enables an armrest component to perform
vertical adjustment and still maintain horizontal posture. A
positioning device disposed between outer links and an armrest
rotation fixing unit renders vertical adjustment ergonomic and
convenient. Since the inner links of the swing link component are
hidden inside the outer links, a parallel four-link mechanism of
the swing link component looks neat and is unlikely to clamp the
user's fingers inadvertently.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an omnidirectional
adjustment-oriented positioning device of an office chair armrest
according to the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a partial exploded top schematic view of an
armrest component according to the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a partial exploded bottom schematic view of the
armrest component according to the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a horizontal rotation
adjustment of the armrest component according to the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of forward and backward position
adjustment of the armrest component according to the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic view of rotating the lower
end of a link component according to the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of rotation adjustment of a
rotating link component according to the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 8 is an exploded schematic view of the rotating link
component according to the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged schematic view of the upper end
of the rotating link component according to the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 10 is a side partial cross-sectional schematic view of
the omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device
according to the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of operation of vertical
adjustment of the armrest component according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present invention
provides an omnidirectional adjustment-oriented positioning device
of an office chair armrest, essentially comprising: an armrest
fixing unit 1 fastened to an office chair pad laterally; an armrest
component 2 for supporting a user's forearm; and a swing link
component 3 equipped with a parallel four-link mechanism and
connected between the armrest fixing unit 1 and the armrest
component 2. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the armrest component
2 essentially comprises an armrest 21, a cover 22, a forward and
backward displacement positioning device 23 and a horizontal
rotation positioning device 24. A space 210 is concavely formed on
the back of the armrest 21 to contain the forward and backward
displacement positioning device 23 and the horizontal rotation
positioning device 24. The space 210 is covered with the cover 22.
The forward and backward displacement positioning device 23, the
horizontal rotation positioning device 24 and the cover 22 are
penetrated by screws to allow the armrest component 2 to be
pivotally fixed to an armrest rotation fixing unit 32 disposed on
the top end of the swing link component 3, such that the armrest
component 2 can be adjusted to undergo horizontal rotation and
positioning (shown in FIG. 4) and adjusted to undergo forward and
backward displacement and positioning (shown in FIG. 5) above the
swing link component 3.
[0023] A substantially L-shaped horizontal end of the armrest
fixing unit 1 is fixed to the chair pad laterally. An
axially-positioned bearing hole is disposed on the end surface of a
vertical end of the armrest fixing unit 1. The lower end of a
rotation base 31 disposed at the lower end of the swing link
component 3 is axially disposed in the bearing hole, such that the
rotation base 31 (and thus the swing link component 3) can be
rotated and positioned on the armrest fixing unit 1 as shown in
FIG. 7.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the swing link component 3
comprises a rotation base 31 disposed at a lower end thereof and
having a pivot portion 311 disposed at the upper end of the
rotation base 31 and an armrest rotation fixing unit 32 disposed at
an upper end thereof and having a pivot portion 321 disposed at the
lower end of the armrest rotation fixing unit 32. Two opposing
covers externally provided are pivotally fixed to a shaft 30
disposed between the two pivot portions 311, 321 of the rotation
base 31 and the armrest rotation fixing unit 32 to form shell-like
outer links 34. An inner link 33 parallel to the outer links 34 is
pivotally connected between and slightly outside the two pivot
portions 311, 321. The inner link 33 is enclosed in the two outer
links 34. Hence, the armrest rotation fixing unit 32, the rotation
base 31 and the inner link 33 which are disposed above and below
and the outer links 34 which are disposed on the left and on the
right together form a parallel four-link mechanism. If the swing
link component 3 swings up and down, the armrest component 2 can
still maintain its horizontal posture and be adjusted to ascend and
descend. With the rotation base 31 being axially disposed at the
armrest fixing unit 1, both the swing link component 3 and the
armrest component 2 rotate horizontally, ascend and descend during
an adjustment and positioning process. This feature, coupled with
the fact that the armrest component 2 is inherently capable of
horizontal rotation and forward and backward displacement, enables
the armrests to undergo omnidirectional adjustment, allowing obese
users and skinny users to rest their forearms on the armrests
ergonomically and comfortably.
[0025] The present invention further provides a swing positioning
device of the swing link component 3. The swing positioning device
is disposed on the two sides of the pivot portion 321 of the
armrest rotation fixing unit 32 and between the two outer links 34.
Since the two swing positioning devices disposed on the two sides
of the pivot portion 321 of the armrest rotation fixing unit 32,
respectively, are identical, only the swing positioning device
disposed on one of the two sides is described hereunder for the
sake of brevity. The swing positioning device is characterized in
that: the shaft 30 is centrally penetratingly disposed at the pivot
portion 321 of the armrest rotation fixing unit 32; a
rotation-proof recess 320 which is polygonal and has an oblong hole
324 disposed at the bottom thereof is concavely and centrally
formed at the pivot portion 321 of the armrest rotation fixing unit
32; a bump portion 322 is disposed at the armrest rotation fixing
unit 32, corresponds in position to the shaft 30, is positioned
inside the rotation-proof recess 320, and engaged with an inner
wheel component 35 capable of free rotation and having an engaging
slot 352 disposed at an inner side thereof; an external wheel
component 36 is received in the rotation-proof recess 320,
corresponds in shape to the rotation-proof recess 320, and is
engaged with the rotation-proof recess 320, such that the motion of
the external wheel component 36 is restricted to sliding axially
within the rotation-proof recess 320 rather than rotation; hence,
matched continuous bevel gears 361, 351 which are annular and
capable of meshing with each other are disposed on two opposing
sides of the inner and external wheel components 35, 36,
respectively.
[0026] A partial continuous positioning gear 323 is annularly
disposed on a lateral side and periphery of the pivot portion 321
of the armrest rotation fixing unit 32. A partial continuous
positioning gear 372 of a positioning wheel 37, which corresponds
in shape to and can engage with the partial continuous positioning
gear 323, is disposed outward. A rotation-proof hole 371, which is
polygonal, is centrally disposed at the positioning wheel 37 and
thus engaged with a rotation-proof bump 341 which is polygonal, is
disposed on the inner side of the outer link 34 and corresponds in
position to the shaft 30. Hence, the motion of the positioning
wheel 37 is restricted to sliding relative to the rotation-proof
bump 341 rather than rotation. Furthermore, the inner side of the
positioning wheel 37 abuts against the external wheel component 36.
A spring 38 is disposed between the positioning wheel 37 and the
outer links 34. Under a resilient push force exerted by the spring
38 upon the positioning wheel 37, the positioning gears 372, 323 of
the positioning wheel 37 and the pivot portion 321 of the armrest
rotation fixing unit 32 always mesh with each other resiliently.
Furthermore, under the resilient push force exerted by the spring
38, the bevel gears 361, 351 of the external wheel component 36 and
the inner wheel component 35 always mesh with each other
resiliently and thus rest on the bottom of the rotation-proof
recess 320 of the pivot portion 321.
[0027] A rotation component 39 is received in the armrest rotation
fixing unit 32 and centrally pivotally coupled thereto to therefore
be rotatable. The outer end of the rotation component 39 extends
out of the armrest rotation fixing unit 32 so as to be disposed in
front of and below the armrest component 2. Two post portions 391
corresponding in position to each other extend from two sides of
the inner end of the rotation component 39, respectively, and then
penetrate the oblong holes 324 disposed at the bottom of the
rotation-proof recess 320 of the pivot portion 321, such that the
terminal ends of the post portions 391 enter and engage with the
engaging slot 352 disposed at the inner wheel component 35.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, after the user has rested
forearms on the armrest components 2 while sitting on the office
chair, the user's fingers grope their way inward from below the
armrest component 2 and eventually pull the rotation component 39
upward to thereby allow the inner end of the rotation component 39
to rotate. As a result, the post portion 391 at this end drives the
inner wheel component 35 to rotate such that the bevel gears 351,
361 which mesh with the external wheel component 36 abut against
each other; hence, the external wheel component 36 is pushed
outward together with the positioning wheel 37 to thereby separate
the positioning gears 372, 323 otherwise meshing with each other,
such that the inner and outer links 33, 34 can swing upward and
downward. At this point in time, the user can adjust the positions
of the armrests to an appropriate height and then release the
rotation component 39. Under the elastic force of the spring 38 or
when rotated by the user's fingers, the rotation component 39
returns to its initial position to thereby drive the inner wheel
component 35 to rotate backward, such that the external wheel
component 36 is pressed against by the positioning wheel 37 under
the elastic force of the spring 38. As a result, not only do the
bevel gears 351, 361 of the inner and external wheel components 35,
36 begin to mesh with each other again, but the positioning gear
372 of the positioning wheel 37 also begins to mesh with the
positioning gear 323 of the pivot portion 321 of the armrest
rotation fixing unit 32 again, and in consequence the inner and
outer links 33, 34 get fixed in place and thus can no longer swing,
thereby allowing the armrests to be adjusted vertically.
[0029] Hence, not only does the parallel four-link mechanism of the
swing link component 3 allow the armrest component 2 to maintain
its horizontal posture and be adjusted to ascend and descend, but
the positioning device between the outer links 34 and armrest
rotation fixing unit 32 of the swing link component 3 also renders
vertical adjustment operation ergonomic and convenient.
Furthermore, since the inner link 33 of the swing link component 3
is hidden inside the two outer links 34, the parallel four-link
mechanism of the swing link component 3 looks neat and is unlikely
to clamp the user's fingers inadvertently.
* * * * *