JP2021104230A - Chair - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve flexibility of design of a backrest while removing restrictions on the arrangement of a lumbar pad and an operation lever.SOLUTION: A backrest has a structure of spreading a cushion body on a front surface of a back shell body, and a lumbar pad 30 is concealed inside the backrest entirely. An operation lever for adjusting a height of the lumbar pad 30 is arranged in a lower surface part of a stay 14 constituting a lower end of the backrest in a manner to be slidable to the right and left. Movements of the operation lever are transmitted to the lumbar pad 30 through an elastic linear material 34. The lumbar pad 30 is not seen from the outside completely, and the operation lever is hardly noticed with a tab slightly exposed. Therefore, the backrest can be finished with a neat appearance while having a lumbar support function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a chair with a height-adjustable lumbar pad.

Adjustable height placement of lumbar pads on the back of a chair is common practice. There are various arrangement modes and elevating mechanisms of the lumbar pad, but as a means for moving the lumbar pad up and down, generally, an operation lever such as a knob is integrally provided on the lumbar pad, and the operation lever and the lumbar pad are combined. (For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-311900 JP-A-2017-0863669

Providing the operating lever integrally with the lumbar pad is not a problem if there is enough space, but if there is not enough space, for example, if you want to completely hide the lumbar pad inside the backrest. Makes it difficult to adjust the height. In other words, the arrangement mode of the lumbar pad is restricted in order to secure the arrangement position of the operation lever, and the freedom of design is impaired.

Further, even if there is a space for arranging the operation lever, it is assumed that the freedom of design may be reduced or the operation lever may be difficult to operate due to the limitation of the arrangement position of the operation lever. Further, depending on the design concept, there may be a request that the operation lever should not be made as conspicuous as possible, but if the operation lever is integrally provided on the lumbar pad, it may be difficult to meet such a request.

The present invention has been made to improve such a situation.

The invention of the present application has various configurations, and a typical example thereof is specified in each claim. Of these, the invention of claim 1 forms a superordinate concept.
"A lumbar pad that directly or indirectly supports the seated person's lumbar region is arranged on the backrest so that it can move up and down, and an operation lever that adjusts the height of the lumbar pad is separate from the lumbar pad. It is mounted so that it moves in a certain direction in a separated state, and the operation lever and the lumbar pad are connected by interlocking means. "
It is configured as.

In this case, the structure may be such that the load (body pressure) of the seated person is directly supported by the lumbar pad, or as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-71025, the left and right sides of the mesh material are lumbar pads. The body pressure may be indirectly supported by a mesh material.

The invention of claim 2 embodies claim 1, and the invention of claim 1 is the invention of claim 1.
"The operation lever is arranged so as to reciprocate in a direction different from the moving direction of the lumbar pad."
It is configured as.

The invention of claim 3 embodies claim 2.
"The backrest includes a back shell body and a cushion body arranged in front of the back shell body, and the lumbar pad is entirely arranged between the back shell body and the cushion body.
The operation lever is slidably arranged left and right with the knob exposed on the lower surface of the backrest, and the operation lever and the lumbar pad are connected by a linear member that bends and deforms. ing.

4. The invention is an example of the development of claim 3.
"It has a tilting frame that tilts backwards against the spring means, said tilting frame comprising tilting frames with left and right longitudinal stays arranged horizontally above the rear of the seat, the backrest being said. The structure is such that the back shell body is stacked on the stay from above, and the operation lever is mounted on the stay so as to be movable left and right. "
It is configured as.

In the present invention, since the lumbar pad is separated from the lumbar pad and is arranged apart from the lumbar pad, the lumbar pad and the operating lever can select the structure and the arrangement position without being restricted by each other. Therefore, it is possible to greatly improve the freedom of design and contribute to the improvement of the design of the chair.

In addition, since the operation lever can be arranged and moved so that the user can easily operate it, it can contribute to improving the ease of adjusting the height of the lumbar pad. In addition, moving the knob up and down with the back while sitting on a chair may be difficult to apply force because the arm must be bent and moved up and down, which may result in poor operability. By adopting a configuration in which the operating lever is moved left and right in this way, it is not necessary to bend the arm significantly and the operating lever can be pushed and pulled with a strong force, so that operability can be improved.

In claim 3, since the lumbar pad is hidden inside the backrest, the backrest can be finished in a neat appearance to improve the aesthetic appearance, and the lumbar support function can be maintained to improve the commercial value of the chair. As described above, when the lumbar pad is built in the backrest, it can be said that the true value of the present invention is particularly strongly exhibited.

Further, in claim 3, since the knob of the operating lever is exposed on the lower surface of the backrest, the knob is not easily noticeable even when the chair is viewed from behind. Therefore, the exposure of the operating lever can be suppressed as much as possible to improve the aesthetic appearance.

There are various structures of the backrest, but as in claim 4, if the lower end is composed of a stay of a tilting frame, there is an advantage that the backrest can be made a sturdy structure. The operation lever is attached using the stay of the tilting frame, but since the tilting frame has a sturdy structure that supports the backrest, it may be deformed by the body pressure of the user. Therefore, the operating lever can be configured so that it can be operated lightly over a long period of time.

It is a figure which shows the appearance of embodiment, (A) is a perspective view seen from the front, (B) is a side view, (C) is a perspective view seen from the back. (A) is a perspective view in which some members are separated, and (B) and (C) are perspective views showing a skeleton. It is a separated perspective view of the back part. (A) is a separate perspective view of the back shell body and the tilting frame, and (B) is a perspective view of the tilting frame. It is a front view of a main part. Both (A) and (B) are separate perspective views of the main part. (A) is a separated perspective view, (B) is a separated perspective view of the operating lever, and (C) is a partial perspective view of the lumbar pad.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this application, front-back and left-right words are used to specify the direction, but this is based on the state seen from a person who normally sits on a chair. The front view is the direction facing the seated person.

(1). Outline of the chair First, the outline of the chair will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the chair includes a leg device 1, a seat 2, and a backrest 3 as main elements, and a headrest 4 is arranged above the backrest 3. Further, the chair of the present embodiment is equipped with an armrest 5 as a standard product. The leg device 1 has a leg support 6 made of a gas cylinder and a branch portion extending in the radial direction, and a caster is provided at the tip of each branch portion. A substantially box-shaped base 7 that opens upward is fixed to the upper end of the leg support 6.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a resin or aluminum die-cast front block 8 is bolted to the front end of the base 7, and a pair of left and right front links 9 are attached to the front block 8. It is attached so that it can be tilted backward via the front shaft.

Similarly, as clearly shown in FIG. 2B, forward-facing arm portions 11 of the tilting frame 10 are arranged on the left and right sides of the base 7, and the forward-facing arm portions 11 are attached to the base 7 by a hollow shaft (not shown). It is connected so that it can tilt backward. Further, left and right strut portions 12 are provided at the rear portion of the tilt frame 10, and a backrest 3 and an armrest 5 are attached to the strut portion 12.

As described above, the front end portion of the forward arm portion 11 constituting the tilt frame 10 is connected to the base 7 via the left and right longitudinal hollow shafts. Therefore, the backrest 3 is centered on the front end portion of the tilt frame 10. Tilt backwards. A torsion bar (not shown) as an example of the spring means is built in the hollow shaft, and the tilting frame 10 tilts backward against the elasticity of the torsion bar.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in the tilting frame 10, the lower stay 13 and the upper stay 14 that are gently curved so as to bulge backward (recess in the front) in a plan view are integrally connected to the left and right strut portions 12. A base portion of the tilting frame 10 is formed by the left and right strut portions 12 and the upper and lower stay portions 13 and 14, and separate forward arm portions 11 are fixed to the left and right end portions of the base portion (the forward arm portion 11 is fixed. It may be integrally formed on the base.) The base portion of the tilting frame 10 and the forward arm portion 11 are aluminum die-cast products, respectively, but resin products can also be used.

The seat 2 has a structure in which a cushion body is stretched on a resin seat plate 15 shown in FIG. 1 (B), and the seat plate 15 is attached to a seat receiving shell body 16 arranged below the seat plate 15. Has been done. The front portion of the seat receiving shell body 16 is connected to the front link 9 described above with left and right longitudinal pins, and the rear portion of the seat receiving shell body 16 is a rear link projecting upward from the forward arm 11 of the tilting frame 10. It is connected to 17 by left and right longitudinal pins. Therefore, when the backrest 3 tilts backward, the seat 2 also tilts backward while retracting.

As shown in FIG. 3, the backrest 3 includes a back shell body 20 composed of a lower shell body 18 and an upper shell body 19 made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the back shell body 20 The cushion body 21 is arranged on the front surface of the. The entire back shell body 20 and the cushion body 21 are covered with a bag-shaped skin material (not shown). The skin material is omitted in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the headrest 4 has a plurality of members and is movable, but the description thereof will be omitted because it has no relation to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the back shell body is composed of the upper and lower shell bodies 18 and 19, but the whole body can be integrated.

For example, as is clearly shown in FIG. 3, the lower portion of the lower shell body 18 projects toward the front, and as shown in FIG. 4, a dovetail-shaped female rail that opens downward at the front ends of the left and right overhanging portions. While the portion 23 is formed, the dovetail-shaped male rail portion 24 into which the female rail portion 23 is fitted from above is integrally formed on the rear surface of the strut portion 12 in the tilting frame 10, and is female. The rail portion 23 is fixed to the strut portion 12 with bolts (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 4B, the lower stay 13 of the tilting frame 10 has an inverted L-shaped cross section, and by arranging the center cover 25 and the side cover 26 on the lower surface thereof, the lower stay 13 is opened forward. A horizontally long recess is formed. The center cover 25 is fixed to the lower stay 13 by screws 27, and the side cover 26 is locked to the lower stay 13 and held by the center cover 25.

(2). Lumber support device As shown in FIG. 2, a lumbar pad 30 is arranged on the front surface of the lower shell body 18 so as to be slidable up and down. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a lower portion having a downwardly exposed knob 32a in a left and right longitudinal groove frame portion 31 opened upward at a rightward portion of the upper stay 14 constituting the tilting frame 10. The slide lever 32 and the upper slide lever 33 fitted to the lower slide lever 32 from above are slidably mounted on the left and right sides. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the upper stay 14 corresponds to the stay described in the claims.

Further, in the present embodiment, the slide levers 32 and 33 constitute the operation lever described in the claim. Then, the upper slide lever 33 and the lumbar pad 30 are connected by an elastic linear member 34 that can be bent and deformed while having a certain degree of waist. Therefore, when the lower slide lever 32 is moved left and right, the lumbar pad 30 is moved up and down by being pushed and pulled by the elastic linear member 34.

The elastic wire 34 uses a wire wound with a large number of thin steel wires twisted around the core wire, but a twisted resin filament, a single wire of spring steel or a resin rod, etc. Various structures can be used. A thin strip leaf spring can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the groove frame portion 31 and the positioning rib 35 described above are projected on the upper surface of the upper stay 14 in the tilting frame 10, while the lower surface of the lower shell body 18 is provided. Is formed with a long groove hole 36 that fits into the groove frame portion 31 and the positioning rib 35. Further, the lower shell body 18 is fixed to the upper stay 14 with a plurality of bolts.

As shown in FIG. 7 (A), the upper slide lever 33 is fitted into the groove frame portion 31 from above, and the lower slide lever 32 is fitted into the groove frame portion 31 from below. As shown in, it is fixed with a screw 37. Further, the lower slide lever 32 is formed with an upward positioning protrusion 38, and the upper slide lever 33 is formed with a positioning hole 39 into which the positioning protrusion 38 is fitted.

A resin slide auxiliary cap 53 is fitted into the groove frame portion 31 of the upper stay 14 from below, and the lower slide lever 32 and the upper slide lever 33 can be slid left and right on the resin slide auxiliary cap 53. It fits in. A flange 53a is formed at the lower end of the slide auxiliary cap 53. Further, upward engaging claws 54 are projected from the left and right ends of the slide auxiliary cap 53, and the engaging claws 54 are engaged with the left and right end portions 31a of the groove frame portion 31.

Further, rubber rollers 40 that elastically contact the inner surface of the slide auxiliary cap 53 are mounted on the left and right ends of the upper slide lever 33. Therefore, the slide levers 32 and 33 can be slid left and right without rattling and can be held at an arbitrary position.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a connecting protrusion 42 for locking one end of the elastic linear member 34 is provided at the right end of the upper slide lever 33. A hook 43 is fixed to one end of the elastic linear member 34, and the hook 43 is fitted into the connecting protrusion 42.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, an elongated hole 44 into which the connecting projection 42 of the upper slide lever 33 is slidably fitted is formed in the upper bottom portion of the elongated groove hole 36 of the upper stay 14 in the tilting frame 10. .. The connecting protrusion 42 is formed in a protrusion 45 that is slidably fitted in the long groove hole 36.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, at the lower end portion of the lower shell body 18, a left and right longitudinal bottom plate 46 located at the lower end portion and a shelf-shaped plate 47 located above the bottom plate 46 are formed, and the upper slide lever 33. The connecting protrusion 42 is exposed in the lower horizontally long space 48 surrounded by the bottom plate 46 and the shelf-shaped plate 47. A center guide groove 50 sandwiched between the left and right center ribs 49 is formed in the left and right middle portions of the lower shell body 18, and a rearward opening U-shaped center guide 51 is attached to the center guide groove 50. The elastic linear member 34 is arranged inside the center guide 51.

Then, as clearly shown in FIG. 6B, a vertically long guide rail portion 52 having left and right side plates is integrally formed on the rear surface of the lumbar pad 30, and the guide rail portion 52 is vertically moved up and down in the center guide groove 50. It is slidably fitted, and the upper end of the elastic linear member 34 is locked to the upper end of the guide rail portion 52. Therefore, when the slide levers 32 and 33 are moved left and right, the lumbar pad 30 moves up and down due to the pushing and pulling action of the elastic linear member 34.

As shown in FIG. 6B, an inner guide 56 having a guide groove 55 through which the elastic linear member 34 slidably passes is formed inside the center guide groove 51, and the center guide 56 is formed in the inner guide 56. 51 is covered from the front. Engagement claws 57 are formed on the left and right side surfaces of the inner guide 56, while engagement holes 58 that engage with the engagement claws 57 are formed in the center guide 51. Therefore, the elastic linear member 34 is held in a straight stretched state by the guide action of the center guide 51.

As shown in FIG. 6B, a back plate 59 is formed on the upper portion of the guide rail portion 52 in the lumbar pad 30, and the elastic linear member 34 is attached to the pin 60 projecting forward from the back plate 59. The other end (upper end) is connected via the hook 61.

The elastic linear member 34 is in a left-right longitudinal posture in the lower horizontally long space 48, and is in a vertically-longitudinal posture in the center guide groove 51, and is bent in the middle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a curved guide gutter 62 that guides the slide while keeping the bending of the elastic linear member 34 constant is formed at the lower end of the lower shell body 18 in a state of biting into the shelf-shaped plate 47. Has been done.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, side guide pieces 63 are projected laterally at both left and right ends of the lumbar pad 30, while the side guide pieces 63 cannot be moved forward and can be moved up and down on the lower shell body 18. The side guide 64 to be held is formed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), the side ribs 65 that are vertically elongated are projected on the rear surfaces of the lumbar pad near both left and right ends, while the side guides that the side ribs 65 are in sliding contact with the lower shell body 18 are provided. A groove 66 is formed. Therefore, the lumbar pad 30 is stably and stably supported from behind by the lower shell body 18.

(3). Summary In the present embodiment, the lumbar pad 30 is entirely hidden inside the backrest 3, and the lower slide lever 32 is arranged on the lower surface of the upper slide lever 33. Since it is invisible, the entire backrest 3 is refreshed and aesthetically pleasing.

In addition, the user can operate the lower slide lever 32 by extending his right hand backward while sitting on a chair, but since he can push and pull in the horizontal direction without bending his arm significantly, the operation of the levers 32 and 33 is braked. You can do it well. Therefore, there is no phenomenon in which the lumbar pad 30 is displaced from a desired position due to excessive force, and the height of the lumbar pad 30 can be adjusted accurately.

A link mechanism or the like can be adopted as the interlocking means, but if the elastic linear member 34 is used as in the embodiment, it easily bends and deforms. Therefore, although it has a simple structure, the movement of the slide levers 32 and 33 can be moved by the lumbar pad. Can tell 30. In particular, if the guide gutter 62 is provided as in the embodiment, the elastic linear member 34 can be pushed and pulled while keeping the degree of bending constant, so that there is an advantage that the movement of the lumbar pad 30 can be ensured.

Further, since the lumbar pad 30 is arranged on the front surface of the back shell body 20, guide means such as the center guide groove 50, the side guide 64, and the side guide groove 66 can be formed on the front surface of the back shell body 20 without any problem. .. Therefore, the support stability of the lumbar pad 30 is also excellent.

The invention of the present application can be embodied in various ways in addition to the illustrated embodiments. For example, the operating lever can be slidably attached to the back surface of the backrest. Alternatively, it can be mounted on one or both of the left and right sides of the backrest so as to be vertically movable.
Further, the operating lever can be configured to be rotatable. The backrest may have a structure in which a mesh material is stretched on a back frame that is open in the front and rear. In this case, the structure may be such that the body pressure of the seated person is supported by the lumbar pad via the mesh material, or the lumbar pads are arranged on the left and right sides of the mesh material where the seated person's body does not hit, and the lumbar pad is placed through the mesh material. It may be configured to support the body pressure of the seated person.

The present invention can be embodied in a chair equipped with a lumbar support device. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

3 Backrest 10 Tilt frame 14 Upper stay (claimed stay)
18 Lower shell body that constitutes the back shell body 19 Upper shell body that constitutes the back shell body 20 Back shell body 21 Cushion body 30 Lumber pad 32 Lower slide lever that constitutes the operation lever 33 Upper slide lever that constitutes the operation lever 34 Interlocking Elastic wire as an example of means 50 Center guide groove 51 Center guide

Claims (4)

A lumbar pad that directly or indirectly supports the seated person's lumbar region is arranged on the backrest so as to be able to move up and down, and an operation lever that adjusts the height of the lumbar pad is separated from the lumbar pad. The operation lever and the lumbar pad are connected by interlocking means.
Chair. The operating lever is arranged so as to reciprocate in a direction different from the moving direction of the lumbar pad.
The chair according to claim 1. The backrest includes a back shell body and a cushion body arranged in front of the back shell body, and the lumbar pad is entirely arranged between the back shell body and the cushion body.
The operation lever is slidably arranged left and right with the knob exposed on the lower surface of the backrest, and the operation lever and the lumbar pad are connected by a linear member that bends and deforms.
The chair according to claim 1 or 2. The tilting frame has a tilting frame that tilts backward against the spring means, and the tilting frame includes a tilting frame having left and right longitudinal stays arranged in a horizontal position above the rear part of the seat, and the backrest is the stay. The back shell body is stacked from above, and the operation lever is mounted on the stay so that it can move left and right.
The chair according to claim 3.

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