Chair having a suspension seat assembly
AssigneeHaworth, Inc.
InventorsLarry Wilkerson, Mark Tomandl, Keith Page, Gardner Klassen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A suspension seat assembly for an office chair is provided which has a support frame and a suspension fabric connected about its periphery to the frame. The fabric is first laid across the frame and then the peripheral edges of the suspension fabric are secured in place on the frame by over-molded trim. The suspension fabric may also be formed as a multi-layer composite comprising an aesthetic upper layer, a stretchable suspension layer and an optional cushion layer therebetween. The suspension layer is a fabric-type material which is preferably air permeable and resilient to support the weight of a chair occupant.
Claims20
In a chair adapted to be supported on a floor so as to support the seat and back of a chair occupant, said chair comprising:
- a base adapted to be supported on the floor;
- a seat frame supported on said base which is configured to support the weight of the chair occupant, said seat frame comprising side frame rails which are spaced apart in a side-to-side direction and which extend along opposite sides of the chair in a front-to-back direction;
- and
- a suspension seat assembly adapted to be connected to said side frame rails and thereby defining an upward facing support surface for supporting the seat of the chair occupant, said suspension seat assembly comprising a seat shell and an elastomeric suspension fabric having a peripheral edge connected to said seat shell, said seat shell comprising a plurality of side shell sections and a rear shell section which extend in a generally U-shape, and an enlarged front panel which extends a substantial distance in the front-to-back direction to support the thighs of the chair occupant, said front panel and said side and rear shell sections being joined together in a generally annular shape to define a suspension opening wherein said peripheral edge is connected to said front panel and said side and rear shell sections of said seat shell so that said suspension fabric is suspended within said suspension opening of said seat shell.
In a chair configured to support a chair occupant thereon, said chair including a body support unit configured to support a supported portion of the occupant, the body support unit comprising:
- a rigid support frame;
- and
- a suspension assembly mounted to said support frame, said suspension assembly comprising a support shell having an interior wall adapted to be fixedly mounted to said support frame and having a pair of rim sections which are elongate and extend generally in the same direction in spaced apart relation to define an interior opening therebetween in the region of which the supported portion of the occupant body will be supported, said interior wall extending between said rim sections, and said suspension seat assembly further including a flexible, sheet-like suspension member connected to said rim sections so that said suspension member extends between the rim sections and supports the occupant thereon, said interior wall having an initial shape wherein engagement portions thereof are spaced from said support frame with said rim sections being disposed in an initial position, said seat assembly including engagement members which engage between said support frame and said engagement portions of said interior wall which displace said engagement portions from said initial position to an adjusted position to thereby displace said rim sections away from each other and set the tension of said suspension member, said engagement members being adjustable to thereby adjust said tension.
In a chair configured to support a chair occupant thereon, said chair including a body support unit configured to support a supported portion of the occupant, the body support unit comprising:
- a rigid support frame comprising frame rails that are spaced apart from each other to define a suspension opening therebetween;
- and
- a suspension assembly adapted to be connected to said frame rails and thereby defining a support surface for supporting the supported portion of the occupant, said suspension assembly comprising a composite cushioned pad having a peripheral edge which is connected to said frame rails so that said composite pad extends over said suspension opening and is adapted to support said supported body portion, said composite pad comprising an elastomeric layer disposed interiorly for resiliently resisting forces of the chair occupant, a cushion layer overlying said elastomeric layer which is formed of a cushion material, and an exposed, exterior cover layer formed of a cover material which overlies said cushion material wherein said elastomeric layer, said cushion layer and said cover layer are joined together in facing relation to define a multi-layer composite structure.
A method of manufacturing a suspension pad for a chair, said chair comprising a support frame for supporting a peripheral edge of said pad, and the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first sheet of elastomeric material;
- providing a second sheet of cushioned material in overlying relation with said suspension material;
- providing a third layer of a cover material which overlies said cushion layer;
- and
- compressing said multiple layers about a peripheral edge and heating said peripheral edge to compress and heat fuse the peripheral edge to define an attachment portion of said pad;
- mounting said pad to said chair frame by positioning said attachment portion of said peripheral edge on said seat frame with a central portion of said pad being suspended from said chair frame;
- and
- securing said peripheral edge to said chair frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.