Wall-clearing recliner

A reclining chair having a seat, a reclinable backrest, a retractable footrest movably mounted thereon for extension from a stowed position on the chair to an extended position in front of the seat of the chair, mechanism for extending and retracting the footrest, energy storing means biasing the footrest to the extended position, means operable by the occupant of the chair to release the energy stored in said biasing means to extend the footrest, and a lost-motion interlocking connection between the backrest and the mechanism for extending and retracting the footrest in which the lost motion is taken up both when the backrest is upright and the footrest retracted and when the backrest is reclined and the footrest extended, the lost motion occurring upon the extension of the footrest from the sitting position without corresponding recline of the backrest and upon the righting of the backrest without corresponding retraction of the footrest, whereby the degree of extension of the footrest governs the attainable degree of recline of the backrest upon the forward movement of the footrest and the degree of recline of the backrest governs the attainable degree of retraction of the footrest.

A reclining chair having a seat, a backrest, a retractable footrest movably mounted on the chair for extension from a stowed position thereon to an extended position in front of the seat, mechanism for extending and retracting the footrest, spring means biasing the footrest to the extended position, means normally restraining the operation of said spring means to extend the footrest, and means operable by the occupant of the chair to disable the restraining means, said spring means being also connected to oppose the recline of the backrest and having sufficient force to prevent substantial recline of the backrest until the spring means are relaxed by the extension of the footrest, said spring means serving as a sequencing interlock to require the extension of the footrest before the recline of the backrest and the righting of the backrest before the retraction of the footrest.

In a footrest mechanism for a chair or the like in which the footrest is carried on the front of a carriage comprising a pair of substantially parallel rails supported on the chair for endwise movement forwardly and rearwardly of the chair to extend and retract the footrest, the improvement comprising a drive mechanism for extending the footrest comprising an elongated flexible element connected to said carriage rearwardly thereon and passed around a pulley journalled on said chair near the front thereof, a second pulley movable mounted on the chair rearwardly of the first mentioned pulley, said flexible element being passed around said second pulley and anchored to the chair, said second pulley being movable to pull the flexible element around the first mentioned pulley to draw said carriage and footrest forwardly, and means on the chair for so moving said second pulley.