Membrane chair

A chair having a generally horizontally enlarged seat and a generally vertically enlarged back positioned adjacent a rear edge of said seat and projecting upwardly therefrom, comprising:

• said back including a vertically enlarged and generally rectangular ringlike support frame defined by sidewardly-spaced and upwardly projecting side rails which are rigidly and integrally joined by transversely extending and vertically spaced top and bottom rails, said support frame defining an enlarged central opening which is bounded by said rails and extends horizontally through said frame;
• said back also including a generally vertically enlarged one-piece inner shell which is disposed in front of and generally overlies said frame and extends coextensively across said central opening, said inner shell being constructed from a relatively thin sheetlike resin material having limited resiliency in a direction generally transverse to the shell, said shell having a vertically enlarged and sheetlike center membrane part which is of substantially uniform thickness and extends coextensively across said central opening of said frame, said shell also having a generally rectangular ringlike retainer portion which is integrally joined to and surrounds said center membrane part, said retainer portion being disposed so as to be substantially directly superimposed over said frame;
• securing structure coacting between said frame and said rectangular retainer portion for fixedly securing said inner shell to said frame;
• said center membrane part having a plurality of openings extending transversely therethrough so that the membrane part is defined by a plurality of first strips which extend generally vertically of the shell and a plurality of second strips which extend generally horizontally of the shell, said first and second strips being coplanar and integrally joined at points of intersection, whereby said center membrane part is transversely resiliently deflectable due to application of a rearwardly directed external load thereto;
• and
• said rim portion having a shallow channel-like cross section which opens rearwardly for accommodating the respective rail of the frame therein.

A fastener for permitting releasable connection between first and second structures, comprising:

• a first one-piece fastener member of a plastic material adapted for a spin weld fixed securement to said first structure;
• a second one-piece fastener member of a plastic material adapted to be coupled to said second structure;
• said first fastener member including first and second walls maintained in generally spaced relation and joined by an upright so that said first and second walls define an open region therebetween, said open region being accessible through a transverse opening which extends between said first and second walls and opens transversely thereof, said first wall being adapted for a spin weld fixed securement to said first structure, and said second wall having a slot which opens inwardly from a free edge thereof and terminates in a closed end;
• and
• said second fastener member including an elongate stem having a plurality of resilient projections formed thereon and projecting radially outwardly therefrom at spaced intervals therealong, and an enlarged head defined at one end of said stem, said head being insertable through said opening into said open region so as to be captivated between said first and second walls with said stem projecting outwardly through the slot defined in said second wall for permitting said stem and the resilient projections thereon to be engaged with said second structure.

A chair having a generally horizontally enlarged seat arrangement and a generally vertically enlarged back arrangement projecting upwardly from a rear edge of said seat arrangement, at least one of said seat and back arrangements comprising:

• a rigid frame member defining an enlarged central opening which opens toward an occupant;
• and
• a one-piece inner shell fixedly supported on said frame member to support an occupant, said inner shell being constructed of a thin sheet-like resin material which is at least semi-rigid in the plane thereof;
• said inner shell including a peripheral rim part which substantially directly overlies and is fixedly secured to said frame member;
• said inner shell also including an enlarged and substantially flat sheet-like center membrane part, said center membrane part extending between and joined to said rim part and extending across the central opening of said frame member whereby said center membrane part is generally free of support in said central opening;
• said center membrane part having a plurality of sidewardly spaced first elongate strips which are integrally joined at opposite ends to said rim part, and a plurality of sidewardly spaced second elongate strips which are integrally joined at opposite ends to said rim part, said first and second strips extending across said rim part in intersecting transverse directions so as to intersect one another with said first and second strips being integrally joined where they intersect, said center membrane part being transversely elastically deformable due to application of a transverse external load on said center membrane part by an occupant to support the occupant.

A chair having a generally horizontally enlarged seat arrangement and a generally vertically enlarged back arrangement projecting upwardly from a rear edge of said seat arrangement, at least one of said seat and back arrangements comprising:

• a rigid frame member defining an enlarged central opening which opens toward an occupant;
• and
• an inner shell fixedly supported on said frame member to support an occupant;
• said inner shell including a peripheral rim part which substantially directly overlies and is fixedly secured to said frame member;
• said inner shell also including an enlarged and substantially flat sheet-like center membrane part which is constructed of a thin resin material which is at least semi-rigid in the plane thereof, said center membrane part extending between and joined to said rim part and extending across the central opening of said frame member whereby said center membrane part is generally free of support in said central opening;
• said center membrane part having a plurality of sidewardly spaced first elongate strips which are joined at opposite ends to said rim part, and a plurality of sidewardly spaced second elongate strips which are joined at opposite ends to said rim part, said first and second strips extending in transverse intersecting directions so as to intersect one another with said first and second strips being integrally joined where they intersect, said first and second strips each having a wavy or undulating configuration within the plane of the center membrane part as the strips extends between opposite ends thereof, said center membrane part being transversely elastically deformable due to application of a transverse external load on said center membrane part by an occupant to support the occupant.