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US 6,957,863 B2Granted
Seating unit having motion control
AssigneeSteelcase Development Corporation
InventorsKurt R. Heidmann, Renard G. Tubergen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seating unit includes a seat, a back, a base, and a motion control having a plurality of flexible supports for operably supporting the seat and back on the base. The flexible supports are movable in a generally fore-to-aft direction but stiff in a generally vertical direction, and further the flexible supports have end sections projecting generally outward from said base for operably engaging the seat and/or back, so that when the flexible supports flex in the fore-to-aft direction, they provide for directed movement of the seat and/or the back. In one form, the flexible supports form leaf-spring-like beams with resiliently bendable ends that flex in a slightly angled fore-aft direction to provide a predetermined synchronized path of movement of the seat and back.
Claims111
A seating unit having a base, comprising:
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a motion control having a center support adapted for attachment to the base and at least first and second flexible supports connected to the center support at spaced apart locations, the first and second flexible supports defining lengths that extend laterally in directions substantially parallel to each other and further having ends that are each connected to at least one of said seat and back components, said ends being flexible in a generally fore-to-aft direction but generally rigid in a perpendicular direction, so that said at least one components are operably supported for movement.
1 more element
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having at least one movable element, comprising:
- a horizontally elongated center support;
- and
- a plurality of flexible supports each having center sections mounted to said elongated center support in spaced relation to each other and oriented generally transverse to said center support in a non-intersecting arrangement, said flexible supports having end sections that are each constructed and adapted to engage the at least one movable element and that are sufficiently rigid in at least one direction to support the at least one element of the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least another direction to allow for controlled movement of the at least one element of the seating unit.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having at least one movable element, comprising:
- an elongated center support;
- and
- a plurality of flexible supports each having center sections mounted to said center support in spaced relation to each other and oriented generally transverse to said center support, said flexible supports having end sections that are each constructed and adapted to engage the at least one movable element and that are sufficiently rigid in at least one direction to support the at least one element of the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least another direction to allow for controlled movement of the at least one element of the seating unit, wherein the flexible supports have an elongated cross section that defines an acute angle to a vertical direction.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having at least one movable element, comprising:
- an elongated center support;
- and
- a plurality of flexible supports each having center sections mounted to said center support in spaced relation to each other and oriented generally transverse to said center support, said flexible supports having end sections that are each constructed and adapted to engage the at least one movable element and that are sufficiently rigid in at least one direction to support the at least one element of the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least another direction to allow for controlled movement of the at least one element of the seating unit, wherein at least one of said flexible supports is positioned at a selected angle relative to at least one other flexible support, wherein said flexible supports are separate elements having lengths that extend parallel to each other.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having at least one movable element, comprising:
- an elongated center support;
- and
- a plurality of flexible supports each having center sections mounted to said center support in spaced relation to each other and oriented generally transverse to said center support, said flexible supports having end sections that are each constructed and adapted to engage the at least one movable element and that are sufficiently rigid in at least one direction to support the at least one element of the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least another direction to allow for controlled movement of the at least one element of the seating unit, wherein the end sections are configured and adapted to slidably engage the at least one element.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having at least one movable element, comprising:
- an elongated center support;
- and
- a plurality of flexible supports each having center sections mounted to said center support in spaced relation to each other and oriented generally transverse to said center support, said flexible supports having end sections that are each constructed and adapted to engage the at least one movable element and that are sufficiently rigid in at least one direction to support the at least one element of the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least another direction to allow for controlled movement of the at least one element of the seating unit, wherein said center sections each define a height greater than a height of the end sections.
A seating unit having a base comprising:
- a control mechanism having a plurality of non-intersecting elongated energy components with flexible end sections that all extend laterally;
- a seat supported on the ends of at least one of said energy components;
- a back pivotally connected to one of said seat and said control mechanism and also separately supported on the end sections of at least one of said energy components, said energy components being adapted to flex into a more loaded condition upon recline of said back so as to store energy that is released when said back is pivoted out of the reclined condition.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit, comprising:
- a center support;
- and
- a plurality of elongated flexible supports mounted in spaced apart positions on the center support to define non-intersecting longitudinal lines, said flexible supports being flexible in a generally fore-to-aft direction but stiff in a generally vertical direction, said flexible supports having end sections configured to support at least one element of the seating unit, and said flexible supports being sufficiently rigid to support a load on the seating unit while being sufficiently flexible in at least one direction generally transverse to the direction of the load on the seating unit to allow for controlled movement of the seating unit.
A motion control mechanism for a seating unit having a base and at least one movable element that is movable along a predetermined path between first and second positions, comprising:
- a control including a plurality of elongated energy components adapted for mounting transversely to the base at non-intersecting spaced-apart positions relative to the base, the plurality of energy components having ends configured to operably support the at least one element of the seating unit for movement along the predetermined path between first and second positions, the control and said energy components being configured to limit movement of said at least one element to the predetermined path, said energy components being adapted to flex into a more loaded condition upon movement of the at least one element from said first position to said second position so as to store energy that is released when the at least one element of the seating unit is returned to said first position.
A seating unit having a base, comprising:
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a control including a pair of flexible supports positioned relative to the base and supporting at least one of said back and seat components, said flexible supports being spaced apart on the control in a non-intersecting pattern and having laterally-extending end sections that are adapted to flex into a more loaded condition upon movement of the one component from a first position to a second position so as to store energy that is released when the one component is returned to the first position.
1 more element
A seating unit having a base, comprising:
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a motion control adapted for connection to the base and operably connected to the seat and back components and configured to synchronously move the seat and back at different angular rates of rotation between an upright position and a recline position, said motion control having at least one flexible support, the at least one flexible support having opposing ends connected to at least one of the seat and back components and that are flexible in a first direction for permitting movement of the one component in the first direction but that are relatively rigid in a perpendicular second direction for preventing movement along the second direction.
1 more element
A seating unit having a base, comprising:
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a motion control adapted for connection to the base and having at least two elongated flexible supports, the at least two flexible supports being spaced apart and having ends operably connected to at least one of said seat and back components, and including first and second flexible supports each having opposing arms on opposite sides of the motion control that are independently flexible and independently movable, with ends of the opposing arms being movable different distances, whereby the one component can be moved by flexing the opposing arms different amounts and moving the ends different distances, wherein movement of the ends defines a non-horizontal first plane that extends less than 45° from horizontal.
1 more element
A seating unit having a base, comprising:
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a motion control adapted for connection to the base and having at least two elongated flexible supports, the at least two flexible supports being spaced apart and having ends operably connected to at least one of said seat and back, components, and including first and second flexible supports each having opposing arms on opposite sides of the motion control that are independently flexible and independently movable, with ends of the opposing arms being movable different distances, whereby the one component can be moved by flexing the opposing arms different amounts and moving the ends different distances, wherein the ends of the opposing arms slidably engage the at least one component.
1 more element
A seating unit comprising:
- a base;
- a seat;
- a back;
- and
- a control operably supporting the seat and back on the base, the control including a center support and at least one flexible support with a center section attached to the center support, the at least one flexible support further having end sections extending laterally from the center section for supporting at least one of the seat and back, the end sections having a length and a vertical cross sectional shape perpendicular to the length that is elongated and that defines a long dimension and a short dimension at least half the long dimension, the long dimension varying at a constant rate along the length of the end sections.
2 more elements
A seating unit comprising:
- a base;
- a seat component;
- a back component;
- and
- a control operably supporting the seat and back components on the base for movement between upright and reclined positions, the control including a center support and at least one flexible support with a center section attached to the center support, the at least one flexible support further having end sections extending laterally from the center section for supporting a weight of at least one of the seat and back components, the end sections slidably engaging the one component to eliminate binding upon flexure of the flexible support during movement toward the reclined position.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.