Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3~
This invention relates to chairs and particularly
to swivel type office chairs.
Office chairs frequently include a metal frame
which usually is made of metal having a tubular cross section.
Unless tubular material with a large cross-sectional dimen-
sion is used, the frame will be flexible, particularly be-
tween portions supporting the seat and portions supporting
the backrest. It is important that the frame be rigid and
that it maintain its rigidity to firmly establish the angle
between the backre~t and seat portion since an angular change
G3 of as little as ~ degree~ can affect seating comfor~. To ob-
tain this rigidity with tubular material the frame becomes
extremely massive in appearance which often is undesirable.
It is an object of the invention to provide a
chair incorporating a metal frame which is rigid.
It is another object of the invention to provide
a chair with such a rigid frame in which the body support
members are so arranged relative to the frame that they con-
ceal the frame's massiveness.
Still another object of the invention is to provide
a chair in which body suppcrt portions in the form of a seat
and backrest member are readily and accurately position,e,d,,
relative to the frame.
The chair embodying the invention incorporates a
metal fxame forming the perimeter of the seat and backrest
portions and is of endless construction. The frame has a U-
shaped cross section in which the outer surfaces are unifor-
mally curved and the curved portions are exposed to a viewer
of the chair and face in the general direction of an occupant
of the chair~ The frame and body suppor~ portions are formed
~-æ-~
--1~ .,
.
~083a~
with complementary support and mounting surfaces which permit
accurate positioning of the body support portions relative to the
frame and at the same time form a ca~ity for concealing
upholstering covering the body support portions. The body
-- support portions are formed with an outer lip adjacent to the
frame such that the lip extends generally tangentially of the
curved surface to conceal a portion of the frame from a viewer
or occupant.
In accordance with one broad aspect, the invention
relates to a chair comprising a rigid frame of endless, one
piece construction having generally parallel side members and
parallel end members maintaining said side members in spaced
apart relationship to each other, a body support means having a ;
body engaging surface and having opposite generally parallel
wall portions forming mounting surfaces facing away from said
body engaging surface in directions diverging from each other,
said parallel side members of said frame each presenting support
surfaces complementary to said mounting surfaces when said
body support means is disposed between the side members of ;~
said frame, and means connecting said body support means to said
frame with said mounting surfaces in abutting ! engagement with
said support sur~aces, said frame having a generally U-shaped `~
cross section forming a curved outer surface, said outer surface
of said side members facing in the same direction as said body
engaging surfaca.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chair embodying the ~
invention; ;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the chair shown in
Figure 1 with the bottom cut away; -
, .
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally
on line 3-3 in Figure l; -
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally on
~ . ~. .: . .
~,. . ' .
~. ~ .. .... . .
~lOB3~28
lin~ 4-4 in Figure l;
Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the sectional
portion shown in Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a sectional view at an enlarged scale
taken on line 6-6 in Figure 2;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view at an enlarged
scale taken on line 7-7 in Figure 2;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the office chair;
and
Figure 9 is a perspective view of an office chair
such as that shown in Figure 8 but fitted with arm rests. - : :
Referring to Figure 1 a chair embodying the`invention - ;
i3 indicated generally at 10 which includes a seating portion 12 .
; and a base 14 for supporting the seating portion in elevated
position relative to the floor. The base 14 includes a
vertically ~ `:
.,:
':
t
' ~:
.
'-` :
j~J - 2A -
~L~83a32i~3
extending pedestal 16 which has five radially ex-tending legs 1~,
the outer ends of which are fitted with conventional casters 20.
The pedestal 16 rotatably receives a shaft 22 permitting the seating
portion 12 to swivel relative to the base 14. The upper end of the
shaft 22 is provided with a conventional spring type tilt mechanism
24 which is fastened to the seating portion 12 to permit limited
tilting of the seat portion 12 relative to the base 14.
The seat portion 12 includes a frame 30 and body support
portions in the form of a seat 32 and a backrest 34. The frame 30
is cast or molded of metal such as aluminum. The frame 30 has
generally parallel side members 36 joined together by a forward cross
member 38 and a rear or top cross member 40. The side members 36
each have a seat supporting portion or part 42 and a backrest
supporting portion or part 44 disposed at a fixed angle relative to
each other. The cross members 38 and 40 are offset downwardly and
rearwardly, respectively, from the associated seat and backrest
supporting portions. The frame 30 is of continuous~ endless con-
struction surrounding the front and sides of the seat 32 and top
and sides of the backrest 34.
The entire metal frame 30 is channel shaped or U-shaped in
cross section with the cross section varying throughout various
portions of the frame. As best seen in Figures 3 and 5 the seat
supporting portions 42 of the frame 30 are U-shaped to form a curved
outer surface 46 which faces upwardly in the same direction as a
body supporting surface 48 of the seat 32 with the open portion of
the U facing downwardly. The backrest supporting portions 44 seen in
Figure 4 are shaped similarly to the seat supporting portions 42 with
~3~8
curved surfaces 50 facing forwardly in the direction of the
body supporting surface 52 of the backrest 34 and the open
pox~ion of the U facing rearwardly of ~he chair.
The cross section of the forward cross member 38 is
best seen in Figure 6 in which the generally U-shaped cross
section has its outer curved surface 54 facing forwardly of
the chair and the open portion of the U facing rearwardly.
The top cross member 40 in Figure 7 has its curved surface
56 facing upwardly. The open portion of the U-shaped cross
section faces downwardly and is provided with a flat surface
58 which forms a convenient hand hold at the upper rear of
the chair for moving it when it is not occupied.
, Referring now to Figure 3 the seat includes a hous-
ing 60 made of a relative rigid material such as plastic.
The housing 60 has a backside or generally horizontal wall
61 merging with curved side walls 62. The side walls 62 ter-
minate in edges or lips 64. The cavity formed in the housing
60 is filled with a resilie~t cushioning material such as
beaded foam indicated at 66. The foam cushion 66 is covered
with upholstery material 68 which extends over the lips 64~
~ s seen in ~igure 4, the backrest 34 is constructed
in a manner similar to the seat 32 in that it has a backside
or vertical wall 71 and a housiny 70 with curved side walls
72 terminating in lips or edges 74. The housing 70 is also
filled with the foam cushioning material 76 and covered with
upholstery material 78 extending over the lips 74.
The configuration o the frame 30 and the configu-
ration of the seat 32 and backrest 34 cooperate to support
and accurately locate the ~rame seat and backrest. As best
seen in Figures 3 and 5. The seat supporting portion 42 of
-4-
~L~ 3g~2~
the frame is provided with a portion having a support surface
80 extending at an angle to the U-shaped cross section. The
support surfaces 80 at opposite sides of the frame 30 face in
directions converging downwardly and are complementary to and
abut mounting surface 8Z formed on the walls 62 of the seat
- housing 60. Similarly the cross member 38 as seen in Figure
6 has a portion e~tending from the curved surface 54 to form
a support surface 84 which in this instance faces upwardly
and is complementary to a mounting surface 86 formed at the
forward edge wall 88 of the housing 60 in spaced relation to
the lip 64.
As seen in Figure 5, the outer surface of the seat
housing 60 between the mounting surface 82 and the lip 64 is
curved as indicated at 90 and is spaced from the curved sur-
face 46 to form a cavity 92 in which unfinished edges 93 of
; the upholstery material 68 may be located to conceal the lat-
ter when the chair is completely assembled. Similarly, as
seen in Figure 6~ thé underside of the seat housing 60 between
the lip 64 and the mounting surface 86 has a curved
portion 94 spaced slightly from curvéd surface 54 to ~orm a
cavity 96 to accommodate the unfinished edge 93 of the uphol-
stery material and conceal it from view.
When the seat 32 is being assembled to the frame 30,
the complementary supporting and mounting surface 80 and 82
on the seat supporting portions 42 center the seat 32 relative
to the frame 30 and the lip 64 on the curved portion at the
forward edge wall 88 of the seat 32 engages the curved sur-
face 54 of the forward cross member 38 to prevent rearward
movement and accurately locate the seat assemb1y 32 relative
to the frame 30. After the seat 32 and the frame 30 have been
--5-
.
~83~2~3
located relative to each other they may be fastened together by
means of fasteners such as screws and fittings 97 seen in Figure 5.
The upholstery material 6~ covering the seat 32 has its
edges 93 fastened to housing 60 of the seat in any conventional
manner as by staples or adhesive. Before the seat is assembled to
the frame 30, the upholstery at the sides of the seat will extend in
spaced relationship to the curved surface 90 between the lip 64 and
, the edge 93 at which the upholstery is fastened to the housing 60.
In the same manner, the upholstery material at the forward edge of
the seat will extend from the lip 64 to the edge 93 at which the
upholstery is fastened. Upon assembly of the seat 32 and frame 30,
the curved surfaces 46 at the sides of the seat and the curved
surface"54 at the front of the seat will tend to deflect the material
closer to the curved surfaced 90 and 94, respectively to insure that
the upholstery material is maintained tightly'on the housing 60,
particularly adjacent to the lip 64.
As seen from a comparison of Figures 3 and 4 the backrest 34
has d configuration adjacent to its opposite sides which is the same as
that found at the sides of seat 32. The sides of the backrest 34 are
fitted relative to the supporting portions 44 in the same manner as the
sides of the seat 32 relative to their support portions 42. The upper
edge of the backrest 34, however, is formed with a recess or cavity 98
which receives the top cross member 40. A lip or edge 100 is formed
adjacent one side of the recess and a generally parallel wall 102 is
formed in spaced relation to the lip 100. The lip laO and the wall 102
serve to properly locate the backrest 34 relative to the frame 30 and the
cavity or recess 98 receives the unfinished upholstery edge 104 and permits
.
- 6 -
~3~
fastening the material to the housing 70. As in the case of
the seat 32, the upholstery material on backrest 34 will
extend from lip 100 to the edge 104 of the material so that
the curved edge 56 of the frame will deflect the material into
the cavity 98 to maintain the upholstery tightly.
To assemble the backrest 34 to the frame 30~ the
support surEace 80 and mounting surface 82 which are identical
; to the surfaces at the side of the seat 32 are ~laced in
engagement with each other to center the backrest 34. Engage-
ment of lip 100 seen in Figure 7 with the surface 56 will
limit downward movement of the backrest 34 relative to the
frame to properly locate the parts for the insertion of
screws g7 such as seen in Figure 5 into aligned, predrilled
holes in the frame 30 and backrest housing 70.
As will be seen fro~ an examination of Figures 5,
6 and 7, the lips 64 an~ 74 ~long the sides of the se~t and back-
rest, the lip 64 at the front of the seat and the lip 100
at the top rear of the backrest all point generally tangen-
tially ~o the respective curved surEaces 46, 54 and 56 of the
frame 30 and in the assembled condition of the chair serve
to conc~al a ~ortion of the metallic Erame 30.
As seen in Figures 8 and 9 a chair 10 may be con-
structed with or without armrests 110. If armrests are
desired, they may also be constructed oE metal with a gener-
ally U-shaped cross section so that the opén side of the U
faces downwardly and rearwardlyO
It will be noted that a chair has been provided in
which the frame 30 has a generally U-shaped cross section
which is extreme:Ly rigid and at the same time is relatively
light. The curved surfaces 46, 54 and 56 seen in Figures 5,
~33~
6 and 7 respectively, are generally circular and are all
formed on the same radius to give a pleasant appearance to
the frame. The seat assembly 32 and backrest assembly 34 are
firmly supported by the coaction of the support and mounting
surfaces formed on the frame 30 and the housings 60 and 70
and at the same time the seat 32 and backrest 34 are very
accurately located relative to the rigid frame making it pos-
sible to reduce the assembly procedure to the simple inser-
tion of screws 97 into predrilled openings in the frame 30
and the housing 60 and 70 since the predrilled holes will be
brought into accurate alignment with each other and will not
require custom fitting. As a consequence, it is possible to
ship large quantities of such chairs in disassembled form
since the accurate alignment of parts permits easy assembly
without requiring elaborate tools or skills. The configu-
ration of the chair frame 30 is such that in the disassembled
condition of the chairs, the frames 30 will snugly nest to-
gether and reduce cargo and storage space. In addition the
body supporting seat 32 and backrest 34 have a configuration
acting with the curved surfaces of the frame to form cavities
which conceal the unfinished edges of the upholstery material
and also act to maintain the upholstery material tightly.
The edges of the seat and backrest engaging the frame serve
to conceal a substantial portion of the frame cross section
so that the small, exposed portions of the frame tend to make
Lt look less ~assive.
