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[0002] The type of chair to which this invention relates is a pedestal type chair movable on castors located at the base of the pedestal, the chair itself being swivelable in a horizontal plane about the pedestal. Such is a typical construction of office chair which may be of the “typist type” without arms or the executive type with arms. A further common feature of such chairs is the provision of means for preventing movement of the chair once it has been placed in its desired position. Such a feature is particularly useful for disabled people.
[0003] The problem with these arrangements is that, while it is common to provide control arrangements controlling the height, inclination of the chair seat and the seat back by controls within the reach of the user, with the usual construction of the swivel mechanism and the braking arrangements, it is not possible to provide controls for these mechanisms in suitable positions for control by a person sitting in the chair; these mechanisms must have controls elsewhere so that, in order to operate them, the user has to get out of the chair. This is a serious disadvantage for the disabled, who then require assistance in setting up the chair in accordance with their needs.
[0004] The present invention seeks to provide a chair control mechanism in which the control of swivel and/or braking mechanisms can be controlled by the user when sitting in the chair.
[0005] According to the invention, there is provided a chair control arrangement for a chair movable on castors and having an horizontally swivelable seat comprising locking means for locking translational movement of a chair on its castors and/or swivel movements of the chair seat and control means for controlling the locking means and situated in a position usable by the user of the chair when sitting therein.
[0006] The control means may comprises a Bowden cable and the Bowden cable may be operated by a lever situated on the part of the chair carrying the chair seat.
[0007] Where the locking means locks the translational movement of the chair, it may comprise a plurality of feet raisable and lowerable into and out of engagement with the floor on which the chair is standing. The feet may be biased in the direction of the floor, suitably by means of a spring.
[0008] Where a Bowden cable and lever are used, when the lever is operated, the Bowden cable may act to raise the feet against the action of the spring and when the lever is released, the Bowden cable may be released allowing the feet to be lowered to the floor under the action of the spring.
[0009] The feet may be mounted on a framework movable upwards and downwards in relation to a fixed member on the base part of the chair. The framework may be moved upwards by means of a pivotal lever pivoted on the frame and having one end in contact with an upper surface of the frame work.
[0010] The framework may comprise one or more rods passing vertically through apertures in the fixed member.
[0011] When the locking means locks the swivel movement of the chair seat, it may comprise a pin on a first member swivelable with or stationary relative to the chair seat co-operating with a plurality holes in a second member stationary relative to or swivelable with the chair seat respectively, the pin acting to prevent swilling movement of the chair seat when engaged in one of the holes.
[0012] When a Bowden cable and lever are used, the pin may be carried by a first plate swivelable with the chair seat and the holes are arranged circumferentially on a second plate stationary with respect to the chair seat, the plates being stacked one above the other around the swivel axis of the chair.
[0013] The pin may be movable towards and away from the second plate and may be biased towards the second plate by means of a spring.
[0014] The Bowden cable may be arranged to act on the pin to move it away from the second plate when the lever is actuated.
[0015] The lever may be movable between a first position in which the Bowden cable is released allowing the pin to move under the action of the spring and a second position in which it acts on the Bowden cable to move the pin away from the second plate.
[0016] Means may be provided for selectively locking the lever in its second position.
[0017] Stop means may be provided to prevent the chair seat from swivelling through 360 degrees. Preferably, the angle of swivel allowed by the stop means is between 220 and 350 degrees.
[0018] The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:—
[0019]
[0020]
[0021]
[0022] Referring to the drawings, there is shown a chair swivelling and braking control mechanism. The chair
[0023] The telescopic rod
[0024] The two mechanisms and their operation will now be described:
[0025] 1. Swivel Mechanism
[0026] The chair seat carrier
[0027] Beneath the top plate
[0028] Under the centre plate
[0029] The locking mechanism comprises a pin
[0030] In the locked position as shown in
[0031] To re-lock the chair against swivelling, the lever
[0032] Because of the cable operation of the locking mechanism, it is essential to prevent a full
[0033] Suitable bearings
[0034] 2. Chair Movement Lock
[0035] This locking arrangement
[0036] Provided on the lower part of the lower plate
[0037] Connected to the pivot arm at the opposite end to that resting on the lock plate
[0038] Operation of this locking mechanism will now be considered:
[0039] In the position shown in
[0040] It will be appreciated that additions to or modification of the above described embodiment may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the Bowden cable arrangement could be replaced by a suitable mechanical linkage. In the swivel lock, the plate