[0001] The present invention relates to a device allowing to adjust the position of a reclining
easy-chair, by the simple manual movement of a control lever, actuating a pantograph-like
unit which causes the contemporaneous movement of back and seat of the reclining easy-chair.
[0002] In order to actuate reclining easy-chairs, many systems were devised and most of
them are manual systems based on the use of springs, toothed sectors or racks, but
all these systems require a certain effort of the user, and sometimes are dangerous.
On the other hand, chairs for dental surgery or other clinical uses are provided with
sophisticated powered adjusting systems, while pneumatic dampening systems were recently
adopted for controlling the position of the seat of barber's chairs and of typist's
or draftsman's swivel chairs, but their action is limited to a rectilinear motion
of an element, generally the up-and down movement of said seat. Thus it appears that
up to now there is no system allowing to move with a single pneumatic piston and a
relatively simple control, both the seat and the back of a normal easy-chair for home
and/or office use.
[0003] The present invention solves this problem and provides for a simple, practical and
reliable system for controlling without any effort seat and back of an easy-chair,
the position of which may be adjusted in a continuous way from one end to the other
of the stroke.
[0004] The device according to the present invention therefore consists of a pantograph-like
or articulated parallelogram unit, the sides of which comprise the seat, the back,
a pneumatic piston arranged in the easy-chair base, said piston being single-acting
and having a counter spring for the return stroke, and a pantograph arm closing the
parallelogram and connecting the base to the outer seat end, said system being controlled
by a manual lever fulcrumed at the back bottom, said lever releasing the movement
of the pneumatic piston pushed by a charge of pressurized gas.
[0005] Therefore it is clear that by pulling the control lever, the user may adjust at will
the inclination of both back and seat, and releasing the lever the easy-chair is again
locked in the desired position, while in the opposite direction the counter spring
causes the easy-chair to return in the erected starting position.
[0006] Objects, characteristics and advantages of the device according to the present invention
will be more apparent and clear from the following detailed description of a preferred
embodiment, given as a merely illustrative non-limiting example, reference being had
to the annexed sheet of drawings, whose single figure shows in a rather diagrammatic
way the device, applied to a generic easy-chair shown in a merely synthetic way by
its main elements.
[0007] With reference now to said figure of the accompanying drawing, the easy-chair to
which the device of the present invention is applied, is diagrammatically shown as
comprising a seat 1 and a back 2, and their relative motion is obtained through a
hinge 3. The back 2 is fixed through its frame 4 to the base 5 of the easy-chair,
comprising a box with a projecting nose 6 receiving the frame 4 as well as the control
lever 7, having their fulcrum 8 in said nose 6.
[0008] The bottom of the frame 4 is pivotally connected to a bracket 9 to which is securely
fixed a rod 10 of a pneumatic piston arranged inside a pressurized gas cylinder 11,
whose opposite end 12 is fixed to said base 5. The pneumatic piston is single-acting
and is actuated by a lower finger 13 of the control lever 7 acting on a bar 14. In
the base 5 and arranged in a position opposite the pneumatic piston, there is also
a counter spring 15, fixed at one end to the base 5 and at the other end to the pin
17 in turn fixed to the lug 18 joined to the seat frame 4. The outer free end of seat
1 is resting on the top end 19 of an oscillating arm 20 pivoted at the bottom end
16 to the base 5. Obviously the entire foregoing articulated system, diagrammatically
shown in the drawing, is duplicated on the other side of the easy-chair, while the
actuating control elements are single.
[0009] The operation of the device is therefore clear from the foregoing detailed description:
by pulling the lever 7, the lower finger 13 pushes the bar 14 causing the pressurized
gas to act on the piston, which draws the bracket 9 causing the back 2 and the seat
1, followed by the armrest 20 to be reclined, until draw is terminated by releasing
the lever 7; when the lever 7 is pushed down, discharge or bleed of piston is caused
so that the counter spring 15 pulls back the bracket 9 returning the back 2 in the
forward position and the seat 1 in the horizontal position.
[0010] From the preceding detailed description it is therefore clear that the device fulfills
entirely the expected objects, but it is also to be understood that several modifications,
variation, additions and/or substitutions of elements may be resorted to said device,
without departing however from the spirit and object of the invention and without
falling outside its scope, as it is also defined in the appended claims.
1) Device for adjusting the position of a reclining easy-chair, characterized in that
it consists of an articulated parallelogram system, actuated by a single-acting pneumatic
cylinder (11) with counter spring (15), which can be manually operated through a control
lever (7).
2) Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the parallelogram comprises
the seat (1) and the back (2) hinged to said seat (1), while said back (2) is fulcrumed,
together with the control lever (7) of the pneumatic cylinder (11), on the base (5)
of the easy chair, said base (5) containing the pneumatic cylinder (11) and the counter
spring (15) arranged opposite to said cylinder (11) which is the third side of the
parallelogram, whose fourth side comprises an oscillating arm (20) connecting the
outer seat end to said base (5).
3) Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the counter spring (15) and
the piston rod (10) of the pneumatic cylinder (11) are fixed to the lower part of
the seat frame (4), fulcrumed within said base (5), and said pneumatic piston (10)
is actuated by a bottom finger (13) of the control lever (7).
4) Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the pneumatic piston (10) is
actuated by a pressurized gas cylinder (11).
5) Device for adjusting the position of a reclining easy-chair, substantially as hereinbefore
described and as illustrated in the single figure of the accompanying drawing, for
the above mentioned objects.
