Field of the Art
[0001] The present invention relates to armchairs with a folding structure which are arranged
in halls of large audiences of any type, and which are generally incorporated in distributions
of parallel rows, proposing an armchair of this type with a mounting implementation
improving the functional features of the articulation of the folding.
State of the Art
[0002] It is usual to arrange rows of parallel rows of armchairs for seating the attendees
in movie theaters, conference rooms, and similar enclosures, a good use of the space
place being obtained by means of said distribution.
[0003] In this sense, for the purpose of facilitating the passage between rows of armchairs
for the entrance and exit of the users, as well as for cleaning operations, the armchairs
are usually determined with folding solutions aimed at freeing up the space existing
between the rows of armchairs when they are not being used.
[0004] There are in this sense folding solutions for the armchairs based on an articulated
mounting of the seat and of the armrests, even with swinging combinations between
the seat and the armrests, such that when the armchair is being used, the weight of
the user maintains the assembly in the unfolded use position, whereas when the armchair
is vacated, the assembly thereof automatically withdraws in a folded position of the
seat and the armrests on the backrest.
[0005] In the usual arrangement of said armchairs, the backrest normally has a certain backward
inclination in order to favor the comfort in the use of the armchair, which means
that the backrest in turn partly invades the space located behind the armchairs.
[0006] In relation to the foregoing, there are also solutions combining the folding of the
seat and of the armrests with an advance of the position of the backrest when the
armchair is folded, such as the solution of Spanish utility model number
282,120, which describes the arrangement of the seat in an articulated mounting with respect
to fixed structural sides, and the articulated mounting of the backrest on the rear
edge of the seat, the armrests being independently articulated on the fixed structural
sides, being supported on the structural assembly of the backrest, with springs tending
to position said armrests in an upward folding collapsing, this action being transmitted,
by means of the armrests, on the assembly of the backrest and the seat, in the sense
of making this assembly swing towards the folded position.
[0007] With this solution it is achieved that, due to the weight of the backrest and the
action of the springs acting on the armrests, when the armchair is vacated the entire
assembly is automatically positioned in the folded position; but said folding action
occurs abruptly, causing noise and, over time, maladjustments, in addition to the
risk of being able to strike the users.
Object of the Invention
[0008] According to the invention an armchair is proposed which is structured with a combined
arrangement between the backrest, the seat and the armrests, as in Spanish utility
model number
282,120, but with an incorporation of delay and damping in the mounting articulation for
mounting the seat, improving the functional features of the folding of the assembly
of the armchair.
[0009] This armchair object of the invention comprises, as in the known solution, a seat
mounted in an articulated manner on fixed side supports and a backrest resting and
supported in an articulated manner on the rear edge of the seat, whereas armrests
are in turn articulated on the fixed sides, which armrests tend to swing with the
front part upwards, whereas with the rear part they are supported on the structure
of the backrest.
[0010] According to the invention, in each mounting articulation for mounting the seat on
the fixed side supports there is incorporated a device comprising a peripheral part
and a central part which are rotationally linked, there being both parts a distribution
of rollers which allow the free rotation in one direction, but which in the opposite
direction determine a progressive damping, from an angular position, between the peripheral
and central parts of the device.
[0011] The central part of this rotation device incorporated in the mounting articulations
for mounting the seat on the fixed side supports incorporates associated thereto an
axial rod finished at the free end with a transverse conformation, said transverse
conformation fitting in a slightly wider groove of the end of a rod emerging perpendicularly
from and integral with a plate fixed to the seat.
[0012] Thus, when the seat is forced to rotate on the mounting articulations from the folded
position towards the use position, by means of the coupling between the rod of the
rotation devices incorporated in the mounting articulations and the rod of the corresponding
plate fixed to the seat, there is a rotational pulling of the central part with respect
to the peripheral part of said rotation devices incorporated in the mounting articulations,
but without a repercussion in the rotation function, since in this direction the mentioned
rotation devices incorporated in the mounting articulations allow free rotation.
[0013] However, when the seat swings from the use position towards the folded position,
due to the weight of the backrest and the action of the thrust of the armrests, when
the armchair is vacated, the rotation of the seat rotationally pulls the central part
of the rotation devices incorporated in the mounting articulations, a progressive
damping of the rotation, from an angular position, occurring in this case by the internal
mechanism of said rotation devices of the mounting articulations, thus making the
final path of the folding of the armchair smoother, whereby the folding occurs in
a more advantageous manner, without any abrupt impact at the end of the path.
[0014] At the beginning of the swinging of the seat from the use position towards the folded
position, the rotation of the seat does not pull the central part of the rotation
devices of the mounting articulations due to the clearance between the end transverse
conformation of the rod of said central part of the rotation devices of the mounting
articulations and the groove of the rod of the corresponding plate fixed to the seat,
until said end transverse conformation of the rod of the central part of the rotation
devices abuts against the walls of the groove of the rod of the corresponding plate
fixed to the seat, which is when the rotational pulling of the central part of the
rotation devices starts.
[0015] Therefore, in said swinging of the seat from the use position towards the folded
position, during a first section of the path of the swinging the damping action of
the rotation devices incorporated in the mounting articulations has no effect, thus
allowing easily starting the swinging movement, the rotation devices then starting
to act with a progressive damping effect, to make the swinging until the end of the
path smoother.
Description of the Drawings
[0016]
Figure 1 shows a side view of an armchair according to the object of the invention
in a use position.
Figure 2 is a side view of the same armchair as above in a folded position.
Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view of the armchair with respect to a mounting
side support.
Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective detail of a side support of an armchair according
to the invention, with an exploded view of the assembly of the mounting articulation
for mounting the seat.
Figure 5 is a perspective detail of the plate which is fixed on the side of the seat
of the armchair for the mounting with respect to the corresponding side support.
Figure 6 is a front view of the inside of the rotation device which is incorporated
in the mounting articulations for mounting the seat with respect to the side supports
of the armchair.
Figure 7 is an enlarged section of a mounting articulation for mounting the seat on
the corresponding side support of the armchair.
Detailed Description of the Invention
[0017] The object of the invention relates to a folding armchair of those which are distributed
in rows in movie theaters, conference rooms or similar enclosures, with an advantageous
mounting implementation for the functionality of transformation between a folded position
and a use position.
[0018] The assembly of the proposed armchair consists of a seat (1) and a backrest (2),
which are attached to one another in an articulated manner by means of plates (3)
which are fixed in the sides of the rear edge of the seat (1) and plates (4) fixed
in the sides of the lower edge of the backrest (2).
[0019] Said assembly formed by the seat (1) and the backrest (2) is mounted with respect
to side supports (5) on which there are incorporated in turn respective armrests (6),
said armrests (6) being secured in their mid longitudinal area by means of an articulation
(7), with respect to which there is also attached a connecting rod (8) which at its
other end is attached to the backrest (2), each armrest (6) being supported at its
rear part on the respective connecting rod (8), with the downward thrust in said support
by the action of a spring (not shown) acting on the armrests (6).
[0020] The mounting with respect to the side supports (5) is established by means of articulations
(9) for the rotation of the seat (1) on said side supports (5), such that when the
armchair is vacated, due to the weight of the backrest (2) and to the downward thrust
by the springs of the armrests (6), the seat (1) swings automatically towards a folded
position in an upward collapsing, the armrests (6) also collapsing in an upward folding
due to the action of their springs, as observed in Figure 2.
[0021] For the use of the armchair, starting from the folded position, the user has to exert
a force to make the seat (1) swing against the weight of the backrest (2) and of the
thrust exerted by the armrests (6) due to the action of their springs, such that once
the use position like the one depicted in Figure 1 is reached, the weight of the user
himself when sitting keeps the armchair in this position.
[0022] According to the invention, to prevent the abrupt impact due to the free action when
the armchair is folded, in the mounting articulations (9) for the mounting on the
side supports (5) there is incorporated a rotation device (10) exerting a function
of damping of the folding movement.
[0023] Said rotation device (10) is fixed in the corresponding side support, comprising
(Figure 6) a peripheral part (10.1) and a central part (10.2), which are rotationally
linked by means of a set of rollers (10.3) allowing the completely free rotation in
one direction, whereas in the other direction they determine a progressive damping
of the rotation between the mentioned parts (10.1 and 10.2).
[0024] The central part (10.2) of each rotation device (10) incorporates integrally attached
thereto an axial rod (11), which has at its free end a transverse conformation (12)
by means of which it fits (Figures 5 and 7) in a groove (13) of the end of a rod (14)
emerging from the respective plate (3) which is fixed on the seat (1) of the armchair.
[0025] With this arrangement, the rotation of the seat (1) in the mounting articulations
(9) for the mounting on the side supports (5) is determined through respective rotation
devices (10), which are arranged in said articulations (9) such that they allow the
free rotation in the direction of the swinging of the seat (1) towards the use position,
determining the progressive damping action in the direction of the upward swinging
of said seat (1).
[0026] Thus, the unfolding of the armchair from the folded position towards the use position
does not experience any incident due to the rotation devices (10) incorporated in
the mounting articulations (9), but in the folding from said use position, when the
armchair is vacated, the folding movement experiences a progressive damping retention
due to the mentioned rotation devices (9) incorporated in the mounting articulations
(9), thus preventing the abrupt impact of the mobile structural assembly in the final
stop of the path.
[0027] The transverse conformation (12) of the end of the rod (11) which is associated to
the central part (10.2) of the rotation devices (10) has a slightly smaller width
than the groove (13) of the rod (14) integral with the respective plate (3) fixed
to the seat (1), such that in the folding movement of the armchair, during a first
part of the swinging of the seat (1) there is no rotational pulling of the central
part (10.2) of the rotation devices (10) due to the clearance between the transverse
conformation (12) of the rods (11) and the corresponding groove of the rods (14),
therefore the rotation of the swinging is free in this initial part of the path, thus
facilitating the start of the swinging.
[0028] Once the swinging of the seat (1) in these conditions has started, when the transverse
conformation (12) of the rods (11) abuts against the side walls of the groove (13)
of the corresponding rods (14), the rotational pulling of the central part (10.2)
of the rotation devices (10) occurs, the latter then performing the function of the
progressive damping of the rotational movement to prevent an abrupt action of the
folding of the armchair.
1. A folding armchair for conference halls, comprising a seat (1) and a backrest (2)
articulated to one another and the assembly being mounted by means of articulations
(9) between the seat (1) and side supports (5), the backrest (2) exerting with its
weight an action determining the withdrawal of the assembly in a folded position when
the armchair is vacated, characterized in that in the mounting articulations (9) for the mounting on the side supports (5) there
are incorporated rotation devices (10) which have a mechanism allowing a free rotation
in the direction of the swinging of the seat (1) towards a use position, determining
a progressive damping of the rotation in the direction of the swinging towards the
folded position.
2. The folding armchair for conference halls according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotation devices (10) which are incorporated in the mounting articulations (9)
for the mounting on the side supports (5) comprise a peripheral part (10.1) and a
central part (10.2) which can rotate in relation to one another, rollers (10.3) being
included between them which allow the free rotation in one direction, whereas in the
other direction they cause a progressive damping of the rotation.
3. The folding armchair for conference halls according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the central part (10.2) of the rotation devices (10) axially incorporates a rod (11)
provided at the end with a transverse conformation (12) by means of which it fits
in a groove (13) of the end of a rod (14) emerging from a plate (3) which is fixed
to the seat (1).
4. The folding armchair for conference halls according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the transverse conformation (12) of the rod (11) of the rotation devices (10) has
a slightly smaller width than the groove (13) for the fitting in the corresponding
rods (14), determining a clearance which makes there be no rotational pulling of the
central part (10.2) of said rotation devices (10) in a first path of the swinging
rotation of the seat (1) towards the folded position, said rotation devices performing
a progressive damping after this initial path of the rotation, to make the folding
smoother.