| 
                     
                        
                           | (19) |  |  | (11) | EP 1 712 156 B9 | 
         
            
               | (12) | CORRECTED EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION | 
            
               |  | Note: Bibliography reflects the latest situation | 
         
            
               | 
                     
                        | (15) | Correction information: |  
                        |  | Corrected version no 1 (W1 B1) |  
                        |  | Corrections, see Description
 |  
 
                     
                        | (48) | Corrigendum issued on: |  
                        |  | 28.11.2007 Bulletin 2007/48 |  
 
                     
                        | (45) | Mention of the grant of the patent: |  
                        |  | 19.09.2007 Bulletin 2007/38 |  
 
 
                     
                        | (22) | Date of filing: 11.04.2005 |  | 
                     
                        | (51) | International Patent Classification (IPC): |  | 
         
            
               | (54) | Reclining support for backs of sofas or chairs Neigungsverstellbare Stütze für Rückenlehne eines Sofas oder Stuhls Support inclinable pour dossier de canapé ou chaise | 
         
            
               | 
                     
                        | (84) | Designated Contracting States: |  
                        |  | AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI
                           SK TR |  
 
                     
                        | (43) | Date of publication of application: |  
                        |  | 18.10.2006 Bulletin 2006/42 |  
 
                     
                        | (73) | Proprietor: Stema S.r.l. |  
                        |  | 20050 Ronco Briantino (MI) (IT) |  
 | 
                     
                        | (72) | Inventor: |  
                        |  | 
                              Zorzetto, Renato20050 Ronco Briantino (MI) (IT)
 |  
 
                     
                        | (74) | Representative: Pizzoli, Antonio et al |  
                        |  | Società Italiana Brevetti S.p.A 
                           Via Carducci 8 20123 Milano
 20123 Milano (IT)
 |  
 
 
                     
                        | (56) | References cited: : 
                              
                                 | EP-A- 1 075 810 US-A- 3 008 767
 US-A- 4 830 429
 
 | EP-A- 1 306 032 US-A- 4 113 310
 US-A- 5 346 277
 
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                  | Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European
                     patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to
                     the European patent
                     granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall
                     not be deemed to
                     have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent
                     Convention). | 
            
          
         
            
            [0001] The present invention relates to a reclining support for backs, and in particular
               to a support which can be mounted onto reclining chairs or sofas.
 
            [0002] Known reclining supports comprise upper and lower fixing members for fixing two portions
               of a back which can be reclined in a different and/or independent manner from each
               other. For this purpose, the fixing members are generally mounted onto a fixed support
               by means of horizontal pins, so that each portion of the back can be manually rotated
               by the user. However, these known supports have a poor comfort of use since they do
               not allow a smooth movement of all the portions of the back.
 
            [0003] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reclining support
               free from said disadvantage. Said object is achieved with a support, the main features
               of which are disclosed in the first claim and other features are disclosed in the
               subsequent claims.
 
            [0004] Thanks to the articulated quadrilaterals made up of some fixing members, of the fixed
               supports and of the first and second levers, the support according to the present
               invention allows to rotate the two portions of the back with a smooth movement, especially
               if these articulated quadrilaterals are mutually connected by a horizontal shaft.
 
            [0005] According to a particular aspect of the invention, the horizontal shaft can be connected
               to the fixed supports by pulling elastic means, so as to facilitate the transformation
               from the upright position of the back to the reclined position, and vice versa.
 
            [0006] Further advantages and features of the support according to the present invention
               will become clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed and non-limiting
               description of an embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:
               
               
                  - figure 1 shows a side view of a reclining support in an upright position;
- figure 2 shows a front view of the support of figure 1;
- figure 3 shows a partial top view of the support of figure 1;
- figure 4 shows a side view of the support of figure 1 in a reclined position;
- figure 5 shows a front view of the support of figure 4; and
- figure 6 shows a partial top view of the support of figure 4.
 
            [0007] Figures 1 to 3 show a reclining support 1, which comprises in a known way upper fixing
               members 2 and lower fixing members 3 which are provided with perforated plates for
               fixing two portions 4, 5 (partially shown with broken lines in figure 1) of a back.
 
            [0008] According to the invention, the fixing members 2, 3 are pivoted to a horizontal shaft
               6, in turn pivoted to a pair of fixed supports 7 through a pair of first levers 8
               perpendicular to this shaft. The fixed supports 7 can be fixed to the structure of
               a chair or a sofa. A pair of second levers 9 are pivoted between the upper fixing
               members 2 and the fixed supports 7, while a pair of pulling elastic means, for example
               two springs 10, are fixed between the horizontal shaft 6 and the fixed supports 7,
               more precisely a pin 11 protruding inside each fixed support 7.
 
            [0009] Referring also to figures 4 to 6, it is seen that at least one of the two portions
               4, 5 of the back can be inclined by pushing or pulling this portion, for example the
               upper portion 4. The upper fixing members 2 thus rotate around the horizontal shaft
               6, which is pushed forwards by the movement of a pair of articulated quadrilaterals
               made up of an upper fixing member 2, of a fixed support 7, of a first lever 8 and
               of a second lever 9. This reclining movement of the back is opposed by springs 10
               up to the overcoming of a deadlock, beyond which it is instead assisted. Therefore,
               for restoring the back in the upright position, it is sufficient to push or pull portion
               4 of the back up to overcome said deadlock, after which springs 10 pull the horizontal
               shaft 6, thereby restoring the reclining support 1 to its initial position.
 
          
         
            
            1. Reclining support for backs (4, 5), which comprises upper fixing members (2) and lower
               fixing members (3) for fixing portions (4, 5) of a back, characterized in that some fixing members (2, 3) are pivoted to a horizontal shaft (6) which is in turn
               pivoted to fixed supports (7) through first levers (8) perpendicular to this shaft
               (6), second levers (9) being pivoted between some fixing members (2) and the fixed
               supports (7) for making up an articulated quadrilateral (2, 7, 8, 9).
 
            2. Support according to the previous claim, characterized in that the second levers (9) are pivoted between the upper fixing members (2) and the fixed
               supports (7).
 
            3. Support according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that both the upper fixing members (2) and the lower fixing members (3) are pivoted to
               the horizontal shaft (6).
 
            4. Support according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that pulling elastic means (10) are fixed between the horizontal shaft (6) and the fixed
               supports (7).
 
            5. Support according to the previous claim, characterized in that said pulling elastic means (10) comprise springs fixed between the horizontal shaft
               (6) and pins (11) protruding inside the fixed supports (7).
 
          
         
            
            1. Neigungsverstellbare Stütze für Rückenlehnen (4, 5), die obere Befestigungsglieder
               (2) und untere Befestigungsglieder (3) zur Befestigung von Abschnitten (4, 5) einer
               Rückenlehne umfasst, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass einige Befestigungsglieder (2, 3) um eine horizontale Welle (6) drehbar angelenkt
               sind, welche ihrerseits um feststehende Stützen (7) drehbar angelenkt ist über erste
               Hebel (8), die senkrecht zu der besagten Welle (6) angeordnet sind, und zweite Hebel
               (9), die zwischen einigen Befestigungsgliedern (2) und den feststehenden Stützen (7)
               drehbar angelenkt sind, so dass ein Gelenkviereck (2, 7, 8, 9) gebildet wird.
 
            2. Stütze gemäß vorstehendem Anspruch, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die zweiten Hebel (9) zwischen den oberen Befestigungsgliedern (2) und den feststehenden
               Stützen (7) drehbar angelenkt sind.
 
            3. Stütze gemäß einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass sowohl die oberen Befestigungsglieder (2) als auch die unteren Befestigungsglieder
               (3) um die horizontale Welle (6) drehbar angelenkt sind.
 
            4. Stütze gemäß einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass zugelastische Mittel (10) zwischen der horizontalen Welle (6) und den feststehenden
               Stützen (7) befestigt sind.
 
            5. Stütze gemäß vorstehendem Anspruch, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die genannten zugelastischen Mittel (10) Federn umfassen, die zwischen der horizontalen
               Welle (6) und Stiften (11), die von den feststehenden Stützen (7) nach innen herausragen,
               befestigt sind.
 
          
         
            
            1. Support d'inclinaison pour des dossiers (4, 5), qui comporte des éléments de fixation
               supérieurs (2) et des éléments de fixation inférieurs (3) destinés à être fixés sur
               des parties (4, 5) d'un dossier, caractérisé en ce que certains éléments de fixation (2, 3) sont pivotés sur un arbre horizontal (6) qui
               est à son tour pivoté sur des supports fixes (7) à travers des premiers leviers (8)
               perpendiculaires à cet arbre (6), des seconds leviers (9) étant pivotés entre certains
               éléments de fixation (2) et les supports fixes (7) pour constituer un quadrilatère
               articulé (2, 7, 8, 9).
 
            2. Support selon la revendication précédente, caractérisé en ce que les seconds leviers (9) sont pivotés entre les éléments de fixation supérieurs (2)
               et les supports fixes (7).
 
            3. Support selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que les éléments de fixation supérieurs (2) et les éléments de fixation inférieurs (3)
               sont pivotés sur l'arbre horizontal (6).
 
            4. Support selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que des moyens élastiques de traction (10) sont fixés entre l'arbre horizontal (6) et
               les supports fixes (7).
 
            5. Support selon la revendication précédente, caractérisé en ce que lesdits moyens élastiques de traction (10) comportent des ressorts fixés entre l'arbre
               horizontal (6) et des broches (11) faisant saillie à l'intérieur des supports fixes
               (7).
 
          
            