JP5179072B2 - Tilt device for backrest in chair - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tilting device for a backrest in a chair, in which a backrest standing upright from the back of a seat can be tilted backward and biased in a direction in which the backrest stands upright by a torsion coil spring.

As a tilting device for a backrest in a conventional chair, there is one in which a backrest frame is urged toward a standing direction by a torsion coil spring (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this structure, the winding portions of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs are supported by a semi-cylindrical support provided in the support base at the upper end of the pedestal, and forward of the winding portions of the torsion coil spring. The front leg that extends to the support base is locked to the lower surface of the adjuster bracket provided on the support base side, and the rear leg that extends rearward from the winding portion is locked to the lower surface of the backrest bracket. (Pages 24 to 25 in Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-23620 (see FIGS. 5 and 10)

  However, in what is described in Patent Document 1, the front leg and the rear leg of the torsion coil spring extend in the front-rear direction across the winding portion, so that the front-rear length of the support base is formed longer. In addition, the winding portion of the torsion coil spring expands and contracts with the backward tilting motion of the backrest, so that each time there is friction between the outer peripheral surface of the winding portion and the support. This causes problems such as generation of unpleasant noise, wear and deterioration of durability.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention can reduce the size of the support base in the front-rear direction, can be downsized, and can stably support the torsion coil spring. An object of the present invention is to provide a tilting device for a backrest in a chair.

According to the present invention, the above problem is solved as follows.
(1) A pivot that faces the seat and supports the seat is provided with a pivot that faces in the left-right direction. The pivot extends forward from the lower part of the backrest frame that faces the almost vertical direction that supports the backrest. The front ends of the left and right pairs of forward-facing rods to be fixed are fixed to the outside of the support base, so that the pivot shaft and the backrest frame rotate together, and a winding portion is provided on the pivot shaft. A first arm formed by extending one end of each winding of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs fitted forward from the winding portion is integrated with the pivot inside the support base. A spring provided on a support base with a second arm that is locked to a spring receiving member fixed to the pivot so as to rotate and that the other end of each winding extends forward from the winding portion. Locked to the receiving member, by the torsion coil spring, The serial pivot and backrest frame, the backrest is to be urged in a direction standing upright.

  (2) In the above item (1), adjusting means for adjusting the position of the spring receiving member provided on the support base in the winding direction of the torsion coil spring is provided.

  (3) In the above item (1) or (2), the first arm that extends forward from below the outer ends of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs extends forward from below the pivot. A traction rod that is engaged with the upper surface of the pivot-side spring receiving member and that extends forward from above the inner ends of both torsion coil springs and extends upward from the lower end of the support base. It is latched to the lower surfaces of both end portions of the spring support member on the support base side provided at the upper end of the spring.

  (4) In any one of the above items (1) to (3), by rotating the handle provided at the lower end of the traction rod, the bottom surface of the support base and the spring receiving member on the support base side are It is assumed that the screw rod can change the distance.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the winding portion of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs is fitted around the pivot, and the first arm and the second arm that are ends of the winding are connected to both ends of the winding portion. Further, since both are pulled forward and locked to the spring receiving member fixed to the pivot and the spring receiving member provided on the support base, the size of the support base in the front-rear direction can be reduced and the size can be reduced. In addition, the torsion coil spring can be stably supported.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the strength of the urging force of the backrest is easily adjusted by adjusting the position of the spring receiving member provided on the support base in the winding direction of the torsion coil spring by the adjusting means. be able to.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the left and right torsion coil springs can apply the rotational biasing force to the pivot in a balanced manner on the left and right, that is, without generating a twisting force on the pivot.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, by rotating the handle, the distance between the lower surface of the support base and the spring receiving member on the support base side is changed, so that the strength of the biasing force of the backrest is easily changed. be able to.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a chair provided with one embodiment of the back tilting device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded front perspective view.
This chair includes a pillar 3 standing upright at the center of five radial rods 2 provided with casters 1 at the tip, a support base 4 provided at the upper end of the pillar 3, and the support. A pivot shaft 5 inserted in the base 4 and facing in the left-right direction, a pair of left and right brackets 6 and 6 fixed to both ends of the pivot shaft 5, and a backrest 7 are supported and extended forward from the lower end. A pair of left and right forward saddles 8a, 8a are connected to the pivot 5 and the bracket 6 and integrated with them, and a backrest frame 8 that rotates with respect to the support base 4 and a seat 9 The rear part is connected to the rear end part of the pair of left and right brackets 6 and 6, and the front part is connected to the front part of the support base 4 with a pair of left and right link levers 10 and 10. In response to the backward tilting operation of the frame 8, a seat receiving frame 11 that moves rearward and downward relative to the support base 4; And a armrest device 12, 12 provided on both side portions of the seat 9.

3 to 5 are exploded perspective views showing the internal mechanism of the support base 4.
This support base 4 has a base portion 13a attached to the upper end of the pedestal 3 and a bent edge portion 13b that protrudes forward and upward from both side portions of the front end of the base portion 13a and that faces inward at the peripheral edge portion. A support frame 13 having a substantially forward U-shape in plan view and having a pair of left and right arm portions 13c, 13c formed is provided.
The base portion 13a is circular so that the upper and lower edges face inward at both sides and the rear portion of the horizontal plate 15 having a receiving hole 14 in which the upper end of the pedestal 3 is press-fit from below at the center. The outer peripheral frame 16 bent in an arc shape is fixed, and the outer peripheral frame 16 is formed to be continuous with the left and right arm portions 13c and 13c.

  Reinforcing plates 17 are respectively fixed to the inner surfaces of the left and right arm portions 13c, 13c in the support base frame 13, and each arm portion 13c and the reinforcing plate 17 form a hollow box-like body to increase the strength. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the material to be used or to use an expensive material.

A bearing cylinder 18 facing in the left-right direction is fixed to the rear part of each arm portion 13c and the reinforcing plate 17, and an end portion of the pivot shaft 5 facing in the left-right direction is pivotally supported by the left and right bearing cylinders 18, 18. Yes.
A pair of left and right torsion coil springs 19, 19 which are urging means for urging the backrest 7 in a direction to stand up are fitted on the pivot 5.
In addition, the front portions of the left and right arm portions 13c and the reinforcing plate 17 support the lower end portions of the pair of left and right link levers 10 and 10 that are parallel to the pivot 5 and support the front portion of the seat 9. A support shaft 20 is provided penetrating in the left-right direction.

  An upper connecting plate 21 and a lower connecting plate 22 are installed between the upper and lower portions of the left and right arm portions 13c, 13c of the support base frame 13 and the reinforcing plates 17, 17, respectively. The biasing force adjusting means 23 of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 is attached.

  As described above, the support base frame 13 is substantially U-shaped in a plan view, and the reinforcing plates 17 and 17 are attached to the inner surfaces of both the arm portions 13c and 13c. Members such as the pair of torsion coil springs 19 and 19 and the urging force adjusting means 23 can be attached not only from above but also from below or from the front, so that the efficiency of assembly can be improved and the support base 4 The strength of can be increased.

  Furthermore, with the reinforcing plates 17 and 17, torsion coil springs 19 and 19, urging force adjusting means 23, upper and lower connecting plates 21 and 22 and components in the supporting base 4 described later attached to the supporting base frame 13, Since they are covered by the upper cover 24 and the lower cover 25 from above and below, the appearance of the support base 4 is improved in appearance.

Next, the details of the tilting device for the backrest in the support base 4 will be described.
The pivot shaft 5 has circular shaft portions 5a and 5a at both ends, and the other intermediate portion is a square shaft portion 5b. The pivot shaft 5 is disposed on both sides of the angular shaft portion 5b in the space between the left and right reinforcing plates 17 and 17. In the spring receiving member 26, the square holes 27 and 27 provided at the front end portions of both side pieces 26b and 26b that stand up rearward and upward from the both side ends of the spring receiving pieces 26a facing in the left-right direction are externally fitted. Are configured to rotate together with the pivot 5 and the backrest 7.

  The left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 are symmetric, and a first arm 19b is formed at the outer end of each winding portion 19a by extending the outer terminal of the winding forward from the bottom. A second arm 19c is formed at the inner end of the winding portion 19a. The second arm 19c extends the inner end of the winding from the top toward the front.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 7, the angular shaft portion 5b of the pivot 5 between the left and right side pieces 26b, 26b of the spring receiving member 26 is fitted to the winding portions 19a of the torsion coil springs 19, 19. A square hole 29 in the guide cylinder 28 is externally fitted.
The guide tube 28 can be separated into an upper half portion 28a and a lower half portion 28b, and a semicircular concave groove 30 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the central portion in the left-right direction of the upper half portion 28a. On the outer peripheral surface of the central portion in the left-right direction of 28b, a semicircular arc-shaped enlarged diameter rod 31 is provided.

  The outer end portion of the lower half portion 28b with which the first arm 19b of the torsion coil spring 19 abuts in the guide tube 28 and the inward portion of the upper half portion 28a with which the second arm 19c abuts are from the other portions. The other outer peripheral surface of the upper half portion 28a is a tapered surface that gradually decreases in diameter outward from the maximum diameter portion, and the other outer peripheral surface of the lower half portion 28b The tapered surface gradually becomes smaller in diameter from the maximum diameter portion inward. In some cases, a stepped shape or the like is used instead of the tapered surface.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the first arm 19b and the second arm 19c of each torsion coil spring 19 are always in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the guide cylinder 28, and a wedge-shaped space gradually expanding as the distance from the contact portion increases. The space is formed between the inner surface of the winding portion 19a of each torsion coil spring 19 and the outer peripheral surface of the guide tube 28, and this space allows the diameter of each torsion coil spring 19 to be reduced when tightened. ing.

Accordingly, the upper and lower arms 19b and 19c of each torsion coil spring 19 are always guided in contact with the guide cylinder 28 even if they extend in the same direction, and the torsion coil spring 19 is twisted in the up and down direction. Without floating, it is supported stably and the reaction force as set is obtained.
In addition, since the first arm 19b and the second arm 19c of each torsion coil spring 19 are both extended in the same direction from the winding portion 19a, the torsion coil spring 19 itself, a portion for accommodating the torsion coil spring 19 and the like The size can be reduced by reducing the size in the front-rear direction.
Further, each torsion coil spring 19 can be smoothly expanded and contracted along the tapered surface of the guide tube 28.

  The first arms 19b of the left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 are locked so as to abut on both sides of the upper surface of the spring receiving piece 26a of the spring receiving member 26, and the second arm 19c is a biasing force adjusting means. 23 is engaged with the lower surface of the spring receiving member 32.

The urging force adjusting means 23 is substantially pivotally supported between the central portions of the upper connecting plate 21 and the lower connecting plate 22 and is rotated by a rotary handle 33 provided below the lower connecting plate 22. A pair of screw rods 34 facing upward and downward, an elevating piece 36 having a screw hole 35 screwed into the screw rod 34 in the center, and a roller-like pair pivoted on the left and right side surfaces of the elevating piece 36 The above-described spring receiving members 32, 32 are included.
When it is not necessary to adjust the urging force of the torsion coil springs 19, 19, a spring receiving member is provided on the upper end of a traction rod (not shown) whose lower end is locked to the lower connecting plate 22 instead of the screw rod 34. 32, 32 can also be carried out.

The spring receiving member 26 is urged downward by the left and right torsion coil springs 19, 19 and is normally stopped in contact with a stopper 37 provided on the upper surface of the lower connecting plate 22. The backrest 7 is in an upright state.
From this state, when the seated person pushes the backrest 7 backward, the backrest 7 is integrated with the pivot 5, the spring receiving member 26, etc. against the urging force of the left and right torsion coil springs 19, 19. The biasing force of the torsion coil springs 19 and 19 acts as a return turning force of the backrest 7 in the standing direction.

This return turning power can be adjusted by the biasing force adjusting means 23.
That is, when the screw rod 34 is rotated by the rotary handle 33 and the elevating piece 36 is lowered, the left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 are synchronously tightened, and the urging force of the backrest 7 in the standing direction. On the contrary, when the elevating piece 36 is raised, the left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 are loosened synchronously, and the urging force of the backrest 7 in the standing direction is weakened.

Next, details of the locking device 38 that locks the backrest 7 at a desired stepwise inclination angle will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 9, the lock device 38 includes a plurality of engagement holes 39 in the left reinforcing plate 17 of the support base 4 that is a support member, and a spring receiving member 26 that is a movable member. A lock pin 40 that is arranged in an arc shape centering on the pivot 5 that is the moving direction of the movable member and that can be selectively engaged with and disengaged from the plurality of engagement holes 39 is attached to the spring receiving member 26 that is a movable member. An operating lever as an operating means is mounted so as to be movable between a locked position shown in FIG. 9C engaged with the joint hole 39 and an unlocked position shown in FIG. The wire end member 42 as an actuating member that is moved by the operation of 41 is set to a lock reservation position shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C and an unlock reservation position shown in FIGS. 9A and 9D. It is mounted as movable, and the wire end member 42 is When the wire end member 42 is located at the unlock reserved position, the lock pin 40 is directed toward the unlock position. The urging means 43 for urging is provided on the spring receiving piece 26 a of the spring receiving member 26.

The lock pin 40 is slidably fitted in a rectangular tubular case 44 that is provided on the spring receiving piece 26 a of the spring receiving member 26 and faces in the left-right direction, and the left end portion is located on the left side of the spring receiving member 26. It penetrates the side piece 26b and can advance and retreat outward.
A sliding body 45 that is externally fitted near the right end of the lock pin 40 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction passes through a long hole 46 provided in the upper surface of the case 44 and faces the left-right direction, and protrudes above the case 44. The inside of the long hole 46 can be slid in the left-right direction.

  A tube holder 47 is fixed to the left end of the long hole 46 on the upper surface of the case 44, and the spring receiving piece 48 protruding from the lower surface of the tube holder 47 enters the case 44 through the long hole 46. doing.

An intermediate diameter portion of the lock pin 40 is provided with an enlarged diameter flange portion 49 made of an E-ring. A wire end member as an operation member is provided around the lock pin 40 between the enlarged diameter flange portion 49 and the sliding body 45. A compression coil spring 50 serving as a first urging means for urging the lock pin 40 toward the lock position when the lock position 42 is located at the lock reservation position is contracted, and the diameter-enlarged flange 49 Around the lock pin 40 between the spring receiving piece 48 and the spring receiving piece 48, when the wire end member 42 is positioned at the unlock reserved position, the second bias is applied to bias the lock pin 40 toward the unlock position. A compression coil spring 51 forming a means is contracted.
The spring constant of the compression coil spring 50 that is the first urging means is larger than the spring constant of the compression coil spring 51 that is the second urging means. 43 is formed.

An operation lever 41 that is an operation means and a wire end member 42 that is an operation member are connected by a Bowden cable 52.
The Bowden cable 52 is a flexible outer tube whose one end is fixed to the pivot member 53 of the support base 4 on which the shaft 41 a of the operation lever 41 is pivotally supported and the other end is fixed to the tube holder 47. 54 and an arm 41b that is inserted into the outer tube 54 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and an end portion that is drawn out from one end of the outer tube 54 projects forward from the base end side of the shaft 41a of the operation lever 41. An end portion that is locked to the distal end portion and pulled out from the other end of the outer tube 54 in parallel with the moving direction of the lock pin 40 passes through a slit 55 that is provided in the upper portion of the sliding body 45 and faces in the left-right direction. The tip is formed of a wire 57 fixed to a wire end member 42 accommodated in an accommodation hole 56 provided on the upper right side surface of the sliding body 45 continuously with the slit 55.
The pivot member 53 is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the upper connecting plate 21.

  Since the operation lever 41 and the wire end member 42 are connected by the Bowden cable 52, when the operation lever 41 is located at the unlock position facing forward, the wire end member 42 is reserved for unlocking. When the operation lever 41 is rotated to the lock position facing the front lower side from the position, the wire end member 42 is moved to the lock reservation position.

Next, the operation of this locking device will be described.
When the operation lever 41 is located at the unlock position, as shown in FIG. 9A, the wire end member 42 is located at the unlock reserved position. In this state, the left and right compression coil springs 51 are located. , 50 extend together, and the lock pin 40 is located at the unlock position and is disengaged from any of the engagement holes 39.

  In this state, when the seated person pushes the backrest 7 backward, the backrest 7 is integrated with the pivot 5, the spring receiving member 26, etc. against the biasing force of the left and right torsion coil springs 19, 19. The backrest 7 can be freely tilted about the pivot 5 and when the pressing force behind the backrest 7 is released, the backrest 7 is brought into the original standing state by the urging force of the left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19. It is returned and rotated.

  From this state, after tilting the backrest 7 to the desired backward tilt position, when the operation lever 41 is switched to the lock position, the wire end member 42 moves to the lock reservation position as shown in FIG. 9B. Thus, the sliding body 45 is moved to the left, the compression coil spring 50 is compressed, and the lock pin 40 is urged to the left.

  At this time, if the lock pin 40 is aligned with any one of the engagement holes 39, the lock pin 40 is immediately fitted into the engagement hole 39, and the locked state shown in FIG. When the lock pin 40 is not aligned with any of the engagement holes 39, the tip of the lock pin 40 comes into contact with the inner surface of the reinforcing plate 17, and as shown in FIG. Will remain compressed.

  Thereafter, when the backrest 7 is slightly tilted forward or backward, the compression coil spring 50 is extended and the compression coil spring 51 is compressed, so that the lock pin 40 is fitted into the closest engagement hole 39. 9C, the backrest 7 is locked at that position.

If the operation lever 41 is switched to the unlock position while the seated person is leaning on the backrest 7 from such a locked state, the wire end member 42 is moved to the unlock reserved position as shown in FIG. However, since a load is applied to the backrest 7, the distal end portion of the lock pin 40 cannot be detached from the engagement hole 39 and is held in the locked position.
At this time, the compression coil spring 51 remains compressed, and the compression coil spring 50 extends to a substantially no-load state and pushes the sliding body 45 slightly to the right. The sliding body 45 stops at the position shown in FIG. 9 (d), and only the wire end member 42 is detached from the accommodation hole 56. When the friction between the wire end member 42 and the inner surface of the accommodation hole 56 is large, the sliding body 45 moves to the right together with the wire end member 42 and may be separated from the compression coil spring 50.

  Thereafter, when the backrest 7 is slightly tilted forward or backward, the compression coil spring 51 is extended, and the lock pin 40 is detached from the engagement hole 39, and the original unlocking shown in FIG. Return to position.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an operation lever 58 for adjusting the height of the support base 4 is provided at the rear upper part of the support base 4 so as to be symmetrical with the operation lever 41. Since the configuration is not directly related to the present invention, detailed description is omitted. Also, detailed configurations that are not directly related to the present invention and configurations that are obvious from the drawings are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, the winding portions 19a of the pair of left and right torsion coil springs 19 and 19 are externally fitted to the pivot 5, and the first arm 19b which is the end of the winding and the first arm 19b The two arms 19c are both pulled out forward from both ends of the winding portion 19a and locked to the spring receiving member 26 fixed to the pivot 5 and the spring receiving member 32 provided on the support base 4. The size of the base 4 in the front-rear direction can be reduced, so that the size can be reduced and the torsion coil springs 19 and 19 can be stably supported.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the scope of the claims.

It is a perspective view of a chair provided with one embodiment of the present invention. Similarly, it is an exploded perspective view. It is a disassembled perspective view of a support base. It is a disassembled perspective view when a part of support base is assembled. It is a disassembled perspective view when assembling most of the support base. It is a perspective view when a guide cylinder is externally fitted to the pivot. Similarly, it is a front view. Similarly, it is a longitudinal front view. (a)-(d) is an effect explanatory view which shows the operation state from which a locking device differs mutually.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Caster 2 Leg rod 3 Leg column 4 Support base 5 Pivot 5a Circular shaft portion 5b Square shaft portion 6 Bracket 7 Backrest 8 Backrest frame 8a Forward facing 9 Seat 10 Link lever 11 Seat receiving frame 12 Armrest device 13 Base frame 13a Base portion 13b Bending edge 13c Arm portion 14 Receiving hole 15 Horizontal plate 16 Outer peripheral edge 17 Reinforcement plate 18 Bearing cylinder 19 Torsion coil spring (biasing means)
19a winding part 19b first arm 19c second arm 20 support shaft 21 upper connecting plate 22 lower connecting plate 23 biasing force adjusting means 24 upper cover 25 lower cover 26 spring receiving member 26a spring receiving piece 26b side piece 27 square hole 28 guide Tube 28a Upper half portion 28b Lower half portion 29 Square hole 30 Groove groove 31 Diameter expansion rod 32 Spring receiving member 33 Rotating handle 34 Screw rod 35 Screw hole 36 Lifting piece 37 Stopper 38 Lock device 39 Engagement hole 40 Lock pin 41 Operation lever (Operating means)
41a shaft 41b arm 42 wire end member (operation member)
43 Energizing means 44 Case 45 Slider 46 Long hole 47 Tube holder 48 Spring receiving piece 49 Expanded flange 50 Compression coil spring (first energizing means)
51 Compression coil spring (second biasing means)
52 Bowden cable 53 Pivoting member 54 Outer tube 55 Slit 56 Housing hole 57 Wire 58 Operation lever

Claims (4)

A support shaft supported by the legs and supporting the seat is provided with a pivot axis that faces in the left-right direction, and the left and right sides that extend from the lower part of the backrest frame that supports the backrest to the front are supported on the pivot axis. By fixing the front end portions of a pair of forward-facing rods on the outside of the support base , the pivot shaft and the backrest frame are rotated together, and a winding portion is fitted on the pivot shaft. A first arm formed by extending one end of each winding of a pair of left and right torsion coil springs forward from the winding portion is rotated integrally with the pivot inside the support base. A spring receiving member provided on a support base is provided with a second arm that is locked to a spring receiving member fixed to the pivot and that has the other end of each winding extended forward from the winding portion. And the torsion coil spring The shaft and backrest frame, backrest tilting device in a chair backrest is characterized by being adapted to urge in a direction standing upright.   The backrest tilting device for a chair according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting a position of a spring receiving member provided on the support base in a winding direction of the torsion coil spring.   A pair of left and right torsion coil springs, the first arms extending forward from below the outer ends of each other are locked to the upper surface of the pivot-side spring receiving member extending forward from below the pivot; and Both ends of the spring receiving member on the support base side provided with the second arms extending forward from above the inner ends of the torsion coil springs at the upper end of the traction rod extending upward from the lower end of the support base The tilting device of the backrest in the chair according to claim 1 or 2, which is locked to the lower surface of the section.   The chair according to claim 3, wherein the traction rod is a screw rod capable of changing a distance between the lower surface of the support base and the spring receiving member on the support base side by rotating a handle provided at a lower end thereof. Back tilt device.

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