Furniture member with foldable pawl and ratchet assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10524575-B2
Application number	US-201815954164-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2018
Priority date	Apr 16, 2018
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

A rocking furniture member may include a base frame, a seat assembly, a legrest mechanism, and a pawl assembly. The seat assembly may include a ratchet rack having a plurality of teeth. The pawl assembly may include a support link, a pawl arm, and an actuation link. The support link is rotatably coupled to the base frame. The pawl arm is rotatably attached to the support link and selectively engages one of the ratchet teeth. The actuation link may be attached to the pawl arm and may be coupled to the legrest mechanism such that movement of the legrest mechanism into the extended position moves the pawl arm into engagement with the ratchet rack and movement of the legrest mechanism toward the retracted position causes rotation of the pawl arm relative to the support link and disengages the pawl arm from the ratchet rack.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A furniture member comprising:
a base frame;
a seat assembly including a seat frame, a seat bottom, and a seat back, the seat assembly movable relative to the base frame between a nominal position and a rearward-tilt position, the seat frame including a ratchet rack having a plurality of ratchet teeth;
a legrest mechanism mounted to the seat assembly and movable relative to the seat assembly between a retracted position and an extended position; and
a pawl assembly including a support link, a pawl arm, and an actuation link, the support link is rotatably coupled to the base frame, the pawl arm is rotatably attached to the support link and selectively engages the ratchet teeth, the actuation link is attached to the pawl arm and is coupled to the legrest mechanism such that movement of the legrest mechanism into the extended position moves the pawl arm into engagement with the ratchet rack and movement of the legrest mechanism toward the retracted position causes rotation of the pawl arm relative to the support link and disengages the pawl arm from the ratchet rack.

2. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein an end of the pawl arm selectively engages one of the ratchet teeth, wherein the pawl arm includes a first location at which the pawl arm is rotatably attached to the support link and a second location at which the actuation link is rotatably attached to the pawl arm, and wherein the first location is disposed between the second location and the end of the pawl arm.

3. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the pawl assembly includes a first spring rotationally biasing the support link relative to the base frame and a second spring rotationally biasing the pawl arm relative to the support link.

4. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein:
the support link includes a protrusion,
the pawl arm includes a recess,
when the pawl arm is in a first rotational position relative to the support link, a portion of the protrusion is received within the recess and contacts a surface of the pawl arm defining the recess, and
when the pawl arm is in a second rotational position relative to the support link, the portion of the surface of the protrusion is disposed outside of the recess and is spaced apart from the surface of the pawl arm defining the recess.

5. The furniture member of claim 4 , wherein the protrusion is formed from a first material, and wherein a body of the support link to which the protrusion is attached is formed from a second material that is different than the first material.

6. The furniture member of claim 5 , wherein the first material is an elastomeric material or a polymeric material.

7. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the seat assembly is free to rock relative to the base frame between the nominal and rearward-tilt positions when the legrest mechanism is in the retracted position, and wherein engagement between the pawl arm and one of the ratchet teeth restricts rocking relative to the base frame between the nominal and rearward-tilt positions when the legrest mechanism is in the extended position.

8. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the seat frame includes a bracket having a first bracket end and a second bracket end, wherein the ratchet rack includes a first rack end and a second rack end, wherein a pin extends through apertures in the first bracket end and the first rack end, and wherein a tab formed on the second rack end is received in an aperture formed in the second bracket end.

9. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the pawl arm is rotatable relative to the support link about a first rotational axis, wherein the pawl arm and the actuation link are rotatable relative to each other about a second rotational axis, and wherein the first rotational axis is disposed vertically between the second rotational axis and an end of the pawl arm that engages the ratchet rack.

10. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the ratchet rack is formed from a different material than a material from which at least an end of the pawl arm is formed.

11. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein an end of the pawl arm engages a tooth of the ratchet rack when the legrest mechanism is in the extended position, and wherein the end of the pawl arm rotates along the tooth of the ratchet rack to disengage the pawl arm from the ratchet rack as the legrest mechanism moves toward the retracted position.

12. A furniture member comprising:
a base frame;
a seat assembly including a seat frame, a seat bottom, and a seat back, the seat assembly movable relative to the base frame between a nominal position and a rearward-tilt position, the seat frame including a ratchet rack having a plurality of ratchet teeth;
a legrest mechanism mounted to the seat assembly and movable relative to the seat assembly between a retracted position and an extended position; and
a pawl assembly including a support link and a pawl arm, the support link is rotatably coupled to the base frame and includes a protrusion, the pawl arm is rotatably attached to the support link and selectively engages the ratchet teeth,
wherein the pawl arm is rotatably relative to the support link between a first rotational position in which the protrusion contacts the pawl arm and a second rotational position in which the protrusion is spaced apart from the pawl arm.

13. The furniture member of claim 12 , wherein the protrusion is formed from a first material, and wherein a body of the support link to which the protrusion is attached is formed from a second material that is different than the first material.

14. The furniture member of claim 13 , wherein the first material of the protrusion is an elastomeric material or a polymeric material.

15. The furniture member of claim 13 , wherein the pawl assembly includes an actuation link, and wherein the actuation link is attached to the pawl arm and is coupled to the legrest mechanism such that movement of the legrest mechanism into the extended position moves the pawl arm into engagement with the ratchet rack and movement of the legrest mechanism toward the retracted position causes rotation of the pawl arm relative to the support link and disengages the pawl arm from the ratchet rack.

16. The furniture member of claim 15 , wherein the pawl arm includes a recess, wherein a portion of the protrusion is received within the recess when the pawl arm is in the first rotational position, and wherein the portion of the protrusion is disposed outside of the recess when the pawl arm is in the second rotational position.

17. The furniture member of claim 16 , wherein an end of the pawl arm selectively engages one of the ratchet teeth, wherein the pawl arm includes a first location at which the pawl arm is rotatably attached to the support link and a second location at which the actuation link is rotatably attached to the pawl arm, and wherein the first location is disposed between the second location and the end of the pawl arm.

18. The furniture member of claim 17 , wherein the pawl assembly includes a first spring rotationally biasing the support link relative to the base frame and a second spring rotationally biasing the pawl arm relative to the support link.

19. The furniture member of claim 18 , wherein the seat assembly is free to rock relative to the base frame between the nominal and rearward-tilt positions when the legrest mechanism is in the retracted position, and wherein engagement between the pawl arm and one of the ratchet teeth restricts rocking relative to the base frame between the nominal a

Assignees

• La Z Boy Inc

Inventors

• Lapointe Larry P

Classifications

• A47C1/0355 Primary

  actuated by linkages, e.g. lazy-tongs mechanisms · CPC title

• A47C7/60

  Use of locks or ledges for limiting the seat movement · CPC title

• A47C7/5068

  actuated by linkages · CPC title

• A47C7/563

  provided with a back-rest moving with the seat · CPC title

• A47C3/03

  Locking members (A47C3/027 takes precedence) · CPC title