Seating arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10575648-B2
Application number	US-201815863367-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2018
Priority date	Apr 13, 2015
Publication date	Mar 3, 2020
Grant date	Mar 3, 2020

Abstract

A seating arrangement includes a base, a lower shell having a portion fixedly coupled to the base, and an upper shell supported entirely by the lower shell, the upper shell comprising a seating portion, a backrest portion moveable between an upright position and a reclined position, and a curved transition portion extending between the seating portion and the backrest portion, wherein a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal slots are located in portions of the seating portion and the transition portion thereby defining a central region and laterally spaced side regions, wherein the central region moves up relative to the side regions during recline.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A seating arrangement, comprising:
a base;
a lower shell having a portion fixedly coupled to the base;
an upper shell supported entirely by the lower shell, the upper shell comprising a seating portion, a backrest portion moveable between an upright position and a reclined position, and a curved transition portion extending between the seating portion and the backrest portion, wherein a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal slots are located in portions of the seating portion thereby defining a central region and laterally spaced side regions;
a forward link extending upwardly from a forward portion of the lower shell; and
a rear link extending lengthwise upwardly and forwardly from a rearward portion of the lower shell and connected to the central region, wherein the upper shell is supported by the forward and rear links, wherein at least one flexible connection exists proximate the rear link and the rear link is connected to at least one of the lower shell and the upper shell via the flexible connection;
wherein the central region in the seating portion moves up relative to the side regions of the seating portion during recline, and wherein a downward force exerted on the central region of the seating portion forces the backrest portion toward the upright position.

2. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the pair of slots are located in portions of the transition portion of the upper shell.

3. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the lower shell includes a backrest portion movable between an upright position and a reclined position, wherein a downward force exerted on the central region of the upper shell exerts a force on the backrest portion of the lower shell from the reclined position toward the upright position.

4. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the forward link is substantially more flexible than the rear link.

5. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the upper shell includes an uninterrupted outer edge extending about an entire perimeter of the upper shell.

6. The seating arrangement of claim 5 , further comprising:
a cover member extending about a majority of the perimeter of the upper shell.

7. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the seating arrangement comprises an office chair assembly.

8. The seating arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the forward link includes a first end coupled to a forward end of the seating portion of the upper shell and a second end coupled to a forward end of the lower shell, and wherein the rear link is coupled to a rearward end of the seating portion of the upper shell and a second end coupled to the lower shell.

9. The seating arrangement of claim 8 , wherein the first end of the rear link is coupled to the central region in the seating portion.

10. A seating arrangement, comprising:
a flexibly resilient top shell having a horizontally-extending seating portion, a backrest portion moveable between an upright position and a reclined position, and a transition portion between the seating portion and the backrest portion, where the seating portion includes an inner portion and at least one outer portion located laterally outward of the inner portion, and where the inner portion of the seating portion flexes a different amount than at least one outer portion of the seating portion and moves up with respect to the at least one outer portion of the seating portion as the backrest portion is moved between the upright and reclined positions, wherein a downward force exerted on the inner portion of the seating portion forces the backrest portion toward the upright position;
a flexibly resilient bottom shell having a horizontally-extending first portion at least partially spaced from the seating portion of the top shell, and a second portion extending upwardly from the first portion of the bottom shell and at least partially spaced from the backrest portion of the top shell;
a forward link extending upwardly from a forward portion of the first portion of the bottom shell; and
a rear link extending lengthwise upwardly and forwardly from a rearward portion of the first portion of the bottom shell and connected to the inner portion, wherein the top shell is supported by the forward and rear links, wherein at least one flexible connection exists proximate the rear link and the rear link is connected to at least one of the top shell and the bottom shell via the flexible connection.

11. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the top shell includes at least one slot extending between the at least one outer portion and the inner portion.

12. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the at least one outer portion includes a pair of outer portions located on opposite sides of the inner portion from one another.

13. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the top shell includes a pair of slots extending between the pair of outer portions and the inner portion.

14. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the transition portion includes the at least one outer portion and the inner portion.

15. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the at least one outer portion includes a pair of outer portions located on opposite sides of the inner portion from one another, the top shell includes a pair of slots extending between the pair of outer portions and the inner portion, and wherein the transition portion and the seating portion include the pair of outer portions and the inner portion.

16. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein a downward force exerted on the central portion exerts a force on the backrest portion from the reclined position toward the upright position.

17. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the seating arrangement comprises an office chair assembly.

18. The seating arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the forward link includes a first end coupled to a forward end of the seating portion of the top shell and a second end coupled to a forward end of the first portion of the bottom shell, and wherein the rear link is coupled to a rearward end of the seating portion of the top shell and a second end coupled to the bottom shell.

19. The seating arrangement of claim 18 , wherein the first end of the rear link is coupled to the inner portion of the seating portion.

20. A seating arrangement, comprising:
a base;
a back arrangement and a seat arrangement supported by the base, where the back arrangement is movable between an upright position and a reclined position;
a shell supported on the base and forming at least a portion of the seat arrangement, the shell having a substantially uninterrupted perimeter edge and a seating support region, a portion of the substantially uninterrupted perimeter edge of the shell defining a front edge section and another portion of the substantially continuous perimeter edge defining side edge sections rearward of the front edge section and adjacent the seating support region, at least two slots being formed in the seating support region of the shell at a position spaced from the front edge section and generally adjacent to the side edge sections, the shell supported relative to the base such that a portion of the shell in the seating support region between the at least two slots moves up relative to portions of the shell located laterally outwardly of the at least two slots in the seating support region as the back arrangement is moved from the upright position to the reclined position, wherein a downward force exerted on the portion of the shell in

Assignees

• Steelcase Inc

Inventors

• Ludwig James Nolan
• Deevers Nickolaus William Charles
• Heidmann Kurt
• Smith Bruce Michael
• Spoelhof Mark William

Classifications

• A47C7/445 Primary

  with bar or leaf springs · CPC title

• A47C7/44

  with elastically-mounted frame · CPC title

• A47C7/16

  Seats made of wooden, plastics, or metal sheet material; Panel seats · CPC title

• A47C7/14

  of adjustable shape; elastically mounted {; adaptable to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions (movably-coupled seat and backrests with elastic adjustment means A47C1/03261)} · CPC title

• A47C5/12

  of plastics, with or without reinforcement · CPC title