Electrically adjustable office chair

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9848705-B2
Application number	US-201615219754-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2016
Priority date	Jul 28, 2015
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

An office chair including a base, a seat, a chair column that extends in the vertical direction between the base and the seat, and a backrest, further comprising an electric drive unit that comprises an electric motor and a change gear, the change gear being designed to input the rotational force of the electric motor into a first adjustment device for adjusting a seat height of the seat and converting said force in a second adjustment device for adjusting a tilt of the seat or the backrest.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An office chair comprising a base, a seat, a chair column that extends in a vertical direction between the base and the seat, a backrest and an electric drive unit including an electric motor and a change gear, the change gear being designed to input the rotational force of the electric motor into a first adjustment device for adjusting a seat height of the seat and converting said force in a second adjustment device for adjusting a tilt of the seat or the backrest, wherein the change gear comprises a drive input that is connected to the electric motor, and at least two rotary drive outputs, a first rotary drive output driving the first adjustment device and a second rotary drive output driving the second adjustment device.

2. The office chair according to claim 1 , wherein the change gear comprises a transmission shaft movable between at least two transmission positions, the transmission shaft coupling the drive input to one of the two rotary drive outputs in a first transmission position, and coupling the drive input to the other of the two rotary drive outputs in a second transmission position.

3. The office chair according to claim 1 , wherein the electric drive unit is arranged under a seat surface of the seat of the office chair inside a seat lower shell.

4. The office chair according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the electric motor and the change gear is arranged in the seat column.

5. The office chair according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one further adjustment device for adjusting at least one further parameter, selected from: backrest height, seat tilt, backrest tilt, armrest tilt, seat shape and backrest shape.

6. An electric drive unit for use in an office chair comprising:
an electric motor, and
a change gear having a drive input that is connected to the electric motor, and having at least two rotary drive outputs,
wherein
the change gear comprises a transmission shaft that can be moved between at least two transmission positions, the transmission shaft coupling the drive input to one of the two rotary drive outputs in a first transmission position, and coupling the drive input to the other of the two rotary drive outputs in a second transmission position.

7. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein, during a transition between the first transmission position and the second transmission position, the transmission shaft is moved relative to at least one of the rotary drive outputs by means of a pivot movement and/or a translation.

8. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein, during a transition between the first transmission position and the second transmission position, the transmission shaft is moved, at least in portions, substantially in the axial direction of the transmission shaft or in a direction transverse to the axis of the transmission shaft.

9. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein, during a transition between the first transmission position and the second transmission position, the transmission shaft is moved, together with the electric motor, relative to at least one of the rotary drive outputs.

10. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein the transmission shaft forms a motor shaft of the electric motor or is attached coaxially and for conjoint rotation to the motor shaft of the electric motor.

11. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein each of the rotary drive outputs is exclusively driven, in each case, by the electric motor.

12. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein at least two drive shafts of the rotary drive outputs are arranged coaxially.

13. The electric drive unit according to claim 12 , wherein the change gear further comprises two couplings which each engage on one end, respectively, of the transmission shaft, wherein the transmission shaft is offset relative to at least one of the rotary drive outputs by means of a translation substantially along the transmission shaft during a transition between the first transmission position and the second transmission position, and wherein one of the couplings is coupled and the other of the couplings is decoupled during this transition.

14. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , wherein at least two drive shafts of the rotary drive outputs are arranged so as to be offset in parallel and/or tilted relative to one another.

15. The electric drive unit according to claim 14 , wherein the change gear further comprises a worm arranged on the transmission shaft and at least two worm wheels arranged on the output side, the worm being designed to drive one of the worm wheels in the first transmission position, and to drive another of the worm wheels in the second transmission position.

16. The electric drive unit according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one brake mechanism, the brake mechanism blocking a movement of the other worm wheel when one of the worm wheels is driven, in at least one of the first and second transmission positions of the transmission shaft.

Assignees

• Stabilus Gmbh

Inventors

• Probst Ulrich
• Löhken Lars
• Piroth Raphael
• Müller Markus

Classifications

• A47C7/60

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

• A47C7/462

  adjustable by mechanical means · CPC title

• F16H2019/008

  Facilitating the engagement or stopping of gear sections · CPC title

• A47C1/03255

  with a central column, e.g. rocking office chairs · CPC title

• A47C7/006

  with castors · CPC title