Furniture member having cam tilt mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9986835-B2
Application number	US-201615272825-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2016
Priority date	Sep 22, 2016
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

A furniture member may include a base frame and a seat assembly mounted on the base frame. The seat assembly may include a seat frame, a seatback, a seat bottom, a rocker member, a legrest mechanism, and a tilt mechanism. The rocker member is attached to the seat frame and rollingly contacts the base frame. The rocker member supports the seat assembly relative to the base frame such that the seat assembly is movable between a rocked-back tilt position and a rocked-forward tilt position. The legrest mechanism is mounted to the seat frame and attached to a legrest platform. The legrest mechanism may include a drive rod coupled to a pantograph linkage that is movable relative to the seat frame between retracted and extended positions. The tilt mechanism selectively locks the seat assembly in one of an infinite number of tilt positions between the rocked-back and rocked-forward tilt positions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A furniture member comprising:
a base frame; and
a seat assembly mounted on the base frame, the seat assembly comprising:
a seat frame;
a seatback mounted to the seat frame;
a seat bottom mounted to the seat frame;
a rocker member attached to the seat frame and in rolling contact with the base frame, the rocker member supports the seat assembly relative to the base frame such that the seat assembly is movable between a fully rocked-back tilt position and a fully rocked-forward tilt position;
a legrest mechanism mounted to the seat frame and attached to a legrest platform, the legrest mechanism including a drive rod coupled to a pantograph linkage that is movable relative to the seat frame between a retracted position and an extended position; and
a tilt mechanism including a cam, a first link, a second link, and a cam follower, the cam is coupled to the drive rod and the first link, the first link is rotatably mounted to the base frame, the second link is rotatably coupled to the first link and the seat frame, the cam follower is rotatably coupled to the second link, wherein the first and second links rotate relative to the base frame and the seat frame as the seat assembly moves between the fully rocked-back and fully rocked-forward tilt positions,
wherein rotation of the drive rod relative to the seat frame causes corresponding rotation of the cam about a first rotational axis extending through the cam and the first link between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the cam frictionally engages the cam follower in the locked position to lock the seat assembly in one of an infinite number of tilt positions between the fully rocked-back tilt position and the fully rocked-forward tilt position, and wherein the cam is disengaged from the cam follower in the unlocked position.

2. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a third link operatively coupling the cam with the drive rod, and wherein the cam is rotatable relative to the third link about a second rotational axis that extends through the cam and the third link.

3. The furniture member of claim 2 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a crank link coupling the drive rod with the third link.

4. The furniture member of claim 2 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a fourth link coupled to the seat frame and rotatable relative to the first and second links, and wherein the cam follower is rotatably attached to an end of the fourth link.

5. The furniture member of claim 4 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a first stop member that extends from the second link and limits a range of rotational motion of the fourth link relative to the second link.

6. The furniture member of claim 5 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a spring attached to the first stop member and the cam follower.

7. The furniture member of claim 6 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a cam follower runner extending outward from the cam follower and slidably engaging the cam when the cam is in the unlocked position, and wherein the cam follower runner maintains a cam engagement surface of the cam follower spaced apart from the cam in the unlocked position.

8. The furniture member of claim 7 , wherein the seat assembly includes a brace member extending from the drive rod to a front rail plate of the seat frame, the brace member having a second stop member extending therefrom and further limiting the range of rotational motion of the fourth link relative to the second link.

9. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the cam includes a convex cam surface that engages a concave cam engagement surface of the cam follower.

10. The furniture member of claim 9 , wherein a friction pad is attached to a body of the cam follower and defines the concave cam engagement surface, and wherein the body of the cam follower is formed from a first material, and the friction pad is formed from a second material having a higher coefficient of friction than the first material.

11. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a torsion spring attached to the cam and the first link and rotationally biasing the cam about a first rotational axis relative to the first link, wherein the first rotational axis extends through the first link and the cam.

12. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the legrest mechanism includes a mid-ottoman bracket non-rotatably attached to a link of the pantograph linkage, the mid-ottoman bracket is disposed between the seat bottom and the legrest platform when the pantograph linkage is in the extended position.

13. The furniture member of claim 12 , wherein the mid-ottoman bracket is removably attached to the link of the pantograph linkage with a threaded fastener.

14. The furniture member of claim 1 , wherein the seat assembly includes a front swing link having a first end pivotably coupled to a first bracket fixedly attached to the seat bottom and a second end pivotably coupled to a second bracket fixedly attached to one or both of a front rail plate and a side rail plate of the seat frame.

15. The furniture member of claim 14 , wherein the seatback is rotatable relative to the seat bottom between a reclined position and an upright position, wherein rotation of the seatback causes rotation of the front swing link relative to the seat frame, and wherein rotation of the front swing link relative to the seat frame moves the seat bottom relative to the seat frame.

16. A furniture member comprising:
a base frame;
a seat frame mounted to the base frame;
a rocker member attached to the seat frame and in rolling contact with the base frame, the rocker member supports the seat frame relative to the base frame such that the seat frame is movable between a fully rocked-back tilt position and a fully rocked-forward tilt position;
a legrest mechanism mounted to the seat frame and attached to a legrest platform, the legrest mechanism including a drive rod coupled to a pantograph linkage that is movable relative to the seat frame between a retracted position and an extended position; and
a tilt mechanism including a cam and a cam follower, the drive rod is drivingly coupled to the cam to move the cam relative to the cam follower between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the cam frictionally engages the cam follower in the locked position to lock the seat frame in one of an infinite number of tilt positions between the fully rocked-back tilt position and the fully rocked-forward tilt position, and wherein the cam is disengaged from the cam follower in the unlocked position.

17. The furniture member of claim 16 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a first link and a second link, the cam is rotatably coupled to the first link, the first link is rotatably mounted to the base frame, the second link is rotatably coupled to the first link and the seat frame, the cam follower is rotatably coupled to the second link, wherein the first and second links rotate relative to the base frame and the seat frame as the seat frame moves between the fully rocked-back and fully rocked-forward tilt positions.

18. The furniture member of claim 17 , wherein rotation of the drive rod relative to the seat frame causes corresponding rotation of the cam about a first rotational axis extending through the cam and the first link between the locked position and the unlocked position.

19. The furniture member of claim 18 , wherein the tilt mechanism includes a torsion spring attached to the cam and the first link and rotationally biasing the c

Assignees

• La Z Boy Inc

Inventors

• Lapointe Larry P
• Adams Chad E
• Ramasubramanian Chandrasekar

Classifications

• A47C3/0252 Primary

  connected only by an elastic member positioned between seat and base frame · CPC title

• A47C7/54

  Supports for the arms · CPC title

• A47C7/40

  for the back · CPC title

• A47C1/0355

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

• A47C3/027 Primary

  with curved rocking members between seat and frame · CPC title