CHAIR
A chair comprising two ribbed supporting sectional elements (12) set at a distance from one another in a transverse direction and connected to a base (22, 24) by means of a transverse supporting element (20), wherein each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements (12) is basically L-shaped, with a seat portion (12a), a backrest portion (12b), and a rounded radiusing portion (12c) between the seat portion (12a) and the backrest portion (12b), wherein extending between said supporting sectional elements (12) is a material basically in the form of a sheet (42, 62), which forms a seat (42a, 62a) and a backrest (42b, 62b), and wherein each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements (12) is provided with a plurality of through notches (48) set at a distance from one another in a longitudinal direction, which form respective points of localized bending, which enable bending of the supporting sectional element (12) in a vertical plane, said notches (48) distanced from one another by respective stretches (50) substantially rigid to bending in said vertical plane.
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The present invention relates to a chair comprising two ribbed supporting sectional elements set at a distance from one another in a transverse direction and connected to a base by means of a transverse supporting element, in which each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements is basically L-shaped with a seat portion, a backrest portion, and a rounded radiusing portion between the seat portion and the backrest portion and in which a substantially sheet-like material forming a seat and a backrest extends between said ribbed supporting sectional elements.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTA chair of the type referred to above is known from the document No. DE1260721 filed in the name of Hermann Miller Inc. The chair described in this document was made by the famous designer Charles Eames in 1958 and became a point of reference of industrial design.
The chair designed by Charles Eames envisaged the use of two basically I-section rigid aluminium supporting sectional elements fixed together by means of at least two transverse supporting elements, one of which serves for connection to a column base. A sheet formed by a fabric or a mesh, is wound on the two lateral aluminium sectional elements and is anchored laterally in two external side grooves of the supporting sectional elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe purpose of the present invention is to provide a chair that will enable higher characteristics of comfort to be obtained, maintaining the same stylistic setting of the chair designed by Eames in 1958.
According to the present invention, the above purpose is achieved thanks to the fact that each of the ribbed supporting sectional elements is provided with a plurality of through notches, which are set at a distance from one another in a longitudinal direction and form respective points of localized bending of the supporting sectional element in a vertical plane, said notches being set at a distance from one another by respective stretches that are substantially rigid to bending in said vertical plane.
By making the supporting sectional elements of plastic material (typically nylon) and forming the aforesaid notches in a central stiffening ribbing of the sectional elements, there is the possibility of introducing a controlled bending in definite portions of the sectional element. Bending of the sectional element can be assisted by a small steel bar inserted in a groove of the sectional element in an area corresponding to the radiusing area between the seat portion and the backrest portion of each sectional element.
The notches have opposite surfaces that enter into contact with one another in the position of maximum inclination so as to limit the maximum amount of localized bending in each point of the sectional element.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:
With reference to
Each supporting sectional element 12 is constituted by a monolithic element made of injection-moulded plastic material, for example nylon. As may be seen in particular in
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
As illustrated in particular detail in
With reference to
With reference to
In the embodiment illustrated in
Illustrated in
Each notch 48 can have a height comprised between 5 mm and 60 mm. The angle between the divergent walls 54 of each notch 48 can be comprised between 1° and 22°. In general, the angle between the walls 54 is in the region of 3°-4° so that the notches 48 are very narrow. Consequently, closing of the notches 48 during bending of the supporting sectional elements 12 does not entail the risk of pinching of the user's fingers. Whenever necessary, the notches 48 can be protected by means of co-moulded compressible elastomer elements that close the side and front outer edges of each notch 48 partially or completely.
Return from the deflected position to the resting position occurs as a result of the elastic return of the material constituting the supporting sectional elements 12, thanks to the particular elasticity of the plastic material constituting the sectional elements. As illustrated in
Illustrated in
In this embodiment of the invention, the two ribbed supporting sectional elements 12 are connected to one another by two transverse elements 58, 60 formed integrally by moulding with the supporting sectional elements 12. As illustrated in
The first transverse element 58 is set in an area corresponding to the top ends of the backrest portions 12b. The second transverse element 60 is set in an area corresponding to the front end of the seat portions 12a. In this variant, each supporting sectional element 12 can be provided with just one groove (the external groove 14), serving for anchorage of the side edges 44 of the sheet of flexible material 42. The two supporting sectional elements 12 are fixed, in a way similar to that of the embodiment previously described, to a transverse supporting element 20 of metal material, which is fitted on the central column 22 of the base 24.
This second embodiment enables simplified assembly of the sheet of flexible material 42 on the supporting sectional elements 12. For insertion of the side edges 44 of the sheet of flexible material 42 into the external grooves 14 of the supporting sectional elements 12 the flexibility of the transverse elements 58, 60 is exploited, which enables approach of the supporting sectional elements 12 to one another. After insertion of the side edges 44 in the external grooves 14, the supporting sectional elements 12 are brought back into their resting position by the elastic return of the transverse elements 58, 60, by setting the sheet of flexible material 42 in tension between the supporting sectional elements 12. The structure is definitively stiffened in a transverse direction by fixing of the ribbed supporting sectional elements 12 to the transverse supporting element 20, as illustrated in
The ribbings 64 are fixed to a transverse supporting element 20 carried by a central column 20, in a way similar to what was described previously. In the rear surface of the plate 62, in an area corresponding to the radiusing portion 62c, there are preferably made two integral seats 66 for housing elastic members 56 (see, in particular
The plate of plastic material 62, in order to be able to bend backwards, must not have a concave curvature on the surfaces of the seat and of the backrest since said curvature would stiffen the backrest, preventing it from bending backwards. For this reason, in this embodiment the chair 10 is preferably provided with padded panels (not illustrated) fixed to the surfaces of the seat and backrest of the plate of plastic material 62.
Also in this embodiment, the ribbings 64 of the supporting sectional elements 12 can have different shapes in cross section. For example, illustrated in
Illustrated in
In the version illustrated in
The chair according to the present invention enables provision of a flexible seat formed by a fabric or by an elastic mesh or, alternatively, by a sheet of injection-moulded plastic material. The supporting sectional elements 12 can be provided with a large number of points of localized bending distributed along a substantial part of the ribbed sectional elements. In particular, the present invention enables positioning of the points of start of bending in a very advanced position (approximately half of the seat). This characteristic increases comfort for the user considerably as compared to a chair in which the movement of bending backwards regards just the backrest or a portion thereof. The most advanced notch can be set in the immediate vicinity of the area of fixing of the supporting sectional elements 12 to the transverse supporting element 20.
Claims
1. A chair comprising:
- a base,
- two ribbed supporting sectional elements set at a distance from one another in a transverse direction, wherein each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements is basically L-shaped, with a seat portion, a backrest portion, and a rounded radiusing portion between the seat portion and the backrest portion,
- a supporting element connecting said ribbed supporting sectional elements to said base,
- a sheet extending between said supporting sectional elements forming a seat and a backrest,
- wherein, each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements is provided with a plurality of through notches, which are set at a distance from one another in a longitudinal direction and form respective points of localized bending that enable bending of the supporting sectional element in a vertical plane, said notches being distanced from one another by respective stretches substantially rigid to bending in said vertical plane.
2. The chair according to claim 1, wherein each of said notches has two opposite surfaces that come into contact upon one another to limit the amplitude of the local bending of the sectional element.
3. The chair according to claim 1, wherein said notches are formed in an integral ribbing that extends in a median vertical plane of the respective supporting sectional element.
4. The chair according to claim 3, wherein said notches are distributed along said seat portions, said backrest portions and said radiusing portions of said supporting sectional elements.
5. The chair according to claim 3, wherein said ribbing has a thickness comprised between 2-20 mm and a height comprised between 10-60 mm.
6. The chair according to claim 2, wherein each of said notches enables a localized bending of the sectional element with a maximum amplitude comprised between 1°-22°.
7. The chair according to claim 1, wherein said sheet consists of a fabric or by a mesh with side edges anchored in respective external grooves of said supporting sectional elements.
8. The chair according to claim 1, wherein said sheet consists of injected plastic material integral with said supporting sectional elements.
9. The chair according to claim 1, wherein said supporting sectional elements are joined together by integral transverse elements formed integrally with said supporting sectional elements.
10. The chair according to claim 1, wherein each of said supporting sectional elements comprises at least one elastic member formed by a bar of elastic metal material inserted in a seat of the supporting sectional element.
11. The chair according to claim 2, wherein said supporting sectional elements with said integral ribbing are made of injection-moulded plastic material.
12. A chair comprising:
- a base,
- two ribbed supporting sectional elements made of injection-moulded plastic material set at a distance from one another in a transverse direction, wherein each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements is basically L-shaped, with a seat portion, a backrest portion, and a rounded radiusing portion between the seat portion and the backrest portion, wherein each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements is provided with an integral ribbing that extends in a median vertical plane of the respective supporting sectional element, the integral ribbing having a plurality of through notches set at a distance from one another in a longitudinal direction and forming respective points of localized bending, each of said ribbed supporting sectional elements having a respective laterally open external groove,
- a supporting element connecting said ribbed supporting sectional elements to said base,
- a sheet of flexible material having two side edges anchored in respective external grooves of said supporting sectional elements, said sheet extending between said supporting sectional elements and forming a seat and a backrest, and
- first and second bar-shaped flexible transverse elements integrally formed with said supporting sectional elements, said bar-shaped flexible transverse elements connecting to each other said supporting sectional elements at a forward end of the respective seat portions and at an upper end of the respective backrest portions.
13. The chair according to claim 12, wherein said notches are distributed along said seat portions, said backrest portions and said radiusing portions of said supporting sectional elements.
14. The chair according to claim 12, wherein each of said supporting sectional elements comprises at least one elastic member formed by a bar of elastic metal material inserted in a seat of the supporting sectional element.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 16, 2009
Publication Date: Oct 22, 2009
Applicant: PRO-CORD Spa (Bologna)
Inventor: Alessandro Piretti (Bologna)
Application Number: 12/424,940
International Classification: A47C 1/024 (20060101);