Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Adjustable pneumatic armrest for a chair

Adjustable pneumatic armrest for a chair description/claims

The present invention relates to an improved armrest for a chair that is horizontally and vertically adjustable. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an adjustable armrest that is horizontally extendable, pivotable in a horizontal plane, and vertically adjustable via a control and pneumatic piston.

Chairs have been designed and manufactured in various ways to meet the many needs of consumers and to suit numerous different settings and situations. There are many different categories of chairs including rocking chairs, office chairs, swivel chairs, folding chairs, lawn chairs, etc. One main goal in chair design and manufacture is comfort for a user. An armrest is of utmost importance in a user's determination of the comfort level of a chair. Generally, armrests are in fixed positions relative to the seating portion of the chair, which can cause discomfort and other problems for users that do not fit the fixed position of the chair and armrest.

In an office environment, where workers often are seated at a desk and working with computers or other electronic systems for extended periods of time, a well designed office chair can maximize comfort and efficiency. More specifically, an adjustable armrest on such an office chair can be of great importance to a worker who is performing a variety of computer related functions, such as typing, scrolling and moving a mouse, sorting through paperwork, or performing other typical office tasks. A versatile arm rest can make such tasks easier and can cut down on worker fatigue and discomfort.

While office chairs in the prior art have been designed and constructed to include adjustable armrests, such armrests are often limited in their adjustability, and the means to achieve the adjustments are not ideal. For instance, some prior art armrests have only one or two methods of adjustment, such as vertical or pivotal adjustability. These armrests lack additional modes of adjustment that can further maximize worker efficiency and comfort. Additionally, the mechanisms for adjusting the armrest can be limiting. For instance, the vertical adjustability of an armrest can be limited to only a number of pre-selected vertical positions at which the armrest locks into place. Additionally, some prior art armrests include a horizontal member that can slide horizontally; however, in existing designs, the entirety of the horizontal member is slid to another position. Such a design does not adjust the armrest in such a way as to accommodate users with different size forearms, as the length of the armrest does not change.

In light of the above limitations inherent to current armrest designs, a need exists for an armrest that covers all needed modes of adjustment that a user might desire in an office or other setting and convenient mechanisms for implementing these adjustments. It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method capable of achieving greater armrest adjustability with improved mechanisms for making adjustments to the armrest position.

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned problems by providing a pneumatic armrest for a chair having a plurality of adjustment mechanisms.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an adjustable armrest for a chair includes a horizontal armrest support, a rear armpad assembly fixedly connected to the horizontal armrest support, and a front armpad assembly positioned adjacent to the rear armpad assembly and configured to translate along the horizontal armrest support in a lengthwise direction. Also, the adjustable armrest includes a vertical member connected to the horizontal armrest support to bear the horizontal armrest support. The vertical member includes a gas-charged piston to vertically adjust a height of the horizontal armrest support. On the vertical member is a manually operated control used to actuate the gas-charged piston to vertically adjust a height of the horizontal armrest support. Additionally, the horizontal armrest support is configured to pivot around a connection point to the gas-charged piston.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a chair includes a backrest portion, a seating portion, and an adjustable armrest. The adjustable armrest includes a pneumatic cylinder assembly affixed to the seating portion, a horizontal member, a rotation mechanism, and a push-button control. The horizontal member is mounted on the pneumatic cylinder assembly and includes a track, a fixed top surface portion, and a slideable top surface portion. The fixed top surface portion is fixedly mounted to the track and the slideable top surface portion is configured to slide along the track. The rotation mechanism is positioned between the horizontal member and the pneumatic cylinder assembly and is configured to rotate the horizontal member about the pneumatic cylinder assembly. Also, the push-button control is configured to control the pneumatic cylinder assembly to vertically adjust the horizontal member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing an adjustable armrest includes the step of constructing a horizontal member having a fixed member and a slideable member. The slideable member is configured to extend horizontally from the fixed member to increase the length of the horizontal member. Also, the method includes the step of constructing a vertical member having a gas-charged piston that, when activated, is configured to cause the horizontal member to be vertically adjusted. Additionally, the method includes a step of pivotably mounting the horizontal member on the vertical member so that the vertical member is supporting the horizontal member and the horizontal member can horizontally pivot about the vertical member.

Various other features and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.

The drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an office-type chair with adjustable armrests according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustable armrest of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a push-button control in a non-activated state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the push-button control in an activated state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view of the adjustable armrest of FIG. 1.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws