Recliner chair which moves forwardly relative to a wall as the body supporting means of the chair moves from upright to reclined positions

Claim 2

In a wall-proximity reclining chair of the type having (A) a stationary base for supporting the chair on a floor; (B) body-supporting means including a seat located generally above the base, and a backrest located generally rearwardly of the seat; and (C) a movable armrest assembly including (1) a pair of armrests each located at an opposite side of the seat, each armrest having an outer wall which faces away from the seat, and a generally vertically-extending inner wall which faces towards the seat, both inner walls extending downwardly at opposite sides of the seat to thereby bound a lower chair region underneath the seat, (2) means for interconnecting the armrests for joint movement, and (3) means for mounting the interconnected armrests for longitudinal generally horizontal reciprocating movement relative to the base to thereby forwardly and rearwardly move the armrest assembly relative to the base in response to manual urging on the armrests by a seated user; the improvement comprising: (a) a base-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the base in the lower chair region; (b) a seat-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the seat; (c) an armrest-mounting member mounted only on the inner wall of each armrest in the lower chair region below the seat but above the base; and (d) an integrated all-linkage system at each side of the seat and operative for displacing the body-supporting means between an end-limiting upright position in which the seat and backrest are spaced at a predetermined distance away from a room wall behind the chair, and are oriented at a predetermined orientation relative to the base, and an end-limiting fully reclined position in which the seat is linearly spaced at a greater forward distance away from the room wall such that physical contact of the body-supporting means with the room wall is avoided, and in which the seat and the backrest are oriented at a different inclined orientation relative to the base, (i) each all-linkage system constituting a plurality of interconnected links all displaceable in response to said longitudinal movement of the armrest assembly, for simultaneously effecting both the linear and the inclined displacement of the body-supporting means without mechanical interference by any of the links with each other, (ii) each plurality of interconnected links being connected at each side of the chair between the seat-mounting member, its respectively-associated base-mounting member and its respectively-associated armrest-mounting member, all of said mounting members and links being located and mounted only on the inner wall of the respectively-associated armrest, (iii) all of said interconnected links of each system together with its associated mounting members all constituting a unitary linkage mechanism which, when not mounted on an armrest inner wall, is liftable and movable as a unit and which is positionable as a whole on the respective inner wall of an armrest for assembly thereat in one assembly operation.

Claim 3

The improvement as defined in claim 1, wherein each all-linkage system includes a front four-bar linkage sub-system and a rear four-bar linkage sub-system; each sub-system having an elongated front shift first bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper pivot point; and each sub-system including an elongated rear suspension second bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper end; and each sub-system including an elongated top third bar having its opposite ends pivotally connected between each upper pivot point of the first bar and the respective upper end of the second bar; said lower ends of said first and second bars being spaced lengthwise of the base-mounting member and constituting the fourth bar; both of said four-bar sub-systems being configurated such that their upper pivot points do not move relative to each other during said movement of the armrest assembly; and further comprising an elongated stabilizing link having its opposite ends pivotally connected between the upper pivot points of said sub-systems, said stabilizing link extending lengthwise between said sub-systems and serving to resist deformation and twisting about a vertical axis to thereby prevent undesirable instability in the chair.

Claim 4

The improvement as defined in claim 1; and further comprising anti-side sway means on each armrest-mounting member for allowing only limited side-to-side movement of each armrest-mounting member relative to its associated base-mounting member at the same side of the chair, during the forward and rearward movement of the armrest assembly.

Claim 5

The improvement as defined in claim 3, wherein said anti-side sway means includes at each side of the chair a channel guide having a pair of arms spaced transversely apart of each other to thereby define a channel therebetween, and wherein each base-mounting member includes an upright flange receivable with clearance in the channel to thereby permit limited side-to-side movement of the channel guide.

Claim 6

In a wall-proximity reclining chair of the type having (A) a stationary base for supporting the chair on a floor; (B) body-supporting means including a seat located generally above the base, and a backrest located generally rearwardly of the seat; and (C) a movable armrest assembly including (1) a pair of armrests each located at an opposite side of the seat, each armrest having an outer wall which faces away from the seat, and a generally vertically-extending inner wall which faces towards the seat, both inner walls extending downwardly at opposite sides of the seat to thereby bound a lower chair region underneath the seat, (2) means for interconnecting the armrests for joint movement, and (3) means for mounting the interconnected armrests for longitudinal generally horizontal reciprocating movement relative to the base to thereby forwardly and rearwardly move the armrest assembly relative to the base in response to manual urging on the armrests by a seated user; the improvement comprising: (a) a base-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the base in the lower chair region; (b) a seat-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the seat; (c) an armrest-mounting member mounted only on the inner wall of each armrest in the lower chair region below the seat but above the base; and (d) an integrated all-linkage system at each side of the seat and operative for displacing the body-supporting means between an end-limiting upright position in which the seat and backrest are spaced at a predetermined distance away from a room wall behind the chair, and are oriented at a predetermined orientation relative to the base, and an end-limiting fully reclined position in which the seat is linearly spaced at a greater forward distance away from the room wall such that physical contact of the body-supporting means with the room wall is avoided, and in which the seat and the backrest are oriented at a different inclined orientation relative to the base, (i) each all-linkage system constituting a plurality of interconnected links all displaceable in response to said longitudinal movement of the armrest assembly, for simultaneously effecting both the linear and the inclined displacement of the body-supporting means without mechanical interference by any of the links with each other, (ii) each all-linkage system including a front four-bar linkage sub-system and a rear four-bar linkage sub-system, each sub-system having an elongated front shift first bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper pivot point, and each sub-system including an elongated rear suspension second bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper end, and each sub-system including an elongated top third bar having its opposite ends pivotally connected between each upper pivot point of the first bar and the respective upper end of the second bar, said lower ends of said first and second bars being spaced lengthwise of the base-mounting member and constituting a fourth bar, both of said four-bar sub-systems being configurated such that their upper pivot points do not move relative to each other during said movement of the armrest assembly and including an elongated stabilizing link having its opposite ends pivotally connected between the upper pivot points of said sub-systems, said stabilizing link extending lengthwise between said sub-systems and serving to resist deformation and twisting about a vertical axis to thereby prevent undesirable instability in the chair, (iii) each plurality of interconnected links being connected at each side of the chair between the seat-mounting member, its respectively-associated base-mounting member and its respectively associated armrest-mounting member, all of said mounting members and links being located and mounted only on the inner wall of the respectively-associated armrest, (iv) all of said interconnected links of each system together with its associated mounting members all constituting a unitary linkage mechanism which, when not mounted on an armrest inner wall, is liftable and movable as a unit and which is positionable as a whole on the respective inner wall of an armrest for assembly thereat in one assembly operation.

Claim 7

In a wall-proximity reclining chair of the type having (A) a stationary base for supporting the chair on a floor; (B) body-supporting means including a seat located generally above the base, and a backrest located generally rearwardly of the seat; and (C) a movable armrest assembly including (1) a pair of armrests each located at an opposite side of the seat, each armrest having an outer wall which faces away from the seat, and a generally vertically-extending inner wall which faces towards the seat, both inner walls extending downwardly at opposite sides of the seat to thereby bound a lower chair region underneath the seat, (2) means for interconnecting the armrests for joint movement, and (3) means for mounting the interconnected armrests for longitudinal generally horizontal reciprocating movement relative to the base to thereby forwardly and rearwardly move the armrest assembly relative to the base in response to manual urging on the armrests by a seated user; the improvement comprising: (a) a base-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the base in the lower chair region; (b) a seat-mounting member mounted at each opposite side of the seat; (c) an armrest-mounting member mounted only on the inner wall of each armrest in the lower chair region below the seat but above the base; and (d) an integrated all-linkage system at each side of the seat and operative for displacing the body-supporting means between an end-limiting upright position in which the seat and backrest are spaced at a predetermined distance away from a room wall behind the chair, and are oriented at a predetermined orientation relative to the base, and an end-limiting fully reclined position in which the seat is linearly spaced at a greater forward distance away from the room wall such that physical contact of the body-supporting means with the room wall is avoided, and in which the seat and the backrest are oriented at a different inclined orientation relative to the base, (i) each all-linkage system constituting a plurality of interconnected links all displaceable in response to said longitudinal movement of the armrest assembly, for simultaneously effecting both the linear and the inclined displacement of the body-supporting means without mechanical interference by any of the links with each other, (ii) each all-linkage system including a front four-bar linkage sub-system and a rear four-bar linkage sub-system, each sub-system having an elongated front shift first bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper pivot point, and each sub-system including an elongated rear suspension second bar having a lower end pivotally mounted on the base-mounting member, and an upper end, and each sub-system including an elongated top third bar having its opposite ends pivotally connected between each upper pivot point of the first bar and the respective upper end of the second bar, said lower ends of said first and second bars being spaced lengthwise of the base-mounting member and constituting a fourth bar, both of said four-bar sub-systems being configurated such that their upper pivot points do not move relative to each other during said movement of the armrest assembly and including an elongated stabilizing link having its opposite ends pivotally connected between the upper pivot points of said sub-systems, said stabilizing link extending lengthwise between said sub-systems and serving to resist deformation and twisting about a vertical axis to thereby prevent undesirable instability in the chair, (iii) each plurality of interconnected links being connected at each side of the chair between the seat-mounting member, its respectively-associated base-mounting member and its respectively associated armrest-mounting member, all of said mounting members and links being located and mounted only on the inner wall of the respectively-associated armrest, (iv) all of said interconnected links of each system together with its associated mounting members all constituting a unitary linkage mechanism which, when not mounted on an armrest inner wall, is liftable and movable as a unit and which is positionable as a whole on the respective inner wall of an armrest for assembly thereat in one assembly operation.

Claim 8

The improvement as defined in claim 1; and further comprising means mounted on one of said links at one side of the chair at an elevated location above the base and below the seat, for permitting the all-linkage systems at opposite sides of the chair to be interconnected for joint movement.