Chair-recliner

Abstract

Abstract An article of furniture adapted to be used selectively as a chair or as a recliner, and which is particularly suitable for use by arthritics or others who because of infirmity have difficulty in becoming seated in or arising from an article of furniture such as a chair or a recliner. The chair-recliner includes a supporting framework and a chair-recliner body mounted on the framework. The chair-recliner body comprises a deformable resilient member which extends for the length of the chair-recliner body, the resilient member being connected to its opposite longitudinal ends to the framework. The length of the resilient member exceeds the distance between the locations at which the ends thereof are connected to the framework, whereby the resilient member assumes a normally vertically extending arch-like arcuate shape when the chair-recliner body and the resilient member which forms a part thereof are in an "at rest" predeformation position. The arch-like arcuate predeformation shape of the chair-recliner body facilitates the movement of an infirm person into seated or reclining position. The chair-recliner body and the resilient member are deformable by the body weight of a user from the arch-like arcuate predeformation shape selectively into a chair shape or into a recliner shape in accordance with the positioning of the user's body weight on the chair-recliner body. The movement of the chair-recliner body into deformed position corresponding to the seated or to the reclining position of the chair-recliner stores energy in the deformable resilient member of the chair-recliner body, which aids the user in arising from the chair-recliner when desired. A suitable latching means is provided to retain the deformable body of the chair-recliner in its deformed position, such as the seated or reclining position, to prevent unintentional reversion of the chair-recliner body to its predeformation position. The latching means is released when the user desires to arise from the chair-recliner.

Inventors

• 👤 Thomas A. Franke

Bibliographic Details