US6910741B2 Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Lumbar support

Assignee: Formway Furniture Ltd

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Filing: 2003-01-29

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Granted: 2005-06-28

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Expires: 2023-01-29

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Abstract

Abstract A back portion for a chair includes a peripheral frame defining an opening therein. A lumbar support portion is disposed in the opening. The lumbar support portion comprises a substantially rigid panel. Two hinge devices are hingedly mounted on opposite sides of the peripheral frame. The lumbar support portion is mounted on the peripheral frame by the two hinge devices. Each hinge device has a biasing device associated with it to bias the hinge devices forwardly relative to the peripheral frame. A cushion may be mounted atop the lumbar support portion. The cushion has a first substantially planar sheet of resiliently flexible material and a second substantially planar sheet of resiliently flexible material. The first and second sheets are separated by a plurality of spaced webs of resiliently flexible material.

Inventors

👤 Ian Colin Footitt

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —

Jurisdiction US

Data Source google_patents

Last Synchronized 2026-11-06 17:15

CPC Classifications

A; A47; A47C; A47C1/00; A47C1/02; A47C1/022; A47C1/023; A47C1/03; A47C1/0307; A47C1/031; A47C1/032; A47C1/03205; A47C1/03255; A47C31/00; A47C31/12; A47C31/126; A47C7/00; A47C7/002; A47C7/004; A47C7/006; A47C7/02; A47C7/029; A47C7/22; A47C7/28; A47C7/282; A47C7/36; A47C7/40; A47C7/46; A47C7/462

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 13

Claim 1

Independent Claim 221 words

A back portion for a chair, the back portion comprising: a peripheral frame with an opening therein and at least a top member and two spaced apart sides members; and a resiliently flexible material attached to the frame and drawn taut across the opening, wherein each of the sides members of the peripheral frame is resiliently flexible in a forward and rearward direction at least at an intermediate region corresponding to the lumbar region of an adult occupant of the chair to allow the back portion of the chair above the intermediate region of the peripheral frame to bend rearwardly about the intermediate region of the peripheral frame relative to the back portion of the chair below the intermediate region of the peripheral frame, and the side members are substantially inflexible towards one another to inhibit loss of tautness of the flexible material across the opening during said bending of said back portion of the chair about the lumbar region, and moreover the sides members being of such a construction that the neutral axis of bending of the peripheral frame is closet to a front surface of the peripheral frame than to a rear surface of the peripheral frame to minimise stretching of the resiliently flexible material during said bending of said back portion of the chair about the lumbar region.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 221 words

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 28 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein each side member comprises a forwardly disposed flange portion and two or more rearwardly extending webs.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 50 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein a back beam is provided at a location corresponding to the lumbar region of an adult occupant of the chair, to constrain the flexibility of each side member of the frame substantially to the forward and rearward direction.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 41 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 3 wherein the peripheral frame additionally comprises a bottom member and wherein the two sides members, top members, bottom member and back beam of the peripheral frame are of unitary construction.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 38 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the peripheral frame is also flexible in the thoracic and pelvic regions corresponding to the thoracic and pelvic regions of an adult occupant of the chair.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 20 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resiliently flexible material is a mesh fabric.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 36 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 6 wherein the resiliently flexible material is detachably received in a rearwardly extending channel formed on the peripheral frame through the use of an insert strip.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 28 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the back portion further comprises a lumbar support portion disposed in the opening, behind the material.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 48 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 8 wherein the lumbar support portion is floatingly supported on the peripheral frame subject to a forward bias, to allow movement in the forward/rearward direction depending on the force exerted by the chair occupant against the forward bias.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 21 words

A chair having a back portion as claimed in claim 1 wherein the back portion is cantilevered at the base thereof.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 45 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the side members is a generally serpentine shape in side profile, and is shaped generally convex forwardly in the intermediate region and is shaped generally concave rearwardly above the intermediate region.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 40 words

The back portion for a chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the back portion comprises a spring element extending along and biasing against at least a portion of at least one of the side members of the peripheral frame.

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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2008-06-27	2008-12-27	2009-06-28	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2012-06-27	2012-12-27	2013-06-28	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2016-06-27	2016-12-27	2017-06-28	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

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