Patent ID: 6174031
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: A47C

Abstract:
In a chair having a base, a seat assembly and a tilt mechanism connecting said seat assembly to said base so as to permit tilting of said seat assembly relative to said base, said tilt mechanism being actuatable between locked and unlocked positions to respectively prevent and permit said tilting of said seat assembly and including an actuator handle to lock and unlock said tilt mechanism, comprising the improvement wherein said actuator handle includes a housing which is supported on said seat assembly and includes an elongate bore extending axially therethrough, said actuator handle further including a manually-rotatable shaft having an end which is inserted axially into an open end of said bore, said shaft having an outer surface rotatably supported by an interior bore surface in said bore so as to be rotatably and axially movable relative thereto, at least one of said housing and said shaft including a generally V-shaped camming surface that includes first and second sides which face axially and converge to a peak, said camming surface extending radially away from said interior bore surface and the other of said housing and said shaft including a radial projection which slidably contacts said camming surface, said actuator handle including a biasing member which biases said shaft axially such that said radial projection is urged axially to either of said first and second sides, said biasing member permitting axial displacement of said shaft such that said radial projection slides circumferentially and axially over said peak between said first and second sides during rotation of said shaft, said tilt mechanism respectively being locked and unlocked when said radial projection is disposed on said first and second sides of said camming surface.