Abstract:
An adjustable headrest that provides both support and comfort to the user and one that can be used in connection with various types of passenger vehicles. The adjustable headrest includes novel slide assemblies that permit multiple height adjustments of the headrest. More particularly, the headrest of the invention can be moved from a first lower position to a second intermediate position and finally to an uppermost position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to headrests for seats. More particularly, the invention concerns a fully adjustable headrest for use in connection with furniture and with passenger vehicles such as aircraft, trains and buses. 
     2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     Various types of headrests for use in passenger vehicles have been suggested in the past. As the general rule, these headrests are designed primarily to satisfy safety aspects rather than to provide a comfortable seating posture. Typically, the prior art vehicle headrests comprise only a vertically adjustable head support member designed to provide protection against injury in the event of an accident. However, some vehicle headrests have also been provided with lateral headrest elements. Exemplary of such a headrest is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,091 issued to Rech et al. 
     In addition to passenger vehicle headrests, a number of headrests have been designed for use in emergency vehicles. These types of headrests are of a more complicated design and some include greater adjustability features. Exemplary of these types of headrests are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,462 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,749, both issued to Pond et al. 
     Even more complex headrests have been designed for use in military aircraft and, more particularly, in military aircraft for use in conjunction with ejection seats. Typical of this class of headrest design are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,243 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,961, both issued to Herndon. Another such headrest design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,662 issued to McDonald et al. 
     In addition to the development of headrests for use in military aircraft, significant advances have been made in recent years in the design of headrests for use in commercial aircraft. Many of these headrests are designed for personal comfort and include pivotally movable back and lateral supports. In these latter types of headrests, the head support members are typically slidably mounted on spaced apart rods that extend upwardly from the back of the seat and rely on friction to maintain the headrest in an elevated position. 
     Exemplary of significantly improved headrests for use with seats and particularly for use with seats in commercial aircraft are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,264,314, 7,040,705, 6,666,517, 6,467,846 and 6,250,716 all issued to Clough. 
     As will become clear from the discussion that follows, the headrest of the present invention represents a substantial improvement over the prior art headrests, provides significantly greater adjustability and therefore, provides greater support and comfort to the user. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable headrest that provides both support and comfort to the user and can be used in connection with furniture including household and office furniture, and also in connection with various types of passenger vehicles. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest of the aforementioned character that includes novel slide assemblies for permitting multiple height adjustments of the headrest. More particularly, the headrest of the invention can be moved from a first lower position to a second intermediate position and, finally, to an uppermost position. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest of the character described in the preceding paragraphs in which the headrest of the invention can be moved upwardly a distance of about four inches from a first lower position, to a second intermediate position. Uniquely, the headrest can then be moved further upwardly for a distance of about three inches for a total upward travel of the headrest of approximately seven inches. Another object of the invention is to provide easily adjustable, wing-like, side support members that are pivotally connected to a centrally located, vertically adjustable head support member by means of constant torque hinges. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest of the aforementioned character in which the headrest assembly is removably connected to a seat connector frame assembly that includes a roller assembly along which the headrest assembly is slidably movable. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest as described in the preceding paragraphs that includes a novel spring locking mechanism for releasably locking the headrest assembly to the seat connector frame assembly. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a headrest construction of the class described that is of a simple construction and one that can be inexpensively produced and easily installed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded front view of one form of the headrest assembly of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a fragmentary front view of the headrest assembly shown in  FIG. 1  partly broken away and illustrating the movement of the various components of the assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a view taken along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a generally perspective view of the roller assembly of the second sub-assembly of the headrest assembly. 
         FIG. 6  is front view of the headrest assembly illustrating the movement of the second sub-assembly of the headrest assembly. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a view taken along lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of the headrest assembly further illustrating the movement of the various components of the assembly. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a view taken along lines  11 - 11  of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  12 - 12  of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a generally perspective, fragmentary view illustrating the headrest locking assembly of the form of the invention shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and particularly to  FIGS. 1 through 5 , one form of seat headrest assembly of the invention is there illustrated and generally designated by the numeral  20 . This embodiment of the invention here comprises first sub-assembly  22  for interconnection with a seat “S” ( FIG. 2 ). First sub-assembly  22  here comprises a seat connector frame  24  having first and second transversely spaced tracks  26  and  28 . First sub-assembly  22  also includes a roller sub-assembly  30  ( FIG. 5 ) that is connected to seat connector frame  24  for movement with respect thereto between first and second positions. Roller sub-assembly  30  includes a first set of spaced apart rollers  32  movable along track  26  between first and second positions and a second set of spaced apart rollers  34  movable along track  28  between first and second positions. 
     Seat headrest assembly  20  also includes a second sub-assembly  36  that is removably connected to first sub-assembly  22  for movement relative thereto between first and second positions. Second sub-assembly  36  here comprises an elongated centrally disposed guide  38  having spaced apart running surfaces  38   a  and a head support panel assembly  40  that is connected to guide  38  by means of a first friction hinge assembly  41 . Head support panel assembly  40  is movable relative to guide  38  between a first position shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  and a second position shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The character of first hinge assembly  41  which yieldably resists pivotal movement of the support panel assembly relative to guide  38 , will presently be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , guide  38  is disposed between a third set of spaced apart rollers  42  and a fourth set of spaced apart rollers  44  for movement relative to the third and fourth sets of rollers between first and second positions. As indicated in the drawings, third and fourth sets of spaced apart rollers  42  and  44  comprise a part of roller assembly  30 . 
     Head support panel assembly  40  here comprises a central portion  46  and first and second side panels  48  and  50  respectively that are pivotally connected to the central portion by second friction hinge assemblies  52 , the character of which will presently be described (see  FIG. 1 ). As indicated in  FIG. 1 , central portion  46  and both of the side panels  48  and  50  are provided with a multiplicity of weight reducing apertures  56 . 
     Friction hinge assemblies  41  and  52 , each of which includes a connector bracket  60 , a shaft portion  62  carried by the connector bracket, and a friction imparting clip  64  disposed in frictional engagement with shaft portion  62  are of conventional construction and are readily commercially available from various sources, including Reell Company of St Paul, Minn. and the Southco company of Concord, Pa. 
     With the construction depicted in the drawings, the head support panel assembly  40  can be pivoted about friction hinge assembly  41  into several selected angular positions relative to guide  38  (see for example,  FIGS. 3 and 7 ). Similarly, each of the first and second side panels  48  and  50  can be pivoted about their respective friction hinge assemblies  52  from a substantially coplanar position with central portion  46  as shown in  FIG. 1 , into several selected angular positions relative to central portion  46 . 
     Once the head support panel assembly  40  is moved relative to first sub-assembly  22  from the first spaced apart position shown in  FIG. 1  to a second position wherein the spaced apart running surfaces  38   a  of guide  38  mates with rollers  42  and  44 , the head support panel assembly  40  can be interconnected with the first sub-assembly  22 . The method by which the head support panel assembly  40  is interconnected with and disconnected from the first sub-assembly  22  through manipulation of the locking assembly  45  is illustrated in  FIG. 14 . More particularly, in interconnecting the head support panel assembly  40  with the first sub-assembly  22 , an inward pressure exerted on the support panel assembly  40  will cause the locking pins  66 , that that are carried by a support  67  that is connected to roller sub-assembly  30 , to ride over the side portions  68   a  of a spring member  68 . Spring member  68 , along with threaded connectors  45   a , comprises the locking assembly  45  of the present form of the invention. Once locking pins ride over the side surfaces, the locking spring will return to the at rest position and the shanks of the pins  66  will lockably engage the shoulders  68   b  formed on spring  68 , thereby blocking removal of the guide  38 . Accordingly, to remove the guide it is necessary to depress the locking spring  68  in the direction of the arrow  70  of  FIG. 14  so that the shanks of the pins  66  will clear the shoulders  68   b.    
     With the spaced apart running surfaces  38   a  of guide  38  mated with rollers  42  and  44 , the guide can be moved relative to roller sub-assembly  30  from the position shown in  FIG. 1  into the position shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The roller sub-assembly  30  of this form of the invention also includes resistance imparting means for imparting resistance to the upward and downward movement of the guide  38 . This resistance imparting means here comprises a resistance imparting member shown here as a uniquely configured spring designated in  FIG. 14  of the drawings by the numeral  72 . When the headrest assembly of the invention is fully assembled, the central portion of the spring is in pressural engagement with the face,  38   f  of guide  38 . 
     With this construction, as the headrest assembly is moved upwardly and downwardly, spring  72  will yieldably resist sliding movement of the guide  38  in a manner to permit smooth sliding of the headrest assembly  36 . It is to be noted that in  FIG. 2 , the roller sub-assembly  30  has also been moved along tracks  26  and  28  from the upper position shown in  FIG. 1  into the lower position shown in  FIG. 2 . With the apparatus of the invention in the position shown in  FIG. 2 , the head support panel assembly  40  is in the first lowest possible position. To move the head support panel assembly to the second, intermediate position shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the roller sub-assembly  30  must be moved upwardly along tracks  26  and  28  of seat connector frame  24 . The seat connector frame  24  of this latest form of the invention includes spaced apart running surfaces  76  that are engaged by the roller sub-assembly and function to permit smooth sliding of the roller sub-assembly  30  along the tracks of the seat connector frame. In the present form of the invention, as the roller sub-assembly  30  moves upwardly to the intermediate position shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the head support panel assembly moves upwardly by a distance of about four inches. To move the head support panel assembly to the third, uppermost position shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the guide  38  must be moved upward relatively to rollers  42  and  44  of the roller sub-assembly  30 . More particularly, an upward force exerted on guide  38  will cause the guide to roll along tracks  42  and  44  and to move the head support panel assembly into the position shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
     In the present form of the invention, as the guide  38  moves upwardly to the uppermost position shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the head support panel assembly moves upwardly by an additional distance of about three inches for a total upward travel of the head support panel assembly of approximately seven inches. 
     Having now described the invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difficulty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.