ROCKING CHAIR

Abstract: A rocking chair comprises a seat (1) having at least one curved rocker (1<1>) and being rockably mounted on a non-rocking base (2), and a reaction member (3) operatively connectable to the base (2) and against which an occupant of the seat (1) can apply a force to tilt the seat rearwardly or rock the seat.

Description: Rocking Chair The present invention relates to a rocking chair comprising a seat having at least one curved rocker and being rockably mounted on a non-rocking base. It is common for a person seated in a rocking chair to rock the seat backwards and forwards by pushing against a fixed surface, such as a floor or wall. Often the surface which the person is using to control the rocking movement will not always be in the user's reach as the position of the seat changes during rocking. For example, if the person is using the floor as a pushing surface the floor may not be in the person's reach when the seat is tilted backwards. Since the person in the seat usually wishes to maintain the rocking motion while tilted backwards, the fact that there is no longer a pushing surface creates problems. The person is either unable to sustain the rocking motion, or is forced to sit in uncomfortable positions so as to reach the pushing surface. Both of these situations are obviously undesirable. An object of the present invention is to provide a rocking chair in which these problems are alleviated. The invention provides a rocking chair as claimed in Claim 1. Preferably, the position of the reaction member relative to the base is adjustable. Preferably, the reaction member has an adjustable foot rest. Thus, the user may alter the position of the reaction member and the foot rest to the most comfortable position for rocking the seat. Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a side view of a rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rocking chair of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the reaction member of Fig. 1, Fig, 4 is a side view similar to Fig. 1 with the foot rest in an upper, raised position, Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 4 with the foot rest in a lowered position, Fig. 6 is a similar view to Figs. 1, 4 and 5 with the reaction member in a fully retracted, non-operative position, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a slightly modified rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 8 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 7 but with the seat designed for multiple occupancy, and Fig. 9 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 8 but with two reaction members. In Fig. 1 a rocking chair comprises a seat 1 having a pair of curved rockers 1 ' rockably mounted on a non-rocking base 2. The mechanism by way of which the seat 1 is mounted on the base 2 is well known, and need not be described here. Any suitable mechanism that allows the seat 1 to rock on the base 2 may be used. A reaction member 3, which comprises a support 4 and a foot rest 5 mounted thereon, is shown operatively connected to the base 2 in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5. As can be seen from Fig. 3 the support 4 comprises a horizontal frame 6 to which a pivotal frame 7 having a pivotal stay 8 is pivotably connected at pivot 9. The horizontal frame 6 has on each side two spaced stops in the form of projections 10 and 10 1 against which the stay 8 can selectively rest. In Figs. 1 and 3, the stay 8 rests against the projections 10 and the foot rest 5 is in an intermediate raised position. In Fig. 4 the stay 8 rests against the nearer projections 10 1 , and the foot rest 5 is in an uppermost raised position. Clearly, further projections could be provided on the horizontal frame 6 to provide further raised or lowered positions of the foot rest 5 depending on the number of raised positions required for rocking the rocking chair comfortably and effectively as described below. The foot rest 5 is provided with a foot pad 5 1 , which may be of any suitable shape and material. The non-rocking base 2 of the rocking chair has a stop in the form of a front transverse member 11 (shown in Figs. 2 and 3) by means of which the reaction member 3 is operatively connected to the base 2. The horizontal frame 6 of the reaction member 3 has spaced stops in the form of parallel cross-members 12, 12a, 12b, 12c. Alternatively, one or more of the cross-members could be replaced by pairs of spaced feet. As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 (and partly from fig. 4) the front cross-member 12a is placed behind the transverse member 11 of the base 2 so that the reaction member 3 is operatively connected to the base 2, ie movement of the reaction member 3 away from the base 2 is prevented by interengagement of the cross-member 12a with the transverse member 11. In Figs. 1 and 5 the cross-member 12b has been lifted over the transverse member 11 to abut thereagainst, thereby providing a nearer position of the reaction member 3 to the base 2 and hence the seat 1, eg for a shorter occupant of the rocking chair. A still nearer position of the reaction member 3 to the base 2 may be obtained by lifting the cross- member 12c over the transverse member 1 1 to engage therewith. Fig. 6 shows the reaction member 3 stored beneath the seat 1. In order to reach this position the stay 8 must first be moved over the projections 10, 10 1 , so that the foot rest 5 lies flat on the horizontal frame 6 of the reaction member 3 as shown in Fig. 5. The reaction member 3 is then raised slightly so that the cross-members 12a, b, c are lifted clear of the transverse member 11 of the base 2 to allow movement of the reaction member 3 to beneath the seat 1 for storage as shown in Fig. 6. The reaction member 3 is then lowered so that the cross-member 12a engages the rear transverse member 1 1 ' of the base 2 from the front (see Fig. 2) to prevent backward movement of the reaction member 3, and the cross member 12 engages the transverse member 11 from behind to prevent forward movement of the reaction member 3. In use, the reaction member is removed from under the seat 1 from a position as shown in Fig. 6 to a position in which cross-member 12a, b or c is engaged behind the transverse member 11 of the base 2 (eg as shown in Figs. 1 or 4). The foot rest 5 is then raised to the desired height and the stay 8 is held in position by projections 10 or 10 1 (Fig. 1 or Fig. 4). The occupant of the seat 1 can rock the seat 1 by pushing with his feet against the foot pad 5 1 of the reaction member 3. Since the reaction member 3 is operatively connected to the base 2 by abutting engagement of the cross-member 12a, b or c with the transverse member 11, the reaction member 3 does not slide away, but is held firmly relative to the base 2. Alternatively, the occupant may merely tilt the seat 1 rearwardly, if so desired, and prevent a rocking movement by maintaining foot pressure on the foot pad 5 1 . A slightly modified rocking chair is shown in Fig. 7. Here the cross-members 12a, b of the reaction member 3 are replaced by spaced pairs of feet 13, 13 1 ; 14, 14 1 etc. The stops for the stay 8 are here in the form of paired recesses 15, 15 1 ; 16, 16 1 similar to the arrangement on a standard deck chair. Instead of the small foot pad 5 of Figs. 1 and 2 to 5, the foot rest 5 has a continuous cushion 17. Clearly, the foot pad 5 1 and the cushion 17 could be of any other suitable shape or form for comfort or ease of use. The operative connection of the reaction member 3 to the base 2, as described above is very simple. However, a more sophisticated operative connection could be used, eg channels on the base 2 engaged by spaced rollers or wheels on the frame 6 of the reaction member 3. A locking mechanism would be provided to lock the rollers or wheels at various positions along the channels. The rocking chair in accordance with the invention may be adapted for multiple occupancy. Thus, as shown in Fig. 8, the seat la is sufficiently wide to accommodate two (or even more) people. The reaction member 3 is similarly wide enough to allow the occupants to tilt the seat la backwards or rock it. In effect the rocking chair is a "rocking sofa". Similarly, the seat la could be in the form of a bench so that the rocking chair would be a "rocking bench", eg for use in the garden. The term "rocking chair" should be construed accordingly. Fig. 9 shows a "rocking sofa" similar to Fig. 8. Here, two separate reaction members 3, 3 1 have been provided to allow separate adjustment thereof, eg when one occupant is tall and the other is short. Although the embodiments shown in the drawings all have two curved rockers 1 ', it would be possible to have a single curved rocker extending across substantially the width of the seat 1. The reaction member/members 3 as described above may be used with any type of fixed-base rocking chair in which the seat has at least one rocker, eg where the seat has a depending skirt to prevent finger pinching. In particular, the surface of contact of the rockers with the non-rocking base may be located closer to the seat than to the ground as shown in co-pending patent application No. 9921945.3 filed on 16 September 1999.

Claims: Claims: 1. A rocking chair comprising a seat having at least one curved rocker and being rockably mounted on a non-rocking base, and a reaction member operatively connectable to the base and against which an occupant of the seat can apply a force to tilt the seat rearwardly or rock the seat. 2. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the position of the reaction member relative to the base is adjustable. 3. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the reaction member is movable to beneath the seat for storage. 4. A rocking chair as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the reaction member is operatively connectable to the base by interengaging stops. 5. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the base has a transverse member operatively engageable with stop means spaced along the length of the reaction member. 6. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the stop means are in the form of cross-members and/or pairs of spaced feet. 7. A rocking chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reaction member has an adjustable foot rest. 8. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the foot rest is pivotally mounted on a frame of the reaction member and is movable selectively into one or more raised positions. 9. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the foot rest is held selectively in the one or more raised positions by means of a stay engaging stops. 10. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the stops comprise projections. 11. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the stops comprise recesses. 12. A rocking chair as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 11, wherein the foot rest is padded. 13. A rocking chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the seat is wide enough to accommodate at least two occupants. 14. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the reaction member is wide enough to allow the at least two occupants to apply the tilting or rocking force. 15. A rocking chair as claimed in Claim 13, wherein there is a further reaction member or members allowing for separate adjustment positions for each occupant.

Inventors: ABOLKHEIR MOHAMED HOSNY, ABOLKHEIR, MOHAMED, HOSNY
Applicants: ABOLKHEIR GROUP UK LTD, ABOLKHEIR MOHAMED HOSNY, ABOLKHEIR GROUP (UK) LTD., ABOLKHEIR, MOHAMED, HOSNY
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A47C3
IPC codes: A47C3, A47C7, A47C16