Patent Publication Number: US-6902233-B2

Title: Reclining chair with extendible leg rest

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a reclining chair, more particularly to a reclining chair that does not require a lever mechanism for tilting a back frame and for extending a leg rest assembly. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a conventional reclining chair is shown to include a seat portion  11 , a back portion  12 , and a leg rest  13 . A lever mechanism  14  is operated to control tilting of the back portion  12  and extension of the leg rest  13 . 
     The conventional reclining chair is disadvantageous in that a relatively large amount of force has to be exerted when operating the lever mechanism  14  in view of the weights of the back portion  12  and the leg rest  13 . Moreover, since the lever mechanism  14  is generally disposed at a lower lateral side of the seat portion  11 , it is not convenient for a person seated on the reclining chair to reach and operate the lever mechanism  14 . 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a reclining chair that does not require a lever mechanism for tilting a back frame and for extending a leg rest assembly. 
     According to the present invention, a reclining chair comprises: a base frame; a pivot link having a lower pivot end connected pivotally to the base frame, and an upper pivot end; a back frame having a lower end; a carriage having front and rear ends; a linkage mechanism for coupling pivotally the lower end of the back frame to the rear end of the carriage and the upper pivot end of the pivot link, thereby permitting movement of the back frame from an upright position to a tilted position relative to the carriage in response to pressure applied on the back frame, and thereby permitting movement of the carriage between front and rear carriage positions relative to the base frame; a leg rest assembly connected pivotally to the front end of the carriage and the base frame and driven by the carriage to move from a retracted position to an extended position during movement of the carriage from the front carriage position to the rear carriage position; and stop means provided on the linkage mechanism and the rear end of the carriage for positioning the back frame at the tilted position. 
     When the back frame is at the tilted position, movement of the carriage from the front carriage position to the rear carriage position due to an external applied force results in movement of the leg rest assembly from the retracted position to the extended position and simultaneously results in rearward pivoting movement of the back frame, the linkage mechanism, the carriage and the pivot link relative to the base frame. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view to illustrate a conventional reclining chair in a normal state; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view to illustrate the conventional reclining chair of  FIG. 1  in a reclining state; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view to illustrate the preferred embodiment of a reclining chair according to the present invention in a normal state; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view to illustrate the preferred embodiment in a fully reclined state; 
         FIG. 5  is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment, with upholstery removed therefrom; 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary schematic side view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating a back frame at an upright position, a carriage at a front carriage position, and a leg rest assembly at a retracted position; 
         FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 6 , illustrating the back frame at a tilted position, the carriage at the front carriage position, and the leg rest assembly at the retracted position; 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 6 , illustrating the back frame at the tilted position, the carriage at a rear carriage position, and the leg rest assembly at an extended position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the preferred embodiment of a reclining chair according to the present invention is shown to include an upholstered seat member  20 , an upholstered back frame  6 , an upholstered leg rest assembly  7 , and a pair of upholstered armrest frames  8 . In the present invention, the back frame  6  is movable between an upright position shown in  FIG. 3  and a tilted position shown in  FIG. 4 , and the leg rest assembly  7  is movable between a retracted position shown in  FIG. 3  and an extended position shown in  FIG. 4  without the need for operating a lever mechanism. 
       FIGS. 5 to 8  illustrate the reclining chair of the preferred embodiment with upholstery removed therefrom for illustrative purposes. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 to 8 , the reclining chair of the preferred embodiment is shown to comprise a base frame  2 , a pair of pivot links  23 , the back frame  6 , a carriage  5 , a pair of linkage mechanisms  4 , the leg rest assembly  7 , and the armrest frames  8 . 
     The base frame  2  includes left and right upright frame members  21 , each of which is U-shaped and has an elongate support arm  22  secured on an inner lateral side thereof. 
     Each of the pivot links  23  is disposed adjacent to a rear end of the support arm  22  on a respective one of the upright frame members  21 , and has a lower pivot end  231  connected pivotally to the support arm  22 , and an upper pivot end  232 . 
     The carriage  5  includes a rectangular carriage frame  51 , and has the seat member  20  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ) mounted thereon. 
     The linkage mechanisms  4  couple pivotally a lower end of the back frame  6  to a rear end of the carriage frame  51  and the upper pivot ends  232  of the pivot links  23 , thereby permitting movement of the back frame  6  from an upright position (see  FIG. 6 ) to a tilted position (see  FIG. 7 ) relative to the carriage frame  51  in response to pressure applied on the back frame  6 , and thereby permitting movement of the carriage frame  51  between a front carriage position (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ) and a rear carriage position (see  FIG. 8 ) relative to the base frame  2 . 
     In this embodiment, each of the linkage mechanisms  4  includes first, second and third link members  41 ,  42 ,  43 . The first link member  41  is mounted on a respective lateral side of the lower end of the back frame  6 , and has a first pivot end  411  connected pivotally to the rear end of a respective lateral side of the carriage frame  51 , and a second pivot end  412  disposed rearwardly and below the first pivot end  411 . The second link member  42  has a rear pivot end  421  connected pivotally to the second pivot end  412  of the first link member  41 , and a front pivot end  422 . The third link member  43  is generally triangular in shape, and has a front end  431  connected pivotally to a respective lateral side of the carriage frame  51 , a rear end  432  connected pivotally to the front pivot end  422  of the second link member  42 , and an intermediate portion  433  between the front and rear ends  431 ,  432  and connected pivotally to the upper pivot end  232  of the respective pivot link  23 . 
     Preferably, each of the linkage mechanisms  4  further includes an extension spring  44  having opposite ends connected to the first and second link members  41 ,  42 , respectively to provide an assist force to assist in movement of the back frame  6  from the tilted position back to the upright position upon removal of the pressure applied on the back frame  6 . 
     In this embodiment, two coupling plates  52  are mounted on the rear end of the carriage  5  at the lateral sides of the carriage frame  51 , respectively. The first pivot end  411  of the first link member  41  of each of the linkage mechanisms  4  is mounted pivotally on a respective one of the coupling plates  52 . A stop projection  53  is formed on each of the coupling plates  52 . The first link member  41  of each of the linkage mechanisms  4  is formed with a stop flange  45  that extends from the first pivot end  411  and that abuts against the stop projection  53  on the respective one of the coupling plates  52  when the back frame  6  is at the tilted position, as best shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . Accordingly, the stop projections  53  and the stop flanges  45  constitute a stop unit that is provided on the linkage mechanisms  4  and the rear end of the carriage  5  for positioning the back frame  6  at the tilted position. 
     The leg rest assembly  7  is connected pivotally to the front end of the carriage frame  51  and to front ends of the support arms  22  on the upright frame members  21  of the base frame  2 . The leg rest assembly  7  is driven by the carriage  5  to move from a retracted position (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ) to an extended position (see  FIG. 8 ) during movement of the carriage  5  from the front carriage position to the rear carriage position. 
     In this embodiment, the leg rest assembly  7  includes a leg rest member  70 , a pair of swing links  71 , and a pair of pantograph linkage devices  72 . Each of the swing links  71  has a front swing end  711  connected pivotally to the front end of the carriage  5  at a respective lateral side of the carriage frame  51 , and a rear swing end  712  connected pivotally to the front end of the support arm  22  on a respective one of the upright frame members  21  of the base frame  2 . Each of the pantograph linkage devices  72  is conventional in construction, and has a front coupling end  721  connected to the leg rest member  70 , and a rear coupling end  722  connected pivotally to the front and rear swing ends  711 ,  712  of the respective swing link  71  and to the front end of the support arm  22  on one of the upright frame members  21  of the base frame  2 . 
     Preferably, a second stop unit is provided on the swing links  71  and the support arms  22  of the upright frame members  21  for positioning the leg rest assembly  7  at the extended position. In this embodiment, the second stop unit includes a pair of stop projections  24 , each of which is formed on the support arm  22  on a respective one of the upright frame members  21 , and a pair of stop flanges  73 , each of which extends from the rear swing end  712  of a respective one of the swing links  71  and abuts against a respective one of the stop projections  24  when the leg rest assembly  7  is at the extended position. 
     Preferably, each of the pantograph linkage devices  72  includes an extension spring  74  for providing an assist force to assist in movement of the leg rest assembly  7  from the extended position back to the retracted position. 
     The armrest frames  8  are mounted respectively on outer lateral sides of the upright frame members  21  of the base frame  2 . 
     In use, when the back of a person seated on the reclining chair applies pressure on the back frame  6 , the first link members  41  of the linkage mechanisms  4  pivot relative to the coupling plates  52  of the carriage  5  about a first pivot axis (A), thereby moving the second link members  42  forwardly and thereby causing the third link members  43  to pivot relative to the pivot links  23  about a second pivot axis (B). Slight upward movement of the rear end of the carriage  5  relative to the base frame  2  occurs at this time due to the pivot connection between the third link members  42  and the carriage frame  51 . The stop flanges  45  on the first link members  41  eventually abut against the stop projections  53  on the coupling plates  52  to thereby position the back frame  6  at the tilted position relative to the carriage  5 , as best shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Thereafter, when it is desired to extend the leg rest assembly  7 , the person on the reclining chair grips the armrest frames  8  while remaining seated on the seat member  20  and while maintaining pressure on the back frame  6 , and uses his lower body portion to apply an external force for moving the carriage  5  rearward from the front carriage position to the rear carriage position. At this time, the carriage  5  drives the swing links  71  to pivot about a third pivot axis (C) for actuating the pantograph linkage devices  72  so as to move the leg rest assembly  7  from the retracted position to the extended position, as best shown in  FIG. 8 . Moreover, because the back frame  6  is positioned at the tilted position by the first stop unit, movement of the carriage  5  to the rear carriage position simultaneously results in rearward pivoting movement of the back frame  6 , the linkage mechanisms  4 , the carriage  5  and the pivot links  23  about a fourth pivot axis (D) relative to upright frame members  21  of the base frame  2 . The stop flanges  73  on the swing links  71  eventually abut against the stop projections  24  on the support arms  22  of the upright frame members  21  to thereby position the leg rest assembly  7  at the extended position, as best shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     To restore the reclining chair to the state shown in  FIG. 6 , the person seated on the reclining chair uses his legs to apply pressure on the leg rest member  70  in order to force the leg rest assembly  7  to move to the retracted position. As the leg rest assembly  7  moves to the retracted position, the carriage  5  is pulled by the swing links  71  to move to the front carriage position, and the back frame  6 , the linkage mechanisms  4 , the carriage  5  and the pivot links  23  pivot forwardly about the fourth pivot axis (D). Thereafter, the back frame  6  can be restored to the upright position with the assistance of the extension springs  44  when the pressure applied on the back frame  6  is removed. 
     It has thus been shown that a lever mechanism is not required for tilting the back frame  6  and for extending the leg rest assembly  7  in the reclining chair of the present invention. The aforesaid problems associated with the use of the lever mechanism in the conventional reclining chair are accordingly solved. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.