Patent Abstract:
A chair including a frame, a seat pivotally mounted on the frame, a spring construction effectively positioned between the seat and the frame, a first selectively actuatable latch positioned between the seat and the frame effective to maintain the seat latched in a less inclined position on the frame, a second selectively actuatable latch positioned between the seat and the frame effective to maintain the seat latched in a more inclined position on the frame against the bias of the spring construction, a foot rest pivotally mounted on the frame and movable between retracted and extended positions, and a cable secured to the foot rest for selectively retracting the foot rest to the retracted position.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not Applicable  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a chair which is primarily designed for use by nursing home patients who can enter and leave the chair in a normal manner and who also will be retained in the chair in a seated position without restraints.  
           [0004]    Insofar as known, in the past nursing home patients were restrained in chairs by means of various types of tying arrangements. This was found unsatisfactory for a number of reasons which included the necessity to tie and untie the patient, and, in addition, the patient could sometimes be tangled in the ties and be injured. It is with overcoming the foregoing deficiencies of the prior art that the present chair is concerned.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is one object of the present invention to provide a chair which is to be used in facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes wherein the patient can enter and leave the chair when the seat and back are latched in a less inclined position and after the patient has been seated, the seat and back can be unlatched from the latched position whereby the center of gravity of the patient will cause the seat and back to pivot to a more inclined position against the bias of springs and then be automatically latched in the more inclined position from which a patient cannot leave the chair, notwithstanding that he is not restrained by ties.  
           [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a chair as described in the immediately preceding paragraph which is mounted on wheels and the back portion of the chair frame is constructed so that an attendant can push the chair, as is required, to various locations with the patient therein.  
           [0007]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a chair as described above wherein the seat and back can be unlatched from the more inclined position so that when the patient leans forward to shift his center of gravity, the seat and back will return to a less inclined position with the aid of the springs and will be latched in said less inclined position so that the patient can leave the chair as he would from a normal type chair.  
           [0008]    A still further object of the present invention is to provide a chair as described in the immediately preceding paragraph which also has a foot rest which can be extended from a remote position and can also be retracted from a remote position. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.  
           [0009]    The present invention relates to a chair comprising a frame, a seat, a front portion on said seat pivotally mounted on said frame, a rear portion on said seat, a back mounted relative to said rear portion of said seat, a spring construction effectively positioned between said seat and said frame, a first selectively actuatable latch positioned between said seat and said frame effective to maintain said seat latched in a less inclined position on said frame, and a second selectively actuatable latch positioned between said seat and said frame effective to maintain said seat latched in a more inclined position on said frame against the bias of said spring construction.  
           [0010]    The chair of the present invention as set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph also includes a foot rest pivotally mounted on said frame and movable between retracted and extended positions, and a cable secured to said foot rest for selectively retracting said foot rest to said retracted position.  
           [0011]    The various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the chair of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the left side of the chair;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the chair;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the chair;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a top view of the chair taken substantially in the direction of arrows  5 - 5  of FIG. 2;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the chair taken substantially in the direction of arrows  6 - 6  of FIG. 2;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 3 and showing the chair with its seat and its back in a less inclined position;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the seat and the back in a more inclined position;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8A is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the spring unit taken substantially along line  8 A- 8 A of FIG. 8;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view taken substantially in the direction of arrows  9 - 9  of FIG. 7;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 10 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along line  10 - 10  of FIG. 9;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 9 but taken substantially in the direction of arrows  11 - 11  of FIG. 8;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 11A is a fragmentary enlarged view of the slam latch of FIG. 11 in an open position;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 11B is a fragmentary view of the slam latch of FIG. 11 in a closed position;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross sectional view similar to FIG. 10 but taken substantially along line  12 - 12  of FIG. 11;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along line  13 - 13  of FIG. 6 and showing the foot rest in a retracted position;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 but showing the foot rest in an extended position;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIGS. 13 and 14 but showing the foot rest and its linkage in an intermediate position as it is being retracted to its retracted position;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 16 is a fragmentary partially broken away side elevational view taken in the direction of arrows  16 - 16  of FIG. 16 showing the foot rest in a retracted position;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 17 is a fragmentary partially broken away view of the linkage shown in FIG. 16 with the foot rest in an extended position;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 18 is a fragmentary partially broken away view of the linkage of FIGS. 16 and 17 with the foot rest in an intermediate position;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 19 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along line  19 - 19  of FIG. 17;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 19A is a fragmentary perspective view of the guide for the cable which retracts the foot rest;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 20 is a front elevational view of the lever attached to a cable for unlatching the seat from its less inclined position;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line  21 - 21  of FIG. 20 and showing the lever in a dormant position;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 21 but showing the lever in an actuating position;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 23 is a front elevational view of the lever attached to a cable for unlatching the seat from its more inclined position and also showing a blocking structure for blocking the actuation of the lever with the last-mentioned structure being in an unblocking position; and  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 24 is a view similar to FIG. 23 but showing the blocking structure in a blocking position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0040]    Summarizing briefly in advance, because of the structure which is to be described hereafter, a patient can enter the chair  10  of the present invention wherein the seat and back are positively latched in a less inclined position and wherein the seat and back can be unlatched from their less inclined positions whereby the center of gravity of the patient in the chair will cause it to tilt rearwardly to a more inclined position against the bias of springs and then be automatically latched in the more inclined position from which a patient cannot leave the chair. When it is desired to have the patient leave the chair, the seat and back are unlatched from the more inclined position and the patient, by merely tilting forward, will shift his center of gravity so that the seat and back return to their less inclined positions and are automatically latched therein so that the patient can leave the chair.  
         [0041]    The spring biased tiltable chair  10  of the present invention includes a frame  11  having sides  12  and  13  which are mirror images of each other. Side  12  includes vertical members  14  and  15  which are connected across their tops by member  17  and across their midpoints by member  19  and across their lower ends by member  20 . The connections are by screws (not shown). Side  13  consists of parts which are designated by primed numerals and such primed numerals represent the mirror image counterparts of the parts of side  12  which are represented by unprimed numerals. Therefore the parts represented by primed numerals will not be described in detail.  
         [0042]    Cross member  21  (FIG. 6) is secured as by screws between frame members  20  and  20 ′ of sides  12  and  13 , respectively. Another cross member  22  (FIGS. 6, 7 and  8 ) extends between frame members  14  and  14 ′ and is suitably secured thereto by screws. Mirror image arms  23  and  23 ′ have their lower ends secured by nuts and bolts to frame members  15  and  15 ′, respectively. A cross member  24  has its opposite ends secured to the central portions of arms  23  and  23 ′ by screws. A cross member  25  had its opposite ends secured to the upper portions of arms  23  and  23 ′ by screws. Blocks  27  and  27 ′ are secured to the lower portions of frame members  15  and  15 ′, respectively, by screws, and wheels  29  and  29 ′ are suitably mounted on blocks  27  and  27 ′, respectively. Blocks  30  and  30 ′ are mounted on the lower portions of frame members  15  and  15 ′, respectively, and pivotable wheels  31  and  31 ′ are mounted on blocks  30  and  30 ′, respectively. Blocks  27 ,  27 ′,  30  and  30 ′ are adjustably mounted on the frame so that the elevation of the seat can be adjusted by aligning different sets of holes between the blocks and the frame and passing bolts therethrough. In this respect, three bolts  36  mount each of blocks  27 ,  27 ′,  30  and  30 ′ on the frame and they selectively extend through at least two of four vertically spaced bolt-receiving holes in the frame members  14 ,  14 ′,  15  and  15 ′. A sheet plastic panel  32  is suitably secured across frame members  17  and  20  in a vertical direction and across frame members  14  and  15  in a horizontal direction. A mirror image counterpart panel  32 ′ extends across frame side  13 . Padded arm rests  33  and  33 ′ extend along the tops of frame members  17  and  17 ′, respectively.  
         [0043]    A combined seat  34  and back  35  is provided for movement in unison from the less inclined position of FIG. 7 to a rearwardly more inclined position of FIG. 8. In this respect, seat  34  includes a board  37  (FIGS. 6, 7 and  8 ) which extends across the entire bottom of the seat. L-shaped brackets  39  include substantially horizontal portions  40  which are bolted to board  37 , and they include substantially vertical portions  41  which are received in and suitably secured to back  35 . Board  37  of seat  34  is suitably secured to leaves  42  of hinges  43 , the leaves  44  (FIGS. 7 and 8) of which are suitably secured to cross member  22 . Thus, the combined seat  34  and back  35  can pivot about the axis of the pins of hinges  43  from the less inclined position of FIG. 7 to the more inclined position of FIG. 8 against the bias of spring units  49 ,  49  which extend between the frame and the combined seat and back. In this respect, two boards  45  (FIGS. 4, 6,  7  and  8 ) are firmly secured to board  37  of seat  34  and they extend rearwardly to a point where the rods  47  (FIG. 8) of spring units  49  are suitably secured thereto. Spring units  49  include outer casings  50  which are secured to frame cross member  24  by bands  51 . Spring units  49  each include a spring  52  (FIG. 8A) which encircles rod  47  and is located between rod head  53  and casing end  54 . Thus, when the combined seat and back unit is moved from the less inclined position of FIG. 7 to the more inclined position of FIG. 8, springs  52  will be stressed, and more specifically compressed, because such movement is against the bias of the springs. Conversely, when the combined seat and back unit moves from the more inclined position of FIG. 8 to the less inclined position of FIG. 7, springs  52  will tend to expand to aid in such movement.  
         [0044]    Structure is provided for latching the combined seat and back unit in either the less inclined position of FIG. 7 or the more inclined position of FIG. 8. This structure is known as a “slam latch” or “rotary latch” structure. In this respect, a cross member  55  (FIGS. 4, 6,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11  and  12 ) has its opposite ends secured by screws to boards  45 . An inverted U-shaped member  57  has its opposite ends bolted to the top of cross member  55  (FIGS. 7, 8,  10  and  11 ). Struts  59  and  59 ′ (FIGS. 4 and 11) have their lower ends secured to frame members  20  and  20 ′, respectively. A cross member  60  has its opposite ends secured to the tops of struts  59  and  59 ′ (FIG. 9). Cross member  60  is positioned at a higher elevation than across member  21  (FIGS. 7 and 8). A slam latch  62  (FIG. 11) includes a frame  61  and a two-position latching member  62  which occupies the unlocked position of FIG. 11A or the locked position of FIG. 11B. The slam latch  62  is a commercially obtainable product sold under the trademark EBERHARD, and the specific model is identified by number 240/241. The slam latch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,439,260, 5,564,295 and 5,884,948 which are incorporated herein by reference. The combination of latch member  57  and slam latch  62  is considered a slam latch structure. Frame  61  is mounted on the underside of cross member  60 . The slam latch  62  includes a forked latch  63  having spaced legs  65  which is pivotally mounted at  64  on slam latch  62 . Thus, inverted U-shaped latch member  57  (FIG. 11) can move up and enter the space between forked legs  65 , and when it does so, forked member  63  will move from the unlatched position of FIG. 11A to the latched position of FIG. 11B. Thus, the combined seat and back will be latched in its less inclined position of FIG. 7 with the seat  34  more horizontal and the back  35  more vertical. This less inclined position of the seat is the position which receives a patient who is being seated, and this is the position when the patient leaves the chair. Since the seat and back are latched in the position of FIG. 7, the patient can lean back in the chair without the seat and back tilting to the position of FIG. 8. Thus, a patient can enter and leave the chair as he would from a conventional chair.  
         [0045]    After a patient has been seated while the combined seat and back are latched in the less inclined position of FIG. 7, it is desired to have the combined seat and back to move to the more inclined position of FIG. 8 from which the patient cannot leave the chair because it is tilted too far rearwardly. This is achieved by unlatching inverted U-shaped latch member  57  from the slam latch  62 . To this end a cable structure is provided. One end of the cable  69  is secured to lever  67  (FIGS. 1, 20,  21  and  22 ) which is accessible to a nursing home attendant, but is relatively inaccessible to a patient who is seated in the chair. Lever  67  is pivotally mounted on its housing  68  and is biased by a spring (not shown) to a dormant or non-actuating position so that after it has been moved to its actuating position of FIG. 22 and released, it will return to its dormant position of FIG. 21. The cable  69  extends along side  32 ′ and below side  32 ′ and is received at slam latch  62  (FIGS. 9 and 10) so that manipulation of lever  67  can release inverted U-shaped member  57  from slam latch  62  so that the latch member  63  will go from the position of FIG. 11B, wherein the seat  34  is latched in the less inclined position, to the position of FIG. 11A wherein the seat  34  is unlatched from its less inclined position. Thus, when a patient is sitting on seat  34  after the latch has been unlatched, his center of gravity is such that the combined seat and back unit will pivot about the pins of hinges  44  and will move from the less inclined position of FIG. 7 to the position of FIG. 8 against the bias of springs  52  in spring units  49 .  
         [0046]    A slam latch  62 ′ (FIGS. 4 and 10) is provided for retaining the combined seat and back unit latched in the more inclined position of FIG. 8 from which an untied patient is tilted sufficiently rearwardly so that he cannot leave the chair. In this respect, a cross member  21  (FIG. 9) has its opposite ends secured to frame members  20  and  20 ′. A slam latch  62 ′ includes a frame  61 ′ which is mounted on cross member  21 . A cross member  71  (FIG. 11) extends across boards  45  and it has its opposite ends secured thereto. An inverted U-shaped latch member  72  (FIG. 10) has its opposite ends secured to cross member  71 . Thus, when the seat moves to the more inclined position of FIG. 8, inverted U-shaped latch member  72  will be received in slam latch  62 ′ which moves from a position which is analogous to the position shown in FIG. 11A to a latched position which is analogous to the position shown in FIG. 11B to thereby positively latch the seat and back in the more inclined position of FIG. 8. The combination of latch member  72  and slam latch  62 ′ is considered a slam latch structure.  
         [0047]    A cable structure is provided to release slam latch  62 ′ so that the combined back and seat can move from the more inclined position of FIG. 8 to the less inclined position of FIG. 7. In this respect, a lever  73  (FIGS. 2, 23 and  24 ) is mounted on frame member  19 , and a cable  74  extends along side  32  and below side  32  and is received by slam latch  62 ′ (FIG. 9). Lever  73  is of the same construction as lever  67  which was described relative to FIGS. 20 and 22. In this respect, it is normally dormant, and after it has been actuated against the bias of a spring and released, it will return to a dormant, non-actuated position. Thus, when lever  73  is actuated, slam latch  62 ′ will open to the position analogous to that shown in FIG. 11A, and as the patient leans forward, his center of gravity will shift so that the combined seat and back will pivot in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8 about the pin of hinges  44 , and this movement is assisted by the expansion of springs  52  in spring units  49 . The counterclockwise movement will continue until U-shaped member  57  engages slam latch  62  whereupon the combined seat and back will again be positively latched in the less inclined position of FIG. 7 from which the patient can leave the chair. A lock arrangement  75  (FIGS. 2, 23 and  24 ) is mounted proximate to lever  73  so that lever  73  can be locked against movement to a position wherein it unlatches latch  62 ′. The lock arrangement includes a pin  76  which can be moved into overlying relationship with lever  73  by manipulating lever  76 ′ so that it cannot be actuated.  
         [0048]    A foot rest structure is also provided. Normally the foot rest  77  is in the retracted position of FIGS. 1, 3,  13  and  16  wherein U-shaped member  79  (FIG. 14) which is secured to the back of foot rest  77  is received in a slam latch  62 ″ (FIG. 19) which is identical to slam latch  62  described above in FIGS. 8, 11,  11 A and  11 B. Latch  62 ″ (FIG. 19) is mounted on cross member  22  on the opposite side thereof from hinge  43 . When U-shaped member  79  (FIG. 14) is engaged with latch  62 ″, springs  80  (FIGS.  13 - 19 ) are extended. Cable  81  (FIG. 1) has one end attached to lever  82  and its opposite end to latch  62 ″. Lever  82  is identical to lever  67  described above relative to FIGS.  20 - 22 . When lever  82  is actuated, latch  62 ″ will open and springs  80  at opposite sides of the foot rest linkage will contract to move the foot rest  77  from the fully retracted position of FIGS. 13 and 16 to the fully extended position of FIGS. 14 and 17. In the fully extended position of FIG. 17, link  83  bears against pin  96  which extends outwardly from link  87 . A corresponding pin extends outwardly from link  87 ′. First ends of springs  80  are secured to links  83  (FIG. 17) and second ends of spring  80  are secured to pins  84  (FIG. 19) which extend outwardly from links  85  which have first ends pivotally mounted on brackets  187  and  187 ′ (FIGS. 14 and 18) which are secured to the underside of cross member  22  (FIG. 14). Links  83  have first ends mounted on brackets  86  (FIGS. 15 and 19) on cross member  22  and the opposite ends thereof are pivotally mounted on links  87  (FIG. 17) which have opposite ends mounted on brackets  89  on the rear side of foot rest  77 . A link  88  extends between bracket  89  and the end of link  85 . A padded bar  181  is secured by brackets (not shown) between links  87 . It will be noted that one side of the foot rest linkage is shown in FIGS.  13 - 15 , and the opposite side is shown in FIGS.  16 - 18 . The links and brackets on the two sides of the foot rest linkage are mirror images of each other. The links and brackets on the side shown in FIGS.  16 - 18  are designated with unprimed numerals and corresponding links and brackets shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and  19  are designated with the same numerals which are primed.  
         [0049]    A cable arrangement is provided to retract foot rest  77  from its fully extended position of FIGS. 14 and 17 to its fully retracted position of FIGS. 13 and 16. In this respect, a cable  90  has one end attached to bar  93  (FIGS. 6, 14 and  18 ) which is secured across spaced links  85 . This cable passes between rollers  94  (FIGS. 19 and 19A) which are located at the lower end of vertical member  95  having its upper end bolted to cross member  22 . Cable  90  thereafter passes underneath cross member  21  (FIG. 6) and across the rear of cross member  60  (FIG. 8) and through loop  91  on the top of cross member  25  and it terminates at handle  92  which is pulled, to thereby return foot rest  77  to its stored position wherein U-member  79  (FIG. 14) is retained in slam latch  62 ″. The above described foot rest linkage is well known commercially, but it has been adapted to the above-described usage wherein it can be retracted to a stored latched condition by a cable arrangement having a handle at the rear of the chair. The foot rest linkage is a product of the Supersagless Division of Leggett and Platt and is known by Model No. 123DLR1961.  
         [0050]    While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, it will be appreciated that it is not limited thereto but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0