ARM REST ARRANGEMENT

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to seating and in particular, to seating arranged in rows such as cinema seating, auditorium seating and stadium seating. Normally such seating is provided with a seat and a backrest.

Background Art

Traditionally, Ln order to increase the seating capacity the distance between adjacent rows in reduced to a minimum. In practice, in order to ensure a sufficient aisle width to allow for safe evacuation in the event of an emergency, such as a fire, this means that the seats must be pivoted between a substantially horizontal use position and a substantially vertical standby position. The seats are normally automatically raised into the standby position by a spring mechanism or the like to improve ingress and egress along the aisles formed between adjacent rows.

The comfort, and hence the length of time during which sitting persons are attentive, of such seating is able to be considerably increased by the provision of arm rests.

Arm rests preferably should not protrude into the aisle space and for this reason in relation to such seating the conventional arm rest pivots in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis and can thus be swung away into a space between adjacent backseats.

Genesis of the Invention The genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide an alternative arm rest arrangement for such seating.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a pivoted arm rest for seating arranged in rows, said arm rest having a generally L-shaped configuration with a substantially horizontal portion and a substantially vertical portion, wherein said substantially vertical portion is rotatable about a vertical axis

whereby said substantially horizontal portion pivots in a substantially horizontal plane.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of pivoting an arm rest of a seating arrangement having a seat and a backrest, between a deployed position and a stowed position, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) forming said arm rest in a generally L-shaped configuration with a substantially vertical portion and a substantially horizontal portion, and (ii) making said substantially vertical portion rotatable about a substantially vertical axis "whereby said substantially horizontal portion pivots in a substantially horizontal plane between a stowed position in which said horizontal portion lies alongside said backrest and a deployed position in which said substantially horizontal portion extends away from said backrest.

Preferably the armrest arrangement comprises right and left armrests which in the deployed position have upper ends which are substantially parallel and pivot towards each other into said stowed position.

Alternatively the armrest arrangement comprises of a single armrest for each chair or seat of a row of chairs, whereby a person sitting on one chair is able to utilize the armrests on two adjacent chairs.

Furthermore, it is also desirable to provide a cup holder in armrests so that cups of beverages, popcorn, chips, and the like can be retained in the cup holder. Naturally a conventional pivotable armrest with a cup holder can result in spillages which occur both unintentionally and intentionally, as the arm rest is pivoted in a vertical plane between a horizontal deployed position and a vertical and raised standby or storage position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an armrest arrangement for a chair having a seat and a backrest, said armrest arrangement comprising an armrest of generally L-shaped configuration having a lower end

pivotable about a generally vertical axis and an upper end which is generally horizontal and includes a cup holder, said armrest being pivotable about said vertical axis between a deployed position in which said upper end is substantially horizontal and extends away from said backrest, and a stowed position in which said upper end is substantially horizontal and lies alongside and adjacent to said backrest, whereby said cup holder is not tilted as the arm rest is pivoted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of moving an armrest including a cup holder between stowed and deployed positions, said method comprising the step of:

(i) pivoting said armrest about a vertical axis so that in the stowed position the arm supporting surface of said armrest is adjacent the backrest of the chair on which the armrest is mounted, whereby said cup holder is not tilted as the arm rest pivots.

Still further, writing tablets have long been used in auditoria, lecture halls, and the like fora to provide a means whereby students or other persons present in the body of the building can take notes or can support a laptop computer, or similar. Such writing tablets are generally rectangular and are pivoted so as to be movable between a horizontal use position and a fold away position in which the writing tablet is not used. It is an important requirement that the fold away position of the writing tablet not obstruct ingress or egress along the aisle formed by a row of seats each having one of the writing tablets.

It is desirable to provide a writing tablet and its supporting arm which is particularly suitable for lecture room halls having seating with a backrest and a seat, where the seat is able to be raised from a generally horizontal use position into a generally vertical storage position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a tablet arm adapted to be mounted adjacent a chair having a seat movable between a substantially vertical Taised position and a substantially horizontal use position, said tablet arm being of generally-L-shaped configuration and having a lower, substantially vertical, end which is adapted to be mounted adjacent said chair, said lower end being adapted

to pivot about a substantially vertical axis, and an upper substantially horizontal end which carries a substantially planar writing tablet, said tablet being mounted on said upper end for rotation about two substantially perpendicular axes of rotation, a first axis of rotation which is substantially perpendicular to said upper end and which permits said tablet to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to said L-shaped arm between a lowered substantially vertical storage position and an elevated substantially vertical intermediate position, and a second axis of rotation which is substantially aligned with said upper end and which permits said tablet to rotate from said elevated substantially vertical intermediate position into a substantially horizontal use position, whereby said tablet in said storage position can be rotated about said lower end to place said L-shaped arm and said tablet in front of, and adjacent to, said seat in said raised position and thereby not impede movement for ingress or egress along an aisle formed by a row of said chairs.

According to sixth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of moving a writing tablet mounted on a tablet arm from a foldaway position to a use position, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) moving the said tablet arm. about a vertical axis to move said tablet in a lowered substantially vertical storage position from in front of a raised seat of a chair adjacent said tablet arm to a position alongside said seat,

(ii) moving said tablet in a substantially vertical plane from said lowered storage position to an elevated substantially vertical intermediate position, and (iii) rotating said tablet about a substantially horizontal axis from said elevated intermediate position into a substantially horizontal use position.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Several embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying ^" drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a chair with two armrests, with the seat of the chair raised and the armrest in the stowed position,

Fig. 2 is a front view of the chair of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the chair of Fig. I,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the chair of Fig. 1 showing the armrests moving into the deployed position,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the chair with deployed armrests,

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a stepped floor auditorium having rows of chairs, each being as illustrated in Figs. 1-5,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of two chairs in a row provided with armrests of a second embodiment,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an arm rest provide with either an end cap, a cup holder or a writing tablet, Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a chair and tablet arm, with the seat of the chair raised and the tablet arm in the fold away position,

Fig, 10 is a front view of the chair and tablet arm of FLg. 9,

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the chair and tablet arm of Fig. 9,

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the chair and tablet arm of Fig. 9 showing the tablet arm pivoted away from the fold away position,

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the two subsequent movements of the tablet,

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing the final movement of the tablet,

Fig. 15 is apian view showing the final movement of the tablet, Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing the tablet Ln the use position,

Fig. 17 is a plan view showing the tablet used by a right handed person to write,

Fig. 18 is apian view showing the tablet in use during typing on a laptop computer, Fig. 19 is a plan view showing the tablet used by a left handed person to write,

Fig. 20 is a plan view of a row of chairs incorporating an amalgam of Fig. 9-

Fig. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the lower end of the generally L- shaped arm, and Fig. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the tablet pivot.

Detailed Description

As seen Figs.1-3, a chair 10 is mounted on a spine 11 which is supported by one or more upstands 12. The chair 10 is only one of a row of similar chairs (not illustrated).

The chair 10 has a backrest 14 and a seat 15. The seat 15 is able to be pivoted between a raised storage position illustrated in Fig. 1 and a horizontal use position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 4 and in solid lines in Fig. 5. Positioned in front of the chair 10 in a stowed position is a pair of generally L-shaped armrests 21. Each L- shaped armrest 21 has an upper end 22 and a lower end 23. The lower end 23 is supported by a mounting block 24 which is secured to the spine 11 immediately adj acent to the chair 10.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the stowed position illustrated in Figs. 1-3, the armrest 21 is closely adjacent the raised seat 15 and thus does not obstruct the aisle which constitutes the space immediately hi front of the chairs 10.

Turning now to Fig. 4, the first step in moving the armrests into their deployed positions, is to swing each armrest 21 in the direction indicated by the corresponding arrow 1 into the position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 4. This is accomplished by each arm 21 pivoting at its lower end 23 about a vertical axis which extends through the mounting block 24. Once both, armrests 21 have been pivoted into the positions illustrated in phantom in Fig. 4, the seat 15 can be pivoted downwardly into its use position as indicated by arrow 2 in Fig.4 and illustrated in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 6 rows of the chairs 10 can be seen with two users being illustrated, one standing in an aisle and the other sitting on a chaii 10. At the conclusion of the lecture, film, performance, or the like, in order to place the armrests 21 into the stowed position illustrated in Figs. 1-3, the above-mentioned sequence of movements is reversed.

It will also be appreciated from Figs. 3 and 6 that when the armrests 21 are all in the stowed configuration illustrated in Fig. 3, the entire row of Fig. 6 is clear for the purposes of ingress and egress as illustrated by the standing person in Fig. 6.

Turning now to Ftg. 7, a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Here the armrest 121 is provided with a cup holder 140 which enables a cup to be retained adjacent to the chairs 10 for the benefit of patrons. Typically food vendors sell beverages, chips (or French files as they are known in the USA), popcorn, and the like in such cups.

The chair 10 on the left of Fig. 7 shows in solid lines the seat 15 raised and the armrest 121 Ln the stowed position, whilst illustrated in phantom are the seat 15 in the lowered use position and the armrest 121 in the deployed position.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the armrest 121 can be moved between the stowed and deployed positions, and vice versa, without tilting the cup holder 140. Thus spills both unintentional and intentional are avoided.

Turning now to Fig. 8, three different possible versions of the arm rest are illustrated. These are the arm rest 21 having an end cap 25, and arm rest 21 have a cup holder 140, and the arm rest 21 having a writing tablet 20.

As seen Figs.9-11, a chair 10 is mounted on a spine 11 which is supported by one or more upstands 12. The chair 10 is only one of a row of similar chairs (not illustrated).

The chair 10 has a backrest 14 and a seat 15. The seat 15 is able to be pivoted between a raised storage position illustrated in Fig. 9 and a horizontal use position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 4 and in solid lines in Fig. 13. Positioned in front of the chair 10 in a fold away position is ataolet 20 and a generally L-shaped arm 21 which supports the tablet 20. The L-shaped arm 21 has an upper end 22 seen in Fig. 3 and a lower end 23 seen in Fig. 9. The lower end 23 is supported by a mounting block 24 which is secured to the spine 11 immediately adjacent to the chair 10.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the fold away position illustrated in Figs. 9-11, the tablet 20 and its arm 21 are closely adjacent the raised seat 15 and thus do not obstruct the aisle which constitutes the space immediately in front of the chairs 10.

Turning now to Fig, 12, the first step in moving the tablet 20 into its horizontal use position, is to swing the tablet 20 and arm 21 in the direction indicated by arrow 1 into the position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 12. This is accomplished by 1he arm 21 pivoting at its lower end 23 about a vertical axis which extends through the mounting block 24. Qrice the tablet 20 and arm 21 have been pivoted into the position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 12, the seat 15 can be pivoted downwardly into its use position as indicated by arrow 2.

Next, as indicated in Fig. 13, the tablet 20 is pivoted about a horizontal axis passing through the upper end 22 as indicated by arrow 3 so that the tablet 20 is moved from a lowered, vertical storage position to an elevated vertical intermediate position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 13. Then, as indicated by arrow 4, the tablet 20 is pivoted about a horizontal axis aligned with the upper end 22 so as to place the tablet

20 into the horizontal use position illustrated in phantom in Fig. 13 and in solid lines in Fig, 14.

The final adjustment is to, if necessary, move the tablet 20 in a horizontal plane so as to adjust the distance between the inner edge 26 of the tablet 20 and the backrest 14. This caters for different users having different waist dimensions and for left and right handed users. This final adjustment is illustrated in both Figs. 14 and 15 and is accomplished by the lower end 23 of the arm 21 pivoting about a vertical axis relative to the mounting block 24.

As seen Fig. 16, a laptop computer 29 is able to be positioned on the tablet 20 and this final adjustment is very desirable if the user is to feel comfortable in having the computer 29 correctly spaced relative to the position of the backrest 14. This allows a comfortable typing stance to be achieved.

Furthexmore, as seen in Fig. 17, a right handed person writing on paper supported by the tablet 20, will pivot the arm 21 about its vertical axis only to a small degree. This locates the paper correctly relative to the right hand and arm of the user.

As seen in Fig. 18, if a laptop computer 29 is used, then the arm 21 is pivoted further so that the keyboard is accurately positioned relative to both arms.

However, if a left handed person wishes to write by hand on a paper supported by the tablet 20, then the tablet is pivoted still further into the position illustrated in Fig. 19. This locates the paper correctly relative to the left hand and arm of the user.

In Fig. 20 a row of three of the chairs 10 is illustrated with the users of Fig 17-20 illustrated 3ittirig on adjacent chairs. The different left to right and front to rear, positions αf the tablet 20 are clearly visible.

At the conclusion of the lecture, in order to place the tablet 20 into the fold away position illustrated in Figs. 9-11, the above-mentioned sequence of movements is reversed.

It will also be appreciated from Figs. 11 and 20 that when the tablets 20 are all in the configuration illustrated in Fig. 11, the entire row of Fig. 20 is clear for the purposes of ingress and egress.

Turning now to Fig. 21, the mounting block 24 is provided with a rectangular recess 31 which receives the spine 11. The spine 11 is clamped to the mounting block 24 by means of a plate 32 and two fasteners 33. A stub axle 35 extends from the lower end of the arm 21 and passes through a sleeve 36, helical spring 37, and washers 38 and is secured by means of a cotter pin 39. A limit block 40 receives a pivot fitting 44 having a pair of tapered tongues 45 (only one of which is visible in Fig. 21). The tongues 45 in conjunction with the limit block 40 limits the degree of rotation of the arm 21 about the vertical axis formed by the stub axle 35.

In addition, as also seen in Fig.21, the upper end 22 of the arm 21 is provided with a stub axle 50 which receives a sleeve 51 which is retained within a collar 52 by means of a stop drum 53. The stop drum 53 limits the arc of rotation of the tablet 20 about the stub axle 50.

Similarly, as seen in Fig. 22, the tablet 20 is provided with a finger grip 42 to facilitate the movement of the tablet 20 in the direction of arrow 3 as seen in Fig. 13, In addition, the knuckle 55 mounted at the extremity of the upper end 22 of the arm 21 receives a tablet axle 56. Thus the tablet 20 is able to rotate- about the tablet axle 56 as well as the stub axle 50.

Furthermore, the lower end of the tablet axle 56 is received in a quasi -hemispherical cam bush 57 which is fixed relative to the tablet 20 by means of a pin 58. Thus the cam bush 57 rotates with the tablet 20. In addition, a plunger 59 is urged by a spring 60 (retained on the plunger 59) to the right as seen in Fig. 22. The right hand end of the plunger 59 pushes through the knuckle 55 and bears against the quasi- hemispherical underside of the cam bush 57. The left hand end of the plunger 59 pushes through an apertured plate 61 to lock the knuckle 55 to prevent its rotation about the stub axle 50.

As a consequence of the above arrangement, the knuckle 55 is unable to pivot about the stub axle 50 unless the tablet 20 is rotated into the elevated vertical intermediate position illustrated in Fig. 11 in broken lines as the culmination of movement in the direction of arrow 3 in Fig. 13. This interlock arrangement prevents possible damage to the tablet 20 and arm 21 during use.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the furniture arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, since each chair 10 has two armrests 21, these preferably pivot towards each other in order to be positioned in the stowed or fold away position. However, if desired, only one armchair 21 per chair 10 can be provided. Thus each person sitting in a chair can utilize, say, the right armrest of their chair and the right armrest of the chair immediately to the left. Under these circumstances only the end chair of the row has two armrests. Furthermore, the single armrests can pivot in. either direction but will normally all pivot in the same direction.

Similarly, an interlock mechanism in the form of a cam which is movable by the seat 15 and operates to rotate the armrest axle, can be used to enable a user to move only the seat 15 in the direction, of arϊow 2 of Fig 12 and thereby simultaneously pivot the . artnrest(s) 21. Further, the arm 21 can accommodate power and communications cords and outlets. Also the vertical portion 23 can be higher than the end 22, rather than Lower as illustrated. That is, the orientation of the L-shape arm rest 21 is inverted.

The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of.