Description

PELVIS PROTECTION CHAIR

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to a pelvis protection chair and, more particularly, to a pelvis protection chair which improves hinge coupling structures between seats and a seat support plate, thus enabling easy assembly, and allowing a user to adjust the rotating angle of each seat as desired. Background Art

[2] Generally, a chair includes one seat and one back mounted to a base plate serving as a seat support plate, two armrests provided on both sides of the base plate, and one stand (leg) attached to the lower portion of the base plate. Such a chair may be manufactured to have a variety of constructions and shapes.

[3] However, for a user's convenience and the promotion of health, various chair structures have been developed. Recently, there has been proposed a chair which has on both sides thereof two separate backs and two separate seats.

[4] Further, in order to impart to a user a comfortable feeling, a cushion is additionally provided on the chair. Particularly, the pelvis protection chair according to Korea patent No. 10-0654918 which is to be contrasted with the present invention is constructed so that two seats are provided on both sides of a base plate and are movable at centers thereof in a vertical direction.

[5] According to the cited invention, base hinges are welded to the base plate which is formed through pressing using a metal material. Seat supports each having on a lower portion thereof a support hinge which is provided with a fastening hole and a stopper are fastened to the corresponding base hinges via hinge pins (e.g. locking clip pin for preventing removal). A spring coupling part is provided on the lower portion of each seat support, so that a plate spring is coupled to the spring coupling part, thus providing cushioning force towards the central portion. Further, the seats are placed on and fastened to the seat supports using screws.

[6] The chair according to the cited invention is assembled as follows because of the assembly space. First, in the state where the seats are coupled to the seat supports, the seat supports are fastened to the corresponding base hinges. At this time, the plate spring for providing cushioning force must be evenly provided under each seat support. Thus, in the state where the plate spring is compressed, each base hinge is aligned with the fastening hole of the corresponding support hinge, and the hinge pin is inserted into the fastening hole.

[7] The cited invention has several problems. First, the seat supports which are formed

by pressing a steel sheet made of a metal material and support the seats are separately manufactured, so that manufacturing costs are increased, and the alignment of the base hinges detachably coupled to the seat supports during welding is not easy, and especially, it is not easy to fasten the seats and the seat supports to the base hinges.

[8] Further, after the use of the chair, the coupling between the components may be loosened, thus causing a creaking noise resulting from the contact between the components. Also, when the plate springs have been used for a lengthy period of time, the elastic force of the plate springs is reduced. Thus, when the plate springs are replaced with new ones, the seat supports must be also detached. As such, the maintenance of the chair is complicated.

[9] Further, the chair of the cited invention is problematic in that it never considers the width and height of armrests in relation to the body size of a user. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[10] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pelvis protection chair, which allows a seat support plate and seats to be rapidly and easily assembled with each other. Technical Solution

[11] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a pelvis protection chair, having a seat support plate secured to an upper portion of a stand, a seat hinged to each of both sides of the seat support plate, and a spring installed between the seat support plate and the seat to provide cushioning force to the seat. The pelvis protection chair includes first and second hinge plates provided on each of front and rear portions on each of opposite sides of the seat support plate. The first hinge plate has a pin seating groove which opens upwards, and the second hinge plate has in a central portion thereof a fastening hole. A hinge pin is provided on an underside of the seat and coupled to the first and second hinge plates. A support bracket is inserted into a through hole formed around the first hinge plate and is placed under the seat support plate to maintain hinge coupling of the first and second hinge plates and the hinge pin. Spring support seats are formed in facing surfaces of the seat support plate and the seat. A stopper is installed between the seat support plate and the seat in such a way that a height of the stopper is adjusted, and designates an angle of the seat rotating around the hinge pin.

Advantageous Effects

[12] According to the present invention, in the state in which springs are seated into spring support seats which are formed in a seat support plate, first and second hinge

plates provided on the seat support plate are primarily coupled to hinge pins provided at corresponding positions on seats through force-fitting, and thereafter are secondarily coupled to support brackets, so that the firm coupling state can be maintained. Thus, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to adjust the springs one by one and to set precise coupling positions for hinge pins and hinge holes, so that the seats and the seat support plate can be rapidly and easily assembled with each other.

[13] Further, the present invention is advantageous in that height adjustable stoppers are fastened between the seat support plate and the seats through a screw-type fastening method, thus allowing a user to easily adjust the rotating angles of the seats as desired. Brief Description of the Drawings

[14] FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a pelvis protection chair according to the present invention,

[15] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the important parts of the pelvis protection chair according to the present invention,

[16] FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a hinge coupling structure between a seat and a seat support plate according to the present invention, and

[17] FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the coupling state of an armrest according to the present invention.

[18] <Description of reference characters of important parts>

[19] 10: seat support plate 11: hinge plate

[20] 12: through hole 13: spring support seat

[21] 17: armrest mounting part 20: seat

[22] 21: hinge pin 22: spring support seat

[23] 30: coil spring 40: stopper

[24] 50: support bracket 60: spring support plate

[25] 70: armrest 71 : lower fastening plate

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[26] The pelvis protection chair according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[27] FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating the pelvis protection chair according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the important parts of the pelvis protection chair according to the present invention.

[28] As shown in the drawings, the present invention is characterized in that the hinge parts between a seat support plate and seats can be rapidly and easily coupled to each other, and the rotating angle of each seat can be adjusted as desired. Further, the seat support plate 10 and the seats 20 are manufactured not by pressing but by injection molding, thus affording mass production, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[29] The detailed description of the construction of a stand 80 and a back 90 which are mounted to the seat support plate will be omitted herein.

[30] The pelvis protection chair according to the present invention includes the seat support plate 10 and the seats 20. The chair also includes coil springs 30 which provide a cushioning effect to the seats using elastic force. Stoppers 40 function to adjust the rotating angles of the seats. Support brackets 50 function to maintain the hinged coupling state between the seat support plate 10 and the seats 20. Spring support plates 60 are provided to prevent the removal of the coil springs. Armrests 70 are mounted to both sides of the seat support plate in such a way that the width and height of each armrest can be simultaneously adjusted.

[31] The seat support plate 10 is manufactured using a synthetic resin material and injection molding to have the shape of a rectangular plate. Thus, the conventional hinge parts which have been manufactured through welding can be easily manufactured using automation.

[32] Two pairs of hinge plates 11 and 11-1 are integrally provided on four corners on the seat support plate 10 in a symmetric arrangement, when seen from the front.

[33] The first and second hinge plates 11 and 11-1 are two plates which are erected vertically on the seat support plate 10 in such a way as to be arranged side by side and spaced apart from each other. A pin seating groove 1 Ia is formed in the first hinge plate 11 in such a way as to open upwards, so that an associated hinge pin 21 integrally provided on each seat is seated into the pin seating groove. A fastening hole 1 Ib is formed in the central portion of the second hinge plate 11-1.

[34] Further, a through hole 12 is formed in the seat support plate 10 to be adjacent to each first hinge plate. The support bracket 50 having a fastening hole 1 Ic is inserted into the lower portion of the through hole 12. During the insertion of the support bracket, the fastening hole 1 Ic is placed to be parallel to the pin seating groove 1 Ia of the first hinge plate 11 and the fastening hole 1 Ib of the second hinge plate 11-1.

[35] Spring support seats 13 are formed on the seat support plate 10 in such a way as to be positioned inside the first and second hinge plates 11 and 11-1. The coil springs 30 are seated into the corresponding spring support seats 13.

[36] The hinge pins 21 and spring supports seats 22 are integrally provided on the underside of each seat 20 in such a way as to correspond to the first and second hinge plates 11 and the spring support seats 13.

[37] Here, each seat 20 is formed through injection molding using a synthetic resin material, similarly to the seat support plate 10. Further, a cushioning member is added to the upper surface of each seat 20 to form a cushioning layer.

[38] Each hinge pin 21 is integrally formed on a plate which is provided vertically on the underside of each seat 20 such that one portion of the hinge pin is long and the other

portion is short. When each hinge pin is fastened to the corresponding hinge plate 11 of the seat support plate, the longer portion is seated in the pin seating groove 11a.

[39] When the seats 20 are coupled to the seat support plate 10, stoppers 40 are provided on the seat support plate 10 in such a way as to be positioned between the first and second hinge plates 11 and 11-1 and the corresponding spring support seats 13, and function to adjust the rotating angles of the seats which are rotated by hinge parts.

[40] The upward protruding height of each stopper 40 is changed by tightening a screw, and the upper surface of the stopper supports the underside of the corresponding seat, thus preventing one side of each seat from rotating downwards according to the height of the stopper.

[41] Meanwhile, the coil springs 30 are provided in the corresponding spring support seats 13 to provide a cushioning effect to the seats. When each seat is lifted, the coil springs 30 may be dislodged from the seat support plate. In order to solve the problem, each spring support plate 60 is provided in one end of the corresponding spring support seat 13. The spring support plate 60 comprises a thin plate. One end of the spring support plate is fastened to the seat support plate 10 via a screw, and the other end is inserted into the lower end of the corresponding coil spring 30 to support the coil spring, thus preventing the coil spring 30 from moving upwards and being dislodged.

[42] Armrest mounting parts 17 are integrally provided in the seat support plate 10 through injection molding.

[43] The central portion of each side of the seat support plate 10 is cut to form a U-shaped recess, thus providing each armrest mounting part 17. Opposite ends 17a are provided on the front and rear portions of the recess, with a plurality of coupling holes 17b formed in each end side by side at regular intervals.

[44] Each armrest 70 is mounted to the corresponding armrest mounting part 17. The lower fastening plate 71 of the armrest 70 is formed to have the same area as that of the recess. Coupling holes 71a are formed in both ends of the lower fastening plate to face the coupling holes 17b of each armrest mounting part 17, so that each armrest is fastened to the corresponding armrest mounting part by inserting bolts into the aligned coupling holes. Here, each armrest may be sufficiently firmly coupled to the corresponding armrest mounting part by tightening two bolts into each end.

[45] The front and back ends 17a of the recess of each armrest mounting part 17 and the corresponding armrest lower fastening plate 71 may be inclined such that the outer portions thereof are high.

[46] Thus, according to a user's bodily shape, it is possible to move the armrests 70 outwards. As the distance of each armrest 70 from the body is increased, the height of the armrest 70 is increased. In this way, each armrest 70 can be adjusted to be suitable for the user's bodily shape, thus imparting to the user a comfortable feeling.

[47] The present invention constructed as described above allows the coil springs, providing a cushioning effect to the seats, to be simply replaced with new ones in the state only each seat is rotated to one side, so that maintenance is easy. Further, the present invention is advantageous in that the hinge pins are integrally formed on the underside of each seat, so that the seats can be directly coupled to the seat support plate, and thereby the assembly process is simple and convenient.

[48] Hereinafter, the assembly and use of the pelvis protection chair according to the present invention will be described.

[49] First, the coil springs 30 are seated in the spring support seats 13 on the seat support plate 10 and are supported by the spring support plates 60. The height adjustable stoppers 40 are provided around the coil springs 30 to limit the rotation of the seats.

[50] Next, the facing seats 20 are hinged to both sides of the seat support plate 10.

[51] At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the plate which is integrally secured to the underside of each seat 20 and has the hinge pin 21 such that its longer portion is provided on one side of the plate and its shorter portion is provided on the other side is positioned between the seat support plate(l 1). The longer portion of the hinge pin is inserted into the upper opening of the corresponding pin seating groove 11a. Simultaneously, the shorter portion is pushed into the corresponding fastening hole 1 Ib.

[52] Thereby, the seat plate 10 and the seats 20 are coupled to each other using a hinge structure. In order to maintain the hinge structure, each support bracket 50 is inserted into the lower portion of the corresponding through hole 12 formed around the pin seating groove 11a. The remaining part of the longer portion of the hinge pin 21 is inserted into the fastening hole 1 Ic of the corresponding support bracket 50, which is thereafter fastened to the seat support plate 10 with a screw.

[53] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the width between the armrests 70 is adjusted to be fit for a user's body size, and the lower fastening plate 71 of each armrest is fastened to the corresponding armrest mounting part in a screw-type fastening method.

[54] Thereafter, the general components of the chair, that is, a locking part 81 of the stand

80 and the back 90 are additionally mounted to the seat support plate, so that the assembly of the chair is completed.

[55]