Rocking chairs are well known in which a seat is rockably mounted on a non-rocking base via contacting rocking surfaces thereof.

GB 2 332 141 discloses a rocking chair having a reaction member, so that the occupant of the chair can control backward tilting or rocking by pushing his or her feet against the reaction member and thereby facilitate rearward tilting (reclining) or rocking.

The present invention provides a rocking chair as claimed in Claim 1.

A rocking chair in accordance with the invention is of advantage to an occupant who prefers to rock the chair by hand or arm rather than by foot, particularly if the occupant has some leg or foot injury or disability.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a first embodiment of a rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the rocking chair of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side view of a second embodiment of a rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the rocking chair of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a third embodiment of a rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the rocking chair of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, of the rocking chair of Fig. 5, Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic side view of a fourth embodiment of a rocking chair in accordance with the invention, Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the rocking chair of Fig. 8, Figs. 10 and 11 are diagrammatic side views of further embodiments of the rocking chair in accordance with the invention, and Figs. 12 and 13 are diagrammatic side views of still further embodiments of the rocking chair in accordance with the invention.

In Figs. 1 and 2 a rocking chair 1 comprises a seat 2 having a support surface 3 and a back 4. The seat 2 is rockably mounted on a non-rocking base 5 via contacting rocking surfaces 6 and 7 of the seat 2 and the base 5, respectively. The rocking surfaces 6 of the seat 2 are formed on the upper rockers or bearers 8, whereas the rocking surfaces 7 of the base 5 are formed by flat lower bearers 9.

Although it would be usual for there to be two spaced upper bearers 8 on the seat 2, and two spaced lower bearers 9 on the base 5, it would be possible for the two upper bearers 8 to be replaced by a single bearer extending transversely beneath the seat, and for the two flat lower bearers 9 to be replaced by a single flat upper surface extending transversely across the base, as explained below with reference to Figs. 8 and 9.

The mechanism by which the seat 2 is mounted on the base 5 is well known, and need not be described here, but includes, for example, springs 10. Any suitable mechanism that allows the seat 2 to rock on the base 5 may be used.

On each side of the seat 2 a reaction member 11 is connected to the base 3. Here, each reaction member 11 comprises two uprights 12 fixably connected to the base 5 and interconnected by an arm rest 13. The reaction members 11 are spaced from the seat 2 by a gap 14 to prevent trapping of hands between the reaction members 11 and the seat 2.

When the chair 1 is in use, an occupant can grip each arm rest 13 and exert a force by hand thereagainst to tilt the seat 2 rearwardly for reclining, or to rock the seat 2 back and forth. Alternatively, rocking movement can be imparted to the seat 2 by the occupant pushing with his or her arms (including elbows) on the reaction member 11.

As can be seen from Fig. 1 the support surface 3 of the seat 2 extends forwardly to provide a leg and foot rest 3'at substantially the same level as the support surface 3 of the seat 2. Thus, the feet of the occupant are kept well clear of the ground, so that the occupant can only recline or rock the seat 2 by hand/arm.

The embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 is similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that there is a reaction member 11 on one side of the seat 2 only. Here, the reaction member 11 comprises an upright handle 15 carrying a knob 16. The reaction member 11 may be placed on the left side or on the right side of the seat 2 as preferred. Alternatively, the upright handle 15 and knob 16 could be provided on each side of the seat 2.

The embodiment of the Figs. 5,6 and 7 differs from that of Figs. 1 and 2 in that the reaction members 11 each comprise an upward side extension 17 of the non-rocking base 5. If desired, eg for aesthetic reasons, the sides 17 could extend upwardly in a continuous fashion, eg formed from a single side panel extending from the floor to the top of the reaction member 11.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is similar to that of Figs. 5 to 7 except that the two upper bearers have been replaced by a single upper bearer 8'extending transversely beneath the seat 2, and the two flat lower bearers have been replaced by a single lower bearer 9'extending transversely across the base 5.

As shown in Fig. 10, the rocking surfaces 6 and 7 could be reversed, ie the upper bearer 8 on the seat 2 could be flat, and the lower bearer 9 of the base 3 could be upwardly curved. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 11, both the upper and lower bearers 8,9 could be curved.

In Figs. 1 to 11 the bearers 8 and 9 are"raised", and in particular the contacting rocking surfaces 6 and 7 are nearer to the support surface 3 than to the ground. Figs. 12 and 13 each show a traditional rocking chair in which the bearers 8 and 9 are not raised but are at ground level. The base 5 of these rocking chairs may equally well be provided with one or two reaction members 11.

In the embodiments of Figs. 3-13, a foot reaction member, as disclosed in patent No.

GB 2 332 141, could be provided in addition to the reaction members 11, thereby allowing the occupant the choice of reclining or rocking the chair by foot, by hand/arm, or both by foot and hand/arm.

The sides 17 of Figs. 2 to 11 and 13 provide some protection against pinching of fingers between the contacting rocking surfaces 4 and 5. If desired, further suitable shield means could be added for safety purposes at the sides, the front and the back of the rocking surfaces.

The reaction member 11, particularly the arm rests 13 of Figs. 1 and 12, could be made adjustable in height and/or inclination. Furthermore, the reaction members 11 could be constructed so as to be movable to an out-of-use position, if required.

The rocking chair in accordance with the invention may be adapted for multiple occupancy, eg as shown in patent No. GB 2 332 141. Thus, the rocking chair could be a rocking sofa, a rocking bench, a rocking couch, a rocking bed or a rocking chaise longue. The term rocking"chair"should be construed accordingly.