Hon Technology Inc.

Matthew J Phillips

Marcus C Koepke

Jay Richard Machael

Craig H Schultz

Brian R Trego

Douglas A Schroeder

Erik A Steffensen

Tim Coffield

Keith L Davis

Amin K Habboub

George Mulka

Patrick Burgess

Jamie Krull

Eric M Zillig

James M Groulx

Rodney C Schoenfelder

Jay R Michael

A vertically and horizontally adjustable chair armrest is disclosed. The armrest includes an outer shroud, an upstanding support with a central opening and an armrest base. Within the central opening is a guide tube that moves vertically and has oppositely disposed slots. Within the guide tube, but mounted to rotate only, is a rod. At the lower end of the rod is a locking element that extends through the slots in the guide tube. The rod is rotated by a user pivoted lever bearing down on a spring biased activator nut. The nut is keyed to move only in a linear direction but is threaded to engage a mating thread on the rod, thereby causing the rod to rotate. When the locking element is rotated out of engagement with notches in the support opening, the armrest may be adjusted in a vertical direction. Releasing the lever allows the spring to bias the locking element into engagement with the notches to lock the armrest. Horizontal adjustment entails pivoting the armrest from one detent to another within a 45 degree arc.

Vertically and horizontally adjustable chair armrest

A chair back is disclosed and includes a mesh material connected to a two-piece carrier, the carrier being deformable and stretchable. The carrier has a bottom edge including a groove and is engageable by tabs attached to a transverse member of a chair frame assembly. The upper ends of the carrier each includes an opening for receiving a spherical end portion of the upper end of the chair frame assembly. Engagement of the carrier with the chair frame assembly is accomplished by stretching the carrier and mesh between the transverse member and the spherical end portions. The chair back includes a lumbar support which is mounted to slide along the side edges of the carrier and along vertical supports of the chair frame assembly, the lumbar support causing the chair to tension forwardly. The chair back is pivotal under the influence of a chair user and is pivotally connected to the chair seat so as to cause the chair seat to also pivot in response.

Chair back construction

A height and pivot-adjustable office chair arm assembly with an arm rest that can be raised to different vertical positions by actuation of a gas cylinder and having a shroud surrounding and vertically movable with respect to at least a portion of an arm support that is hollow and surrounds the gas cylinder such that the shroud is vertically movable in relation to at least a portion of the arm support. The shroud is connected to the gas cylinder at an upper end for vertical movement by the gas cylinder. An arm rest pivot support is attached only to the shroud and receives the arm rest assembly and enables the arm rest assembly to pivot in a horizontal plane thereby allowing the arm rest assembly to assume any selected rotational position.

Height and pivot-adjustable chair arm

A body support system is provided having improved static and dynamic mechanical response characteristics and improved thermal regulation, and which can provide energy dissipation capabilities. The body support system can be of a modular construction to provide mechanical response characteristics suited to a particular user or group of users, or to a particular environment of use. The energy dissipation characteristics are provided by a flexible fluid compartment containing a volume of viscous fluid, such that at least a portion of the fluid moves within the compartment in response to a vertical force on the compartment.

Body support system with energy dissipation means

A locking device for allowing horizontal seat positioning of a chair seat has a friction strip or brake pad between a seat pan and a seat plate. A screw and spring assembly is used to resiliently hold the seat pan and the seat plate together such that by lifting up on the forward portion of the seat pan, the friction strip, if attached to the seat plate, is separated from the seat pan allowing the seat pan to be moved horizontally in forwardly and rearwardly directions, thus adjusting the seat position. When the front of the seat pan is lifted substantially vertically, the screw and spring assembly is compressed to allow the seat pan to separate sufficiently from the friction strip and allow relative movement of the seat pan with respect to the seat plate. As an alternative, a lever may be used to loosen a locking mechanism and therby allow seat adjustment.

Locking device for chair seat horizontal adjustment mechanism

An ergonomic chair includes a four-bar linkage arrangement wherein a lower frame member is provided with a rigid front support and a rigid rear support with a seat member pivotably connected to the front support. A back rest has an upper support pivotably connected at an upper end of the rear support of the lower frame member. A link member pivotably connects at a first end to a rear support of the seat member and at second end to a lower support of the back rest. This novel arrangement permits tilting movement of the backrest rearwardly relative to the lower frame member causing elevation of a rear portion of the seat member, permitting the feet to remain on the floor and alleviating pressure on the user's thighs, while rotation occurs closely coincident with the pivot axis of the user's hips and while maintaining a generally uniform gaze line.

Ergonomic chair

An adjustable chair seat with a locking mechanism is disclosed. The chair includes a seat pan, a seat plate and a torque limiting fastener. The seat pan and seat plate have openings for receiving the fastener which comprises a cup handle and a threaded insert. The threaded insert is engaged with the seat pan through an opening in the seat pan while the seat plate is sandwiched between the seat pan and the fastener. Once engagement is made, the fastener cannot be disengaged; and once a predetermined resistance is reached the cup handle slips relative to the threaded insert so as to cease the application of torque to the threaded insert.

Adjustable chair seat with locking mechanism

Chair arm

A body support system is provided having improved static and dynamic mechanical response characteristics and improved thermal regulation. The body support system can be of a modular construction to provide mechanical response characteristics suited to a particular user or group of users, or to a particular environment or use. In one embodiment, the body support system is a seat cushion comprising a foam layer with a central region, a plurality of spaced apart vertical foam columns that define a fluid reservoir in the central region, a plurality of fluid channels in the foam layer for communicating fluid in and out of the fluid reservoir, and an elastomeric layer having resilience and flow properties, such as a viscoelastic gel, positioned above the fluid reservoir.

Body support system

Armless ergonomic chair

A lumbar support for a chair having a flexible back, includes at least one generally vertical support member disposed to the rear of the chair back. A transverse member engages the vertical support and has opposed ends provided with grippers for gripping opposed edges of the flexible back. The transverse member is configured to force the opposed edges of the flexible back forwardly of the chair back in the lumbar region of the user to provide support therefor. The transverse member may also be configured to slide on the vertical support to provide for height adjustability of the lumbar support of the fabric.

Lumbar support for a chair

A chair of modular construction having modules that form the basic chair with additional modules that can be added to the chair without changing the basic construction thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Muscatine, IA, United States of America

Matthew J Phillips