Seat backs

[0001] This invention relates to seat backs, and in particular to the core which generally defines its shape and characteristics. This core will generally be upholstered or sheathed in some way, but how the seat back supports the user and responds to his movements is dictated by the core.

[0002] Between the extremes of a rigid seat back and a fully upholstered one with internal springs, there are backs with a basic shape against which a user's back will fit comfortably but which will flex to a certain extent when the user moves, in effect trying to accommodate to a different posture. They will also change shape a bit between users of different physique.

[0003] One particular characteristic is the forward bow of the central part of the seat back, which gives support to the user's lumbar region. It has been recognised that it is desirable for the shape of this bowed part to be adjustable and there have been various proposals for altering this shape by some control mechanism. That is, the user can turn a knob, press a switch, or otherwise initiate some mechanical action that will pull or push the seat back into a different configuration. These may well work quite satisfactorily, but they make for complexity and therefore extra cost, and the user's control, if reasonably accessible, can spoil the otherwise “clean” lines of the seat.

[0004] It is the aim of this invention for the core of a seat back to be so constructed that it will accommodate well to different users and to different positions of users, while maintaining comfortable support, without extraneous control devices.

[0005] According to the present invention a seat back core comprises a molded plastics sheet bowed forwardly in vertical section and with fixing points on the rear side near top and bottom for attachment to a rigid seat member, the back being more resistant to bending over its upper part than its lower part.

[0006] In the preferred form the sheet has side wings inclined forwardly from narrow zones of weakness within the boundary of the sheet, symmetrically disposed either side of a vertical center line and generally parallel thereto. These zones of weakness are conveniently formed by closed end slots, and the wings and the central portion of the core between the slots will generally be connected by bridges across the slots. Advantageously, these bridges are parts of transverse ribs integrally molded on the rear side of the sheet.

[0007] For further comfort the wings may be divided into generally horizontal sections each capable of limited flexure with respect to the or each adjacent section. The division between wing sections is preferably by slots extending from the edge of the sheet to the adjacent zone of weakness, although it may be by expandable membranes integrally molded with the sheet and extending from the edge of the sheet to the adjacent zone of weakness.

[0008] The top edge portion of the core, beyond the zones of weakness, may also be divided into side-by-side sections each capable of limited flexure with respect to the or each adjacent section. And as with the wing sections the division between top edge portion sections is preferably by generally vertical slots extending down from the top edge of the core although it may be by generally vertical, narrow, integrally molded expandable membranes.

[0009] The differential resistance to bending may be caused by further ribs extending substantially vertically between transverse ribs in the upper part of said central zone. Alternatively, it may be caused by locally reducing the thickness of the sheet by transverse grooves and/or scored lines across the lower part of the said central zone.

[0018] The backrest 1 of FIGS. 1 to 4 is of molded plastics such as nylon and has the general shape of a shield bowed forwards in vertical section and with side wings 2 curving further forwards. There are two closed end slots 3 extending vertically and symmetrically, one at either side of the vertical center line and stopping well short of the top and bottom edges of the shield. There could be thin membranes instead of the slots 3, making narrow zones of weakness, but for ease of manufacture slots are preferred.

[0019] Integrally molded reinforcing ribs 4 extend horizontally across the backrest spanning the slots 3, and in doing so they form bridges 5. They do not start until about one third of the way up the shield, where they are clustered closer together than towards the top. Outside the slots 3 in the wings 2 of the shield there are horizontal webs or elongate membranes 6 alternating with the ribs 4. They are created by thinning and/or corrugating the material on both sides, an example of which is shown in the section of FIG. 4. There are also webs 7 in the central zone 8 between the slots 3, these being created by horizontal grooves in the front side only. They are, not continuous, and they are aligned with only some webs 6 in the wings 2. Between them, over part of the central zone 8, there are lines 9 scored parallel to the webs 7 in the sheet material which give a bit of extra flexibility.

[0020] Beyond the upper ends of the slots 3 there is another intermittent web 10, visible on both sides of the shield, and above that three webs or elongate corrugated membranes 11 extending down from the upper edge of the shield, one central and slightly longer than the two others, which are just inward of the slots 3.

[0021] On the rear face of the shield in the central zone 8 between the slots 3 there are four fixing points 12 where the shield is attached to a rigid support. Their arrangement is symmetrical with respect to the vertical centre line, with one pair near the top of the zone 8 and the other pair near the bottom of that zone, the points of each pair being quite close together so that the backrest can be secured to a single supporting spine or narrow frame upstanding from the rear of the seat. While these attachment points are fixed, the rest of the shield can move slightly under the constraints imposed by the stiffness of the material and the ribs and the amount of freedom allowed by the webs. But in particular, there is a capacity to “ripple” or alter its curvature from top to bottom or vice versa.

[0022] This construction is not easy to manufacture, the webs in particular being tricky. The embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 may therefore be preferred in practice.

[0023] Equivalent parts are similarly referenced. Much of the difference lies in having slots 13 and 14 instead of the webs 6 and 11 and in omitting the webs 7 and scored lines 9. The function of the latter was to give greater flexibility to the lower part of the central section 8, the upper part remaining relatively stiff. While the lower part should ripple quite easily, the upper part should have more limited capacity to deform. To maintain these different characteristics between the upper and lower parts, the material of the upper part could be thicker than that of the lower part, but preferably, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, at least some of the ribs 4 spanning the upper part are joined by further vertical ribs 15 symmetrical with respect to the vertical center line. It will be understood that the number, size and distribution of these ribs can vary from what is shown, to tailor the flexibility of the core with some precision.

[0024] Two ribs 15a extend between the two uppermost ribs 4 and incorporate the upper fixing points 12, which are also incorporated in a short transverse rib 16. This reinforces the core in the upper zone of attachment and there is similar reinforcement in the lower zone. That has a very short vertical extent and it does not affect the ability of the core to ripple above the second lowermost transverse rib 4.

[0025] The slots 3 are shown as straight and parallel. This may be varied, for example by having them slightly divergent or curved.

[0026] Provision may be made for setting up the backrest with a different curvature. For example, there could be an extra pair of fixing points immediately below the lower pair, and by attaching the spine to this extra pair the forward bow of the zone 8 will be made more pronounced than with attachment to the original lower pair.