Ergonomic seat

Abstract

An ergonomic seat promotes good seating posture. The seat includes a rear portion that angles downwardly toward a front portion which supports the occupant's thighs. Angling the seat downwardly in this manner enables an occupant of the seat to sit in an upright position with little or no pressure on the lumbar discs of the occupant resulting from rotation of the occupant's hips. The angle of the front of the seat relative to the rear is between about ten degrees to about thirty degrees. The seat may be configured for use on a stadium bleacher or other bench having no back support, and in such a configuration may include one or more fasteners for attaching the seat to the bleacher. The seating surface is contoured to more evenly distribute weight of the occupant and may include a thin layer of resilient pad to further promote comfort.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An ergonomic seat for promoting good seating posture for an occupant of the seat, the seat comprising: 
 a rear portion for supporting at least a portion of the occupant's rear;    a front portion in opposed relation to said rear portion, said front portion for supporting at least a portion of the occupant's thighs;    a first side portion;    a second side portion in opposed relation to said first side portion; and    a seating surface extending between the rear portion, front portion, first side portion, and second side portion;    wherein said seating surface is angled downwardly from the rear portion to the front portion to enable an occupant of the seat to go from a standing to a sitting position with little or no additional pressure on the lumbar discs of the occupant.    
     
     
         2 . The seat of  claim 1  wherein the angle between the rear and front portions of the seat is in the range of about 10 degrees to about 30 degrees.  
     
     
         3 . The seat of  claim 1  wherein the angle between the rear and front portions of the seat is about 15 degrees.  
     
     
         4 . The seat of  claim 1  wherein said seating surface is contoured to more evenly distribute weight of the occupant across those portions of the occupants rear and thighs that are in contact with the seating surface.  
     
     
         5 . The seat of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more fasteners for removably attaching the seat to a support structure.  
     
     
         6 . The seat of  claim 5  wherein said support structure includes a substantially horizontal bench.  
     
     
         7 . The seat of  claim 1  wherein said seating surface is substantially rigid.  
     
     
         8 . The seat of  claim 1  wherein said seating surface is fabricated from a substantially rigid seating structure with a thin resilient pad adjacent said seating structure.  
     
     
         9 . A seat for being removably attached to a substantially horizontal support structure, the seat comprising: 
 a rear portion for supporting at least a portion of the rear of an occupant of the seat;    a front portion in opposed relation to said rear portion, said front portion for supporting at least a portion of the occupant's thighs;    a first side portion;    a second side portion in opposed relation to said first side portion;    a seating surface extending between the rear portion, front portion, first side portion, and second side portion;    wherein said seating surface is angled downwardly from the rear portion to the front portion to enable an occupant of the seat to go from a standing to a sitting position with little or no additional pressure on the lumbar discs of the occupant; and    one or more fasteners for removably attaching the seat to a substantially horizontal support structure.    
     
     
         10 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein said substantially horizontal support structure includes a bleacher.  
     
     
         11 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein said one or more fasteners include a flexible web positioned adjacent the support structure when the seat is attached to the support structure.  
     
     
         12 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein said seating surface is ergonomically contoured to more evenly distribute weight of the occupant across those portions of the occupant's rear and thighs that are in contact with the seating surface.  
     
     
         13 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein the angle between the front and rear portions of the seat is in the range of about 10 degrees to about 30 degrees.  
     
     
         14 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein the angle between the front and rear portions of the seat is about 15 degrees.  
     
     
         15 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein said seating surface is substantially rigid.  
     
     
         16 . The seat of  claim 9  wherein said seating surface is fabricated from a substantially rigid seating structure with a thin resilient pad adjacent said seating structure.  
     
     
         17 . An ergonomic seat for promoting good seating posture for an occupant of the seat, the seat comprising: 
 a substantially rigid seating structure having: 
 a rear portion for supporting at least a portion of the occupant's rear;  
 a front portion in opposed relation to said rear portion, said front portion for supporting at least a portion of the occupant's thighs;  
 a first side portion;  
 a second side portion in opposed relation to said first side portion; and  
 a seating surface extending between the rear portion, front portion, first side portion, and second side portion;  
 wherein said seating surface is angled downwardly from the rear portion to the front portion at about 15 degrees to enable an occupant of the seat to go from a standing to a sitting position with little or no additional pressure on the lumbar discs of the occupant.  
   
     
     
         18 . The seat of  claim 17  wherein said seating surface includes a thin resilient pad adjacent said seating surface.