Recline Mechanism For Seating Furniture

Abstract

A seating furniture ( 1 ) including a frame ( 5, 6, 7 ); at least one support member ( 2, 3 ) adapted to provide support to a user in use; recline mechanism ( 4 ) connecting the support member ( 2, 3 ) to the frame ( 5, 6, 7 ), the recline mechanism ( 4 ) including; a housing positioned on one of either the support member ( 2, 3 ) or the frame ( 5, 6, 7 ) and an extending portion ( 11 ) of the frame ( 5, 6, 7 ) and an extending portion ( 11 ) of the frame ( 5, 6, 7 ) positioned on the other of either the support member ( 2, 3 ) or the frame ( 5, 6, 7 ) said housing receiving the extending portion ( 11 ) within a cavity ( 10 ) bounded by a cavity wall; and biasing means ( 12 ) located inside the cavity ( 10 ) between at least a portion of the cavity wall and the extending portion ( 11 ), wherein tilting movement of the support member ( 2, 3 ) causes a rotation between the cavity ( 10 ) and the extending portion ( 11 ) thereby engaging the extending portion with the biasing means ( 12 ), causing said biasing means ( 12 ) to generate a restorative reaction biasing force against the rotation.

1 . Seating furniture including:
 a frame,   a support member adapted to provide support to a user in use, a recline mechanism connecting the support member to the frame, the recline mechanism including;
 a housing positioned on one of either the support member or the frame and 
 an extending portion of the frame positioned on the other of either the support member or the frame, said housing receiving the extending portion within a cavity bounded by a cavity wall; and 
 biasing means located inside the cavity between at least a portion of the cavity wall and the extending portion, 
 wherein tilting movement of the support member causes a rotation between the cavity and the extending portion thereby engaging the extending portion with the biasing means, causing said biasing means to generate a restorative biasing force against the rotation. 
   
   
   
       2 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the extending portion of the frame is fixed relative to at least a portion of the frame to which the support member is connected. 
   
   
       3 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the biasing means comprises an elastically compressible or extensible material. 
   
   
       4 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the biasing means is cylindrical or tubular in shape. 
   
   
       5 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the extending portion of the frame is plate-like in shape and biasing means are located between at least one side of the extending portion and the cavity wall. 
   
   
       6 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least an end portion of the extending portion of the frame is rod-like in shape and the biasing means is positioned about the extending portion. 
   
   
       7 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the cavity in the housing is substantially triangular in cross-section. 
   
   
       8 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the cavity walls configuration is centrally-waisted in cross-section. 
   
   
       9 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the plate-like extending portion extends longitudinally into the centrally-waisted cavity and is pivotable laterally about a central pivot point of the cavity. 
   
   
       10 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the rod-like extending portion extends laterally into the centrally-waisted cavity and is pivotable longitudinally about a central pivot point of the cavity. 
   
   
       11 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein said biasing means are provided about both ends of the rod-like shaped end portion of the extending portion of the frame. 
   
   
       12 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said housing is integral with said support member. 
   
   
       13 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said housing is connectable to said support member. 
   
   
       14 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said housing comprises a first section integrally formed with the support member and a second section connectable to the first section wherein the cavity is formed between the first and second sections. 
   
   
       15 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said support member includes a seat. 
   
   
       16 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said support member includes a seatback. 
   
   
       17 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the support member is provided with stopper means adapted to contact the frame. 
   
   
       18 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the frame is provided with stopper means against which the support member comes into contact. 
   
   
       19 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said biasing means is formed from elastomeric material or natural rubber. 
   
   
       20 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a biasing force provided by the biasing means is adjustable by altering the length of the elastomeric or natural rubber material within the cavity. 
   
   
       21 . The seating furniture as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a biasing force provided by the biasing means is adjustable by altering the density of the elastomeric or natural rubber material within the cavity.