US3697132A

US3697132A - Multiposition lock-rock rocker and rocking type reclining chair

Info

Publication number: US3697132A
Application number: US25509A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edwin J Van Surksum
Original assignee: MASTERCRAFT FURNITURE CORP
Current assignee: MASTERCRAFT FURNITURE CORP
Priority date: 1970-04-03
Filing date: 1970-04-03
Publication date: 1972-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-10

Abstract

A mechanism incorporated into a platform rocker which enables the rocker to be employed as a conventional platform rocker, as a platform rocker with a multi-position lock, as a reclining chair and as a rocking reclining chair with the lock for the rocking action being manually actuated by lateral movement of a levertype handle to lock the chair in multiple positions of tilt. The leg rest structure is also manually actuated by the same lever being operable in a fore and aft direction. An arc slide interconnects the chair seat and chair backrest in which the seat is not movable longitudinally and fixed to pivot at the front to retain optimum balance conditions in all positions of the chair structure.

Description

United States Patent Van Surksum MULTIPOSITION LOCK-ROCK [451 Oct. 10, 1972 3 Primary ExaminerJames C. Mitchell Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B. Jacob- Son [57] ABSTRACT A mechanism incorporated into a platform rocker which enables the rocker to be employed as a conventional platform rocker, as a platform rocker with a multi-position look, as a reclining chair and as a rocking reclining chair with the lock for the rocking action being manually actuated by lateral movement of a lever-type handle to lock the chair in multiple positions of tilt. The leg rest structure is also manually actuated by the same lever being operable in a fore and aft direction. An arc slide interconnects the chair seat and chair backrest in which the seat is not movable longitudinally and fixed to pivot at the front to retain optimum balance conditions in all positions of the chair structure.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ROCKER AND ROCKING TYP RECLINING CHAIR [72] Inventor: Edwin J. Van Surksum, Omaha,

Nebr.

[73] Assignee: Mastercrait Furniture Corporation [22] Filed: April 3, 1970 l [21] Appl. No.: 25,509

[52] US. Cl ..297/269 [51] Int. Cl ..A47c 3/02 [58] Field of Search ..297/269, 270, 316, 317, 319, 297/DIG. 7

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,096,121 I 7/1963 Knabush et al.. ..297/269 2,797,737 7/1957 Burton .'..297/269 1,045,599 11/1912 Ostendorf ......297/3 l9 r ""T 4'0 I4? I46 I" l I c: =l ll 1 2 /72- T L -l54 r a I I 1 l l i 2 I I L. HE

PATENIEDnm 1 0 I972 SHEEI 2 OF 4 Edmh J. Van Surksum INVENTOR. 405% WW M0,

PATENTEDncI 10 m2 SHEET 3 [IF 4 Edwin J. VanSur/rsum 1N VENT 0R BY and PATENTEDB H 3.691.132

SHEET u 0F 4 MULTIPOSITION LOCK-ROCK ROCKER AND ROCKING TYPE RECLINING CHAIR The present invention generally relates to a chair structure in the form of a platform rocker having a locking mechanism enabling the chair to be locked in a plurality of positions with the chair structure also including mechanism enabling the chair to be employed as a rocking type reclining chair.

An object of the present invention is to provide a chair construction in the form of a platform rocker and rocker recliner which employs a manually actuated extendable and retractable leg rest assembly and a manually actuatable locking assembly for locking the rocker in various tilted positions with a single lever in the form of a handle being employed to actuate the leg rest and locking mechanism by manipulating the handle in a particular manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair in accordance with the preceding object in which the chair back and chair seat are interconnected by an arcuate slide mechanism which enables relative movement between the chair back and chair seat so that the chair back and seat will assume a reclining position when appropriate pressure is applied to the backrest by the occupant of the chair.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rocker-recliner chair in which the rocking action may be locked or not completely independent of the extension of the legrest and completely independent of the position of the backrest which is permitted inasmuch as the rocker recliner remains substantially correctly balanced in its various positions since the chair seat does not move the weight of the body forwardly or rearwardly to an unbalanced position thus providing a balanced rocker-recliner.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a chair structure in accordance with the preceding objects in which the arc slide used for the floating back recline includes adjustable components to compensate for wear with the arc slide serving to stabilize the back in adjusted position and particularly in upright position with the occupant desiring to recline merely lifting his body weight slightly for reducing the friction holding action on the arc slide so that with a slight push against the back, the arc slide releases and moves or floats to a desired position.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a chair structure which is relatively simple in construction, dependable in operation, effective for providing the desired movement as well as comfort to the occupant and capable of incorporation into various chair designs and constructions.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the chair structure of the present invention with the upholstery illustrated in broken lines to show the structural relationship of the components of the mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken along section line 2-2 of FIG. 1 illustrating the mechanism oriented with the leg rest extended, the rocker locked in position and the back in reclined position.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the structure in the retracted position with the locking mechanism in adifferent locking position.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the locking mechanism illustrating the movement of the locking lever.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the chair structure.

1 FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lock for the rocking mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the arc slide interconnecting the chair seat and back.

FIG. 8 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 8-8 of FIG. 7 illustrating further structural details of the arc slide including the adjustment features for compensating for wear.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the chair structure includes a platform or base generally designated by numeral 10, a rocking frame generally designated by the numeral 12, a leg rest assembly generally designated by the numeral 14, a locking assembly generally designated by the numeral 16 and an arcuate slide assembly generally designated by the numeral 18 which interconnects the rocking frame 12 or the seat thereon and a back or backrest.

The supporting base or platform 10 includes a pair of substantially parallel side members 20 rigidly interconnected by a transverse member 22 and resting on a floor surface with floor engaging areas 24 or casters 26 as illustrated at the forward end of a platform. Insofar as the structure of the present invention is concerned, the supporting platform may be constructed of any suitable material and any suitable construction and supported from the floor surface in any suitable and conventional manner with the upper surface of the platform defined by the two side members 20 including substantially horizontal and longitudinally extending parallel supporting surfaces 28 all of which is conventional and well-known in platform rocker structures.

The rocking frame 12 includes a pair of side members 30 which are rigidly interconnected and include an arcuate lower edge 32 in rocking engagement with the surfaces 28 with the arcuate lower edges 32 and the side members 30 also being of conventional structure employed in platform rockers. interconnecting the rocking assembly 12 and the platform 10 is a spring assembly 34 which includes an identical structure at each side of the chair and which includes a pair of coil compression springs 36 having the lower ends anchored to a bracket structure 38 mounted fixedly on the inner surface of the base side member 20 and an upper bracket 40 fixed to the inner surface of side members 30 of the rocking mechanism 12 to not only attach the rocking mechanism 12 to the supporting platform 10 but also retain the arcuate surface 32 in locking engagement with the surfaces 28. Such spring assemblies are well known in platform rocker structures and the arcuate surfaces 32 are also well known and generally referred to as the banana. The side members 30 may be of wood construction or may be of metal construction in which event the arcuate surfaces 32 as well as the bracket 40 and the associated rocking mechanism and lock therefore and the associated arcuate slide mechanism have certain components thereof unitarily constructed with the side members 30.

The lock mechanism 16 includes a pair of substantially Leshaped brackets 42 fixedly attached to the inner surface of the side members 20 of the supporting platform as illustrated in FIG. 6. The brackets 42 each include an upstanding arm 44 extending above the surfaces 28 and terminating in an inclined top edge 46 and being provided with a plurality of upwardly and rearwardly inclined notches 48 extending downwardly and inwardly from the rear edge of the arm 44 of the bracket 42. The notches 48 are equally spaced along the length of the portion of the bracket arm 44 which extends above the surface 28.

An elongated tranversely extending lock bar 50 is mounted on the rocking structure 12 and includes a pair of horizontally spaced L-shaped legs 52 mounted thereon having a forwardly and downwardly extending locking edge portion 54 which defines the free edge of the leg 52 for engagement with one of the notches 48 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. One edge of the leg 52 is provided with a reinforcing and limit plate 56 which not only reinforces the locking leg 52 but also limits the movement of the locking edge 54 in one direction in relation to the notches 48 in the arm 44 of the locking bracket 42. Thus, when the locking edge or lug 54 is moved transversely from a position out of alignment and out of engagement with the arm 44 of the bracket 42 to a position where the locking edge or lug 54 engages one of the notches 48, the plate 56 will limit such movement to assure that the locking lug 54 will be engaged with the arm 44 of the bracket 42.

The lock bar 50 is slidably supported by virtue of being received in apertures or sockets 58 formed in the side members 30 and the length of the movement of the member 50 is only sufficient to register the locking lug 54 with one of the notches 48 or move the locking lug 54 to a position alongside of but spaced slightly from the arm 44 of the bracket 42.

The locking bar 50 may be preferably constructed of a tubular metal member which is prevented form rotating due to the square configuration thereof as well as the square configuration of the aperture 58. Various other structural elements may be employed as long as sufficient rigidity is provided for securely retaining the rocking structure 12 locked in relation to the platform 10 when the locking mechanism is in engagement. The locking bar 50 is reciprocated transversely of the chair by the provision of a lug 60 attached to the locking bar 50 and projecting forwardly therefrom. The lug 60 is attached to an elongated rod member 62 having some degree of flexibility and being adjustably secured to the lug 60 as by a pair of threaded nuts 64 to enable the effective length of the rod 62 to be varied to assure accurate orientation of the locking lug 54 in relation to the arm 44 on the bracket and to assure engagement of and registration of the locking edge or lug 54 with the notches 48 in the arm 44. The rod 62 is slidably received in a tubular guide 66 extending between the side members 30 of the rocking structure and extends longitudinally of the guide 66 and out from one end thereof as illustrated in FIG. 6. The terminal end of the rod 62 is pivotally attached to an actuating lever in the form of a handle as designated by the numeral 68 intermediate the ends thereof with the upper end of the handle 68 being rounded or otherwise shaped to provide a hand grip 70. The lower end of the lever 68 is pivotally attached to a depending bracket 72 for pivotal movement about a longitudinal bottom axis 74. As indicated by the arrow 76 in FIG. 6, the lever 68 is manually swingable laterally of the chair structure about the longitudinal bottom axis 74 from a position alongside of the chair to a position laterally outwardly inclined thereof as illustrated in broken line. Due to the pivotal connection between the outer end of the rod 62 and the lever 68 in spaced relation to the axis 74, lateral swinging movement of the lever 68 about the axis 74 will cause reciprocation of the rod 62 which has sufficient flexibility to follow the arc of the point of connection between the lever 68 and the rod 62 and to enable lateral deflection of the rod 62 so that it can reciprocate in the guide 66 even though attached to the lug which is offset from the longitudinal axis of the guide 66. With this construction, lateral swinging movement of the locking lever 68 by manipulation of the handgrip or handle end will effectively release the locking mechanism 16 by misaligning the locking lug 54 with respect to the arm 44 so that no contact will be made between the locking lug 54 and the notches 48. When it is desired to lock the rocking structure 12 in a desired tilted position, the handle 70 is laterally pivoted thus bringing the locking lug 54 into engagement with one of the notches 48 thereby providing a multi-position lock for the rocking structure 12 with the spring structure 34 retaining bias pressure of the locking lug 54 against the bottom surface of the notch 48 to retain the locking engagement even though the occupant of the chair may temporarily stand up, and then return to the chair.

The leg rest assembly 14 includes a front padded or cushioned leg rest 80 including a backing member or rigid panel 82 having a pair of bracket plates connected thereto and extending therefrom and designated by the numeral 84. A tuck-under leg rest 86 is disposed outwardly of the leg rest 80 when in extended position and includes a backing panel 88 and brackets 90 which project laterally from the panel 88 with an upper corner of the bracket 90 being attached to the bracket 84 by a pivot point connection 92. The inner corner of the bracket structure 84 is pivotally attached to an elongated lever 94 by pivot point 96 and the lever 94 extends to and is connected to an actuating arm 98 that is fixedly attached to the tubular sleeve or member 66- which extends through the side members 30 and is journalled therein by tubular bearings or the like 102. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the bracket 72 is rigid with the tubular sleeve 66 and thus enables the tubular sleeve 66 to be rotated about its longitudinal axis thus swinging the arms 98 in an arcuated manner to actuate the leg rest assembly 14. Thus, by rotating the handle end or handgrip 70 of the lever 68 about a transverse axis defined by the tubular sleeve 66, the leg assembly 14 may be extended or retracted. FIG. 3 illustrates the handle 70 and lever 68 in the position in which the leg rest is retracted and by grasping the handle 70 and moving it rearwardly of the chair, the leg rest assembly may be extended to the position illustrated in FIG. 2.

Pivotally attached to the side members 30 forwardly of the sleeve 66 is a link 100 which has the outer end thereof pivotally attached to the lever 94 at an angulated portion thereof as indicated by numeral 102. Connected to the link 100 intermediate the ends thereof is a link 104 that is pivotally connected to the link 100 by a pivot point 106. Connected to the outer end of the link 104 is a lever 108 having a pivotal connection with link 104 at point 110 and pivotal connection with the lever 94 at point 1 12. The outer end of the lever 108 is attached to an angulated link 114 by pivot point 116 with the central portion of the lever 114 being supported pivotally from the bracket 84 by a pivot point 118. The outer end of the lever 114 is connected to the lower corner of the bracket 90 by a link 120 which is pivotally attached to the lever l 14 at pivot point 122 and pivotallyattached to the bracket 90 by pivot point 124 thus mechanically interconnecting the structure of the leg rest so that the leg rest will be retracted during downward swinging movement of the arms 98 connected with the sleeve 66 as handle 70 is pivoted upwardly.

A wire spring assembly 126 has one offset end thereof engaged with the arm 98 and extends downwardly to a coil loop 128 with the spring then extending upwardly from the loop in an arm fixedly attached to the front seat supporting frame structure 130. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the tuck-under leg rest 86 is shorter than the leg rest 80 and is dimensioned so that it will be disposed inwardly of the various links and levers when collapsedso that the structure will be movable between the positions illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 with the leg rest 80 extended and the tuck-in leg rest 86 forming an extension thereof or with the leg rest 80 being generally vertically disposed forwardly of the chair and below the seat cushion and the tuck-under leg rest 86 being disposed below the seat frame 130. The wire spring 126 provides a semi over-center lock of the leg rest in'both the closed and open positions due to over-center movement of the pivot points. The link 104 may be provided with a notch 134 to receive the transverse sleeve when in retracted condition.

The seat frame 130 is in the form of a tubular frame having the front member thereof pivotally attached to the side members 30 and forming a pivot axis for the seat structure including the cushion 136 which has been schematically illustrated. The specific supporting structure for the seat cushion and the specific configuration of the seat cushion may vary depending upon the type of chair structure desired. However, the seat frame 130 is supported from the side members 30.for pivotal movement about a transverse axis at the forward edge of the seat frame. At the rear of the side members 30 and along the sides thereof, arm rests 138 may be provided and extending upwardly from the rear of the seat, a back rest 140 is provided which includes the usual structural members, cushioning material, upholstery and the like with the backrest 140 being pivotally supported for pivotal movement about a transverse axis 142. The axis 142 is retained in position by supporting bracket structure 144 rigid with the side members 30 and being either attached thereto or integral therewith. The two side members 146 which form a part of the seat support frame 130 and which pivot about the front axis defined by the front member of the frame are rigidly connected to an inclined member 148 as by. welding 150. The inclined member 148 has a depending lower end 152 that is pivotally connected to the side members 30 by a pivot rod or shaft 154. The upper end of the member 148 is offset at 156 and extending between the offset ends 152 and 156 is an arcuate slide or guide 158 which is in the form of a pair of spaced members 160 as illustrated in FIG. 8. Slidable on the arcuate slide 158 is a slide block 162 which includes an inner member 164 and an outer member 166 which have recesses 168 therein receiving the two arcuate guides 160 and frictionally engaging the .opposed surfaces thereof. The inner and

outer members

164 and 166 are assembled by clamp bolts 170 which clamp the inner and

outer members

164 and 166 into frictional sliding engagement with the guide members 160 on the arc slide 158 thereby providing frictional engagement and compensating for wear of the frictionally engaged surfaces. As illustrated, the bolts 170 have the heads thereof countersunk but they may be of conventional construction so that access may be had thereto from the rear bottom of the chair to enable the bolts to be tightened to compensate for wear.

Attached to the sliding block 162 and specifically to the outer member 166 is a shaft or rod 172 having one end of an angulated angle iron member 174 rigidly affixed thereto and extending upwardly therefrom with the other end of the angulated member 174 being pivotally connected with the transverse shaft defining the pivot point 142 for the backrest 140 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bottom edge of the upper portion of the angulated member 174 engages the connection between the offset end portion 156 and the arcuate guide 158 to limit the pivot movement of the backrest 140. In addition, the angular movement of the member 174 is such that it swings rigidly with the backrest 140 and thus moves the block 162 downwardly along the arc slide 158 thus pivoting the arc slide 158 upwardly about pivot shaft 154 thus elevating slightly the rear end of the seat frame 130 thus slightly elevating the rear portion of the seat.

This construction provides a lock for the rocking mechanism which is totally independent of the leg rest extension which provides a manual multiple position (fully illustrated) lock which completely prevents rocking movement when locked. Thus, the occupant of the chair has complete control and selection as to when he will use the locking mechanism for the rocker. For example, the lock-rock may be'activated before the leg rest is extended or after the leg rest is extended. In addition, the occupant may decide not to use the lockrock at all which is a capability with this construction and is not a capability of previous known devices where the lock-rock is actuated automatically when the leg rest is extended.

The rocker-recliner remains relative correctly balanced because the seat structure does not move the weight of the body to an unbalanced position. In certain known rocker-recliner structures, the body weight moves forward and in view of this unbalanced condition, blocking of the rock mechanism is necessary at the front. On other types of rocker-recliners, the body weight moves rearward therefore blocking of the rock takes place at the rear of the rock. In the present balanced rocker recliner there is a definite lock structure rather than only a blocking structure and the locking structure is manually actuated and selectively actuated at the desires of the occupant of the rockerrecliner.

While lateral lever movement has been illustrated, it is clearly possible to employ other means for actuating the lock-rock mechanism such as a push-pull knob associated with the leg rest extension lever in a suitable manner or a twist-type lever or knob assembly associated with the leg rest extension lever as long as the lock-rock mechanism in the form of the lugs 54 are engaged with the arms or latches 44 that are rigid with the platform.

The arc slide provides for floating back recline and is adjustable to compensate for wear. With this type of floating recline, the slide is up at an angle great enough to the seat pivot to form a stable lock in upright rocking position. To use the back recline, the occupant only has to lift his body weight slightly thus reducing the friction holding the slide in place. Then with a slight push of the back, the arc slide block releases and floats to a desired position.

With this construction, the rocker-recliner may be oriented in a full recline or partial recline and either employed as a rocker recliner or as a recliner only by manually actuating the lock rock. This structure enables more variations of use of the chair thus increasing the benefits and comfort obtained from the chair by an occupant thereof.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A chair structure comprising a supporting base, a rocking structure supported on said base for to and fro rocking movement with the rocking structure including a seat and backrest associated in a manner for receiving an occupant, and manually actuated locking means interconnecting the base and rocking structure for selectively preventing rocking movement of the rocking structure in relation to the base, said locking means including a laterally movable lock device carried by said rocking structure, handle means operatively associated with the lock device and accessible to an occupant of the rocking structure to enable the occupant to selectively actuate the lock device, said lock device being in the form of a transversely extending member slidably supported from the rocking structure for lateral movement, a pair of locking lugs on said member, said base including upstanding catch members attached thereto, said catch members having a plurality of vertically spaced notches therein receiving said, lugs when the lugs are laterally moved into engagement therewith thereby enabling selective actuation of the locking lugs and selective adjustment of the tilted position of the rocking structure when the lugs are engaged with selected notches at a selected elevation thereby enabling adjustment of the locked position of the rocking structure, and an extensible leg rest assembly mounted at the forward edge of the rocking structure for extension into a leg rest position and retraction into a stored position, said leg rest assembly including a transversely extending shaft on the rocking structure, said shaft being rockable about a transverse axis extending across the rocking structure for extending and retracting the leg rest assembly, said shaft being connected with the handle means accessible to the occupant of the chair, said shaft being hollow and receiving an actuating rod for the transversely movable lock member, said rod being connected to the handle means with the rod and lock member being reciprocated in response to lateral movement of the handle means while rocking movement of the shaft is accomplished by forward and rearward pivotal movement of the handle means thereby providing a single handle means for manually operating the leg rest assembly and manually actuating the locking means for the rocking structure.

2. A chair structure comprising a supporting base, a rocking structure supported on said base for to and fro rocking movement with the rocking structure including a seat and backrest associated in a manner for receiving an occupant, and manually actuated locking means interconnecting the base and rocking structure for selectively preventing rocking movement of the rocking structure in relation to the base, said backrest and seat being pivotally interconnected with the pivot axis being spaced upwardly from the point of adjacency between the backrest and seat, a forwardly and downwardly inclined member rigid with the backrest and including a slide block pivotally attached to the lower end thereof, an arcuate slide assembly attached to the seat for pivotal movement about a transverse axis and including an arcuate guide receiving the slide block whereby pivotal movement of the backrest will cause the slide block to move along the arcuate guide for pivoting the seat about a pivot axis adjacent its front edge for retaining the seat in the same relative position to the body weight.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said slide block includes a pair of block members, adjustment members interconnecting the block members for tightening them together for compensating for wear during arcuate movement along the arcuate guides.

4. A chair structure comprising a seat and backrest, means articulately interconnecting the seat and backrest, means pivotally supporting the forward end portion of the seat, said interconnecting means including a pivotal connection, an arcuate guide and slide block assembly interconnecting the seat and backrest in spaced relation to the pivotal connection, said block being of split construction and adjustable to compensate for wear during relative movement between the guide and slide block.

5. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said locking means includes a laterally movable lock device carried by said rocking structure, handle means operatively associated with the lock device and accessible to an occupant of the rocking structure to enable the occupant to selectively actuate the lock device, an extensible leg rest assembly mounted at the forward edge of the rocking structure for extension into a leg rest position and retraction into a stored position, said handle means associated with the lock device also being associated with the leg rest assembly for extending and retracting the leg rest assembly independently of actuating the lock device.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said lock device includes a transversely extending member movably supported from the rocking structure and including a locking lug associated therewith, said base including an upwardly extending catch member associated therewith having vertically spaced notches for receiving the locking lug to enable selective adjustment of the tilted position of the rocking structure in relation to the base. v

7. A chair structure comprising a supporting base, a rocking structure supported on said base for to and fro rocking movement with the rocking structure including a seat and backrest associated in a manner for receiving an occupant, and manual actuated locking means interconnecting the base and rocking structure for selectively preventing rocking movement of the rocking structure in relation to the base, said locking-means including a movable lock device carried by said rocking structure and a catch member carried by saidbase, handle means operatively associated with the lock device and accessible to an occupant of the rocking structure to enable the occupant to selectively actuate the lock device for selective engagement with the catch member, a leg rest assembly carried by said rocking structure for extension into leg rest position forwardly of the rocking structure and retraction into stored position, said handle means for the lock device also being operatively associated with the leg rest assembly for selective extension and retraction thereof independent of actuation of the lock device.

8. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein the backrest and seat are interconnected, pivot means supporting the lower end of the backrest from the rocking structure, pivot means connecting the forward end of the seat to the rocking structure and an arcuate sliding interconnecting means interconnecting the lower end portion of the backrest and the rear portion of the seat for pivoting the seat about a pivot axis adjacent its front edge for retaining the seat in the same relative position to the body weight when the backrest is pivoted rearwardly in relation to the seat.

Claims

1. A chair structure comprising a supporting base, a rocking structure supported on said base for to and fro rocking movement with the rocking structure including a seat and backrest associated in a manner for receiving an occupant, and manually actuated locking means interconnecting the base and rocking structure for selectively preventing rocking movement of the rocking structure in relation to the base, said locking means including a laterally movable lock device carried by said rocking structure, handle means operatively associated with the lock device and accessible to an occupant of the rocking structure to enable the occupant to selectively actuate the lock device, said lock device being in the form of a transversely extending member slidably supported from the rocking stRucture for lateral movement, a pair of locking lugs on said member, said base including upstanding catch members attached thereto, said catch members having a plurality of vertically spaced notches therein receiving said lugs when the lugs are laterally moved into engagement therewith thereby enabling selective actuation of the locking lugs and selective adjustment of the tilted position of the rocking structure when the lugs are engaged with selected notches at a selected elevation thereby enabling adjustment of the locked position of the rocking structure, and an extensible leg rest assembly mounted at the forward edge of the rocking structure for extension into a leg rest position and retraction into a stored position, said leg rest assembly including a transversely extending shaft on the rocking structure, said shaft being rockable about a transverse axis extending across the rocking structure for extending and retracting the leg rest assembly, said shaft being connected with the handle means accessible to the occupant of the chair, said shaft being hollow and receiving an actuating rod for the transversely movable lock member, said rod being connected to the handle means with the rod and lock member being reciprocated in response to lateral movement of the handle means while rocking movement of the shaft is accomplished by forward and rearward pivotal movement of the handle means thereby providing a single handle means for manually operating the leg rest assembly and manually actuating the locking means for the rocking structure.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said lock device includes a transversely extending member movably supported from the rocking structure and including a locking lug associated therewith, said base including an upwardly extending catch member associated therewith having vertically spaced notches for receiving the locking lug to enable selective adjustment of the tilted position of the rocking structure in relation to the base.

7. A chair structure comprising a supporting base, a rocking structure supported on said base for to and fro rocking movement with the rocking structure including a seat and backrest associated in a manner for receiving an occupant, and manual actuated locking means interconnecting the base and rocking structure for selectively preventing rocking movement of the rocking structure in relation to the base, said locking means including a movable lock device carried by said rocking structure and a catch member carried by said base, handle means operatively associated with the lock device and accessible to an occupant of the rocking structure to enable the occupant to selectively actuate the lock device for selective engagement with the catch member, a leg rest assembly carried by said rocking structure for extension into leg rest position forwardly of the rocking structure and retraction into stored position, said handle means for the lock device also being operatively associated with the leg rest assembly for selective extension and retraction thereof independent of actuation of the lock device.