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TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to means and methods whereby a recumbent listener
exposed to music experiences not only audible sensations but also tactile
sensations therefrom.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Since time immemorial, music has been recognized as being somehow soothing
to the spirit as well as pleasing to the ear. Many people believe they
work or study better within a musical environment, and some types of music
are considered relaxing. Many recent developments in sound generation and
reproduction equipment have accentuated and facilitated music
appreciation. Music has its repetitive aspect, so it is not surprising
that music is common in active and passive exercise. Music encourages such
bodily activity as dancing and is now a common accompaniment to individual
or group exercise program. Bodily well-being is enhanced by voluntary
exercise, but if such exercise is impracticable or is not well distributed
throughout the body or is carried to excess, a form of passive exercise or
"massage" often proves beneficial.
Similarities between repetitive exercise, massaging movements, and various
mechanical actions have led to numerous mechanized beds, chairs, and
tables. Efforts have also been made to apply musical or other
acoustic/sonic vibrations to more of the body than the ears. However,
nobody besides the present inventor seems to understand that the degree of
coupling between the musical or other acoustic vibrations and the body is
critical or how to accomplish it for the benefits sought. Loose coupling
and tight coupling are inoperative because the former does not vibrate the
body enough and the latter vibrates it too much, except where the body
support is affixed to an inert frame (nullifying the coupling). The
problem is even more acute with chairs, where diverse parts of the body
are being supported variously, as compared with beds or the like, where
all or most of the body is being supported generally horizontally.
Nohmura in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,880,138 and 4,055,170 and Martimaas in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,023,566 disclose sitting or reclining means with loudspeakers
directed toward the back of the person thereon, but their systems are too
loosely coupled to the supported person to be to be effective. Other
inventors have employed liquids for transmitting various vibrations to the
body, but such systems are too tightly coupled to be conducive to
relaxation and acoustic benefits.
My somatic acoustic exposure system replaces the deficiencies of the prior
art with new levels of entertainment and passive exercise plus related
benefits for persons so exposed. Such benefits are attainable in a chair,
especially one that enables the sitter to adjust its orientation from a
sitting through a semi-reclining to a recumbent position, with head, body,
and limbs all being supported.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A principal object of the present invention is to enhance the overall
exposure of a listener to musical vibrations despite shifting movement of
the listener from and to a sitting position and a recumbent position via
an intermediate semi-reclining position.
Another object of this invention is to transmit musical vibrations to the
body as well as to the ears of a listener, regardless of whether such
listener is sitting or lying down.
A further object of the invention is to accomplish the foregoing objects in
a somatic acoustic chair convertible from an upright to a reclining
position.
In general, the objects of the present invention are attained via housing
means defining an acoustic chamber supplied with music or other desired
sound and opening toward means supporting a person exposed to such sound
and partially decoupled by intervening resilient means from external
supporting means. Such apparatus features a supporting frame,
substantially rigid person-supporting means carried resiliently by the
frame, a sound housing also carried by the frame and forming an acoustic
chamber open toward the person-supporting means. More particularly, the
person-supporting means, though substantially rigid, comprises a plurality
of relatively movable portions supporting diverse parts of a person's
body.
Other objects of this invention together with means and methods for
attaining the various objects will be apparent in the following
description and the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment
thereof, being presented by way of example rather than limitation.
SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 through 9 show an acoustic chair of the present invention uncovered
so as to reveal its internal structure, and FIGS. 11 through 15 show the
same chair completely upholstered and cushioned.
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an acoustic chair of this invention, in a
generally upright position;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same chair, inclined from the previous
upright position to a partially reclined position; and
FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the same chair, fully reclined.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the uncovered chair of FIGS. 1 to 3;
FIG. 5 is a rear view of the same chair; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view, taken at VI--VI on FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is an oblique view of the chair of the preceding views, partly
disassembled, viewed from a vantage point at its upper left;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional elevation in the vicinity of the assembly
points of the same chair, taken at VIII--VIII on FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a medial side sectional elevation of the same chair, taken at
IX--IX on FIG. 4; and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view, from the upper right of the same chair,
shown upholstered and cushioned;
FIG. 11 is an elevation taken from the left and partly forward of the same
chair;
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the same chair in upright position;
FIG. 13 is a front elevation of the same upholstered chair; and
FIG. 14 is a rear elevation of the same chair shown previously.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows, from the left side slightly above the horizontal, acoustic
chair 10 of the invention on base 19 and without upholstery and cushions
(shown later), and featuring as principal components: back 11, body 15,
foot rest 17, with framework supported directly or indirectly by the base,
and with person-supporting members carried resiliently relative to the
framework. The back component has back rest 12 as such support for a
person's back, has exterior backing 22 as such framework, and is flanked
by right and left wings 13, 13' shown with respective speaker openings 23,
23' therein. The body component has pair of right and left sides 14, 14'
with arm rests 16, 16' as part of such framework, flanking seat 21 as such
support for a person's body. The seat is a bit narrower than the spacing
between the sides and rests on resilient strip 45 overlying the perimeter
of baffle 46 carried at the front by transverse support 32 attached to the
two sides. Foot rest component 17 is attached pivotally to mechanism (not
visible) under the seat of the body component, hangs down not quite
vertically to the left of the view (front of the chair), and includes
outer rest layer 51 as such support for a person's legs and feet, on top
of resilient strip 47 to baffle 48, which is spaced by spacer 38 from
outer bottom layer 49 as such framework.
The base component has pair of right and left generally triangular uprights
18, 18' resting on corner pads 28. Horizontal pivot pin 25' (to enable the
body and back of the chair to recline) is visible in an opening in the
near side of the chair, aligned with a vertical fore-to-aft bisector of
the base. Top apex 38' (dashed lines) of upright 18' has a horizontal bore
receiving pivot pin 25' as top apex 38 of base upright 18 receives pin 25
(not seen here).
FIG. 2 shows same chair 10 viewed directly from the left and differing from
FIG. 1 mainly in having back 11 and body 15 components tipped backward
about pivot pin 25' to an intermediate or semi-reclining position. In this
position, the back component and the body component, though tipped
backward, otherwise remain in their original relative orientation. Foot
rest 17 is shown tipped up from its original position (dashed lines) into
alignment with seat 21 in this intermediately recumbent position.
FIG. 3 again shows chair 10 from the left, differing from FIG. 2 in having
back component 11 and body component 15, with their related parts, tipped
further backward about pivot pin 25' (and opposite pin 25, not visible
here) to a fully reclining position, in which foot rest 17 is
substantially horizontal, at a setting between the extremes of its
positions in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this fully reclined position, the back rest
and the seat form an upright V-configuration, while remaining in their
original orientation relative to one another, although now tipped further
backward.
FIG. 4 shows chair 10 upright and viewed from the front. Respective speaker
openings 23, 23' are obliquely visible in wings 13, 13' of the back
component. Narrower and lower arm rests 26, 26' are recessed along the
inside edges of arm rests 16, 16'. Spaced from sides 14, 14' the side
edges of seat 21 rest on resilient layer 45 on top of baffle 46 (seen
edge-on) on transverse support 32. Right and left pivoted links 27, 27'
through openings in the front of that transverse support carry foot rest
17, which has top outer or rest layer 51 resting on resilient layer 47.
Baffle 52 (seen edge-on) underlies the resilient strip and is underlain by
spacer 49 to bottom outer layer 49. Transverse member 29 joins base
uprights 18, 18' just above the floor level of underlying pads 28.
FIG. 5 shows chair 10, still upright, from the back. Pivot pins 25, 25'
(dashed lines) occupy horizontal bores in sides 14, 14', below arm rests
16, 16' (and lower arm rests 26, 26'), and aligned bores in upper ends
(dashed lines) of base uprights 18, 18'. Wiring pigtail 39 is visible
entering an opening in the transverse member.
FIG. 6 shows chair body component 15 from above, sectioned through outer
backing 22, baffle 44, and lumbar part 32 of back rest 12--spaced from one
another and shaded for wood--at substantially arm rest level, as indicated
at VI--VI on FIG. 4. Seat 21 is flanked by, and spaced edgewise from,
right and left sides 14, 14' with their arm rests 16, 16--and recessed
lower arm rests 26, 26'. Visible in the upper arm rests just aft of the
recesses for the lower arm rests are pair of bores 30, 30' receiving
supporting pins 31, 31' (sectioned here) for back component 11 (shown
fragmentarily in section between the arms). The recessed lower arm rests
have electrical controls 36, 36' inset in their forward portions.
FIG. 7 shows chair 10 in partially exploded perspective, with back 11 shown
disassembled from body 15. Pins 31, 31' protrude down from respective
wings 13, 13' in position to enter respective bores 30, 30' in the aft
portion of upper arm rests 16, 16' where they are normally remain unless
and until the chair is manually disassembled, as for shipment. Lateral
bore 70' behind and below pin 31' is one of a pair adapted to receive
retaining screws (see next view) to supplement gravity in securing the
back to the body of the chair. Lumbar portion 32' of back rest 12 in FIG.
7 fits within the inside edges of sides 14, 14' and abuts the aft part of
seat 21 when the back is assembled to the chair body. Seat 21 on resilient
strip 45 (on baffle 46) is spaced from the sides as well as from the back.
FIG. 8 shows pin 31' and vicinity, partly cut away, with back 11 assembled
to body 15, as indicated at VIII--VIII on FIG. 6. Transverse screw 71' (in
bore 70'--with like screw 71 in bore 70 on the other side) holds them
together, supplementing gravity as noted.
FIG. 9 shows chair 10 in medial vertical section, as indicated at IX--IX on
FIG. 4, featuring otherwise concealed members, such as for support and for
sound-emission, in the chair interior. Between back rest 12 and outer
backing 22 is baffle 42 supported at its upper end against the inside wall
of the backing and at its lower end against intervening rigid piece 53
secured to the backing, thereby forming a sound housing. Baffle 42 carries
speakers 61 and 63 (in suitable openings) directed toward the back of back
rest 12. Baffle 46 underlying seat 21 forms a sound housing with
underlying chair bottom 59 and rigid transverse supports 32 along the
front edge and 39 along the back edge (and like supports along sides 14,
14'). Baffle 46 supports speakers 65 and 67 directed upward toward the
seat. Foot rest component 17 has, as before, outer rest layer 51 on top of
resilient strip 47 to baffle 48, which is spaced by spacer 52 from outer
bottom layer 49. The base component has cross-members 58 orienting
uprights 18, 18' and supporting pivot pin 52, for bidirectional motor 53,
which turns shaft terminating in bracket 57 affixed to bottom 59 of the
chair to control its orientation in the range from upright to fully
reclined.
FIGS. 10 to 14 show chair 110--so designated because it is now fully
upholstered and cushioned, greatly modifying its appearance, and with its
identified components, parts, or portions designated by one hundred more
than the corresponding items previously shown bare. It will be understood
that the degree of cushioning is a matter of personal preference and that,
though cushioning absorbs some of the acoustic vibration applied to the
body via its relatively rigid body support coupled resiliently to the
chair frame, the chair remains distinguished by such support as compared
with chairs that support the body either on a relatively vibration-proof
rigid frame or more directly on a sling or similar flexible or cushioned
support.
FIG. 10 shows acoustic chair 110 in perspective from a largely front and
slightly right-side oblique vantage point at a level somewhat above the
arms, showing back component 111, body component 115, foot rest component
117, and base component 119. Included are head-high right and left wing
portions 113, 113', sides 114, 114' with bi-level arm rests 116, 126 on
the right and 116', 126' on the left, and electrical controls 136, 136' on
the lower arm rests.
FIG. 11 shows chair 110 from a largely left-side and slightly front oblique
vantage point, showing substantially the same features as in FIG. 1, from
a different azimuthal position, including more of the fore-to-aft extent
of the wings of the back, more of the right armrest, and more of the
vertical extent of the base from the side.
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of chair 110, emphasizing its head, back, and
seat cushions, also convexity of the seat cushion outline to the front,
and the forward extent of the foot rest.
FIG. 13 shows chair 150 from the front, featuring the cushions, armrests,
and base.
FIG. 14 is the simplest view, showing chair 110 from the back, showing also
part of the arms and part of the base.
Operation of the acoustic chair of this invention is readily understood
from the foregoing description and the accompanying diagrams. The base
carries the chair so that the back and body components can be tipped
backward via suitable mechanism at the control of the seated person
through semi-recumbent or reclining positions to a more extreme recumbent
or reclined position. Music or other desired sound is provided from
speakers as shown or from equivalent sonic means and directed from the
sound housings toward not only the ears but also the back, seat, and legs
of a person so seated.
Although cushioned to a comfortable extent, the back, seat, and legs of a
person seated on the chair are carried on relatively rigid members that in
turn rest upon resilient strips interposed between the person-supporting
members and the general framework of the chair carried pivotally by the
base. In this important respect this chair differs from previously known
chairs, which either couple a person support tightly to an immovable
framework, in which event there is little result; or through interposed
liquid, in which event the person is pounded undesirably as soon as enough
power is expended to vibrate the incompressible water mass; or loosely to
a sling or other insufficiently rigid support, in which event there is
little effect except upon the ears of the person as is conventional.
Addition of cushions renders the relatively rigid person-supporting members
of this chair more comfortable to a person supported thereon without
damping out the sonic vibration transmitted to the person via the
resilient coupling to respective framework members.
Also noteworthy is that the chair's back rest and seat, though reclinable
together, are not affixed to one another at their junction but instead are
individually resiliently carried relative to the framework supported by
the base. This arrangement enables them to move relatively independently
and substantially perpendicularly to one another in response to applied
acoustic vibration. It also is conductive to limitation of the sound
laterally to the immediate vicinity of the chair rather than flooding the
surroundings with it.
No special materials are required for this acoustic chair. The base and
framework are preferably wooden, or alternatively plastic, metal, or
composite of equivalent rigidity. The resilient material on which the
back, seat, and legs of a person in or on the chair are supported may be
any suitably durable elastomer, such as natural or synthetic rubber or
foamed polyalkylene, polyurethane, or the like. The resilient material
need not cover the underlying baffle or other frame component but
preferably is applied in strips along edges or around the perimeter or
optionally from side to side intermediately, in width adequate to support
the person's weight without excessively absorbing or damping the sound
applied to the person therethrough.
The vibrations of the supporting lamina 12, 21, 51 of the supports 11, 15,
17, in association with the resilient strips 43, 45, 47 therearound,
renders the air chamber above the speakers 61, 63, 65, 67, 69 of a
variable volume when music is played from the loudspeaker to vibrate the
supporting lamina. In contrast to this, the air space beneath the
loudspeakers, in association with the non-resilient supports 32, 38, 53
therearound, renders such lower air chamber of a fixed volume.
Although maintaining the relative orientation of back rest and seat
unchanged throughout reclining orientations is preferred, other
arrangements may be employed, even if at some sacrifice in benefits. Thus,
the chair back may be hinged to the chair body, instead of pinned thereto,
so as to enable the intervening angle to be varied.
Preferred embodiments and variants have been suggested for this invention.
Other modifications may be made, as by adding, combining, deleting, or
subdividing compositions, parts, or steps, while retaining all or some of
the advantages and benefits of the present invention--which itself is
defined in the following claims.
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