ADJUSTABLE FURNITURE

1 . An article of adjustable furniture, comprising:

a backrest and an adjustable headrest pivotally mounted with respect to the backrest, actuator means for moving the headrest between raised and lowered positions, and guide means arranged between the headrest and the backrest for rotating the headrest with respect to the backrest as said headrest moves between said raised and lowered positions.

2 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 1 , wherein;

said guide means includes first and second guides, each guide being associated with one of the backrest and the headrest and having at least one follower associated with the other of the backrest and headrest, and wherein said first and second guides are inclined with respect to each other such that a turning moment is generated on the headrest when the headrest is raised or lowered.

3 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 2 , wherein:

said followers of the first and second guides are connected to respective fore and aft pivotal connections on said headrest such that as the headrest is raised or lowered differential movement of said followers in the direction of said first guide causes the headrest to rotate.

4 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 3 , wherein;

said followers follow a convergent path along the respective guides when the headrest is raised and a divergent path along said guides when the headrest is lowered.

5 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said first and second guides comprise at least one of a slot, a grove, and a track in which the respective followers are located.

6 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

the backrest comprises a pair of lateral side panels and said first and second guides are provided on or in said side panels.

7 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

the guide means further comprises a third guide between the followers of said first and second guides for maintaining a pre-determined spatial relationship between said first and second guide followers as the headrest is moved.

8 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 7 wherein:

said third guide is fixed in relation to one of said first or second guide followers and a respective follower of said third guide is mounted in relation to the other of said first or second guide followers.

9 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 7 or wherein:

said third guide is curved or comprises at least one curved section.

10 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said actuator means comprises a hoist having a first end connected and fixed in relation to said follower of said first guide and a second end fixed in relation to a moving part of an actuator.

11 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 10 wherein:

said hoist comprises a flexible connection line; and

said flexible connection line is one selected from a group consisting of a belt, a strap, a cable, a rope.

12 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 11 wherein:

said flexible connection line passes over and engages an engagement element fixed in relation to a seat section of the article of adjustable furniture.

13 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said actuator means has a first range of movement for pivotally moving the headrest section with respect to the backrest section, and a second range of movement for pivotally moving the backrest with respect to a seat section to provide the backrest with a recliner function

14 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 13 wherein:

said first and second ranges of movement are contiguous.

15 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 13 wherein:

movement of the actuator means in said first range of movement exclusively moves the headrest with respect to the backrest section.

16 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 13 wherein:

a movement of the actuator in said second range of movement causes the backrest to move with respect to the seat section without further movement of said headrest section with respect to said backrest section.

17 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 16 , wherein:

said guide means includes first and second guides, each first and second guide being associated with one of the backrest and the headrest and having at least one follower associated with the other of the backrest and headrest, and wherein said first and second guides are inclined with respect to each other such that a turning moment is generated on the headrest when the headrest is raised or lowered; and

wherein said further movement of said headrest section is prevented by an abutment of said followers and the end of the respective first and second guides.

18 . The article of adjustable furniture, as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the article of adjustable furniture is a chair.

19 . An article of adjustable furniture, comprising:

a floor standing base section, an adjustable seat, a backrest section and a headrest section and actuator means for moving said backrest and headrest sections, the seat section being movably mounted with respect to the base section, the backrest being movably mounted with respect to the seat section and the headrest being movably mounted with respect to the backrest section; and

wherein said actuator means further comprises:

a single actuator for co-ordinated movement of the adjustable backrest and headrest sections for selectively altering the configuration of said article of furniture.

20 . to 37 . (canceled)