An International Patent published last week was an oddball patent filed under Google LLC for an Office Chair with acoustic and/or visual features for shared workspaces. The concept is to cut down on noise from coworkers and provide a quieter environment for video conferencing with clients or coworkers. Oddly, two of the main inventors, Harc Lee and Jack Wood are listed on Linked in as co-founders olf "Heirloom" with no link to Google officiallly. Whether Google acquired the patent rights for this office chair design or is considering an acquisition of Heirloom is unknown at this time. Is Google thinking of expanding Nest Labs to include furniture items in the future?

In Google's patent background they note that modem workspaces frequently include open floorplans with numerous desks disposed within shared spaces. In some open floorplans, low partitions are provided between adjacent desks. In other open floorplans, no partitions are provided between adjacent desks. Thus, privacy between adjacent workspaces can be limited, which can reduce productivity in some situations.

Shared workspaces can also be noisy working environments. For example, talking coworkers can be a significant source of ambient noise in shared workspaces. Coworkers can also generate significant noise by listening to music, tapping objects, and other actions. Certain workers in shared workspaces can find the ambient noise level inherent in such arrangements distracting. Thus, noisy shared workspaces can be difficult for some workers and limit productivity.

Calls and video conferencing are ubiquitous for modem workers and can be a significant source of noise in shared workspaces. To avoid distracting coworkers, some workers move to meeting or conference spaces for calls and video conferencing. However, meeting and conference spaces are frequently limited and highly demanded in modem workspaces. Thus, moving to meeting or conference spaces for calls and video conferencing can occupy valuable real estate within shared workspaces.

A chair with features for reducing ambient noise and/or with features for reducing demand for meeting or conference spaces would be useful.

An Acoustic Chair Cove

Aspects of Google's present patent are directed to an acoustic chair cove that includes a lower cove mountable on a chair such that a first wing of the lower cove is positioned at a first side of the chair, a second wing of the lower cove is positioned at a second side of the chair, and a top portion of the lower cove is positioned at a top portion of a back of the chair. An upper cove is mounted to the lower cove such that the upper cove is selectively movable relative to the lower cove between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration. A top portion of the upper cove is positioned further from the top portion of the lower cove in the extended configuration and is positioned closer to the top portion of the lower cove in the retracted configuration.

Aspects of the present disclosure are also directed to an acoustic chair assembly. The assembly includes a chair. A U-shaped lower cove is mounted on the chair such that a first wing of the lower cove is positioned at a first side of the chair, a second wing of the lower cove is positioned at a second side of the chair, and a top portion of the lower cove is positioned at a top portion of a back of the chair. A U-shaped upper cove is mounted to the lower cove such that the upper cove is selectively movable relative to the lower cove between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration. The upper cove is movable by no less than fifteen centimeters between the extended and retracted configurations.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of various embodiments will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the related principles.

For full details, review Google's international patent application WO2024145578. It should be noted that the International patent filing reveals Google as the owner of the patent whereas the U.S. patent equivalent (20240215730) lists the inventors but not the company behind it.