CA2217981A1 - Portable easel and seat for artists - Google Patents

Portable easel and seat for artists Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CA2217981A1
CA2217981A1 CA 2217981 CA2217981A CA2217981A1 CA 2217981 A1 CA2217981 A1 CA 2217981A1 CA 2217981 CA2217981 CA 2217981 CA 2217981 A CA2217981 A CA 2217981A CA 2217981 A1 CA2217981 A1 CA 2217981A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
arms
box
pair
easel
seat assembly
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA 2217981
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert R. Genn
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA 2217981 priority Critical patent/CA2217981A1/en
Publication of CA2217981A1 publication Critical patent/CA2217981A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47BTABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
    • A47B97/00Furniture or accessories for furniture, not provided for in other groups of this subclass
    • A47B97/04Easels or stands for blackboards or the like
    • A47B97/08Easels or stands for blackboards or the like foldable
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47BTABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
    • A47B83/00Combinations comprising two or more pieces of furniture of different kinds
    • A47B83/008Easels combined with seats

Landscapes

  • Special Chairs (AREA)

Abstract

A portable easel and seat for artists is foldable into a compact unit and has wheels for pushing or towing to a site. The easel comprises a box having removable wheels mounted at a rear end, and two legs pivoted at the front end of the box, the legs extend down to a locked lowered position. A seat is provided at the rear end of the box with a folding back, and an easel frame with first pairs and second pairs of foldable arms pivoted together and to the front end of the box that can either be flat on the box in a folded position or open up to form an easel. Mounting strips are provided on the arms to support canvases or boards.

Description

PORTABLE EASEL AND SEAT FOR ARTISTS

The present invention relates to a portable easel and more specifically to a combined easel and seat that is foldable into a compact unit.

Artists often set up easels in remote sites for painting landscapes and the like and in order to locate themselves for painting it is often necessary to carry an easel, a stool and all painting equipment, including canvases and boards, to the site. This generally involves a number of items that have to be carried and in some cases it may be necessary to make two trips to an artist's site from, for instance, a car.

Various types of portable easels are available on the market. Some of these collapse or fold to a compact size so they are easy to carry. Also foldable stools and chairs are available. Some transportable easels such as that shown by Hiner in U.S. patent 5,399,009 is provided with wheels so that it can be pushed or towed to a site.

The idea of having a combined seat, easel and sunshade was disclosed by Richter in U.S. patent 375,953 which was patented in 1888. Richter shows a series of telescopic legs and braces, the assembly of which appears to be rather complex.

I have now found that I can provide a combined easel and seat assembly foldable into a substantially oblong-shaped box which has wheels at one end for ease of transporting and legs at the other end which fold down to support the box on the ground. The box has connections for attaching elongated members to connect the box to a bicycle so it may be towed. Compartments are provided in the box for canvases, boards, paints and the necessary artists' supplies. Therefore, the one assembly may be pushed or pulled to a site, and includes all that an artist requires. Thus, only one trip need be made to that site. Provision is made on the box, when in the open position, for mounting an umbrella or sunshade and the seat itself has a foldable backrest, thus making it more comfortable than a canvas stool which is frequently used by artists.

The easel has support strips on two easel arms for supporting a canvas or board at almost any height on the easel to suit the artist. A palette may be included in the box itself and provision is made on the easel arms for the palette to be held in slots. In one embodiment a storage compartment within the box permits 11" x 14"
canvases or boards with sufficient space in a different storage compartment for paints, liquids, brushes and other related materials.

The portable easel and seat can be towed behind a bicycle which makes it convenient for artists to cycle to sites. Alternatively, the wheels are removable so the assembly may be placed in the trunk of a car and then the wheels assembled and pulled to a site by handle which forms part of the support for the easel arms when raised.

In one embodiment the easel and seat assembly has a weather resistant finish, and a maul-stick is provided with a hook to fit over one of the support members on the easel arms.

The present invention provides a portable easel and seat assembly comprising: a substantially oblong-shaped box having two wheels removably mounted at a rear end of the box, and two legs pivoted from a pivot position at a front end of the box, the legs extending down to a locked lowered position, which together with the wheels, support the box in a plane substantially parallel to the ground;
a seat at the rear end of the box; an easel frame with a first pair of substantially parallel arms linked together and with lower ends pivoted at the pivot position at the front end of the box, the first pair of arms supported in an upright position, and foldable to a first stored position on the top of the box, a second pair of substantially parallel arms, pivoted to upper ends of the first pair of arms, supported in an extended position substantially in line with the first pair of arms, and foldable to a second stored position within the first pair of arms, and mounting strips on the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms to support canvases or boards.

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the present invention, Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a portable easel and seat assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention in a folded position, Figure 2 is an isometric view showing the portable easel and seat assembly of Figure 1 in the open position, Figure 3 is an isometric view showing the portable easel and seat assembly of Figure 1 with elongated members attached to the front of the box for bicycle towing, Figure 4 is an isometric view showing the attachment arm for a bicycle, Figure 5 is an isometric view showing a clamp for a bicycle for connecting the attachment arm shown in Figure 4.

Referring to Figure 1, the portable easel and seat assembly 10 shows a substantially oblong box 11 which at the bottom rear corner 12 has wheels 14 mounted thereon.
The wheels 14 are removable so that the box 11 can be placed in the trunk of a car. The wheels 14 are shown as being spoked wheels with pneumatic tires, thus they are lightweight and large enough to roll over rough ground without getting stuck.

At the top front corner 16 of the box 11 are two kidney-shaped plates 18 which extend frontward and upward from the front corner 16 and have a pivot pins 20 extending through each plate 18 just above the box 11.
Threaded lock nuts 22 is provided on the pivot pins 20 and support legs 24 extend down on the outside of the plates 18 to the ground, the legs 24 and the wheels 14 supporting the box 11 so that it is substantially parallel to the ground or the floor that the assembly 10 rests on. The legs 24 have a cross member 26 which engages with a stop 28 on the bottom of the box 11, thus the legs 24 cannot fold back further than the lowered position as shown in Figure 1. These legs 24 may be folded up about the pivot pins 20 so that they rest along the top of the box 11 as will be shown hereafter.

At the front end of the box 11, between the two kidney-shaped plates 18, is a handle crossbar 30 which can be used for wheeling the assembly 10 when in the folded position and also acts as a support for the easel as will be described. At the back of the box 11, behind the wheels 14, are top and bottom extension plates 32,34 with aligning holes 36 therein for an umbrella or sunshade to be supported as shown in Figure 2.
Reflectors 38 are shown positioned on the back end 40 of the box 11 for use when towed behind a bicycle. The back end 40 is pivotable downwards for access to a rear storage area to hold canvases and artists' materials.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the easel itself comprises two lower easel arms 42 which are connected at the base to the pivot pins 20 on the inside of the kidney-shaped plates 18. The lower arms 42 may be locked at any angle by tightening the lock nuts 22. When in the raised position, the lower arms 42 rest against the crossbar 30 and thus are supported in an upright position. Upper easel arms 44 have top pivot pins 46 with butterfly nuts 48 that hold the upper arms 44 in the extended position as shown in Figure 2 resting against an upper cross piece 50 between the tops of the lower arms 42. When folded, as shown in Figure 1, the upper arms 44 fold down inside the lower arms 42 which in turn fold down to rest on the top surface of the box 11.

A seat 52 is positioned on the box 11 over the wheels 14 and has a foldable backrest 54. The backrest is shown raised in Figure 2 and folded down in Figure 1.

A palette 56 is shown in Figure 2 which may be hand-held or, alternatively, fits into slots 58 positioned in front of the lower arms 42. The palette 56 fits over a tray 60 in the top of the box 11. The tray 60 can be used for containing paints and other artists' materials.
The tray 60 is removable, and a compartment is provided underneath into which further artists' materials may be kept.

Mounting strips 62 extend along the front edge of the upper arms 44 and the lower arms 42. The mounting strips 62 may be made of a looped fibre fabric strip and mating strips formed of fabric with a plurality of hooked fibres, sold under the trade-mark VELCRO, may be attached to the canvases 64 or boards so that they may be attached at any position on the upper arms 44 and lower arms 42.
It is noted that these arms 42,44 are in line, so the edges of the arms present a single plane for mounting the canvases 64 or boards.

A maul-stick 66 is shown in Figure 2 with a hook 68 thereon. This hook 68 on the maul-stick 66 fits over a top cross piece 70 between the upper arms 44 or, alternatively, may be hooked onto one of the other cross pieces between the arms. The maul-stick 66 fits into the box 11 when the easel and seat assembly 10 are in the folded position.

Figure 3 illustrates the support legs 24 pivoted up into a folded position and resting on top of the box 11.
The legs 24 are placed in this position for transporting the box and a single bicycle attachment arm 70 is shown fitting into a bracket 72 on one side of the box 11 with a holding screw 74 holding the attachment arm 70 in place.

The bicycle attachment arm is shown in Figure 4 which has a hook 76 at the extreme end. A clamp 78 is shown in Figure 5 which clamps onto a rear frame member of a bicycle (not shown). Two clamp screws 80 hold the clamp 78 to the bicycle frame and a U-member 82 is attached to the back of the clamp 78, positioned so it is in the location of the rear axle of the bicycle. The hook 76 on the attachment arm 70 hooks over the U-member 82 on the clamp for towing. The attachment arm 70 can easily be unhooked when the easel and seat assembly is to be used or stored.

A sunshade or umbrella 78 is shown in Figure 2.
This is a standard umbrella which fits within the slots 36 of the two extended members 32 and 34.

The box 11, arms 42,44, bicycle attachment arm 70 and legs 24 are, in one embodiment, made of wood and are treated with a weather resistant finish so that the complete assembly 10 is not affected if it remains out in the rain. In one embodiment, the length of the box 11 is approximately 38" with a width of approximately 17" and a folded height of approximately 17".

In the embodiment shown, the weight of the assembly 10 with all components, but not including painting materials and canvases, amounts to 26 pounds which is not too heavy for an artist to push or pull to a site.

When the artist arrives at site, the assembly 10 is unfolded, the legs 24 are folded down, the lower arms 42 and the upper arms 44 are opened. The lower arms 42 and the legs 24 are locked in the required positions by the locking nuts 22 on the pivot pins 20. Whereas, in Figure 2 the lower arms 42 are shown pushed back resting against the crossbar 30, it may not always be necessary to push them back as far as this. If desired, the upper arms 44 may be locked in a forward position so that they are almost vertical depending upon the requirement of the artist. The upper arms 44 are swivelled open and locked in place by the lock nuts 48. The seat back 54 is raised, the palette 56 is removed from its place on top of the tray 60 in the box 11 and a canvas 64 or board is positioned on the arms by use of the VELCRO strips 62.
The upper arms 44 can also be swivelled to a substantially horizontal position, or slightly sloped towards the artist. The upper arms 44 are locked in place by the lock nuts 48. VELCRO strips are placed on the backs of the upper arms 44 so a canvas 64 can be positioned thereon. The artist's materials such as paints or colours may be assembled on the palette or remain in the tray 60 as shown in the top of the box 11 and the artist is then ready to commence painting. On hot days or rainy days an umbrella or sunshade may be provided as shown in Figure 2.

At the end of painting it is simply necessary for the assembly 10 to be placed in the folded configuration.
Canvases may be stored in the rear compartment at the back end 40, the top arms 44 and the bottom arms 42 are folded up, the seat back 54 is lowered, the legs 24 are also folded up. If the assembly 10 is to be towed behind a bicycle, then the attachment arm 70 is inserted into bracket 72 and locked in place. The clamp 78 is mounted on the bicycle frame, the attachment arm 70 hooked onto the clamp 78 and the portable easel and seat assembly 10 can then be moved. If a bicycle is not used, then the assembly 10 can be pulled along from the handle crossbar 30. If it is to be put in a car, then the wheels 14 may be removed.

Various changes may be made to the embodiments shown herein without departing from the scope of the present invention which is limited only by the following claims.

Claims (14)

1. A portable easel and seat assembly comprising:

a substantially oblong-shaped box having two wheels removably mounted at a rear end of a box, and two legs, pivoted from a pivot position at a front end of the box, the legs extending down to a locked lowered position, which together with the wheels, support the box in a plane substantially parallel to the ground;

a seat at the rear end of the box;

an easel frame with a first pair of substantially parallel arms linked together and with lower ends pivoted at the pivot position at the front end of the box, the first pair of arms supported in an upright position, and foldable to a first stored position on the top of the box, a second pair of substantially parallel arms, pivoted to upper ends of the first pair of arms, supported in an extended position substantially in line with the first pair of arms and foldable to a second stored position within the first pair of arms, and mounting strips on the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms to support canvases or boards.
2. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the legs have a folded position along the top of the box substantially parallel to the first pair of arms in the first stored position and the second pair of arms in the second stored position.
3. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the seat has a foldable backrest which when folded rests on the seat.
4. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the first pair of arms are supported in the upright position by a crossbar on the box behind the pivot position, the crossbar acting as a handle for the assembly when the easel arms are in the stored positions.
5. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 4 wherein the second pair of arms are supported in the extended position in line with the first pair of arms by a support piece between the first pair of arms.
6. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the mounting strips comprise first strips attached to the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms having looped fibres therein and second strips for attachment to canvases or boards having a plurality of hooked fibres to engage the looped fibres of the first strip.
7. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 5 including slots provided in the first pair of arms, the slots for supporting a palette.
8. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 including a removable palette as a cover to fit over a tray formed at the top of the box.
9. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 including mounting holes provided at the end of the box in two extension members, the mounting holes for an umbrella or sunshade post.
10. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 including adjustable clamps for clamping the first pair of arms at the pivot position for locating the first pair of arms between the upright position and the first stored position.
11. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 8 wherein the box has at least one compartment at the rear end for containing canvases, boards and artists' supplies.
12. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 2 including a separate bicycle attachment arm for removably mounting on one side of the box when the legs are in the folded position for connecting to a bicycle to tow the assembly.
13. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 wherein the box, the legs and the easel frame are made of wood, the wood having a weather resistant finish thereon.
14. The portable easel and seat assembly according to claim 1 including a separate maul-stick having a hook at one end to hook over a top bar between the top of the second pair of arms, the maul-stick storable within the box.
CA 2217981 1997-10-09 1997-10-09 Portable easel and seat for artists Abandoned CA2217981A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2217981 CA2217981A1 (en) 1997-10-09 1997-10-09 Portable easel and seat for artists

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2217981 CA2217981A1 (en) 1997-10-09 1997-10-09 Portable easel and seat for artists

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2217981A1 true CA2217981A1 (en) 1999-04-09

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2217981 Abandoned CA2217981A1 (en) 1997-10-09 1997-10-09 Portable easel and seat for artists

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CA (1) CA2217981A1 (en)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105815946A (en) * 2016-05-30 2016-08-03 王俊明 Folding painting tool
CN110001278A (en) * 2019-04-25 2019-07-12 刘皓 A kind of manual integration easel
CN110001277A (en) * 2019-04-25 2019-07-12 刘皓 A kind of electric integrated easel
CN110588236A (en) * 2019-10-15 2019-12-20 金陵科技学院 Integral type is folded and is painted from life car
US11253065B2 (en) * 2018-01-11 2022-02-22 Studio Designs Inc. Padded bench assembly with height adjustable easel and ridged surface for improved canvas support

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105815946A (en) * 2016-05-30 2016-08-03 王俊明 Folding painting tool
US11253065B2 (en) * 2018-01-11 2022-02-22 Studio Designs Inc. Padded bench assembly with height adjustable easel and ridged surface for improved canvas support
CN110001278A (en) * 2019-04-25 2019-07-12 刘皓 A kind of manual integration easel
CN110001277A (en) * 2019-04-25 2019-07-12 刘皓 A kind of electric integrated easel
CN110001277B (en) * 2019-04-25 2024-03-15 刘皓 Electronic integral type easel
CN110001278B (en) * 2019-04-25 2024-03-19 刘皓 A first part seed species Manual operation Integrated type easel
CN110588236A (en) * 2019-10-15 2019-12-20 金陵科技学院 Integral type is folded and is painted from life car

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