US2078338A - Seat structure for kitchen cabinets - Google Patents

Description

'A ril 27, 1937,

N. R. MOORE SEAT STRUCTURE FOR KITCHEN CABINETS Original Filed Aug. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY April 27, 1937. N. R. MOORE SEAT STRUCTURE FOR KITCHEN CABINETS OriginaI Filed Aug. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J0 iii-F 11,.

' INVENTOR' /V/ /v/H/v RMOORZ ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 27, 1937 j SEAT smcormc Ninian R. Moore, Du Bois, Pa. Original application August ll, 1931, Serial No.

Divided and this application April H v I 12,19s4,serialn vzcsos Y i. 1 Claim. (01. -123) I Thisappli'catioriisa division of my co-pen'ding application'for patent for Kitchen cabinets, filed August -l l'th," 193i and given Serial No. 556,446, issued Decfl8, 1 :34am Patent Number 1,985,189. *inventiorfgrelatestoi kitchen furniture and has special reference to a combined kitchen cabinet, tableland seats particularly intended and wjell adapted forfuse'in appartments or dwellingstwh ere" there is; very limited space in the kitchen, the devicelbeing ina sense collapsible so asto occupy the' r'ninimum space when not in use, and the 'tableand' seats being movable and ext ensib l' orfprojectable when use thereof is desiredi, i.

The princi al object of the invention is to provide a novel ,foldable'or collapsible seat structure containedwithinthecabinet when not in use but. capable of being extendedor pulled outwhen use is desired,i the seat structure being of such construction that it may be. arranged to accommodate oneior two persons, depending upon circumstances 4 i In a,,meas'ure, the present device may be considered an improvement upon the'seatstructure disclosed in mypatent for Kitchen cabinets, No.- 1,'778,163 granted October 14th, 1930, in that it is an object of the present invention to provide seats in the form of movably connected sections,.,the arrangement being such that one or both sections may beselectively used depending upon whether it is intended to accommodate one or two-persons at the side of the table when the latter' iss inv extended or operative position.

.A more-specific object of the'invention is to providea-cabinet ofthis character equipped with aseat formedpf hingedly connected sections which may beextended in coextensive relation to seat 'twmpersons, i folded acne upon another to seat'one persony'or folded, collapsed, that'is to say as regards the supporting legs, and slid into the body-of the'cabinet wherein it is confined and concealed from view when use, is not desired.

'A further object is to provide a cabinet of this character'in which the top, whenthe table and seats are'incfolded and concealed position, may be used as a'work table orin which the top may support .a superposed cabinet structure for instanceas disclosedin said patent.

'A stil1 more-specific object is to provide a seat structure in which the sections and the supporting legs are of such construction that when the outer section is folded over onto the inner section, as when it is intended to accommodate one person there will be provided a smooth seating surface which will cause no discomfort to the occupant. j

An additional object is to provide a structure of this character which will be simple and,inexpensive to make and install, which may be considered portable if necessary, which will be neat and attractive in appearance, convenient and efficient in use, durable in service, and a general improvement in the art. To the attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages, the invention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in theaccompanying'drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View offmy cabinet structure showing the table and seats fully extended for use, v I

Figure 2 is a top plan view with a portion of the top broken away and with the table shown in extended position in full lines and in concealed position by dotand dash lines,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line v3.--3' of Figure'2, the foldability of the outer seat section being represented by dot and dash lines,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the seat structure arranged to accommodate one person, V 77 Figure 5 is a plan view of the seat structure in fully extended position or in other words a plan view of what is shown in Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a plan. view of what is shown in Figure 4, and

Figure '7 is an underneath view or bottom plan of what is shown in Figure 6.

Referring more particularly to the drawings I have shown a cabinet indicated as a whole by the numeral l5, this cabinet being constructed of wood, metal or any other material and being of rectangular shape and supported upon legs [6.

The exact construction of the cabinet 15 may be varied to 'a considerable extent and it may be provided with any desired number of cupboard compartments closed by doors I! and also pro vided with any desired number of drawers l8. Furthermore beneath the top l9, which is usable as a work table, there may be provided a compartment 20 for the reception of a movably mounted ironing board 2|, not shown in detail, but which may be constructed and arranged as disclosed in said patent. The ironing board forms no part whatsoever of the present invention but its presence is indicated as an additional The cabinet |5 may, if desired, have a superstructure thereon as indicated in the patent and conforming to a greater or less extent to such devices in common use.

In accordance with the present invention the cabinet i5 is formed with a compartment 22 within which is movably mounted a table 23 of such dimensions as to be received within the compartment and be entirely enclosed therein when its use is not needed. While the specific construction of the table may be varied within wide,

limits it is here disclosed as comprising an open frame 24 having a sheet metal top 25, the open frame being for the accommodation of an end leg structure 26 hinged at 21 and provided at'the sides with pivotally connected foldable braces 28,

the edges being preferably recessed at 29 to ac-' extend downwardly in a vertical position as shown in Figure l with the braces 28 extended and locked together as is a common arrangement. Secured upon the underside of the table 23 is a substantially V-shaped or l-shaped guide track 38 channel shaped in cross section and slidably engaging a roller 3| journaled on a post at the bottom of the compartment 2|. Stops 35 and 36 are provided at the ends of the track 30 so that it and consequently the table 23 cannot be absolutely pulled out and detached from the cabinet except upon removal of the stop which may of course be simply held in place by a screw or the like.

When the table is not in use it is confined entirely within the compartment 22 with the leg structure 26 and braces 28 folded up and lying within the confines of the frame 24. At such time the guide roller 3| is located within the outer end of that portion of the track 30 which extends transversely of the table, or in other words'the stop 36 is in engagement with the roller. When use of the table is desired, the operator inserts his fingers within the open front of the compartment 22 so as toengage them beneath the edge of the table and then pulls the table out in parallel relation to the cabinet until the angle of the guide track 30 reaches the roller 3|, after which it is necessary to swing the table in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2 while continuing to pull it out whereupon the curved portion of the track will ride along the roller 3| so that the table will eventually assume a position extending at right angles from the front of the cabinet as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the stop 35 being then in engagement with the roller. The leg structure 26 is then swung down and the braces 28 swung into alinement and locked so that the table will have its free end supported and will be rigid and ready for service.

To provide seating accommodations for one or two persons desiring to use the table fordining or other purposes, I provide a bench or seat 'structure indicated as a whole by the numeral 3'! and comprising a pair of sections 38 and 39 hingedly connected at 46 and capable of being arranged selectively in end to end relation as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 or folded one upon the other as shown in Figure 4. The undersides of these sections are recessed at 4| and 42 for the reception of leg structures 43 and 44, respectively, provided with foldable braces 45 and 46. The leg structure 43 may be of skeleton formation as clearly illustrated in Figure 1 whereas the leg structure 44 is preferably solid so as to fill the recess 42 when folded inasmuch as under some circumstances the underside of the section 39 becomes the surface upon which the user sits. The lower end of the leg structure 44 is preferably hollowed-out or concaved as at 41 so that the operator may insert his fingers and pull the leg structure 44 out from the recess 42 and swing it down into the vertical position shown in Figures 1 and 3. When the seat sections have their legs folded up into the recesses 4| and 42 and when the section 39 is swung upon the hinges so as to lie flat upon the section 38 the seat structure is slidable into a compartment 48 in the cabinet so as to be entirely contained therewithin. Toprevent disconnection of the bench or seat structure from the cabinet the section 38 may be provided with a cleat 49 .at its inner end adapted to engage stops 50 at the'sides of the compartment 48 as shown in Figcommodate the braces when the legs are folded 5"- up to lie against the underside of the sheet metal top 25. Clearly the leg structure is swingable to under ordinary circumstances the table 23 is confined entirely within the compartment 22 while the folded and superposed seat sections 38-and 39 are located entirely within the compartment 48. The cabinet then occupies the minimum space and its top I9 may be used as a kitchen table or for any desired purpose. When for example it is desired to serve a meal, the table 23 is grasped and pulled out, while being turned at the same time so as to bring it into the projected or extended position shown in Figure 1 and the legs 26 are swung down and the braces 28 extended so as to support the free end, all as above described. The user then reaches into the front of the compartment 48 and. pulls out the bench or seat structure. the table the section 39 may be left in folded position superposed upon the section 38. If two persons intend to sit at the table the section 39 is swung upon the hinges 48 into projected position coextensive with the section 38 and of course the legs 43 and 44 are swung down and the braces 45 and 46 moved into operative position. If use of the dining facilities are no longer needed the seat structure is folded up and pushed into the compartment 48 and the table structure 23 is similarly returned to the compartment 22.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simply constructed, inexpensive and highly useful and convenient kitchen cabinet which provides table and seating accommodations for one or two persons without it being necessary to have additional furniture. Clearly, if desired, the cabinet might be made of greater width and provided with a seat structure at both sides of the table. As such would be a mere duplication of what is disclosed in the drawings illustration thereof is unnecessary. It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art without further explanation.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the disclosure is merely an exemplification of the principles involved as the right is reserved to make all such changes in the details of construction'as will widen the field of utility and increase the adaptability of the device provided such changes constitute no departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

A cabinet provided with an additional compartment opening out to the front, and a seat struc- If only one person is to sit at ture slidably mounted and normally contained within said compartment, said structure comprising a pair of sections hingedly connected at their ends and disposable selectively in end to end relation as continuations of each other or in superposed relation, each section having a recess in its underside, a hinged leg structure at the outer end of each section disposable to lie within the adjacent recess, jointed braces pivotally connected with the edges of the respective leg structures 10 and pivotally connected with the sections at the edges of the recesses therein, the leg structure of the outer section filling the recess therein and the edges of the leg structure of the outer section being recessed to receive the braces whereby when the seat structure is extended and the outer section superposed upon the inner section the exposed surface of the former will be flush to serve as an individual seat.v

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