US2587176A - Foldable chair - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 26, 1952 c, o, LARSON 2,587,176

FOLDABLE CHAIR Filed Oct. 2'7, 1945 2 SHEETSSHEET l IN V EN TOR. 66 6&4/ 26 0.57 5070 l 26, 1952 c. o. LARSON 2,587,176

FOLDABLE CHAIR Filed Oct. 27, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE Application October 27, 1945, Serial No. 625,065

12 Claims. (Cl. 155139) This invention relates to a folding or collapsible chair.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide such a chair wherein the frame members of the chair are hinged together by means of a simple type of hardware and in a manner such that the chair may be made of standard out lengths of supporting material suchas wood bars or shapes suitably screwed or nailed together in certain parts and then pivotally and foldably attached by means of hardware connections.

Another object of the invention resides in providing such a chair which includes a back and arm supports wherein the arm supports and back are adapted to fold into substantially a common plane.

. Yet another object of the invention resides in providing such a chair comprising a seat, a back, arm supports, and front legs all of which are adapted to fold substantially into a common plane.

Yet another object of the invention resides in providing a chair having a seat, a back, arm supports, and forelegs, wherein the back is secured to the seat members by means of a detachable pivotal connection which permits the back bodily to swing relatively to the seat into a substantially common plane with the seat and wherein likewise the arm supports when unfastened from the back will swing into a common plane with the back and seat.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a perusal of the following specification when taken in connection with the ac companying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of one type of my completed chair;

Figure 2 is a collapsed or folded view of the same;

Figure 3 is a perspective view with the fabric covering removed from the back and seat; and

Figure 4 is a side view showing the chair open in full lines, and in collapsed position in dotted lines.

Referring now to the'drawings in detail, and particularly with reference to Figure 3, the chair comprises a pair of side frame members 2 and 4 preferably formed of wood. These members are preferably elongated and maintained in spaced apart relation by a forward transverse strut or bar 6 and a rear cross bar 8. The cross bar 6 is preferably fastened to the two laterally extending side seat bars 2 and 4 by means of nails or screws. In addition, at the corners of the junction of the bar 6 and the two cross bars 2 and 4 there are right angled or L-shaped rigid corner fastening means that are fastened through one leg thereof as at l2 to the bars 2 and 4 and through th opposite leg to front bar 6. In addition, the rear cross bar 8 is secured to thetwo side bars 2 and 4 by nailing or screwing through the meeting faces of the ends of the boards 2 and 4 and the ends of the bar 8 and also by utilization of L- shaped rigid corner bars I4 which are fastened as at l6 through one leg thereof into the bars 2 and 4; and through the other leg l8 thereof into the ends of the bar 8., Thus a rigid square frame for the seat is produced. The rear ends of the bars 2 and 4 are provided with pivotal pins 20 and 22 and on these are pivotally mounted the two wheels 24 and 26 and 28 and 30, there being spacing means or a sleeve surrounding the pin 20 whereby the rear end of the seat support may roll along the ground. It will be seen that the rear end inclines downwardly when the chair is in open position. The chair is supported by means of a pair of front legs 32 and 34 which are pivotally mounted as at 36 to the side members Z-and 4 of the seat. These legs are securely braced by means of front cross bars 38 and 40. The bar 38 is held in place by suitable nails or screws 42 and 44 which are secured into the legs 32 and 34 respectively, and the upper bar 40 is nailed as at 46 and 48 to these same leg members 32 and 34. The legs preferably lie on the outside of the side members 2 and 4, and the front of these side members, as at 50, is preferably rounded for ornateness. A pair of hooks 52 and 54 are hooked as at 5B and 58 to the underside of the front bar 6 and the hooks of these members engage in eyes 60 and 62 screwed into the front. face of the upper cross bar 40 whereby when these hooks engage in the eyes the front legs are engaged in the position shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, but when these hooks are released, the front legs may be swung rearwardly, as shown in dotted lines at 62, upwardly into a plane substantially that of the bars 2 and 4. The bottoms 64- of the legs'are cut on a bevel, as shown, so that they may lie flat when the legs are in open, forwardly angular position.

A back is provided which comprises a pair of parallel bars 66 and 68, preferably of wood, suitably cross braced as at 10 and 12, the cross bars 10 and T2 lying at the top and bottom and between the bars 66 and 68 being fastened thereto in a manner similar to that in which the bars 6 and 8 are fastened between the side bars 2 and 4, and additionally the L-shaped rigidifying bars 74 and 16 are utilizedv at the corners of the twobars 66 and 68 and 1!} and I2. The bottom ends of the bars 56 and 68 are mounted as at 18.

In order to provide a shiftable pivot for these bars and for securing them pivotally to the side bars 2 and 4, I provide a pair of hardware members each comprising a pair of fiat metal strips 38 having spaced perforations 82 one of which, the lowest one illustrated, is provided with a cross pin 8-.- Which threadedly engages the threaded openings in these strips 8! and holds them to: gether in parallel relationship on opposite sides of the bars 2 and 4. The upper end, or one end of the flat bars 88 is provided with a rounded I ahead 86 having a central perforation through which passes the shank of an eye screw 90. The

eye of the screw lies outwardly and the threaded shank of the screw passes into the lower ends of the bars 66 and 68 whereby securely and rigidly to hold the hardware members to the bottom portions of the arms 65 and 58. Inasmuch as the ower cro s bar 84 ri idly nterc nne ting he two fia ha d e strips 0 ies l e ow th lower face of the bar 2, as shown in Figures 3 and; 4, the hardware yoke is adapted to slide along the two bars 2 and 4. However they are held in such position by means of a hook 85 which hasv one end screwed as at 88 into the bars 2 and 4 and the opposite end of the hook, which isv the hook por i n f. p sses. thr ug th ye at of the sc ew eye th f ste s i to the b tt m port ons of; h arms 66 and $8. In th s manner the basal port,

tions of the upstanding ar lib-an 68 are niv otally secur d in substantially a e or rigid r e tion to the arms 2 and 4 so that the backs ma ha a slight pivota m v men r lativ to the side mem e s 2 and 4.. By unbookins the. books. 236 from the. eye 90 these side arms 66 and 68 are adapted to slide to the position shown in dotted lines Figure 4 wherein the bottom portion there clu ing the clevis clamp 8 has shifted al ng the rear e d. o t a sZ and and. n w pies a posi io re a ively close to. the end of h se members 2 and 4. In this position the arms 66 and B8 may fold downwardly substantially into the plane of the side bars 2 and 4. Arm supports are pivotally mounted on the back supports 66 and 68. To this end a pair of arm supports are provided, each comprising a generally Wedge. shaped board portion 94 and 95 which is secured at its ends onto a fiat, horizontally disposed. arm o -rd 98 and 19 e e arm boar s e secured by means of the rieidifyins L-sbz bed corner racke s. inst as the th rs are secured. and also b nailin or screwin o that they are ri idly ecured to eth r. In addition the. rear ends are rigi ly h ld to ethe by means of a ross bar or brace Hi2 which is nailed or screwed to the h derside of the rear ends of the arms 98 and 100. Preferably the supports 592 lie in notches Hi4 formed in the rear ends of the vertically disposed boards 96 and .96 to provide steadiness. The -up= per surface of each one of the boards 98 and I!!!) is provided with an eye screw m6 having the hook shank 10S pivoted thereto, the hook H0 whereof engages into an eye H2 fastened on the side of the barsBE and 68, as shown in Figure 4. In addition, the side boards 94 and 93 are secured by means of pivotal pins H4 and H6, the inner ends of Which are threaded and rigidly secured by means of the Wing nuts I I8. In a similar way the threaded portions of the. eye bolts or screws Sit are held to the lower ends of the side members 66 and 68 by means of the wing nut fingers H8. By releasing the hooks I'lll from the eyes H2 the side arms 98 and 00 are adapted to fold 4 or swing into a position substantially parallel with the back, see dotted line in Figure 4, and to lie substantially in the plane of the seat members 2 with the back members 66.

The chair back 66 is maintained in erect posi tion in the following manner. When the back is pulled up to open position, the brace from the wheel to the arms supports this back. In order to keep the arm in horizontal position the top board 38 is adjustable, that is, it is moved up until it fits snugly to the back frame. Then it is sgrewed tight, and then the hooks are fastened to the back, which keeps it all locked tight.

In order to rigidify and strengthen the structure, the side braces I20 are pivoted on the pivotal points H4 and H6 and Zll, 22 of the arm pivots and rear wheel pivots respectively, as herein shown. When the chair is collapsed or folded, as shown in Figure 4, these brace links E23 will fold substantially into the plane of the side memhere .2. and .4. sho n n dot ed l ne With reference to Figures 1 and 2 it will be n ted that the hem members may b f desire covered by a suitable fabric I24 for the seat and 12.6, fo he. back, wh ch is a t d o er h i members 2 and and h back m mbers 5 and 68 whereby o provide a f e ible seat n a fl xible bac The chair c llapse n o the posi ion show su stantially nfiisure 2.

b I the n ention is not lim t d to the t on disclosed here s and c ange andxsooe of specific set ls of const but. isfe table o other modi es without departin fro he spirit the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by L tters Pe tent is: v

1. A foldable. chair comprising a pair of I'QQI-r warclly inclined rear legs forming also a seat frame, a pair of forelegs, one pivotally connected to each of said inclined rear legs at the front thereof, means for securing said forelegs in open position with respect to said inclined rear legs,

1 a back, means connected to spaced bottom portions of the back slidingly straddling said parailel inclined rear legs and shiftable therealong, a pair of side braces each having a lower end pivoted to the rear end of an inclined rear leg and each having an upper end pivoted to the back between its upper and lower side portions, means to hold said connecting means stationary withrehe t. to said nc in d rear s a a am d. means being quickly detachable to permit the back to fold substantial nto the, l n of a d rear legs, and a pair of arms pivoted to the back on the same pivot whi h pivo a ly in e conn c the tops of the side braces with said back.

"2.- A foldable ha r c m ri ing a p r of rea wa clly nclined rear less fo mi g a so a sea fram a air of fo e es o e p a ly c nnect at one e d hereo o ea h o aid n l d ea legs at the front thereof, means for securing said 'forel ss time p s tion with re pect o sa ear less. a back p vo y m u e on vsaid rear legs, means connected to spaced bottom portions Of the back and slidi slv t d li sa d parallel inelined r ar less to s iftth re lons. m ans to hold said, connectin means s ti nar wi h F?" sn c in sa d cl ed rear les bracing me ns pivotally connected to and terconn ctin said rear legs and. said back, said back ein ieldable substantially into the plane of inc n d rea ess- 3. .A ioidable chair compr a pair f ill-- clined rear legs forming also a seat frame, a pair of forelegs, one pivotally connected to each side bar at the front thereof, means for securing said forelegs in open position with respect to said inclined rear legs, a back, means connected to the spaced'bottom portions of-theback and slidingly straddling said parallel inclined rear legs to shift therealong, bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legs and said back, means to hold said connecting means stationary with respect to said rear legs, said last named means being quickly detachable to permit the back to fold substantially into the plane of said rear legs, a pair of arm supports pivotally mount ed on opposite upstanding sides of said back, and means to hold said arm supports from swinging movement with respect to said back said last named means being releasable whereby said arm supports are adapted to swing with said back substantially into the plane of said inclined rear legs.

4. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legs forming a seat frame, a pair of forelegs, one pivotally connected to each inclined rear leg at the front thereof, means for securing said forelegs in open position with respect to said rear legs, a back, mean connected to the spaced bottom portions of the back and slidingly straddling said inclined rear legs and to shift therealong, fastening means interconnecting said rear legs and the spliced bottom portions of said back to hold said slidable means stationary with respect to said side bars, said last named means being quickly detachable to permit the back to fold substantially into the plane of said rear legs, a pair of side arms each pivoted to the opposite side portions of the back between the top and bottom of the back, and link members pivotally interconnecting each of said side arms with rear portions of said inclined rear legs.

5. In a folding chair of the type described, the combination of a seat frame comprising parallel elongated side bars rigidly interconnected by means of transverse rigidifying bars, a pair of forelegs pivotally connected to said side bars, means for holding said forelegs in open position with respect to said seat bars, a back comprising parallel elongated bars suitably spaced apart by i rigidifying cross bars, two pairs of straps, each strap having a circular head and a series of holes along its length, a cross bar passing through registering holes in one end of the straps and underlying the side bars, the circular heads of said pairs of bars being in registration and being perforated, and an eye bolt passing through the perforation of the said heads into the lower end of each back bar, the length of said cross bar through the lowermost holes of said strap with respect to the pivotal points of the circular heads being greater than the width of the side bars of the seat whereby said back is slidable along said seat bars, and a hook pivotally fastened to each side bar and adapted to engage the eye passing through the circular head of each strap whereby to hold the bottom portions of the back in predetermined position with relation to the side bars so as to maintain the back in substantially right angled position with respect to the plane of the side bars, and arm members pivotally mounted on the back, said arm members being interconnected by a cross support extending rearwardly of said back, and hooks and'eyes on said arm supports and back supports for holding the arm supports rigidly in'position with respect to the back supports.

v6. A foldable chair comprising parallel inclined rear legs forming also a seat member, forelegs pivoted to the front of said seat member and adapted to fold rearwardly substantially into the plane of said seat member, means for maintain-- ing said front legs in open position substantially at right angles to the seat membena back pivotally mounted on said seat member and having its'bottom portion secured to and shiftable bodily along said seat member, bracingmeans pivotally connected to and interconnecting said back and said seat member, means for maintaining the bottom portion immovable and against shifting with respect to said seat member whereby said back is held in supporting position with respect to said seat member, said maintaining means being releasable to permit said back to swing substantially into the plane of said seat member, side arms pivotally mounted on said back in spaced relation thereon, and detachable means interconnecting the rear portions of said side arms and said back for holding said side arms in fixed relation with respect to said back, said means being releasable to permit said arms to swing into the plane of said back and to collapse with said seat.

7. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legs forming also a seat frame, means for supporting said rear legs in nclined position, a back, means connected to spaced lower portions of the back slidingly straddling said inclined rear legs and shiftable therealong,

bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legs and said back, and means to hold said connecting means stationary with respect to said rear legs, said last-named means being quickly detachable to permit the back to fold substantially into the plane of said rear legs.

8. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein the means for supporting the rear legs in inclined position comprises front legs pivotally attached to 5' said rear legs adjacent the forward ends of said rear legs, said front legs being foldable to position substantially parallel with said rear legs, and quickly detachable means for locking said front legs in supporting position.

9. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein the rearward portions of the rear legs are provided with wheels.

10. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein'the means connected to spaced lower portions of the back comprises a pair of straps, one of said straps being positioned on one side of an associated rear leg and the other said strap being positioned on the other side of said rear leg, one end of said straps being pivotally connected to the lower portion of the back, and a cross bar interconnecting the other end of the straps and underlying the rear leg.

11. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legs forming also a seat frame, means for supporting said rear legs in inclined position, a back, means connected to spaced lower portions of the back slidingly straddling said rear legs and shiftable therealong, bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legs and said back, means to hold said connecting means stationary with respect to said rear legs, said last-named means being quickly detachable to permit theback to fold substantially into the plane of said rear legs, an

1 arm pivoted, on the back and supported: solely by the pivot, stop means to stop rotation off said arm about the pivot to place said arm in supporting position, and readily detachable latch means to hold said arm in. supporting position.

12. A foldable chair comprising a. pair of rearwardly inclined rear legs forming also a seat frame, means for supporting the rear legs in inclined position, a back, means slidingly mounting the lower portion of the back on said rear legs to make the back shiftabie there'along, bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legs and said back, and means to hold said mounting means stationary with respect to said rear legs.

CHARLES O. LARSON.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,911,127 Wasserberg May 23, 1933 1,919,820 Ashleman July 25, 1933 2,040,942 Katenkamp May 19, 1936 1 2,449,747 Kramer Sept. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 118,821 Australia Aug. 31, 1944 15 23,725 Great Britain Dec. 24, 1913 172,889 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1921

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