US2646107A - Convertible chair - Google Patents

Description

w. H. MURPHY CONVERTIBLE CHAIR July 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1947 hi j? July 21, 1953 w. H. MURPHY CONVERTIBLE CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1947' Patented July 21, 1953 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE CONVERTIBLE CHAIR William H. Murphy, Chicago, Ill. 1

Application July 5, 1947, Serial No. 759,207,

3 Claims. (01. 155-112) 1 a The present invention relates to chairs, and more particularly to a chair of convertible type.

As background for the present invention, attention is called to the fact that it is now customary to build upholstered chairs with and without arms, and in some cases with a single arm at the right-hand side and in other cases with the arm at the left-hand side. The reason for this is that the chair with two arms is used singly in the ordinary manner whereas a chair having one left-hand arm may be used with a chair having one right-hand arm to make a sofa of short length. If desired these two chairs may be separated by a sufficient distance to permit the insertion of a chair with no arms so as to make a sofa of longer length. The advantage of this arrangement is that it promote flexibility in that the chairs may be used to form either a long Or short sofa or may be separated into individual chairs. The disadvantage of course is that when the chairs are separated, they are conspicuously different, also they are not universally interchange able withthe result that there is a considerable limitation on the possible groupings. Further, of

. course, there is a manufacturing and sales problem since a certain model or pattern of chair when constructed to be used in groups of this type will need to be built with a right-hand arm, with a left-hand arm, with no arms at all and with both arms, thereby requiring the making and stocking of four different types of chairs.

With the above in mind, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel single chair which may be used in such manner as to provide a chair having two arms; or a chair having one arm at either side, or a chair having no arms at all.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an upholstered chair of new type which may be manufactured at lower cost than chairs of similar style and quality previously manufactured.

Yet another object is to provide av novel chair having arms which may be raised or lowered and which blend well enough with the remaining portion of the chair'in either position so that it is not apparent that the arms are movable.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new type chair so arranged that it may be manufactured as sub-assemblies which are later secured together at comparatively low cost to give the completed article.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention which is I illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, in which similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a right front perspective view ofa chair embodying the present invention shown with the arms in the lowered position;

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view showing a short sofa or love seat composed of two of the chairs of the type shown inFig. 1; in the view of Fig. 2 the adjacent armsof the two chairs are in the raised position whereas the outward arms are both lowered; I 4

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the chair as seen from the front with the upholstery shown in phantom, and with the arms in the raised position;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the chair showing the construction thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a detail of the construction and may be considered as taken in the direction of the arrows substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View which may be considered as taken in the direction of the arrows substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view which may be considered as takenin the direction of the arrows substantially along the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that the chair there shown comprises a seat portion It supported upon legs 24 and that the seat portion at the rearward edge carries a back -14 at each side of which is pivoted an arm l6.

Since the two sides of the chair are reverse complements of each other, only one of the arms andthe associated mechanism need be described in plete arrangement.

The base or seat portion i comprised of a pair of wooden side rails l8 and. similar back and front rails 20 and 22 respectively, the ends of which are mortised and glued into the upper portions of vertical legs 24 which extend downwardly to support the base from the floor. For all practical purposes the four legs may be considered as identical although the rear legs slope backwardly somewhat in conventional manner. This open work box is fitted with springs and padded and upholstered in the usual manner so as to provide what is essentially an ottoman. The base portion as just described may be fabricated as an individual subassembly.

The back portion comprises a pair of upright wooden side rails 26 which carry a top cross piece 28 at the upper ends thereof and a lower cross member 30 at an intermediate point which, in the :to the outer member 40 of the arm 16.

arm and tube 46 are therefore free to pivot relacurved slot 58.

assembled article, is just above the top of the ottoman portion. For additional support, a vertical strip 32 extends between the top and bottom members 28 and 30 at the center thereof.

The side rails 26 extend downwardly beyond the lower cross member 30 so as to provide a pair of brackets 34 which are secured to the rearward base member 20 by means of screws or other fastening means. The lower portions of the side rail 26 are cut at an angle so as to support the back [4 at a comfortable degree of inclination with respect to the base In. In order to give additional strength and rigidity to the back, a cross tially unbroken excepting for the beading or trim at the edge of the arm and at the edge of the back portion. In order to carry out the design effect thus produced throughout the chair, it may be desirable to extend this beading or trim in a line from front to back across the seat cushion as shown at 50 in Figs. 1 and 2. When the arm is rotated so as to bring the pin 56 against the opposite end of the slot 58, the arm is in the lowered position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The inclination of the arm when in this position is such as will be most comfortable to a user of the chair.

member 36 extends between the side rails 26 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by mortising the ends of the cross member 38 into the side rails 26. The board 35 in the assembled chair lies flat against the base member and is secured thereto by screws 38.

In assembling the chair, the back 14, after being upholstered, is located properly with respect to the base and is secured to the base by screws 38 as previously mentioned, and subsequently a block or filler strip 39 is secured to the base-'1 board 28 and extends between the bracket portions 34 of the side rails 26 so as to fill out the space at the back of the chair and give the intermediate portion of theback of the base portion the same conformation as the bracket members 34. strip of upholstering material is applied so as After this block has been located, a small to cover this block and the end brackets 34.

By referring to Fig; 3, it will be seen that the back is considerably narrower than the base portion but is centered relatively thereto and that considering the right-hand side, for instance, theside edge of the back is ofiset inwardly from the side edge of the base portion by an amount equal substantially to the width of the arm l6. This arm is constructed of two wooden side members wand 42 spaced from each other an appropriate distance by blocks 44 at the ends thereof.

" As shown the block 44 at the outward end of the has a mounting flange 50 intermediate its ends. A portion of this sleeve extends outwardly through a drilled opening in the side rail 28 at a point above the top of the base portion a distance slightly greater than half the thickness of the arm, the flange 50 being secured to the side rail by screws 52 so that the bearing sleeve 48 is rigidly mounted. The tube 46 at its outer end is welded or otherwise suitably secured to a mounting plate or flange 54 which is fastened by screws or bolts The tive to the sleeve 48.

Rotation of the arm is limited by a cross pin 55 which extends transversely through the tube is and moves therewith within a preferably When the pin 56 is at one end of the slot 58, the arm i6 is in the fully retracted position. The contour of the lower surface of the 7 arm is such that the upholstery material extending from side to side across the back portion and across the lower surface of the arm is substan- Although slot 58 is shown as curved, it may if desired be made straight. The reason for forming this slot as a curve is that by so doing the edges of the slot act as a cam against the pin 56 so as to cause the arm to move outwardly and then back inwardly when the arm is swung from one limiting position to the other. This has the advantage of reducing the wear on the upholstery material which covers the inner surface of the arm and the outer edge of the back. Also, of course, it makes the movement of the arm more free.

It will be noticed that when the arm is in the raised position, at each side of the chair, the legs 24 and the side rail E8 of the base portion are in substantially a vertical plane which is at right angles to the front edge of the base, and that this vertical plane is continued along the outer edges of the arms. This is desirable because as best shown in Fig. 2, when the arms are in the raised position and two or more chairs are placed side by side to make a sofa, it is desirable that no open space show between the outer edges or the arms or bases of adjacent chairs.

The arms of the two types, that is, right-hand and left-hand, may be separately fabricated and equipped with the pivot tube 46 and then upholstered. Subsequently the tube 6 is slid into the bearing sleeve ,8 and the pin 56 fixed in place before the upholstery material at the rearward side of the back portion is completely 'secured.

If it is intended that chairs of this type are to be used upon occasion in side by side relationship so as to comprise a sofa, it is an advantage to provide suitable clips or other fasteners which may be used to secure adjacent chairs rigidly together. This refinement, although an advantage under certain conditions, is of course not essential to a successful utilization of the present invention.

From the above description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that a chair constructed as described fulfills all of the objectives set forth for it at an earlier portion of the specification, and further that modification may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

,I claim:

1. An upholstered chair comprising a base portion, said portion being upholstered to provide an ottoman, a back portion attached to the base portion as a unit, a pair of arms pivoted to the back portion at a point above the base p01'- tion and movable from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position, stop means to prevent upward and backward movement of said arm beyond positions wherein the lower surfaces of said arms are flush with the front surface of said back, stop means to prevent movement of said arms downwardly beyond positions where they serve as arm rests, and means for moving said arms outwardly and subsequently inwardly during movement of said arms between the limiting positions.

2. An upholstered chair comprising a rectangular base portion having vertical side edges and a back portion extending upwardly therefrom, said back portion being narrower than said base portion and centered relatively thereto, and a pair of arms adapted to fill the spaces between the edges of said back portion and the edges of said seat portion, and pivot means attaching the inner ends of said arms to the sides of said back portionsaid pivot means providing for arcuate movement of said arms between two terminal positions, said pivot means having camming members for moving said arms outwardly and thence inwardly when said arms are swung between the terminal positions.

3. An upholstered chair comprising a base portion, said base portion having vertical rightand left-hand sides perpendicular to the front edge, an upholstered back secured to said base and inclined upwardly with respect thereto, said back being narrower than aid base and centered relative thereto, a pair of upholstered arms, and structures pivotally connecting said arms to the back at a point adjacent the base portion for 'movement from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position, said arms being of suflicient width to extend'from the edges of the back tothe planes of the sides of the base so that the sides of the base and the outer sides of the arm when in vertical position lie within Vertical planes, said structures comprising a flanged tubular member secured in each side of said back on a horizontal transverse axis and covered by the upholstery materialon said back, a rod-like member extending through and fitted to said tubular member, said rod-like member extending into the side of said arm and being rigidly secured thereto, said tubular member within said back being formed to provide a circumferential slot extending through the side wall thereof, a cross-pin extending through said slot and into said rod-like member and abutting against one end of said slot when said arm is in an up position with the lower side thereof flush with the front surface of said back and against the other end of said slot when said arm is in a down position to constitute an arm rest, and said slot being curved toward said arm intermediate the ends thereof to cause said pin and said rodlike member to move transversely first outwardly and then inwardly relative to said back when said arm is moved between said positions to avoid excessive wear of the upholstery material on the contiguous faces of said back and said arm.

WILLIAM H. MURPHY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number. Name Date 160,651 Cost Mar. 9, 1875 1,835,947, Johannsen Dec. 8, 1931 2,087,574 Kaufer' July 20, 1937 2,145,669 Thompson Jan. 31, 1939 2,252,970 Gedris Aug. 19, 1941

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