GB2236244A - Chairs - Google Patents

Abstract

A chair with a tubular frame has a detachable arm rest 20 having a frame with legs 24 terminating in spigots 26 which plug into sockets formed by tubular members secured to cross-members 16 of the seat frame or formed by end portions of tubular cross members 16 themselves. A fitment such as a writing support or pallet 40 may be detachably fitted, in turn, to the arm rest 20. The chairs may be stacked after detaching the arm-rest. Alternatively, the chairs may be connected together in a row via a linking member comprising an L-shaped metal tube carrying at each end tubular cross-members which fit into the fore and rear pairs of sockets formed by the tubular members secured to cross-members 16 of adjacent chairs, the other pair of fore and rear sockets being available to receive the spigots 26 of the arm rest assembly 20. In another embodiment the legs 24 of the arm rest frame are welded to the mid-point of transverse rods or tubes so that the arm-rest can be connected between two identical chairs. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Improvements in or relating to chairs?? THIS INVENTION relates to chairs, particularly to chairs having tubular frames.

Stackable chairs incorporating tubular metal frames supporting plastics or wooden seats and backrest are commonly used to provide temporary seating in premises which may, on occasion, be used as lecture halls, theatres or conference rooms, such seating being temporary in the sense that when not required, the seats can be stacked compactly in a storage area to clear the space previously occupied by the chairs.

In certain situations, for example, for conferences or lectures where the persons occupying the seats may wish to take notes, it is desirable for each seat to have associated therewith some form of writing support or the like. In other situations, it may be desirable to provide seats having arm-rests, whilst in still other situations it may be desirable for the seats to be unencumbered by arm-rests, to allow closer spacing of the seats in rows or easier handling and stacking.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a chair which is readily adaptable to such various situations.

According to the invention there is provided a chair comprising a tubular frame and a detachable arm-rest, wherein said frame provides at least one open-ended tubular member affording a socket receiving telescopically a spigot formed on a frame member of said arm-rest, whereby the armrest, with the last-noted frame member, can be fitted or removed by a sliding movement to insert said spigot into, or withdraw it from, said socket.

Embodiments -of the invention are described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the invention, FIGURE 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but with the seat of the chair removed for purposes of illustration, FIGURE 3 is a partial side view of the chair of Figures 1 and 2, FIGURES 4A, 4B and 4C are respectively a side view, a front view, a top view of a frame member of an arm rest, FIGURE 4D is a partial view of a variant of the frame member of Figures 4A to 4C, FIGURES 5A to 5C are respectively side elevation, underneath plan and end elevation views showing the arm-rest and part of the associated frame member, FIGURES 6A, 6B and 6C are side, top and front views of a linking member, and FIGURE 7 is a view, similar to Figure 2, of a variant.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a lightweight chair, designed for stacking with identical chairs, has a framework of steel tubing to which are secured a seat 10 and a back rest 12. The frame includes two tubular members 14 of inverted U-shape, the members 14 defining opposite sides of the chair and each affording a respective front leg and rear leg of the chair, the legs of each member 14 diverging downwardly in manner known per se for ease of stacking. The two members 14 are connected by two horizontal, parallel, transversely extending straight tubular members 16 secured to the members 14 adjacent the upper ends of the latter.

The back-rest 12 is supported by two L-shaped tubular members 18 each having a lower horizontal portion running fore and aft and which serves to support the seat 10, the horizontal portions of the members 18 being secured to the transverse members 16. Welded to the frame, on either side, are tubular stubs 17 which are open at their ends to define, exposed on either side of the chair, respective tubular sockets, which, as explained below, provide a means whereby an ancillary fitting may be supported affording an arm-rest and/or a platform.

On each side of the chair there is a first pair of such stubs extending parallel with the front transverse member 16, at the same horizontal level and immediately behind the front member 16, the stubs 17 of the pair and the front member 16 being contiguous with one another. Likewise, on each side of the chair there is a first pair of such stubs extending parallel with the rear transverse member 16, at the same horizontal level and immediately in front of the rear member 16. The stubs 17 extend longitudinally for some distance, e.g. three or four inches, and are preferably welded to the underside of the horizontal part of the respective member 18. The ends of the members 16 abut, and are welded to, the inner sides of the respective member 14, but, as best shown in Figure 3, the open ends of the stubs 17 are exposed at the sides of the chair.

Figures 1 and 2 also show a detachable arm rest assembly 20 which can be fitted to the chair by way of the sockets provided by the stubs 17. The arm rest assembly comprises, at the upper end thereof, an arm-rest proper (22) and, secured to the arm-rest 22, a frame member affording two downwardly diverging support legs 24 bent at their lower ends to provide respective horizontally extending parallel spigots 26 so arranged that they can be slid simultaneously into the appropriate tubular members 17, as indicated by the arrow 27 and the parallel broken lines, to fit the arm rest assembly 20 to the chair.

Figures 4A to 4C illustrate one form of frame member for the arm rest assembly. In this frame member, the upper end of the frame member is provided by a horizontal plate 30 to which the upper ends of the legs 24 are welded. The plate 30 affords support for the flat underside of the arm-rest 22. Screws or bolts (not shown) are passed through holes 27 in plate 30 to secure the arm rest to the member 30.

As illustrated in Figure 4D, instead of the lower ends of the legs 24 being bent horizontally to provide, for each leg 24, a respective spigot 26, the legs 24 may be welded at their lower ends to the mid-point of horizontally extending rods or tubes 26', allowing an arm rest to be provided between two identical chairs of the type illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 with opposite ends of each member 26 being received in respective tubes 16 of the two chairs on either side.

It will be appreciated that, in general, an arm rest assembly 20 such as illustrated, may be fitted on each side of the chair. Each arm-rest assembly 20 is symmetrical about a vertical plane extending mid-way between the spigot parts 26 so that precisely the same pattern of arm-rest assembly may be used for either side of the chair.

Figures 1 and 2 show also a detachable pallet 40 which may be detachably fitted to an appropriately configured armrest assembly 20. To this end, the pallet 40, of rigid sheet material such as plywood or plastics, is provided at its rear end with a rectangular slot 42 extending in a fore and aft direction from the rear end of the pallet 40, the slot 42 being open at said rear end. The slot 42 is adapted to receive a base portion of the arm-rest 22, which base portion is furthermore configured to support the part of the pallet 40 on either side of the slot 42.Thus, as illustrated in Figures 5A to 5C, there is provided, under the arm rest 22, and mounted on the plate 30, a metal baseplate 44 which is bent to provide along a downwardly-open channel 48 which receives the plate 30, and, extending outwardly from the lower edge of each side wall 49 of the channel 48, a respective horizontal flange 50. There is thus defined, between each flange 50 and the respective lateral edge part of the arm rest 22, a respective outwardly open channel to receive the portion of the pallet 40 on the respective side of the slot 42 of the framework member. The base plate 44 has holes, registering with the holes 27 in plate 30, the bolts or screws securing the arm rest 22 to the plate 30 passing through the plate 44 via the holes in the latter and serving to clamp the plate 44 firmly between the plate 30 and the arm rest 22.

For clarity, the arm rest 22 has been omitted in Figures 5A and 5B.

As indicated by the arrow 41, the pallet 40 may be fitted to the arm-rest assembly by sliding the pallet in the front-to-rear direction to engage the slot 42 around the base plate 44 of the arm rest assembly, and may be detached by the reverse procedure. The pallet 40 may serve as a support for writing paper or books being used by the occupant of the seat, or for refreshments or anything else which the occupant of the seat may need to have to hand in the situation of use.

In the embodiments illustrated, the detachable arm rests and linking pieces (see below) are removed when it is desired to stack a series of identical chairs of the form shown. The arm rests and linking pieces can be stored separately until required.

Figures 6A to 6C illustrate a linking member 60 which may be used to connect together, side by side, adjoining identical chairs of the kind described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, for example when it is desired to connect such chairs in rows. The linking member 60 comprises a length 67 of metal tubing bent to an 'L' shape and carrying at each end, extending perpendicular to the plane of the 'L' (and thus parallel with one another) straight tubular crossmembers 64, the 'L' shaped part 60 being welded to the midpoint of each cross-member 64.

The spacing between the two cross-members 64 of the linking member 60 corresponds with the spacing between the rearwardmost socket 17 of the front pair of sockets 17 of the chair and the forwardmost socket 17 of the rear pair of sockets 17, on either side of the chair, so that two identical chairs can be linked together, side by side, by fitting the two ends of one cross member 64 in the rearwardmost sockets of the adjoining front pairs of sockets of the two chairs and the two ends of the other cross member 64 in the forwardmost sockets of the adjoining rear pairs of sockets of the two chairs, the bent part 62 extending upwardly or downwardly between the chairs as desired. The rearwardmost sockets of the rear pairs of sockets 17 and the forwardmost sockets of the front pairs of sockets are still available to receive spigot parts 26, 26' of arm rest assemblies 20.

In the variant illustrated in Figure 7, the transverse members 16 run on the insides of the legs of the chair at either side and are open at each end to define, on either side of the chair, respective tubular sockets to receive spigot parts 26, 26' or end parts of transverse members 64.

In this variant, the further tubular stubs 17 may be omitted, as shown, or a respective single stub 17 may be fixed immediately forward of the rear member 16 at each end of the latter and a respective single stub 17 may be fixed immediately to the rear of the front member 16 at each end of the latter.

Claims (8)

1. A chair comprising a tubular frame and a detachable arm-rest, wherein said frame provides at least one openended tubular member affording a socket receiving telescopically a spigot formed on a frame member of said armrest, whereby the arm-rest, with the last-noted frame member, can be fitted or removed by a sliding movement to insert said spigot into, or withdraw it from, said socket.

2. A chair according to claim 1 wherein such tubular members each affording such a socket are provided at front and rear of the chair affording said sockets are located under the seat, said tubular members extending transversely and being open-ended to afford such sockets facing laterally of the seat, and wherein said frame member of said arm rest extends downwardly from the arm-rest and carries, at its lower end, two transversely extending parallel spigot portions slidably received in respective said sockets.

3. A chair according to claim 1 or claim 2 including a detachable pallet, writing platform or the like supported by said arm-rest.

4. A chair according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 which is stackable with identical chairs.

5. A chair according to claim 1 wherein the tubular frame of the chair includes two parallel transverse tubular members extending under the seat, said transverse members being open-ended to afford such sockets facing laterally of the seat, and wherein said frame member of said arm rest extends downwardly from the arm-rest and carries, at its lower end, two transversely extending parallel spigot portions slidably received in respective said transverse tubular members of the chair.

6. A chair according to claim 2 or claim 5 wherein such sockets are provided at front and rear on each side of the chair and are equally spaced on each side of the chair, and said arm rest and said frame member thereof are symmetrical about a vertical plane extending transversely of the chair so that the arm rest, with its frame member, can be fitted to the main chair frame on the left or the right side of the chair.

7. A chair substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

8. Any novel feature or combination of features described herein.