US1003490A - Automatic or self-opening extension dining-table. - Google Patents

Description

- E. NAPOLI.

AUTOMATIG 0B. SELF OPENING EXTENSIO DINING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 19 10.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

WITNESSES E. NAPOLI.

AUTOMATIC OR. SELF OPENING EXTENSION DINING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1,03,4;90. Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

($1 9. Cfikigw of? dinir UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENIO NAPOLI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC OR S ELF-OPENING EXTENSION DINING-TABLE.

To all whom it may concern: 4

Be it known that I, EUGENIQ NAPOLI, a subject of Victor Emanuel III, King of Italy, with application for declaration of intei'ition for American citizenship filed in the ottiee of the clerk of the United States of th inconveniences of the dining table in constricted quarters, such as small apartments and tenements in the larger cities, been the difficulty of finding a.

- place in which to dispose the separate leaves which are not in use, and whiclrheretotorc have generally formed the accepted method of extending such tables when desired.

It is a main object of my invention to provide stoi e space within the table itself "1. leaves, which are seldom present ca provides for two t it will. be obvious after cone specification and drawings that oi the invention may be ere other munhers of leaves, or that one only may be employed, in a small table. The leaves fold up when not in use, and are stowed by a single manipulation below the top of the table, which closes over them so as to present the usual. substantially un broken surface; when it is desired to extend the table the two parts of the permanent top are drawn apart, and thereupon one of the leaves is released and is automatically ejected from its resting place by means of a suitable spring, and then unfolded in position upon the slides; the parts of the table may then'be pressed together, the dowels upon the extra leaf and the permanent parts of the top fitting into place in the usual manner. A detent is provided which causesone of the leaves to operate at a time, the detent serving to hold the second leaf or other Specification of Letters Patent.

AppIieation filed June21, 1910.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911'.

Serial No. 568,127.

leaves dormant until the table be pulled farther open, automatic means being provided to release the detent after the first leaf has come into position; and thereupon the second leaf, or other leaves, is also released from its resting place and brought into proper position.

It has heretofore been proposed to stow the leaves in the space beneath the table top when the occasion to do so arises; but all of the tables with which I am acquainted have been obj ectionable for one reason or another, requiring the manipulation of catches and handles, which are liable to get out of order and are not automatic in their action. In some cases also only the top of the table moves and the legs remain stationary, which is apt to make the whole structure loose and unstead after it has been in use but a little while, since the heavy parts of the top move so as to overhang the legs, and are held against tipping by the dowels alone. The

arrangel'nent of my invention, however, uses it the ordinary slides and legs connected to them in the usual way, and superposes the new parts upon them, avoiding the objections pointed out. Since the whole operation of the table is automatic and does not re quire skilled or indeed any, manipulation other than the mere pulling open of the table, to bring the eXtension leaves into their proper places, it avoids the objections of those forms in which latches and detents must be moved by hand.

The accompanying drawings show an eIn-- bodimont of the invention. In them, Figure l is a top plan view; Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view, the legs being removed for clearness. Fig. 3 isa top plan view with the table partly open; one leaf being in position and the other about to rise from its resting place. Fig. 4 is a section upon the line 4, 4 of Fig. 52 looking to the right, but with the parts in their normal position. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are details of the locking mechanism; shown upon an enlarged scale.

In Fig. 1, A, A are the parts of the arrangements or slides of an extension table are indicated at (Z, d, (Z (Z3, etc.; and crossbraces D, D are also indicated. One of the slides carries a latch E, the construction of which is shown more clearly in Fig. 5. It consists of a case or box 6, preferably of metal, a bolt 6 with a spring 0 around its spindle, and av pin 0 fast in the bolt, and working in a slot in the case. Upon the rail or slide (Z is a guide D which cooperates with a pin in the bolt of the latch and withdraws the latter, allowing it to return by the force of the spring after the guide,

which is practically a. cam, has acted and passed. The o'tlice of this latch is to hold the folding leaf B in place when the parts A,

A of thetable are to be brought together. A spring 6 surrounds a rod 6 and is attached at one end: The oflice of this spring is to unfold the leaf when the latch F is operated as the cam D passes its pin. As seen in Fig. 4, the dottcdline position of the leaf B is that which it takes when folded, it being" shownin that figure in solid lines in its position when extended. The guide F shown in solid lines in Fig. 4, is upon the other side of the leaf B, and the holes b, b for the dowels (not shown) upon the part of the permanent top are designedly located in positions directly opposite the dowels b, b shown in Fig. 3, so that the paths of "the latter with reference to the guide F- may be approximately indicated, as they are in Fig. 4 by the dotted circles; it will be understood that these circles are only approximations, the true paths being complicated by reason of the lower part of the leaves swinging about both the rod 5 and the hinge b as centers.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and at, taken in connection with Fig. 2, I shown the method of operation of the second one of the leaves, the two parts of which arelettered C, 0 In Fig. 3 the leaf C is shown as provided with reinforcing parts C and is mounted upon a rod 0 about which it turns, the s ring a} acting like the spring b of the leaf 1 The leaf is carried in a frame G, provided with an automatic catch I, presently to be more fully describcd, which holds the frame G under the part A of the. permanent top until it is desired to .release.it. After it is released the frame G slides out from under the part A and a cam D operates a latch E like that which secures the leaf li, When the table is closed the, twq folded leaves B and O are disposed one abpve the other, the leaf C being shown in dotted lines in, Fig. 4:, because one of the 'CI'OSSrIELllS of the frame G is between it and the observer. As seen m Fig. 2, a groove 0 passes across the under part Q of the leaf, so that when groove may be omitted, as will be manifest, since there will then be room enough for the spring. In order to insure the consecutive operation of these two sets of leaves, I arrange an automatic catch which is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, and in a smaller view in plan in Fig. 3. Fig. (i is partly in section on the line 6, 6 of. Fig. 3, and Fig. 7 is an end elevation looking to the right, of the latch shown in Fig. 6. As will be observed the'latch, which holds leaf C dormant, consists of an elbow-catch I having a downwardly projecting portion I it is pivoted'at i and works against a stop The upper part of this catch is beveled off as shown at a in Fig. 7, as is also the lower part, at in the same figure. The upper portion engages with a recess behind a plate a in the top part A of the table, and when the table is. closed the beveled portion 2' causes the catch to slide out of the way of the plate a, and then to engage with it; while when the top part A is'drawn to the right, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3, plate it draws the frame G alon with it, thus drawing along the leaves l, C Iand allowing the leaves B, B to be thrown up into their proper places. If no further extension of the table be desired, the usual dowels b are brought into place and the table being closed together becomes firm. If, however, it be desired to have a reater length, the part A is pulled out still arther until the lower part I of the catch I engages with the beveled portion it upon a cross-bar H (see Figs. 2 and i) which releases the top of the table, permitting it to slide until the frame G has come against the stops 9, g a little farther movement of the top then draws the cam D past the latch E (see Fig. 3) releasing the latter; whereupon the spring. 0 on the rod 0 throws-up the leaves 0, C

The table which I have shown is intended to be and is in fact automatic in its action, in that by the mere opening of the permanent parts of the top .the extension leaves are brought into place upon the top of the rails or slldes, so that by simply pushing the permanent parts of the top toward one another the operation is complete, It is obvious that this is the best method of operation, since it avoids trouble for those who are not familiar with mechanical mattersrbut the spring may be of such strength as merely to start the leaves from place without completing the operation, or the arrangement may be such that they are simply released so as to be movable by hand, without departing from the invention. In those of my claims in which I have used the word automatically, 'I mean to refer to the table when equipped with the springs for the purpose above described; in the strict sense the action is not automatic, since it must be ing the leaf and started manually-, but I have used it as a convenient term which will not be misunderstood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by' Letters- Patent of the United States, is:

1. An extension table comprising a divided permanent top, slides, and means for suporting them; a leaf composed oftwo parts 'inged together and turning about a center eccentric to the hinge, a spring for unfoldbringing it into the plane of the permanent top, a detent for holding the leaf in its folded position against the the leaf, a latch upon the frame holding the leaf in its concealed position against the tension of the spring, a pin in a cam upon one of the slides cooperating with the, pin, the slide moving when the sections of the permanent top are drawn apart; whereby when the table is opened the latch is drawn back and releases the folding leaf, the spring rotating it about the rod until it unfolds and assumes a position in the plane of the permanent top.

apart the divisions of the top,

the detent at desired times.

the combinathem;

the latch, and

3. In an extension table, the combination of a permanent top divided .into sections, slides and meansfor supporting them; with a plurality of folding leaves each composed of two parts hinged together and turning about a rod eccentric to the hinge, a spring about the rod one end of which is secured thereto and the other end of which presses against the leaf, a latch for each ofthe folding leaves, a cam for each of them located upon the'slides which move with the opening of theto a detent for preventing the action of one o the leaves until the other has been brought into extended position, and means for releasing the detent by further extension of the table.

4. In an extension table the combination of a divided permanent top, the slides and meansfor supporting them; with a plurality of folding leaves disposed below the permanent to when the'tableis closed, each leaf com-pose of two parts hinged together,

the arts swlnging'about a rod eccentric to the mge, a spring attached-at one end to the rod and bearing against the leaf so as to g ve it atendency to swing around the rod, a latch for each leaf, with means upon the slides: for releasing the latches in Ilesired order; a detent for the leaves other I than the first, and means,loperated by the further opening of the table, to release the detent at desired times. EUGENIO NAPOLI.

Witnesses: 'PAS UALE MAGLIARI,

ANTONIO MANCUSO.

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