US1133500A

US1133500A - Seating for auditoriums.

Info

Publication number: US1133500A
Application number: US81184714A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry V Pollard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1914-01-13
Filing date: 1914-01-13
Publication date: 1915-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 1932-03-30

Description

H. V. POLLARD.

SEATING FOR AUDITORIUMS.

APPLICATION FILED 15.11.13, 1914.

1,133,500. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

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H. V. POLLARD.

SEATING FOR AUDITORIUMS. APPLICATION FILED JANJB, 1914 Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

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H. V. POLLARD.

SEATING FOR AUDITORIUMS.

APPLICATION FILED JANJS, 1914.

7 1,133,500. Patented Mar.30,1915.

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HENRY V. POLLARD, 0F SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEATING r03 Anmroarmvrs.

Application filed January 13, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY V. POLLARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Somerville, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seating for Auditoriums, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to auditorium seating composed of chairs grouped to provide aisles at suitable intervals.

The invention has for its object to enable the aisles of an auditorium to be widened by displacing the end chairs abutting on the aisles without materially obstructing the space between contiguous rows of chairs, and at the same time to provide a construction rendering the displaceable chairs commodious and comfortable.

My invention enables a person who has just left an end chair, or a person standing or walking in an aisle, to push the end chair away from the aisle, so that an aisle can be quickly widened by the conjoint action of a number of people about to leave the auditorium.

Of the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view showing two auditorium chairs constituting an embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 represents a View similar to Fig. 1, showing the end chair displaced behind the adjacent fixed chair; Fig. 3 represents a section on line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 1 represents a section on line 4.l of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 represents an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 represents a section on line 77 of Fig. 2; Fig. 8 represents a section on llne 88 of Fig. 6; Fig.9 represents a perspective view of the sliding chair separated from the adjacent fixed chair; Fig. 10 represents a view similar to a portion of Fig. 3 and illustrating a modification. Fig. 11 represents a perspective view showing another modification.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all of the views.

In the drawings 12 represents the fixed back of a fixed chair, said chair including a seat 13 and supporting members 14 at opp0- site ends of the seat 13, said supporting members being rigidly attached to the back 12 and each including a front leg 15, a back leg 16, and an arm rest 17.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 311 1915.

Serial No. 811,847.

vided with rollers 22 forming an anti-frictional guide for the back chair.

The sliding chair is of incomplete construction and is provided at its outer side with front and

back legs

23 and 2 1, there being no front leg corresponding to the leg 23 as clearly shown by Fig. 9. The

legs

23, 24 are parts of a side frame 25 to which is rigidly attached in any suitable way a back 26. The inner edge portion of the back 26 is provided in the embodiment of the invention shown by all the figures excepting Fig. 11, with a downwardly projecting leg or runner 27 which in the preferred embodiment of the invention is provided with a trolley 28 adapted to run on the track 19, although, as shown by Fig. 10, said trolley may be omitted, the short leg 27 being in sliding contact with a track 190 substituted for the track 19.

29 represents a folding seat which is hinged to the frame parts of the sliding chair, and, as shown, is mounted to oscillate on a pivot rod 30 engaged with the frame member 25 and the short leg or runner 27,

of the sliding the seat being adapted to swing downwardly to its operative position shown in Fig. 1, and by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and to be folded upwardly against the back as shown by Fig. 2 and by full lines in Fig. 3. The frame member 25 is provided on its inner side with a seat-supporting member 31, and the corresponding frame member of the fixed chair is provided with a complemental seat-supporting member 32, said members being adapted to support the seat in its operative position.

hen the seat 29 is folded against the back 26, the said back and seat are adapted to move behind the fixed back 12 so that the sliding seat may be moved inwardly as indicated by Fig. 2, thus increasing the distance between its outer side and the corresponding seat at the opposite side of an aisle, the sliding chair being at the outer end of a row of chairs, all of which, except the sliding chair, are or may be fixed. The upper portion of the back 26 of the sliding chair bears at all times against the outer antifrictional roller 22 and when the sliding back has beeninoved inwardly to a sufficient extent, it bears against each of said antifrictional rollers as indicated by Fig. 4, said rollers constituting a guide which prevents the sliding back 26 from being displaced rearwardly.

33 (Fig. 6) represents a guard which overhangs the track 19 and prevents upward displacement of the trolley 28. Said guard and the track 19 are provided with flanges bearing against one side of the trolley and preventing lateral displacement thereof.

As shown by Fig. 5, the track 19 is provided with depressions 34: near its ends, these being adapted to engage the trolley 28 and yieldingly resist movement of the trolley from its starting position and thus prevent liability of accidental sliding move ment of the sliding chair in either direction.

35, 35 represent floor tracks which are preferably inserted in grooves formed fortheir reception in the floor of the auditorium, said tracks being provided with overhanging guards 36 (Fig. 7 separated by a slot which receives a shank 37 attached to each of the

legs

23 and 2%. On the lower ends of said shanks are journaled twin trolleys 38 adapted to run on the tracks 35, and prevented from being displaced upw \vardly by the guards 36. The trolleys 38 constitute leg terminals which project under the guards 36, said terminals and the tracks being therefore interengaged to prevent the removal of the terminals from the tracks by an upward movement. The tracks and legs cooperate both in holding the sliding chairs firmly when they are expanded so that the outer ends will not be liable to be moved forward or backward by pressure against them of people walking in the aisles, and also so that the backs and legs of the sliding seats cannot be lifted or swung upwardly by the pressure used in moving the sliding seats inwardly.

The short leg or runner 27 may be extended to form a relatively long rear leg 270, Fig. 11, of the same length as the rear leg 2a, and adapted to bear either on the floor, or on an extension of the track 35 which supports the leg 34, the incomplete sliding chair therefore having three full length legs, and the back being supported directly by the floor instead of being supported in part by an elevated track such as 19, or 190.

The rear leg 24 and the runner 27, or the equivalent leg 270, are offset rearwardly from the outer rear leg 16 of the fixed chair,

so that there is sufficient space provided behind the fixed rear leg 16 to permit the back 26 and seat 29 of the sliding chair to move behindthe rear leg 16 and back 12 of the fixed chair, the rear track 35 being correspondingly located. The folding seat 29 is preferably provided with a reinforcing cross bar 29 which engages the hinge pivot 30 that connects it with the rear leg 24: and the leg or runner 27.

, It will be seen that my invention enables the width of the aisles of an auditorium to be temporarily increased to permit a quick exit of the audience, without decreasing the normal seating capacity.

The backs 26 of the sliding chairs being attached rigidly to the side frames 25 may have practically the same supporting area as the adjacent fixed backs 12, so that the sliding chairs are as commodious and comfortable as thefixed chairs.

1 claim:-

1. The combination with a fixed chair having a. rigid back, of an incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to said side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, the back of the fixed chair being provided with means to slidingly support the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair, whereby the seat of the latter may be folded and moved with its back to the rear of the fixed chair when not in use.

2. The combination with a fixed chair having a rigid back, of an incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to said side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, the back of the fixed chair being provided with means to slidingly support the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair, whereby the seat of the latter may be folded and moved with its back to the rear of the fixed chair when not in use, said fixed chair and said side frame having supporting members to sustain the seat of the incomplete chair when in open position.

3. The combination with a fixed chair having a rigid back, ofan incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to the side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, and a horizontal track supported by the rear side of the back of the fixed chair, the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair being provided with a runner movable on said track, whereby the seat of the incomplete chair may be folded and moved with its back to the rear of the fixed chairwhen not in use.

4. The combination with a fixed chair having a rigid back, of an incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to said side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, the back of the fixed chair being provided with means to slidingly support the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair, whereby the seat of the lat ter may be folded and moved with its back to the rear of the fixed chair when not in use, and means engaging the legs of the side frame to prevent displacement of the outer edge of the incomplete chair when in extended relation.

5. The combination with a fixed chair having a rigid back, of an incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to said side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, the back of the fixed chair being provided with means to slidingly support the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair, whereby the seat of the latter may be folded and moved with its back to the rear of the fixed chair when not in use, floor tracks extending outwardly from one side of the fixed chair and pro vided with overhanging guards, and twin trolleys on the legs of said side frame and held down by said guards, whereby displacement of the outer edge of the incomplete chair is prevented when in extended relation, and said incomplete chair is held in proper relation to the fixed chair during in-- ward movement.

6. A fixed chair having a seat and a fixed back, a fixed substantially horizontal track below and behind the back, and a guard parallel with and overhanging the said track, combined with an incomplete sliding chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back attached thereto and provided with a back-sustaining runner having a trolley movable on said track and held down by said guard, and a folding seat, the back and seat of the sliding chair being movable behind the fixed back when the seat is folded.

7. A fixed chair having a seat and a fixed back provided at its upper portion with a rearwardly offset guide, combined with an incomplete sliding chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back attached thereto and in sliding contact with said offset guide, and a folding seat, the back and seat of the sliding chair being movable behind the fixed back when the seat is folded, and the sliding back being provided with a sustaining member adapted to move on a suitable horizontal support.

8. The combination with a fixed chair having a rigid back, of an incomplete chair comprising a side frame having front and back legs, a back rigidly attached at one edge to the side frame, and a folding seat attached to the back, and a horizontal track supported by the rear side of the back of the fixed chair, the free edge of the back of the incomplete chair being provided with a runner movable on said track, the said track being provided with means to yieldingly oppose movement of the runner from its starting position, and a guard overhanging said track.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY V. POLLARD.

Witnesses:

E. BATGHELDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G."