US1479594A - Chair - Google Patents

Description

' L. H. FENNELL CHAIR INVENT R M @@@W/M Patented dan. E., "i924,

LEWIS E. FENNELL, F. GREENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAIR.

Application filed September 13, 1922. Serial No. 5883052.

To f/,ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it lruown that 'oinwis H. FENNELL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Greensburg, in the county of llVestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have in.

vented a new and useful improvement in Chairs; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof,

My invention relates to chairs for household use, and its object is to provide such a chair with an auxiliary seat device for small children, suoli auxiliary device forming a permanent and inconspicuouspart of the chair, and being easily and quickly adjustable to various heights.

ln the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the auxiliary seat in its upper operative position; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the auxiliary seat adjusted to its lower operative position; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the manner in which the auxiliary seat is folded when not in use; Fig. 5 -is an enlarged side view of one of the plates which guide and support the rear of the auxiliary seat; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one corner of the auxiliary seat showing one method of attaching a supporting pin thereto.

The drawing shows a chair having the usual seat 2 and legs 3 and the usual back consisting of side rails 4 and a panel 5. These parts may be of any usual or desired construction.

Secured to the inner side of each of the rails 4 is a guide plate 6 having a slot 7' and a recess 8 communicating with the slot 7. The plates 6 may be attached to the side rails 4 by means of screws -9 or otherwise, and the slots serve as guides for an auxiliary seat 10 having pins 11 projecting from its rear corners and received in the slots 7 of the plates 6. Figure 6 of the drawing shows one method of attaching the pins 11 to the auxiliary seat 10, such means consisting of a small plate 12 screwed or otherwise attached to the under side of the seat 10 and having an ear 13 which carries the pin 11.

The seat 10 is provided near its front edge with a supporting member 15 which is attached to the under side of the seat 10 by means of hinges 16.l The swinging edge of the supporting member 15 may be provided with a strip 17 of felt or other suitable material to prevent the edge of the supporting member from scratching or bruising the chair seat.

Some chairs have horizontal rails, such as the rail 18 shown on the drawing, extending between the side rails and projecting above the chair seat. If the chair to be equipped with my auxiliary seat does not have such a rail the rail 18 is added, as shown on the drawing, and may suitably be provided with a groove 19 in its upper surface to receive the edge 20 of the auxiliary seat 10 when the auxiliary seat is folded into the position shown in Fig. 4. The rail 18 serves as an abutment against which the lower edge of the supporting member 15 rests when the auxiliary seat is adjusted in its lower operative position, as shown in Fig. 3. y

Suitable means, such as a hook 22 and a screw eye 23, may be provided for securing the supporting member 15 in its folded position, as shown in Fig. 4.

When the auxiliary seat is notrequired, the supporting member is folded beneath the seat member 10 and the entire .device is moved to the position shown in Fig. 4 where it'forms a part of the chair back and ypresents a neat and inconspicuous appearance. The chair is then suitable for any ordinary use according to its design. It will usually be a dining chair or a kitchen chair, but the use of my device is obviously not restricted to these particular kinds of chairs. Y

`While the auxiliary seat device is thus out of the way and almost unnoticeable, it is ready at a moments notice to be converted intofa high'chair for small children, and when so used Vmaybe adjusted either'for the height shown in Fig. 2, in which case the pins 11 are received in the recesses 8 of the guide plate 6, or for the lower position shown in Fig. 3, in which case the pins 11 rest in the lower ends of the slots 7 and the swinging edge of the supporting member 15 rests against the rail 18. Recessesl similar to the recess 8 may be provided, if desired, in the lower ends of the slots 7 in order to prevent the rear edge of the auxiliary seat from being tilted up if the weight of the child should rest upon the front edge of the auxiliary seat.

This device, without materially changing the appearance of an ordinary chair, is a convenience when small children are to be set at a dining table, for example, and does away in such cases withthe annoyance of obtaining high chairs or piling books or the like upon ordinary chairs, as is usually done. This device is also useful as a household step-ladder.

I am aware that auxiliary seat devices have been provided for chairs, but such devices have been separate constructions, in the nature of stools, to be placed on the seat of an ordinary chair, or have been hung by means of straps or hooks over the back of the chair. In either case-the auxiliary device is removed from the chair and stored when not in use, and is therefore much less convenient than my present device which is a permanent part of the chair.

Various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts, and it will therefore be understood that my inven-` tion is not restricted to the precise details shown in the accompanying drawing, but may be variously modified within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A chairliaving the usual seat and having a back comprising spaced upright rails,

-slotted plates secured to the inner surfaces of said upright rails, an auxiliary seat having progections engaging the slots in said plates, a supporting member hinged to the saidauxiliary seat near its front edge, and a transverse rail extending between said upright rails and having a groove in its upper side adapted to receive and support the lower edge of said auxiliary seat.

2. 'A chair having the usual seat and having a back comprising spaced upright rails, plates secured to the inner side of the said upright rails and having upright slots, each provided with a lateral recess spaced above its lower end, an auxiliary seat having laterally extending pins adapted to enter said slots and recesses in said plates, a supporting member hinged to the under side of said auxiliary seat near its front edge, and an abutment for engaging the lower end of said supporting member and thereby maintaining said supporting member in an inclined position', said supporting member being adapted, when vertical, to support said iii horizontal alignment with said recesses, and being also adapted, when engaging said abutment, to support said auxiliary lseat in horizontal position in alignment with the lower ends of said slots.

3. A chair having the usual seat and having a back comprising spaced upright rails, plates secured to the inner side of the said upright rails and having upright slots, each provided with a lateral recess spaced above its lower end, an auxiliary seat having laterally extending pins adapted to enter said slots and recesses in said plates, a supporting member hinged to the underside or" said auxiliary seat near its front edge, and a transverse rail extending between the said upriglitrails and adapted to form an abutnent for the lower edge of said supporting member, said supporting member being adapted, when vertical, to support said seat in horizontal alignmentl with said recesses, and being also adapted to rest aga-inst said rail and to support the said auxiliary seat in horizontal position in alignment with the lower ends of said slot-s.

Ll. A chair having the usual seat and a back comprising upright side rails, plates secured to the inner sides of said rails, and having slots extending in a generally vertical direction and recesses extending rearwardly and downwardly from said slots between the ends ofsaid slots, a horizontal rail extending between said upright rails adjacent to the chair seat, an auxiliary seat having laterally extending pins received in Vsaid slots and adapted to enter said recesses, and a supporting member hinged to the under side of said auziliary seat and adapted, when vertical, to support said seat in horizontal alignment with said recesses, the said supporting member being also adapted to rest against the said rail and to support the said auxiliary seat inl horizontal position in alignment with the lower ends of said slots. In testimony whereof I, the said LEWIS H. FENNELL, have hereunto set my hand.'

LEWIS H. FENNELL. t

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