US1491542A

US1491542A - Fan attachment for rocking chairs

Info

Publication number: US1491542A
Application number: US587685A
Authority: US
Inventors: John C R March
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-09-12
Filing date: 1922-09-12
Publication date: 1924-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 1941-04-22

Description

April 22, 1924.

1,491,542 J. C. R. MARCH 4 FAN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS Filed Sept. l2. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z' 35 Q. Ns

April 22, 1924. 1,491,542

J c. R. MARCH FAN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS Filed Sept. l2. 1922 2 Sheds-Sheetl 2 Patented Apr. 22, 1924.

l raarste UNTED STATES FEEN @FF-QE.

FAN ATTACHMENT ron-Rosalind canins.

Application .mea september i2, i922. seria1i ro-f5s7sa delphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fan Attachments for Rocking Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a fan actuated by the rocking motion of a chair or any other 'rock-V ing device ina manner to simulate the manual manipulation of a fan; to provide means for imparting an oscillatory motion to a fan which can be readily applied to or removed from a rocking chair; to provide a fan operated by a rocking chair whereby currents of air are directed towards the occupant of the chair; to provide a rocker operated fan wherein the fan automatically changes its position at the end of each rocking movement; to providel means for actuating a fanby the movement of a rocking chair whereby the rocking eort is reduced to a minimum; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1

v represents a side elevation of a rocking chair equipped with one form of fan mechanism embodying the `present invention; Fig. 2 represents a detail in section of the main bearing construction; Fig. 3 represents a detail in sectional elevation of the fan supporting mechanism; Fig. 4 rep-resents a section on line 4 1 of Fig. 3: Fig. 5 represents-a section online 5-5 of Fig. 3: Fig. 6 represents a detail in elevation of one of the attaching brackets; Fig. 7 represents a plan of the same; Fig. 8 represents a plan of a brace arm; Fig. 9 represents a side elevation of a second attaching bracket; Fig.A 10 represents a plan of the same; and Fig. 11 represents a detail in plan of a rod holder to cooperate with the brace arm.

Referring to the drawings, one form of the present invention 1s shown as removably secured to the back of a rocking chair 10 such as a porch rocker, and comprises a fan 11 Vof the palm leaf type. though any otherkind of fan can be employed, which is arranged to be suspended from a laterally disposed hanger 12 supported by a rod 13l the lower end of which is adjustably held by a bracket 14 fixed to a suitable cross piece or other part of the back of` the rocker 10.

For the purpose of supporting the hanger 12`for oscillating movements, to thus causek the fan to function, it is preferably formed as a sleeve, one end of which receives a. spindle 15 and is made fast thereto by a bushing 16 and a thumb-screw 17. The

4spindle 15 passes axially through a bearing block 18 and has bearings lin suitable bushings 2O which are preferably of the oil-less bearing type. The bearing block V18 has a threaded lug 21 to receive the upper end of the support rod, the arrangement of the'parts being such as to position lthe hanger laterally over the seat portion of the chair so that the fan 11 is located to effectively produce currents of air towards any one sitting in the chair 10. The projecting end of the spindle'l has asheave or vpulleyT 22 keyed or otherwise fixed thereon to transmit motion thereto.

In order to removably and adjustably support the fan 11 from the hanger `12, a suitable casting or body 23 is provided having a jaw member 24C. the gripping face of which is partly spherical to conform to the contour of a. ball part 25 fixed to the end of the hanger 12. A cooperating j aw member 26 is likewise provided with a partly spherical gripping face to engage the ball part 25, and is secured to the body 23 by a screw 27 having a coil spring 28 interposed between its head and the member 26. This construction is in effect a universal `ioint which permits the body 23 toV be freely moved relatively to the ball part 25 but is held firmly by the spring 28 in any adjusted position. A fan clamp, in the form of a strip 30 having acorrugated'face 31has a cylindrical stem 32 snugly but rotatably fitting a hole 33 in the body 23 and is threaded to receive a nut 34 to hold the part in position. Springs 35 or other elastic medium are arranged to be slipped over the Astrip 30 with sufficient tension to bind the fan handle 26 to the strip 30 for purposes of operating.

As a means for automatically .causing the Y between the extension 37 and thevhanger l2, the function oic which is to limit the axial turning ot the fan when the direction of its movement is changed. This construction causes the tan to assume a slightly angular position, irrespective of its direction of movement, which directs the air towards the occupant of the chair.

For transmitting rocking motion to the sheave or pulley 22, a rope 40, or other belt drive, is wound about the sheave 22 and has one end fastened to an end of a coil spring ll, and its other end terminating in a hook 4:2. lllhe other` end of the spring ll preterably has a hook 43 arranged to engage a thmub-screw -l-Ll which serves to liz; the lower end of the rod i3 in a tubular head 45 pivoted at 46 to thebracket 14. A ring et? and thumb-screw -l-S are carried by the rod lf3- to give the proper adjusted position of the rod i3 for the ans location. The hook 4;-2 is arranged to be secured to an eye pivoted to a foot post 5l, the lower end of which terminates in a cushioning cap 52 or" suitable material to rest. upon the floor or other base support- For the purpose of preventinv the post 5l from leaving theloor under rocking motion, and also to hold the rope l0 taut during the forward rocking ol the chair 10, a bushing 53 is mounted in the post 5l, being adjustably hel( by a thumb-screw 5s, andv having laterally7 extending bearing pins 55 which are arranged to seat respectively inv` the biiurcated ends 56 of yoke 57 and be held against displacement by cotter pins 58 or the like. llhe yoke 57 forms the free end of an arm 60 which is pivotally connected to a bracket. 6l. Thisconnection consists of trunnions 62 seating respectively in bearing slots 653, so that while the arm 60 is 'tree to have a certain amount of swing, it an also be quickly disconnected from the bracket 6l, This bracket 6l is arranged to be made Ylast to a suitable part of Ythe lower portion ot the rocker l0, and has a downwardly extending rod 64 preferably ot tubular form, which is iii/:ed by a wire 65 or the like to one of the chair rounds.

A spring 66 is arranged to be secured be- Y tween the end of the rod 6d and a suitable one of the. holes 67 of the arm 60 order to place the desired amount of'tension on the parts to prevent the rope et() and post 5l from following the rocking motion oit the chair. lt will therefore be evident that the parts 62 and o3 have horizontalipivot which allows the arm 60 to swing up or down while the part 6l also has a pivot about a 'vertical anis of the post 64;, land in this way the arm 60 is connected by a form of universal joint so that the cha-ir is tree to be moved to one side or the other, or forward or backward, without disturbing the operation of the toot post- 51. ln

Leonesa other words, the rocking chair can be moved within certain limits and the only effect upon the toot post 5l will be to swing it in the direction o movement where it willy still perform its function holding the rope l0 so that the ian will operate as usual.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the brackets le and 6l are the only parts which become permanently attached to the chair l0, and all ot the lan operating parts are removable and mar be quickly attached tor tanning purposes whenever den sired. With extra brackets provided, one fan unit may be moved from one chair to another, the arrangement being particularly advantageous when indoor rockers and porch rockers are both equipped with brackets. b

lVith the device assembled upon a. chair, the fan is causal to oscillate by a rocking motion imparted to the chair. Thus a forward rocking causes the spring 66. to be placed un .er tension so that as the pulley 22 describes forward are it will be rotated in one direction, thereby rocking the hanger l2 and swinging the tan 1l. The pressure or" the air against the fan causes it to turn slightly about its anis 32, so that the stroke of the fan directs the air towards the occupant of the chair. y"Upon the returnmovement of the cha-ir the spring #il takes up the slack of theV rope Ll0 and causes the sheave 22 to reverse its rotation and thus imparta return swing to the fan l1, while also again varying its angular position as above explained.

ln connection with the ball joint con struction 25, it should be noted that this permits the tan to be yswung to diderent lined positionsk so that the occupant of the chair may be more or less in the path of the air current from the fan. Thus, if the fan is swung to an inward position the air current will be directed more nearly over the occupant of the chair, ywhile if swung to an outward position the air current is more in front of the occupant of the chair. ln this way the air current can be varied to suit the user.

While lin the present construction the fan support is pivoted eccentric with respect to the ball joint 25, to cause angular change in position of the fan, while oscillating, it is to be understood that. this is merely one construction as obviously satisfactory results might be obtained by directly connecting the tan support to the ball joint or by variously associating these parts.

Although only a single lorm is shown in lwhich this invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific construction, but might be applied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims,

lli?

Having thus described ymy invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a rocker member, means carried by said member for supporting a fan, means actuated by the rocking of said member for causingsaid fan to oscillate, a-nd means for automatically vanry-Y ing the angular position of said fan While oscillating.

2. The combination With a rocker member, means carried by said member for supporting a fan, means actuated by the rocking of said member for causing said fan to oscillate, and means for automatically varying the angular position of said fan at one portion of each Working stroke.

3. The combination With a rocker member, universal joint means carried by said member for supporting a fan, means actucausing said fanl to oscillate, and meansrfor automatically Varying the angular position of said fan While oscillating.

4:. The combination with a rocker member, an oscillatory support carried by said member, means actuated by said member for actuating said support, a fan, and means including a universal joint for attaching said fan to said support, whereby the Working position of said fan can be Varied at Will and its angular position varied auto ma-tically at the beginning of each oscillation.

Signed at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, this 11th day of September, 1922. Y.

'JOHN C. R. MARCHa