US1580557A - Folding camp chair - Google Patents

Description

April 13, 1926... f

E. E. McGREw 'FOLDING om? CHAIR Filed sept. g. 1924 2 @est-Shut 1 i minimum of time and Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

.UNITED STATES 1,586,557 PATENT OFFICE.

EARL E. MCGREW, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR T MCGREW MACHINE COM- PANY, or LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, A oeRPonATIoN or NEBRASKA.

FOLDING CAMP CHAIR.

Application led September 2, 1924. Serial No. 735,514.

To all fwhnmz't may concern Be it known that I, EARL E. MCGREW, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the` county of Lancaster' and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Camp Chairs, o-f which the following is a specification.

- My invention relates to folding chairs. Such chairs are most commonly demanded for use on automobile and other camping trips, and my chair. has been designed primarily for this purpose. To meet this 'need the chair must be strong, rigid and comfortable when set up and it must fold into a. very compact bundle. The folding and unfolding must be accomplished in the must be as nearly automatic as it is possible to make it. It must have no loose parts which are liable to become lost when breaking camp. My invention has for its object the provision of such a chair. Other objects will be brought out in the following description.v

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form4 of my chair as viewed when set up.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of the lower portion offone of the back supports.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the latch for locking the back support.

Figure l is a rear elevation of. one of the back supports withits latching connections, showing also the directions in ,which the various latching forces act. Y

Figure 5 is a view in perspective o-f aportion of a chair which is equipped with a modified form of latch. j

Figure 6 is a perspective view from the rear of one of the corners of the chair shown in Figure 5.

The stool portion of Figure 1. The foot my chair is shown in portion of the stool r comprises two U-shaped members 10 of stra-p iron, the members 10 being pivotally connected by the rod 11. Pivotally connected to the rod 11 at each end thereof are two links 12. The free vends ofthe front and rear links 12 of each lateral pair are pivotall 1 13 tie-ing the support for the seat 1.4Y which is preferably made from canvas or similar fabric. rl`he front and rear links 12 of each lateral pair are also connectedy by a bail 15, the ends ofwhich'arepivotallyv secured in secured to a rod 13, the pair ofrods with loops which are made by bending when forming the bails. The links 16 are each secured at oneend in a loop of a bail and at the other end in the side portion of one of the U-shaped members 10. The U-shaped members 10 are detachably connected with each other by means of the latching links 17, each of which is pivotally and permanently secured to a member 10. The free ends of the links 17 are each provided with a plurality of notches for engaging a pin projecting from the opposite member 10. Y f

- The stool alone as above describedlis'old and I lay no claim to any novel features thereof, except as they cooperate in structure and operation with the chair back and its various parts. j The stool however is remarkable for its simplicity and rigidity and for the ease with which it may be folded and unfolded. By unlatching the links 17 the stool may be almost instantly foldedinto a. bundle having dimensions only slightly in excess of those of the U-shaped member 10. It may be as quickly set up, the seat being made tautby forcing the free ends of the U-shaped members toward each other and lwhich is. rigid and secure and which may be folded with the stool. For this purpose I have provided two supporting arms 18 for supporting the fabric back 19, with a late ling device 20 for the supporting arms. I ,will now describe these in detail.

'The latching device 2O has an aperture 21 for pivotally securing it to ay rod 13 at the rear extremity thereof, the `rods l13 being that' part of the stool which supports the seat 14. Integral with the latch and projecting rearwardly therefrom are two wings 22 and 23, the wing 22 being crimped inwardly at its lower extremity as shown in Figure 3. The back wall of the latch 20 is cut away at its lupper end, leaving upwardly projecting ears on the wings 22 and 23. The ears are apertured'at24, The wings 22 and are cutaway ap `reciablyA below the pivot aperture 21 and t e back portion porting arms for the back.

fort of chairs over stools. The stool itself is of a type which can be compactly foldedV into the minimum of space and which is exceedingly light in weight, but the addition of my back rest to the stool addsvalmost nothing to the weight of the chair or tothe dimensions of the folded bundle. The stool is of course locked against any possibility of accidentally,collapsing vand my chair baclr is so designed that it is latched and unlatclied automatically with the latching and unlatcliing of the stool. The latch moreover is positive in action, Vand it prevents both the forward tilting of the back and the inward movement of the Sup- The supporting arms, being made from channel steel, are exceedingly rigid and will not bend even under the roughest usage. Their abutments are somewhat remote from their pivots so that the supporting arms are provided with rigid pivotal connections which prevent the rearward collapsing of the back rest when the occupant leans back heavily. The structure of the latch is such that the latch alone is sufficient for this purpose but if it is felt that additional reinforcement is desirable K' or necessary, the link braces of Figure 5v may be added without materially increasing the weight, bulk, or cost of the chair.

Having thus described kmy invention in terms which will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. A foldable bacli rest for chairs, said back rest including a vpair of supports secured to the chair at its rear corners, each of said supports being provided at its joint with the chair with a pair of horizontally positioned pivots, one of said pivots being in alignment with the side edge of the chair seat and the other of said pivots being rearward of and parallel to the rear edge of the chair seat. l l

' 2. In combination with the side member of the seat of a folding chair, a latch member' pivotally secured to said side member at its rear extremity and having said side member as its axis for pivotal movement, a back rest support, and a horizontal transverse pivot pin connecting said back rest support to said latch member.

fil. In combination with the side member of the seat of afolding cha-ir, a latch niem-V bei' pivotally secured to said side member at its rear extremity and having said side member as its axis for pivotal movement, means for limiting the pivotal movement of said latch member, a back rest support, and a horizontal transverse pivot pin connecting said back rest support to said latch member, said pivot pin being positioned above said side member.

4.-. In combination with the 4side members each of said of the seat of a foldable stool, said sidev members each having a latch member se` cured thereto at its rear extremity by means of a forwardly and rearwardly extending pivot, means for limiting the inward pivotal movements of vsaid latch members, each of said latch members having secured thereto a back rest support by means of aligning rest for latching said back rest supports in said latching members when the stool is in its set up position.

5. In a foldable chair, a latch member and a connection for securing said latch member y to the chair at one of the rear corners thereof, said connection Acomprising a forwardly and rearwardly extending pivot, said latch member being channeled and having its side walls directed rearwardly, one of said side walls being turned inwardly to form a lip at one of the extremities of said latch member, a backrest support within lsaid channeled Vmember and secured thereto by a transverse pivot passing through the rearwardly extending walls of said latch member and affording sufficient play for said back rest support to engage said lip to maintain said backV rest support and said latch in substantial alignment.

6. In combination with a f oldable stool having a fabric seat which is secured at its opposite sides to frame side pieces which are movable toward each other when folding the stool, each of the side pieces having a support secured thereto at its' rear extremity, supports being secured to its respective side piece by a pair of horizontal pivots which extend in directions at right angles t0 each other. y I

7. In combination with a chair seat having side members which are foldable toward each other, each of :said side members having a latching device secured thereto at its rearextremity, said latching devices being each in channeled .form and havingA an inturned lip inthe lower vportion of its outer wall, each of said latching devices having the lowerl portion'of a Yback restv support within the'channeled V`portion thereof,'said back i'est ,support being connected to its latching device by means of a horizontal transverse pivot which is spaced from the lower extremity of said support, and a tension back rest connecting the upper portions of said back rest supports, said back rest being luider tension when said side: members Vof the seat and said. backrest supports f are in their operative positions, the tension of said back rest tending to spread apart the lower extremities of said back rest sup-V ports andv causing them to engage said iiiturned'lips to hold said back rest supports in'snbstantiel alignment With seid lett-*hing e ilegible beck rest secured betnf'een and to 15 members.

8. In Combination with a chair seat l1aving side members which are foldable toward eaeh other, means for rigidly securing said side members in spaced apart relation, each of seid side members having a latch member secured thereto at its rear extremity, each of said latch members having a back rest support secured thereto by means of a hori- Zontel transverse pivot which is spaced above its respective side member so that each of said beck rest supports may be folded into parallel relation With its side member,

the upper portions of said back rest supports, said back rest being under tension when said side members of the seat are in 'their spaced apart relation, and means whereby vthe tensioning` of said back rest causes the lower extremities of said back rest supports to be engaged by said latch members to prevent the folding of seid back rest supports.

In testimony whereof I afhx my signature.

EARL E. MCGREWT.

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