US1793724A - Spring assembly for upholstery - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 24, 1931. A SUEKOFF 3 793 724 7 SPRING ASSEMBLY FOR UPHOLSTERY Filed Dec. 24, 1930 Patented Feb. 24, '1931 Marshall patent type.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUIS A. sunxorr, or WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NACHMA-N spams-FILLED CORPORATION, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS SPRING ASSEMBLY FOR UPHOLS'I'ERY Application filed December 24, 1930. Serial ,No. 5Q4,593.

This invention relates toimprovements in spring assemblies for upholstery and more particularly to that type of spring assem blies of this general class wherein the individual component springs are first housed in fabric casings or articulate series of fabric casings, frequently referred to as the In this type of spring assembly, a plurality of rows of articulate casings which house purely helical springs and are closed at both ends, are arranged side by side to cover a certain area, the casings being distended by the springs both circumferentially and longitudinally; the latter, because the casings are appreciably shorter than the length of thc fully expanded springs. These rows of cas ings are then joined by hand stitching or tie strings to maintain them in predetermined relative positions, thus completing an assembly which is subsequently incorporated into a cushion in any suitable manner.

' Assemblies so made are subject to the objection that the springs thereof are easily crowded together into overlapping position and frequently become permanently displaced with respect to eachother or that the thin light fabric of which the casings'are made is thereby subjected to excessive strains, stresses and wear and that the life of the assembly is thereby correspondingly shortened.

The main object ofthe present lnvention is, therefore, to provide a spring assembly panying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a 'springas'sembly constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are, respectively, fragmentary vertical sections of the same on an; enlarged scale on the lines 2-2 and 3--3, re-

. spectively, of Fig. 1.

In said drawmgs, there are shown an outer articulaterow of spring-contaimng casings l of the conventional or so-called Mar shall type, and several additional rows of slmilar elements 2, the row ofcasings 1 being preferably for the front edge portion. ofthe cushion and a similar row thereof being dis posed at the rear edge portion of a completed cushion. a

The intermediate rows of casings2 are interposedbetween the aforesaid front and rear rows of casings 1 and are secured to the latter and to each other by means of the tie strings 3, each of whiph is passed through the top wall of a casing 1, around the end coil of the spring contained therein; through the circumferential walls ,'0f the casing l and of the contiguous casing 2 at the meeting point of the said casings ;-then through the top wall of the casing 2 and around the end coil of the spring contained therein; and is then knotted. The order of passage is immaterial and in accordance with common practice in the art.

- The now long free end-portion of the tiestring 3 then passes over the top of said casmg 2, is passed through the top wall of the next succeeding casing 2; around the end coil of the spring in the latter; through the circumferential walls of the casings of the first and second rows of the same; through the top wall of the casing 2 of the first row thereof; and then over the top wall of the casing 2 of the second row to the contiguous casing of the third row where the-operations above described are repeated, and so on until the last row'of casings lis attached or joined to the last row of casings 2. All ofthe tiestrings 3 are similarly passed through the casings 1 and 2 on both faces of the assembly and the portions thereof passed through said casings and around the end coils of the springs therein, constitute the loops 4.

The loops 4 joining contiguous casings 2 are not knotted and are, consequently, capable of slipping as thespringsand casings are crowded together longitudinallyof said tiestrings 3, and thus tend to aid in preventing the springs from overlapping appreciably and in allowing them to return to normalrelative positions;

The present mvention consists in interposing flexible, relatively thin spring wires between contiguous rows of the casings 1 and 2 adjacent the top and bottom faces of the assembly, each of said wires 5 having eyes or loops 6 at its ends through which the loops 4 of the tie-strings are passed as the loops 4 are formed in joining the springs at the respective ends of the several rows thereof, the length of said Wires being equal to the length of a row of spring-casings less the diameter of one of said casings. Thus the eyes 6 of said wires 5 extend to the meeting points of contiguous casings 1 and 2, and 2 and 2, respectively, adjacent the side edges of the spring assembly.

The portions of the loops 4 of the tiestrings 3 that are .passed through the eyes 6 of the wires 5 are those which pass through the circumferential portions of the springcasings 1 and 2, and thus the said wires 5 are disposed below the level of the top walls and above the level of the bottom walls of the casings l and 2.

The loops 4 of the tie-strings 3 joining contiguous spring-casings disposed between or inwardly of those casings which constitute the side edge portions of the assembly, are also preferably passed around the wires 5 at some points, at least, between the ends of said wires, thereby to prevent undue bowing of the same under the influence of pressures exerted against the ends of the same.

The said wires 5 are thus firmly but not rigidly associated with the end coils of the springs in the casings 1 and 2 and, because of their flexibility, will yield to loads on the assembly and to lateral pressures exerted against the front, rear, and side edges of the assembly and permit limited overlap of the end coils of springs in contiguous casings or, in other words, permit but resist a limited relative lateral movement of the springs of the assembly and serve to prevent all perma ncnt displacement of springs.

lVhile it is preferable to dispose the wires 5 parallel with the front and rear edges of the assembly, this is not essential.

As shown in Fig. 3, the wires 5. when dis posed within all of the loops 4 of the tiestrings 3. become disposed just below the point of abutment of the end coils of springs of contiguous casings against each other, the intervening fabric preventing direct contact of said end coils. and (o-operate with the. loops 4 to maintain this relation of said end coils, so that a very appreciable lateral pressure upon the front and rear edge portions of the assembly is required to cause said contiguous end coils to spring into overlapping position. The stitch-chains 7 interposed between contiguous casings 1 and 2 of each row thereof parallel with the wires afiord appreciable protection against overlap of the end coils of the springs responsively to pressures exerted against the side edge portions of the assembly but, as such overlap involves a decrease in the length of each of said rows, the wires 5 serve to prevent, substantially and positively, any appreciable lateral contraction of the assembly, as will be obvious.

A very appreciable advantage of the structure of this invention resides in the saving of labor incident to extending a set of tiestrings transversely to the tie-strings 3 for joining the end coils of the springs of each row of casings 1. and 2, it being obvious that the labor of introducing the tie-strings 3, as shown, is substantially coincident with that of incorporating the wires 5 into the structure. This economy of labor is very appreciable and, in view of the very keen competition in this art, is of major importance.

Obviously, the wires 5 are kept out of (H rect contact with the springs of the structure and the latter are kept out of contact with each other, thus rendering the whole assembly noiseless.

iVhile Wires are specified in the foregoing specification as the cheapest and best adapted means for the purposes set .forth, it will be understood, of course, that any equivalent means may be used in place of said Wires.

I claim as my invention:

1'. A spring assembly comprising sets of articulate spring-filled fabric casings disposed side by side, straight resilient wires having eye formations at their ends interposed between contiguous sets of said casings adjacent to the top and bottom walls thereof, and cord loops passing through and joining contiguous corner portions of contiguous casings and contiguous sets thereof and about the end coils of springs contained therein, and about the said wires and through the eyes thereof, respectively, thereby to join contiguous rows of said casings and associate the springs thereof with each other and said wires.

2. A spring assembly comprising a plurality of sets of articulate casings containing springs, said sets of casings being disposed side bv side. resilient substantially straight wires interposed between contiguous sets of said casings parallel with the top and bottom walls thereof. and cords joining the easings of each of said sets with the casings of contiguous sets and engaged with the springs within said casings and with said wires. the latter equipped with formations engaged with said cords for preventing rela tive longitudinal movement of said wires and said sets of casings.

3. A spring assembly comprising a plurality of rows of spring-filled fabric casings disposed parallel with each other, the casings of each of said rows being connected with each other intermediate the top and bottom walls of the several component casings of each row, tie-strings extending transversely of the rows of said casings and over the top and bottom walls thereof, respectively, and substantially diametrically of the said casings, sald tiestrings extending through upper corner portions of said casings and about the end coils of springs at meeting points of contiguous casings in loop-formations at and between the ends of said tie-strings, and straight flexible wires having eye-fornmtions at their ends disposed between contiguous rows of said casings and extending through loop-formations of said tie-strings, the eye-formations of said wires being engaged in the loop-formations offthe tie-strings engaged with the casings at the respective ends of said several rows.

4. A spring assembly comprising a plurality of rows of spring-filled-fabric spring casings, disposed side by side, resilient fieX-' ible spacing Wires disposed between contiguous, rows of said casings adjacent the top and bottom wallsof the latter, eye-formations at the extremities of said Wires, tiestrings extending transversely of thesaid rows of casings over the top and bottom Walls thereof and in loop-formations through corner portions of contiguous casings at points of contact thereof and about the end coils of springs contained in said casings, the said loop-formations of the tie-strings for the several casings at the respective ends of the several rows thereof passing through the eyeformations of said Wires for securing, the

v latter in place.

.5. A spring assembly comprising a plurality of rows of spring-filled fabric spring casings, disposed sideby side, resilient flexible spacing wires disposed between contiguous rows of sald casings adJacent the top and bottom walls of the latter, eye-formations at the extremities of said Wires, tiestrings extending transversely of the said rows of casings over the top and bottom walls thereof and in loop-formations through corner portions of contiguous casings at 'points of contact thereof and about the end coils of springs contained in said casings, the said loop-formations of the tie-strings for the several casings at the respective ends of the several rows thereof passing through the eye-formations of said Wires for securing the latter in place, the body-portions of said wires passing through at least some of the loop-formations of the remaining tie-strings.-

6. A spring assembly comprising a plu-- rality of sets of conventional articulate fab-' ric spring-filled casings disposed side by side with the end coils of their contained ,springs substantially normally disposed in abutting relation to each other at the meeting points of the casings of contiguous sets,

spacing wires terminating in eye-formations at their ends interposed between contiguous sets of said casings adjacent the top and bottom walls of the same, and tie-strings for coupling the several sets of said casings and extending laterally of the same and sub- LOO c slid

Images