US22283A - fairfieli - Google Patents

Description

G. W. FAIRFIVELD.

Car Seat and Couch.

No. 22-283.. Patented Dec. 14,1858.

Witnesses:

Inventor:

AN: PHDTQ-LITHO. CO. N.Y. (USB'JRNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES G. Y. FAIRFIELD, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAR SEAT Specificationof Letters Patent No T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, G. lV. FAIRFIELD, of Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have, invented a new and useful Improved Car Seat and Couch; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specifica tion, in which Figure 1, represents a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of a railroad car, through the central passage way, showing a side view of the seats arranged for persons in a sitting position. Fig. 2, is a similar section through the seats, representing the same arranged as sleeping couches. Fig. 3, is a transverse vertical section of a portion of a railroad car, showing a front view of one of the seats.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the three figures.

This invention consists in constructing the backs of the seats of a series of slats which are placed parallel to each other in a horizontal direction longitudinally across the backs, being attached to the cloth which covers the same, so that the backs slide easily up and down in curved grooves of such a shape that when the seats are arranged for persons in a sitting position, the backs may be brought to face either way, and that the same may be arranged in a horizontal position, in which they are supported on one side by a groove in one of the beams which extends in a longitudinal direction from one end of the car to the other, and on the other side by a similar groove in a corresponding beam which slides up and down in suitable guides at the outside of the seats so that it may be brought to the suitable height when the seats are to be arranged for sleeping couches while it is pushed up and fastened close under the roof of the car when not needed; and at the same time the seats are so constructed that they may be unfolded so as to provide ample sleeping room for the same number of passengers which the seats are able to accommodate in a sitting position.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my improved car seat, I will proceed to describe the same.

The seats, A, consist of two parts A, and A, which are formed each of two cushions a, a, and 64, a which are placed one AND COUCH.

. 22,283, dated December 14:, 1858.

on the top of the other and which are united by hinges so that the parts a, or a, unfold to a position represented in Fig. 2, or that the whole of the part A, may be raised so that a person may enter and leave the seat equally well from both sides. The I parts a, are rigidly attached to the side of the car and they are supported on one side 1 by a projection a, and on the other by additional legs Z), and the parts A, rest on horizontal supports B, which are attached to standards C, at the outside of the seats. These standards divide into two branches 0, c, which unite at the upper part and they are connected to the roof of the car by rods D. The supports B, are fastened between the two branches 0, and c, of the standards: and the parts A, of the seats, when arranged for persons in a sitting position, rest on two subsequent supports. It will be no ticed that it would be difficult for persons to enter the seat if the parts A, could not be raised, as represented in Fig. 8, in red outlines.

The backs E, of the seats are constructed of a series of slats c, which are covered over by cloth to which they are attached in a horizontal direction, so as to render them perfectly flexible in this direction, and they are supported by grooves F, in the side of the car and by corresponding grooves cl, at the inside of the standards C. The lower parts of the grooves F, consist of two branches f, and f, which correspond to the two branches 0, and c, of the standards C, and which unite at the upper part and connect with a horizontal groove g, which extends in the side of the car from one end of the same to the other.

The backs being perfectly flexible accommodate themselves to the shape of the grooves F, and they may be pushed up in these grooves and brought to a horizontal position in the grooves g, as represented in Fig. 2. In order to obtain a support for the backs at the outside when brought into this position, a beam G, is made to slide up and down on the rods D, and it is provided with set screws 71, h, in order to fasten the same close under the roof of the car when it is not required. This beam is provided with a longitudinal groovei, corresponding to the groove g, in the side of the car, and when the same is lowered down to the top of the standards 0, and when it is fastened in this position on the rods D, by means of the set screws h, the groove 2', runs parallel and at the same height with the groove 9, and it connects with the grooves 03, at the inside of the standards C, so that the backs E, when pushed up, enter the grooves g, on one side and the grooves 2', on the other.

In order to arrange the seats for sleeping couches, the beam G, is lowered down and the backs of two subsequent seats are pushed :up side by side in the grooves-g, and 2', as represented in Fig. 2, and at the same time both parts A, and A, of the seat are unfolded, the parts a and a, being turned down so as to form a continuous plane with the parts a, and a, and they are supported in this position on one side by the projection a, and on the other by the support B, and the width of the seats and their distance from each other are such, that by thus unfolding the parts a, and a*, acontinuous plane is formed sufficiently long for a person to lie down upon it, and wide enough to provide room for two persons side by side, while two other persons find room to lie down on the upper tier formed by the backs, so that the same number of passengers may be accommodated with sleeping room which the car is able to accommodate in a sitting position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

The combination of the flexible backs, with the curved grooves F, and (I, and the sliding beam G, so that the backs may be brought into a horizontal position, substantially as specified.

G. lV. FAIRFIELD.

lVitnesses:

CHARLES F. QUiNT, LESTER l EwELL.

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