US2283755A

US2283755A - Article of furniture

Info

Publication number: US2283755A
Application number: US242480A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mies Ludwig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-08-14
Filing date: 1938-11-26
Publication date: 1942-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 1959-05-19

Description

May 19, 1942. L. MIES ARTICLE of- FURNITURE Filed Nov. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Loan 1c; MIL-'6 BY J? s ATTORNEY May 19, 1942.. L. was

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed Nov. 26, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR v Luoma M156 BY 1:, ATTORNEY Patented May 19, 1942 UNITE ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Ludwig Mies, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 26, 1938, Serial No. 242,480 In Germany August 14, 1935 11 Claims.

My invention relates to an article of furniture, and more particularly to a resilient support for chairs, stools, couches, or the like.

The hitherto usual resilient chair supports or the like formed of a continuous member including a lower ground engaging portion, an upper seat engaging portion and an intermediate connecting portion have a constant cross-section and a constant moment of resistance against bending stresses throughout their length. This type of supports may be used, if the supports are formed of a material which has sufiicient elasticity and strength, such as steel tubing for example. This type of supports, however, is not adapted for the use of materials, such as wood, synthetic resin, sheet material or the like, which have a comparatively low degree of strength. The turn between the ground engaging portion and the intermediate connecting portion is subjected to the highest stresses, if the chair or the like is under the load of the user. If the material has a low degree of strength, the cross-section of said turn must be of large size, and if the cross-sections of the support are of the same large size throughout the entire length of the support, the support lacks the necessary resiliency.

One object of my invention is to provide a resilient support for chairs or the like, which may be formed of a continuous member and permits the use of a material, such as wood, synthetic resin or sheet material, which has a comparatively low resistance against bending stresses.

Another object of my invention is to provide a support which has a gradually increasing resiliency from the ground engaging portion towards the seat engaging portion, whereby the portions of the support which are subjected to the highest stresses, have the necessary resistance against the bending stresses acting thereon.

In order to carry out my invention in practice, I provide an article of furniture comprising supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a groundengaging base, and supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, and the cross-sections of said strip taken in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said strip from a point of said lower arm to an upper point of said strip being varied in shape to give decreasing moments of resistance against bending stresses caused'by a constant load on said seat member. Said cross-sections may be varied in size or may be varied in the arrangement of their axes to give the decreasing moments of resistance against the bending stresses.

The above mentioned objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages will be more fully disclosed in the following specification reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two resilient supports according to my invention, which carry a seat member shown in dash and dotted lines,

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary perspective view'of the lower portion of a variation-of the support according to- Fig. 1,

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the two supports, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective side view of another embodiment of a support,

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View of the-support shown in Fig. 3, taken on line 44 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a perspective side View of a further embodiment of a support,

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 5, taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5,

Fig. '7 is a perspective side View of still another embodiment of a support,

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. '7, taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a perspective side view of a'further embodiment of the support,

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 9, taken on line III-I0 of Fig. 9,

Fig. 11 is a perspective side View of a support of sheet material,

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 11, taken on line l2l 2 of Fig. 11,

Fig. 13 is a perspective side view of another embodiment of a support of sheet material,

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 13, taken on line l4l4 of Fig. 13,

Fig. 15 is a perspective side view of another embodiment of the support according to my invention,

shown in Fig. 15, taken on line l6-l6 of Fig. 15,

Fig. 17 is a perspective side view of a support composed of a plurality of plies of different length,

Fig. 17a is a perspective side View of a variation of the support according to Fig. 17,

Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 1'7 taken on line l8-l8 of Fig. 1'7,

Fig. 19 is a perspective side view of a support composed of a plurality of tubes of different length,

Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 19, taken on line 2il-2ii of Fig. 19,

Fig. 21 is a perspective side View of another embodiment of a support,

Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the support shown in Fig. 21, taken on line 22-42 of Fig. 21,

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of a chair, in which a portion of the support forms an arm-rest,

Fig. 24 is a rear end view of the chair shown in Fig. 23,

Fig. 25 is a perspective side view of a support, which may be used as a single supporting means,

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the support Fig. 26 is a perspective side view of still another embodiment of a support, and

Fig. 27 is a perspective side View of a supporting means in which two side supports according to Fig. 26 are combined with each other to form a single supporting frame.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, i5 generally indicates a support, and I2 generally indicates a seat member. The support l includes a lower rearwardly extending arm or ground engaging portion I4, an upper rearwardly extending arm or seat engaging portion l6, and an intermediate connecting portion or front leg l8, which joins said ground engaging portion I l and said seat engaging portion It by turns 28 and 22. The seat member l2 is secured to the seat engaging portions l6 of the supports l0 in any suitable manner. The seat member may include a seat and a back-rest, which form an integral piece as shown in Fig. l, or the seat member may consist of a seat only, or the seat member may comprise a seat and a separate back-rest, which is attached to the seat in any suitable manner.

As will be apparent, the lower turn 20 is subjected to the highest bending stresses, when the chair is under the load of a user, and the bending stresses become smaller toward the end of the upper seat engaging portion 18. According to my invention, the lower portion of the support [0 has a cross-section with a moment of resistance, which may resist the high bending stresses acting on this portion of the support. In accordance with the decrease of the bending stresses towards the upper portion of the support, I reduce the moment of resistance of the crosssections of the support. In order to obtain said decreasing moments of resistance, the rectangular cross-sections of the fiat bar forming the support shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are gradually reduced from a large cross-section a of the ground engaging portion M to a small crosssection b of the seat engaging portion i6. According to Fig. 1, the reduction of the crosssection starts at the beginning of the lower turn 20. If desired, however, the reduction of the cross-section may start at a point of the ground engaging portion 14 or at a point of the connecting portion or front leg [8. According to Fig. 1, the reduction of the cross-sections of the support Ill terminates at the beginning of the seat engaging portion IE, but it will be understood that the reduction of the cross-section may be continued up to an intermediate point of said seat engaging portion IE or up to the free end of said seat engaging portion. Preferably, the ground engaging portion M has constant crosssections throughout its length, but, if desired, the cross-sections of the rear portion 14' of the ground engaging portion [4 may be reduced in size, as shown in Fig. 1a. The above described gradual decrease of the moments of resistance from a lower point of the support If: to an upper point thereof results in a gradual increase of the flexibility of the support from its lower portion towards its upper portion. Thus, it is possible to form the support of a continuous member of a material which has a low degree of strength and requires a large cross-section for the resistance against the bending stresses and would lack suflicient elasticity, if the support would have constant cross-sections throughout its entire length.

Figs. 3 and 4 show another embodiment of my support. The ground engaging portion M has a rectangular cross-section c with the smaller material.

side thereof being in engagement with the ground. Said rectangular cross-section of the support is gradually reduced to a square crosssection d of the seat engaging portion IS. The gradual reduction of the cross-section results in a gradual decrease of the moments of resistance.

According to the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the ground engaging portion #4 and the seat engaging portion [6 have substantially the same rectangular cross-section, but the longitudinal axis AA of the cross-sections gets shorter and shorter from the ground engaging portion through the connecting portion or front leg I8 to the seat engaging portion until it becomes shorter than the transverse axis B-B, in order to obtain the decrease of the moments of resistance. As best shown in Fig. 6, the long side 6 of the rectangular cross-section of the ground engaging portion M is in upright position, while the long side e of the rectangular cross--section of the seat engaging portion 16 is in a horizontal position. The cross-sections of the connecting portion i8 vary gradually in shape between the cross-sections of the ground engaging portion and the seat engaging portion.

The ground engaging portion [4 of the support shown in Figs. '7-10 has a profile cross-secti0n of T-shape, which forms a reinforcing web 1. The T-shaped cross-sections are continued through the connecting portion I8, but the height of said web f is gradually reduced towards the seat engaging portion lfi, so that the moments of resistance are gradually decreased. According to Figs. 7-10, the seat engaging portion has a rectangular cross-section. If desired, however, the web ,f may be extended to an intermediate portion of the seat engaging portion or to the end thereof, whereby the height of the web is gradually reduced. While Figs. 7-10 show a T-profile, any other suitable profile cross-section may be used, such as a U-shaped or I-shaped cross-section for example, whereby the web of the profile cross-section is gradually reduced from a lower point of the support to an upper point thereof.

Figs. 11-14 illustrate a support made of a sheet The ground engaging portion M of the support has a cross-section provided with a rib or web g formed by impressing an indentation into the sheet material. The height of this reinforcing rib or web 9 is gradually reduced through the connecting portion I8 towards the seat engaging portion it. According to Fig. 11, the rib g terminates at an intermediate point of the seat engaging portion IS. The remaining portion of the seat engaging portion has a rectangular cross-section. According to Fig. 13, the reinforcing rib g terminates at the end of the upper turn 22. If desired, however, the rib could be extended to the end of the seat engaging portion it, along which its height is gradually reduced. As will be easily understood the support shown .in Figs. 11-44 may be formed of a continuous strip of sheet material, which has the width h prior to the application of the indentation forming the rib 9. Furthermore, the strip of sheet material may be provided with any other suitable corrugated cross-section, for example, a cross-section which forms a plurality of ribs.

According to the embodiment of the support shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the ground engaging portion l4 and the seat engaging portion 16 have rectangular cross-sections of equal size, but the long side i of the cross-section of the ground engaging portion 14 is in an upright position, while the long side i of the cross-section of the seat engaging portion I6 is in a horizontal position.- Insofar as this arrangement of the cross-sections is concerned, the support illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16 is similar to the support shown in Figs. and 6, but it differs therefrom in the following respect. While according to Figs. 5 and 6 the cross-sections of the connecting portion or front leg l8 vary in shape between the cross-sections of the ground engaging portion and the seat engaging portion, the connecting portion or front leg l8 of the embodiment shown in Figs. and 16 has the same cross-section as the ground engaging portion and the seat engaging portion throughout its length, but the connecting portion or front leg 3 is twisted to form a transition from the upright position of the cross-section of the ground engaging portion to the horizontal position of the cross-section of the seat engaging portion.

Figs. 17 and 18- illustrate a further embodiment of my support, in which the cross-sections vary in steps. According to this embodiment the support is formed of a plurality of superimposed plies of different lengths which are connected with each other in any suitable manner. The plies of any suitable material may be held rigidly together over their entire length or they may be held rigidly together over a portion of their length only and may be arranged slidably on each other over the rest of their length. As best shown in Fig. 17, the outermost ply is the longest one and each following ply is shorter than the preceding one. The plies are arranged in such a manner that starting from the ground engaging portion M the number of superimposed plies is reduced in steps in various cross-sections Zl,'

mm, nn, o0, pp towards the upper portion of the support. The reduction of the number of superimposed plies results in a decrease of the moments of resistance. According to Fig. 17 all of the plies extend to the free end of the ground engaging portion I4. Fig. 17a illustrates a variation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 17, according to which the plies are of different length at the rear portion M" of the ground engaging portion it, so that the latter has a steplike construction.

The support shown in Figs. 19-20 consists of a plurality of tubes of different lengths which are connected with each other in any suitable manner. The tubes are arranged in such a manner that the number of tubes in various crosssections of the support is reduced in steps from the ground engaging portion M to the seat engaging portion 1 5. The three tubes which are arranged alongside of each other extend over the entire length of the support H]. The two tubes 32 which are arranged above said three tubes 30 extend to the intermediate point q of the seat engaging portion l6, and the tube 34 which is arranged on top of the tubes 32 extends to an intermediate point r of the connecting portion I8.

The support shown in Figs. 21 and 22 also consists of a plurality of tubes connected with each other in any suitable manner. In this embodiment, however, all of the tubes are arranged alongside of each other. The tubes have different lengths. The tube 36 extends throughout the entire length of the support, the tubes 38'terminate at an intermediate 'point q of the seat engaging portion, the tubes 49 terminate at an intermediate point r of the connecting portion [8 and the tubes 32 terminate at an intermediate point 3 of the connecting portion.

Figs. 23 and 24 illustrate another embodiment of my support. Thejsupports ll] of the chair shown in said Figs. 23 and 24 are similar to the support shown in Fig. 21. In this embodiment, however, the tubes 40 are extended, in order to form the seat engaging portion carrying the seat l2, while the

tubes

36 and 38 form the armrest of the chair and are in engagement with the back rest. The outer tubes 43 of the two supports H3 are connected with each other by the connecting portion 4| and form an integral member. Likewise, the tubes 36 of both supports are connected with each other and are formed of a continuous tube.

Fig. 25 shows a support similar to the support shown in Fig. 21, in which,-however, the tubes are arranged and bent in such a manner that the support it may be used' as a single support for a chair.

Fig. 26 shows an embodiment of a support in which a plurality of

tubes

44, 46, 48, 5!) of different cross-sections are telescopically arranged. The cross-section of the tube 35 is smaller than the cross-section of the tube 44, the cross-section of the tube 48 is smaller than the cross-section of the tube 46, etc., so that the cross-sections of the support vary in steps from the lower portion thereof to the upper portion thereof and the moments of resistance are reduced accordin ly.

Fig. 27 shows a supporting frame of a chair in which two supports H? according to Fig. 26 are combined with each other by the connecting

portions

52 and 54, so that they form a continuous supporting frame.

' The supports shown in Figs. 19-27 may be formed of solid rods instead of tubes, if desired.

Figs. 1-22 and 26 illustrate supports which may form individual members of a chair, as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, however, two supports of any embodiment shown in any of the Figs. 1-22 may be combined with each other at their upper and/or lower ends, as is shown in Figs. 23 and 27 for example, so that they form .a supporting frame forming an integral piece.

Furthermore, the upper portion it of any embodiment of the supports shown in Figs. 1-22 and 26 and 27 may be used as an arm-rest engagingthe back-rest of the seat-member, as shown in Fig. 23 for example. In such a case the seatportion of the seat-member is connected to the intermediate portion IQ of the supports and does not rest on the upper portion [6.

. Moreover, insertions of a material capable of resistance to bending forces may be arranged in the supports. Said insertions may be of constant cross-sections. Furthermore, said. inser-- tions may have gradually varying cross-sections or may be made of various materials, in order to assist the increasing of the flexibility of the support from a lower point of the support to an upper point thereof.

I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, but it is clear that numerous changes and omissions may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging atits upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, and. the cross-sections of said strip taken in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said strip from a point of said lower arm to an upper point of said strip being varied in shape to give decreasing moments of resistance against bending stresses caused by a constant load on said seat member.

2. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, and the cross-sections of said strip taken in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said strip from a point of said lower arm to an upper point of said strip being varied gradually in shape to give gradually decreasing moments of resistance against bending stresses caused by a constant load on said seat member.

3. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, and the cross-section of said strip taken in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said strip from a point of said lower arm to an upper point of said strip being gradually reduced in size.

4. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous bar, and the cross-sections of said bar being of various size and being gradually reduced from a point of said lower arm to an upper point of said bar.

5. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, at least a portion of said strip having a profile cross-section provided with a web, and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm towards said upper arm.

6. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, at least a portion of said lower arm and of said front leg having a profile crosssection provided with a web, and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm towards the upper end of said front leg.

'7. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous integral strip of material, at least a portion of said strip including said front leg and at least a portion of said rearwardly extending arms having a profile cross-section of a web, and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm towards said upper arm.

8. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said suporting means being formed of a continuous substantially flat strip of sheet material, a reinforcing web being formed in said sheet material by an indentation impressed therein, said reinforcing web extending throughout at least a portion of said strip of sheet material in longitudinal direction of said strip and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm towards said upper arm.

9. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous substantially fiat strip of sheet material, a reinforcing web being formed in said sheet material by an indentation impressed therein, said reinforcing web extending throughout at least a portion of said lower arm and of said front leg in longitudinal direction of said strip, and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm towards the upper end of said front leg.

10. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous substantially fiat strip of sheet material, a reinforcing web being formed in said sheet material by an indentation impressed therein, said reinforcing web extending throughout the length of said front leg and throughout at least a portion of said rearwardly extending arms, and the height of said web being gradually reduced from said lower arm toward said upper arm.

11. An article of furniture comprising supporting means, a seat member carried by said supporting means, said supporting means having a front leg merging at its upper and lower ends into rearwardly extending arms, the lower arm forming a ground-engaging base, said supporting means being formed of a continuous strip of material, said strip having a substantially rectangular cross-section in said upper and lower rearwardly extending arms, the rectangular crosssection having a long side and a short side, the

long side of the cross-section being in upright position in the lower rearwardly extending arm and being in horizontal position in the upper rearwardly extending arm, and the front leg having cross-sections being varied gradually in shape between the cross-sections of the lower and upper rearwardly extending arms.

LUDW'IG MIES.