US2577812A

US2577812A - Upholstery spring construction

Info

Publication number: US2577812A
Application number: US769891A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samel Emanuel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-08-21
Filing date: 1947-08-21
Publication date: 1951-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 1968-12-11

Description

l' lill) N 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed Aug. 21, 194'? INVENTOR imma! Jamzl 'BY/Mw: s. www

ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 E. sAMEL UPHOLSTERY SPRING CONSTRUCTION 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 21, 1947 M R Y O E mm m E O v i 6 m mw M m A S F Y NN\1 am. LB mw uw i W H u w @f s T H ww Patented Dec. l1, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UPHGLS'EERY SPRING OONSTRUCTIGN Emanuel Samel, Denville, N. J.

Application August 21, 1947, Serial No. 769,891

6 Claims. l

My present, invention relates to an, yupholstery spring construction and a method of assembling such structures into an upholstery assembly such as is used for the bottoms and other portions of upholstered furniture.

It has been customary for many years tofuse substantially helical springs` in making up upholstered furniture, these springs usually having a somewhat smaller diameter intermediate their ends than at the ends thereof, although this is relatively immaterial from the point of view of the present invention. vIn assembling such springs into an article of vfurniture it is customary, :for example, in making a chair or sola bottom or seat,.iirst to build a trame of some rigidmaterial, such as wood, then to support the lower ends of thesprings to form the seat, or the rear ends when aback is being formed, to the lower or rear face of Ythe frame` by the use of webbing, usually arranged in bands secured at their ends to the frame. and sewed together and to the lowermost or rearmost ends of the springs by strong thread or cord. Other. arrangements equivalent thereto from the present point of. view have been suggested for securingthe rear or lowermost ends of the springs to the frame and for locating the springs with their axes all substantially parallel and in a desired distribution. pattern. The upperv or forward ends of the springs have customarily been connected together and to the uppermost or forwardparts of the frame by the use of quite heavy cord, Which is Ausually in accordance with prior art practices, out into suitable lengths, then one. end is secured .toa partV of the frame inthe forming cfa single pass. 'Ihe cord is then extended to the nearest spring toV be connected in this pass and a knot made between the cord and the endmost or some other turn of the spring adjacent to the end, this knot being made non-slipping as to the cord by pulling the end of the cord through a loop in forming one or two half hitches or some other similar type vof knot. The cord has then customarily been extended across the spring and then been connected to a turn substantially diametrically opposite the rst point of connection by a similar knot. In like manner the cord is attached to each spring in a roW- and then the other end iinally attached to the frame opposite the point of attachment of the first-named end.

. In carrying out this operation it is necessary firstto cut oi suitable lengths of cord from a supply ,of anindefinite lengthupon a reel or other suitable. dispensing package, then, in making each knot,..topull the .zreeiend through a loop .one or y2 more-times. The knot, after having been formed may bench-slipping as to the cord, but can-and does during subsequent use move endways as to the wirev of the spring. The Whole operation in forming a chair or sofa bottom is tiresome and time-consuming in the extreme.

An object of the present invention is to save a large part of the time involved in upholstery spring assembly in accordance with the priorxart method as` above outlined and t0 provide a better finished product than has been possible by the use of prior art methods and structures as aforesaid. To this end it is a speciiic objector the present invention to provide a plurality of irregularly shaped portions on the endmost coil and possibly also on at least one other coiledjacent to the endmost coilto which a. bight of the cord may be suitably connectedwithout` the necessity of pulling an end through a loopinforming a knot Which willbe non-slipping as tothe cord. At the same time, the provision or this irregularly shaped portion, which is rigid*V with the wire of the spring, will insure that any knot made in accordance with the present invention and by the use of such an irregular portion will be nonslipping asrto the spring.

. Further and more detailed objects of the present invention in this respect comprise particular embodimentsv of the invention as to the shape and construction ofthe irregularly shaped portions and including the making of such portions from parts of the spring wire bent up into suitable shape, preferably generally in the form of the letter T, or the making or such portions from one or more separate parts, suitably rigidly secured, as by Welding, to the spring itself.

.A further object of the present invention is to provide a lspring assembly formed by theuse of springs made in accordance with the present invention and connected by cords which are extended in a plurality of passes, preferably substantially at right angles to one another, so that each spring is connected in at least two passes as aforesaid, whereby to prevent the dislocation` of Y the springs in the plane of the upper or forward ends thereof out of the desired distribution pattern in any direction in such plane. This result may be further insured lby providing not only twosets of passes of cord at right angles to one another, and which are usually parallel to the sides of a rectangular frame in which the spring assembly is secured, butalso by providing two additional sets of diagonally disposed passes of cordsin'lilarw 1y eonnected-.-tothe Vframe. and to kthe springs.

A further detailed object of the present inven" using the springs of the present invention to make a structure as outlined above.

While it is recognized that springs in accordance with the present invention may be slightly more expensive to make than are the conventional upholstery springs due to the necessity of forming or fabricating the irregular portions on at least one end coil thereof, the savings in time and hence in labor cost in the manufacture of the final articles of furniture are so great as far to outweigh the slightly increased cost of the novel springs.

Further and more detailed objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and appended claims, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view principally in perspective and with parts broken away showing a part of a spring assembly made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan View of an assembly in accordance with the present invention; and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are fragmentary delailed Views, principally in plan, illustrating modified forms of irregular cord-attachment portions in accordance with the present invention.

Consider first the spring as a separate article and the irregularly shaped portions as above generally described formed or secured thereon. Referring first to the form of the invention shown in Fig. l, there is illustrated but two springs I which are in the form of conventional upholstery springs, with the exception of the irregular portions thereof in accordance with the present invention. These portions are disposed principally, if not solely, on the endmost turn or coil of the spring shown at 2. Preferably there are at least four such irregularly shaped portions formed by or on the endmost turn and substantially equiangularly disposed about this turn. In accordance with the form shown in Fig. l, these portions each comprise a bar 3, which may be formed from a piece of the same type of wire of which the spring I is formed, or may be some other suitable material and fabricated in any desired manner, the use of spring metal not being essential in the construction of these parts. As shown, there is a simple bar 3, which is suitably secured as by welding to a part of the uppermost turn 2 intermediate the ends of the bar 3. This provides two projections 4 and 5 to which Vconnection may be made by a cord as hereinafter more particularly set forth. It is also contemplated, however, that any suitable means of securing an irregularly-shaped portion to a part of the spring proper may be used as the equivalent of welding, for example, means such as a set screw or clamp or clip, as will appear from the foregoing to those skilled in the art, the purpose being that the irregularly shaped portion be suitably rigidly secured to the main body of the spring, which in turn may be formed in any `conventional manner.

tions per se.

It is preferred that the irregular portion, such as the bars 3, be secured to the turn 2 of the spring on the underside, as seen in Fig. l so as to be within the axial dimensions of the spring, considered apart from the irregularly shaped por- In this Way the portions provided in accordance with the present invention do not interfere with the final product and do not project in a direction such as to damage any upholstery material which may be used in conjunction therewith. The connecion of the cord to the bars or portions will be described hereinafter.

Considering now the embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it will be noted that the irregularly shaped portions generally indicated respectively at 6 and 1 are formed from integral parts of the uppermost turn 2 of the spring by bending the wire thereof into peculiar and desired shapes. In general, the shapes in these two figures is that of the outlines of the letter T, this shape being in effect secured at the end of the stem of the T to the center or bottom of the bight of a portion of the wire shaped as the letter U, which is formed with a cen.er or bight portion indicated at 8 and sides indicated at 9.

Referring now particularly to the Fig. 3 form of the invention, the part forming the outline of the letter T includes the side portions I0 defining the stern of the T, portions I I defining the upper side of the cross part or top of the T, and the central portion I2 which is in the form of a reentrant part extending from the center of the top of the T downwardly into the stem thereof, as shown. The top portions II are connected to side portions I0 by end portions I3 and those in turn by acute angled portions I4 extending from the side portions ID as shown. The cen.er part I2 has a part circular recess defining portion at the inner end thereof. This form results in a very effective construction in that it is easy to connect a cord thereto by winding it in substantially figure 8 form between the recess defined by parts I0 and I4 on one side, the center recess defined by the part I2 and the recess defined by parts I0 and I4 on the other side. This may be accomplished while maintaining the stretch of the cord between its points of atachment, for example, between springs or between adjacent parts of the same spring, in a taut condition and working always with a bight of the cord. In accordance with the present invention it has been found that a. desired greater taulness is possible than according to prior art practices.

Referring now to the form of Fig. 4, there is illustrated a somewhat simpler form. In this form the center part is formed merely as the outline of the leiter T, without any reentrant portion corresponding to I2 in Fig. 3. The wire is bent from the inner ends of the parts 8 forming the bight of the U upwardly as shown at I5 to form the stem of the T, thence outwardly as shown at I6 to form the underside of the T, thence around to form the upper side of the top of the T as shown at I'I. Any type of knot or plural twist which may be formed with a bight of a cord may be effective in securing the cord to the irregular portion 'I of Fig. 4, the inven'ion in this case not residing in any particular type of knot, many of which are known.

Referring now to the Fig. 5 form of the invention, there is illustrated an embodiment in which the irregular part is again secured to the bight IB of a U formed of the principal part of the wire of the spring by bending it to form sides I 9 of the U and the bight IB thereof, as

"amener-2 Ishown. Centrally of the bight fof,:thefU. thereris :securedthereto,` as by welding, one or more separate pieces'forrned as inthe shape/oi 'thefletter T- andincluding. aI Vstem-'portion 20 .and atop The cord may-nbesuitably portion or bar 2l. secured abouttheseportions in a Ymanner which lwill be obyiousto those skilled in the art and who. are acquainted with'the making of knots.

It ispnoted that in. all the formsv'of Figs,.3, 4

and 5, the irregularly shaped. portion isformed in .one single plane which .is substantiallyvthe pla-neof`V the top coil `of: the spring;. that vthe vprincipal part of the irregularly shaped portion isin the form of the letter T or theoutline thereof, andlthat it' isconnected lcentrally of 4the .bight of a U--shaped portion of the turn 2 ofthefspring and intheplane thereof rextending between Ithe `sides of the U.

Consider new theyspring.assemblyy as a 4construction and the method of making it. Thereis shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a

frame includingframe 4members

22 and 23, Vthisirarne .being conventiom ally shown as a square, although it may Joe. and usually 5 isy insomerectangular. form- On the otherrhand, the invention is not limitedA to` `any particular form of the frame as it may be adaptable` to any such form made of any suitable rigidmateriah usually wood, in which a plurality; oi springs. are yarranged according. to avv predeterminedfdistributicn; pattern. In fthe* usual lcourse and as herein shown,lthis pattern includes a plurality 'of rows of, springs whichvmay be arranged asv shownrequidistant in bothdimen- `sions .or atthecorners of squares-,as to the center lines/of the' springs. In the usuall course, lthe axes of these springsiareah vparallel to one another and are perpendicular to thegeneral plane of `thel frame. .In accordance with prior art practice, or.in-.accordance with anyfdesired practice or construction; the lowervorrear ends of ithefsplringsmay'be connected together and to the frame by any suitable means here gen-- erally indicated as strips of webbing 24, Fig. 1,

which are usually` arranged-at right: angles to Y one another, secured at theirends to the vframe in any suitable manner, and secured to the lower or rear ends of each 'of the springs in any desired manner, for example, by sewing them with a -strong thread using a curved needle. Any; desired means for supporting the lower orrear'ends ing one row and shown horizontal inthisiig-v ure, which are. connected together by a length of cord anchored as shown at' 29 to the frame 22 on'the left and secured to Veach of the springs 25 170.28, inclusive,..then anchored at itsother end to the other frame 22., as shown at 3Q. Thus, the pass of the cord from point 2S to the point Sli connecting the springs 25 to 28 may be con sidered one single pass. If desired, the cord may be terminated at a point 3Q and a separate length of cord may be extended from the point 3| to secure the

springs

32, 33, 34 and 35 and connected again to the point 36.

Alternatively, the l including connections in series with the springs: 35i to -232 in this reverse sequence. .In Aa 'z similarr manner, 'each-l Yof" then springs. fingthe :entire assembly l rnayv beV connected. byp'passesf. fof 'cord whichfare; horizontal in; this: View. 'It's-.is preferable and. usual practice also toccon'nectfthe springsV togetherA 'byA .passes of; 'cordarranged: at right angles to one another, thusthere are `shown -passesof the cord indicated generallyv at '31, "38, and arranged in` al vertical direction,- as .showninr Fig. 2xlatf right angles' to the-passes llirstv described. If 1 desired, twoY additional lsets of passes arranged as diagonals may befused, :each` 4pass being.'v Yconnectedl at its endsytoythe framemembers 22 and 23V and 'connected .intermediate itsi ends'v to 'the springsr whichqarerin alignmentwith the; passes respectively. Thus, -thezendmast diagonal passes may be connected to but one spring, as shown for. the pass 4l which connects fonlyto the spring 25+and lis. connected to the `iframe".mein-hers: 22: and 23 at. points-0112V afndt lipsrespect-ively. .The remainder' "of thez'di- 'agonal passes may be. connected .similarly :to vthose .previouslyxdescribed and as will be obvious vfrom `aninspectionv of Fig. 2.

v If desired, asingle length of cord maybe :extended to include some or allthe: passes necessary to connect thezsprings in the manner'shown in Fig,` 2'prior tu Athe-cord: used in-formingthe passes 'being severedfrorn a supplybodythereof of indenite lengthesuch as' a reel ofecord. When this isgd'ona'hcwevenit is preferred that 4'the lterrnirlii.zo-each-pass of cord' `be rigidlyfsecured tothe frame vin anysuitable manner a'sby a tack or nail.

In accordance with the'present inventionfand as best seen on an enlarged scale in Figi 1; the cord here'shown at dtimaybe connected as indicated at45 rasgby. a suitable nail-to, the frame member 22. ltis sometimes desired that the endmost .springin airow-g'such asthe rowfof springs '25 to 28, shownin Fig. 2, beconnected somewhat diierently to rthe cord than theiinterm'ediate springs of lthat row. This; diiere'nt'connection'is shownrin` detail in Fig,v 1 and-'includes'the'provision of a connection .between the cordl and'A a turn-of the lspringnbelow vbut adjacent to-fthe 4outermostor, uppermost turn 2y thereof. Fortthis purposethe spring in accordance with the present invention: is; provided.v on, such. adjacent-turnl .as the turn 46 with ancirregularly shaped portion 41 as shown. -The portion.; 41 may: be. exactly 'fthe same-as the portion. 3 aboVe'describedor'may .ta-ke; 1any'of the=orms of Figs.v 3i to 5,- orvv any equivalentthereof. The cord M is: extended'in a taut'rnanner, to theirregular-portion 41, then suitably knotted .thereto by a `knot whichimay-be fforrned from abightf'of the cord. The cord-is thenzextended in a plane diametrically acrossthe spring I as shown at lltov connect to. an irregu- "lar-lyfshaped. portionzfshownlatl dll by asimilar knot.` The lcord then extends' rearwardly across .thespring in astretchshown. atll lto connect to a.point substantially dia-metrically opposite 'the point 49 at 5l, and is there connectedltheretofby assimiler. knot. The cord is then extended in a stretch 52 to connect to the next adjacent spring, which may be in the position of the spring 25, as shown in Fig. 2 it being understood that the spring shown at the left in Fig. 1 may be in a position corresponding to that shown at 25 in Fig. 2. Connection of the cord with the intermediate springs, such as those shown at 26 and 2l' for the rst horizontal pass in Fig. 2 between the points 29 and 3B, or the springs 33 .and 34 for the next horizontal pass between the points 3| and 36 in that ilgure is preferably made by 'connecting the cord to two substantially diametrically opposite portions of the uppermost turn, as shown at the points. 53 and 54 between which the cord extends in a stretch 55. The remainder of the connections may be made in a similar manner to that just described.

While cord is referred to throughout the present specification, the term is to -be construed in a broad sense. It is also used to designate the material known in the upholstery art as spring twine.

By the provision of the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel spring construction, a novel spring assembly which may be made using the spring construction of the present invention, and a novel method of effecting such assembly using cord which may be anchored initially at one end and then employed in connecting the springs together without ilrst severing any portion of the cord from the general supply body thereof and without tediously pulling any cord ends through a loop in forming any knot. The connections between the cord and the springs in each case is non-slipping endwise of either the cord or the wire of the spring to which it is connected, and the whole may be effected in a minimum of time by persons with relatively little training and experience, and with a maximum economy in the use of the cord.

While there is shown herein but a few of the possible embodiments of the invention, I do not .wish to be limited except by the scope of the appended claims, which are to be construed validly as broadly as the state of the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. An upholstery spring having a plurality of coils and provided on one end coil with a plurality of irregularly shaped portions, each of said irregularly shaped portions comprising at least one separate part rigidly secured to the wire of said end coil of said spring and substantially equiangularly disposed about said end coil, each of said irregularly shaped portions being adapted to have a flexible cord knotted thereto by a knot formed from a bight portion of the cord, so that said cord will be prevented from movement with respect to said end coil of said spring by the rigid connection between said irregularly shaped portion and the end coil of said spring.

2. An upholstery spring in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said irregularly shaped portions has at least a part thereof arranged substantially in the shape of the letter T.

3. An upholstery spring in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said irregularly shaped portions is formed by a cross bar welded to the wire of one end coil of said spring on a side of said end coil toward the opposite end of said spring, so as to be inside the contines of the end coils of said spring in an axial direction, said cross bars extending at substantially right angles to the parts of the wire to which said cross bars are welded respectively.

4. An upholstery spring in accordance with 8 claim 1, wherein each of said irregularly shaped portions is formed by a separate member having the shape of the letter T rigidly secured at the end of the stem of the T to a part of the wire of said spring.

5. An upholstery spring assembly, comprising a plurality of coil springs disposed with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel and located according to a predetermined distribution pattern, a rigid frame, means carried by the frame for supporting one end of each of said springs in said distribution pattern, each of said springs having its other end provided with a plurality of'irregular portions rigid therewith, and at least one flexible cord of non-metallic material secured to said frame and connected by nonslipping type knots, each formed on a bight of said cord to secure said cord to said irregular portions so as to hold the other ends of said springs against substantial dislocation out of said distribution pattern, while permitting the yielding of said springs during the subsequent use of said assembly.

6. An upholstery spring assembly in accordance with claim 5, wherein all of said springs are secured in said distribution pattern by a single length of cord connected at the ends of each of a plurality of straight line passes to said frame and connected to each of said springs in alignment with each of said passes respectively, said cord and its connections being effective to secure said springs against dislocation in any direction in a plane containing the ends of said spring to which said cord is connected, and said cord extending from one pass to another until said springs are connected as aforesaid, there being passes of said cord substantially at right angles to one another rso that each of said springs is included in at least two passes which are respectively substantially at right angles to one another.

EMANUEL SAMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 54,443 Tingley May 1, 1866 95,984 Bushnell Oct. 19, 1869 378,546 Henry Feb. 28, 1888 654,707 Brouyette July 31, 1900 945,401 Mack Jan. 4, 1910 1,398,297 Hermann Nov. 29, 1921 1,885,471 Oehrl Nov. 1, 1932 1,952,059 Duilield Mar. 27, 1934 1,982,426 Goethel Nov. 27, 1934 2,001,964 Kimbrig May 21, 1935 2,066,861 Simmons Jan. 5, 1937 2,309,164 Burd Jan. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 89,706 Germany Nov. 27, 1896 388,803 France June 1l, 1908