US2664149A - Resilient slat-seat chair - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 29, 1953 P. N. HOWARD 2,664,149

RESILIENT SLAT-SEAT CHAIR Filed Aug. 15, 1950 IN VEN TOR.

/ AUL N. HOWARD ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 29, 1953 RESILIENT SLAT-SEAT CHAIR Paul N. Howard, Kent, Wash, assignor to Howard Manufacturing 00., Kent, Wash., a partnership Application August 15, 1950, Serial No. 179,436

' 8 Claims.

This invention concerns slat chairs, that is to say, chairs of the type frequently employed on lawns and porches, in which the seat, and generally the back as well, is formed primarily of slats of wood. Such slats, being thin, have inherent flexibility, but can be easily overstressed by concentration of force to the point of breakmg.

Because of the danger of over-stressing and breaking individual slats, such chair seats are generally so constructed that the flexibility oi the slats is greatly limited, and to that end the slats are quite rigidly supported. While the slats can thus be made relatively thin, with a consequent saving of the stock of which they are made, nevertheless such seats, although in general comfortable, lack any feeling of yieldability or flexibility because of this rigidity of construction, and to that extent are somewhat less comfortable than is desirable.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a slat chair of suitable construction, wherein, in the seat at least, advantage is taken of the flexibility inherent in the thin slats ordi narily used, to make the seat somewhat flexible and springy, and yet that flexibility is sufiiciently limited that there is no danger of overstressing the slats to the point of breaking them. Thus, and by the construction which Will be described, such slat chairs, without greatly adding to their cost, and in particular without the employment of thicker slats or of appreciably more good grade lumber than in the ordinary chair of the same general type, are rendered somewhat yielding or springy in the seat, and to that extent are made appreciably more comfortable and desirable.

lhe invention will be described in conjunction with a folding chair, but it will be understood that the same principles are applicable to the chair whether or not it is foldable, and likewise to a settee or a bench, and is not limited to a chair for single occupancy, but can be applied to an elongated seat or" such type as has been mentioned. It is intended to include any such seat wherever herein the term chair is used.

With the objects above in mind, and others as will appear as this specification progresses, the present invention comprises the novel chair and the novel combination and arrangement of the parts thereof, particularly in the seat portion, as is shown in the accompanying drawings, as will be described in this specification, and as will be more particularly pointed out in the claims which terminate the same.

As has been explained above, the present inin unfolded or operative position.

side bars vention is not limited to a chair in the strict sense of the word, and is not to be limited to the precise forms and arrangements herein shown and dw scribed, otherwise than as is set forth in the claims.

Figure 1 is an isometric sectional view through such a chair on a vertical plane from i'ront to rear, the line of section being indicated at l-i in Figure 2, and Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the seat portion or such a chair on a plane indicated generally by the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

The supporting structure of the chair in general comprises the forward legs 9, the rear legs til, the side irame elements iii of the baci; joined by the transverse slats 92, and the side arms Since the chair illustrated is a folding chair, these various elements are pivotably and fold ably connected together in known l2t211i0i1, the precise manner or such connection being im material to the present invention, which concerns primarily the seat. It will be clear that the legs at the'opposite sides will be connected across, by the transverse struts cc connecting the ior- Ward legs 9, and a transversestrut 95 connects the rearlegs 96. As is customary in such folding chairs, a third transverse strut or round it connects across the frame members ill of the back and rests on the upper edge or the rear legs in a known manner, to support the same However, the strut 8 might connect equally well the legs or supporting portion or the cnalr, so rar as concerns its runctionlng in the present invention, in which it has an important part.

The seat, as is customary, is made up of thin transverse slats generally designated by the numeral l, butindividually designated by various sunixes, as Ia, lb, lo and let, the distinction between which will shortly appear. lneseslats rest at their ends upon and are secured to supported by iorwarclly and rearwardiydirected The upper edges or these side care may be straight, or they may be contoured, the latter conrormation being prererred.

These slats are made of wood which is inherently flexible, but which can become overstressed and will break upon too great ccncentration of weight and consequent excessive fiexure. It is-evident that such over-stressing and breaking could be prevented if they were always solidly supported in their central portion, intermediate their ends, and yet if so supported they would be robbed of their flexibility. in oroer to-aiiord some degree of flexibility, and yet to insure limiting their flexing to a value less than sufficient to over-stress any individual slat, or all of them, I provide a central support of a peculiar kind, in which the ultimate support is the transverse strut 8, between which and certain of the centrally disposed slats lc there is provision for lost motion in a vertical sense, but for limitation of their flexibility and this consequent motion to a value such that the slats cannot become over-stressed. In the construction illustrated there is such lost motion provided at two points, but lost motion at either one of such points would to a limited degree afford a realization of the advantages of this invention. It is preferred that lost motion be provided at both such points, for each complements the effect of the other, and serves to distribute the stresses to slats not otherwise so heavily stressed, if stressed at all in use, and affords the springy flexibility of the entire group of seat slats to the yieldability of the seat, wherever stress is concentrated thereon.

An intermediate bar 3, similar in contour and disposition to the side bars 2, is located intermediate the two latter, underlying all the slats l. ts forward end is suitably supported, the support in the illustrated form being constituted by the screw connection at 30 to the forward slats la and lb. Its rear end is similarly supported by its connection at 3| to the rear slat Id. Between the slats lb and Id are disposed the several slats lo, and the contour of the upper edge 32 of the intermediate bar 3 is such that in the normal unstressed position of the slats lc, these slats are individually spaced above the edge 32 by a definite distance, so that the slats lc, when depressed by the weight of an occupant sitting upon the seat, will yield downwardly, as shown in dash lines in Figure 1, or as shown in full lines in Figure 2, until they contact the upper edge 32 of the intermediate bar 3. Upon such contact their downward movement is limited or halted, with an exception which is about to be disclosed.

The rear end of the intermediate bar 3 is supported at 3| by the rear slat Id normally at a definite spacing above the transverse strut 8. Since the slat ld is itself flexible, when the weight of the occupant, acting through the depressed slats lc on the bar 3, tends to press the bar downwardly, that bar will in effect hinge about its somewhat more rigidly supported forward end, and its rear end will move downwardly, again as shown in dash lines in Figure 1, or as shown in full lines in Figure 2, flexing and pulling downwardly the rear slat ld, until the bar 3 engages and is supported by the fixedly positioned and relatively rigid strut 8, which limits the downward movement of the bar 3 and hence of the slats which are pressing the latter downward or are being pulled downwardly. The spacings between the slats lo and the upper edge of the bar 3 and between the rear end of the bar 3 and the strut 8 are so calculated as not to overstress the slats of the seat.

It will be noted that the slats lb, to which the intermediate bar 3 is secured, lie generally in a plane normal to the gravity component of the weight of an occupant of the chair, whereas the slat la, forward thereof, is disposed at a definite angle to such gravity component. In this manher the relatively angularly disposed slat la tends to stiffen the slat or slats lb, and thereby to effect a hinge action at the forward end of the bar 3 rather than to permit appreciable downward deflection of the forward slats, for these have no other support. The bars la and lb mutually stiffen one another and limit yet do not wholly destroy their mutual flexibility, and thereby protect one another from over-stressing, notwithstanding that no inconsiderable portion of the weight of the occupant is concentrated in the vicinity of these forward slats. This affords a simple construction and does not require a positive transverse strut or support beneath the forward edge of the bar 3, and the rear support at 8 is required in any event for the proper support of the foldable back. The construction adopted is therefore a simple and economical one and requires no additional material other than that included in the bar 3, and but little additional labor, being only that required for secureinent at 30 and 3l of certain slats to the intermediate bar 3.

The resilient stiffness afforded by the forward slats, and the resilience of the rear slat ld, serve to restore the bar 3 to its upper unstressed posi tion when the occupant arises. In like fashion the inherent resilience of the slats lc restores them to their upper or unstressed position under like circumstances.

In this specification emphasis has been placed on the use and effect of the use of wooden slats. Slats of wood are very widely and commonly used, and such a construction as has been de scribed is admirably adapted to the continued use of such slats of wood and the employment to the best advantage of their limited flexibility but tendency to break under concentrated excessive stress. Nevertheless, some chairs of this type are made of plastic material, and the plastic chairs have certain advantages, particularly in extremely dry climates. Accordingly, it is not intended to limit the invention to chairs wherein the slats, or for that matter the frame members, are of wood only, but to include in that term equivalent materials such as plastic.

I claim as my invention:

1. A chair seat and seat supporting member comprising, in combination, two rigid side bars disposed at the opposite sides of the seat, directed forwardly and rearwardly, a plurality of resilient slats, each of material which has limited flexibility before it becomes overstressed, each disposed generaliy parallel to the others, in transverse disposition from front to rear, and each resting upon and rigidly secured to the side bars at its opposite ends, a third rigid bar extending forwardly and rearwardly beneath the slats, intermediate their ends, means to suspend said third bar from certain of said slats, and thereby to support said third bar when the slats are unstressed, and a support spaced beneath said third bar and mounted on said seat supporting member to limit its downward movement accompanying downward novement of the slats when the slats are flexed, and to alford support for the so-stressed slats, to restrict their stressing within safe 1Lmits.

2. A chair seat in claim 1, wherein the susending means for the third bar are engaged between the latter and slats at front and at rear of the seat, only, leaving the third bar unsuspended from the intervening slats, said third bar being recessed at its upper edge to lie below such intervening slats when the latter are unstressed, but to be engaged by and to limit stressing of such intervening slats, when the latter are flexed downwardly, within safe limits.

3. A chair seat as in claim 2, wherein the suspending means for the third bar are engaged between the latter and several slats at front of the seat, and with a lesser number of slats at rear of the seat, and wherein the support limiting downward movement of said third bar is located beneath the rear end, only, of said third bar, to limit its downward movement and accompanying fiexure of such slats as suspend the rear end of the third bar. 7

4. A chair seat as in claim 1, wherein a transverse strut located beneath the rear end of the third bar, and spaced therefrom when the slats are unstressed, constitutes the sole support engageable by said third bar to limit its downward movement and flexure of the slats, when the latter are stressed.

5. A chair seat having two fixedly positioned side bars directed forwardly and rearwardly at its respectively opposite sides, a third bar similarly directed but disposed intermediate the two side bars, a transverse strut fixedly positioned a definite distance beneath the normal unstressed position of the rear end of said intermediate bar, and constituting a limit stop for its downward movement, and transverse slats extending between and secured to the two side bars and overlying the intermediate bar, the forward end of the intermediate bar being supportingly secured to at least one slat adjacent the forward edge of the seat, and the slats being of material which is limitedly flexible before becoming overstressed, and the spacing of the strut beneath the rear end of the intermediate bar being sufliciently great to enable flexing of the slats, but sufficiently slight to limit flexing of the slats to a value less than is required to overstress the slats.

6. A chair seat as in claim 5, wherein the upper edge of the intermediate bar, between its ends,

is spaced beneath the normal unstressed position of certain slats intermediate the forward and rearward slats, to permit flexing of the same and to limit their downward flexing to a value less than sufficient to overstress such slats.

7. A- chair seat as in claim 5, wherein the forward end of the intermediate bar is additionally supportingly secured to more than the one slat at the forward edge of the seat, for mutual support of the several such slats from the intermediate bar, and of that bar substantially rigidly from the several such slats.

8. A chair seat as in claim 7, characterized in that two forward slats, whereto the intermediate bar is secured, are disposed one in a plane generally normal to the weight of an occupant, and the other, being the forward slat of the two, in a plane at an angle to the plane of the first such slat, for mutual stiffening of the support for the forward end of the intermediate bar.

PAUL N. HOWARD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 124,507 Owen et a1 Mar. 12, 1872 1,962,464 Richtsteig June 12, 1934 2,090,971 Whittington et al. Aug. 24, 1937 2,106,066 Sadgrove Jan. 18, 1938 2,125,773 Drabenstott Aug. 2, 1938 2,329,572 Young Sept. 14, 1943 2,371,825 Kalpakoif Mar. 20, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 221,202 Great Britain Nov. 13, 1924 801,976 France May 30, 1936

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