US2675060A - Seat structure - Google Patents

Description

M. J. STRAND SEAT STRUCTURE April 13, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 9, 1953 INVENTOR TTORNEY MrceZZa. cf 52711 n B B 91m April 13, 1954 M. J. STRAND .SEAT STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1953 IN VENTOR s3 Marcella J: Strand ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAT STRUCTURE Marcellaul. Strand Lansing, 111.

Application March 9, 1953, Serial No. 341,140

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a novel construction of childs seat, for use either with conventional straight back chairs, vehicle seats or upholstered chairs, and which is adapted to be detachably suspended from the back rest.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a seat, structure which will openautomatically for applying a child thereto or for removing a child therefrom and wherein the'weight of the child on the seat will retain a guard portion thereof ina closed position around the torso of the child.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat-structure which is so constructed that when applied to the upwardly and rearwardly inclined back restof a chair that the child may not overturn the chair backward by pushing against a table or other structure immediately adjacent theiront of the chair.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention willhereinafter become more fully ap parent from the following description of the drawings; illustrating'a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational View showing the chair as it would appear when supporting a child;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof looking'from left to right of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, partly in top plan, taken substantially along the novel childs seat in its'entirety is designated generally 8 and includes a panel-like member forming; a back rest. 9. A panel-like member forming a seat It is hingedly mounted along a back edge thereof to the bottom. edge of the back rest 8 by means ofloopedstrap members I l and l2 portions of which are secured by iastenings [3 to the backrest 9 and seat respectively. Curled end portionsof said strap members I! and !2 provide aligned loops; or hinged barrels I4 through which extends a pintle or hinged pin a,

It for. mounting the seat It for. vertical swinging movement upwardly toward the back rest 9 or downwardly away from, said backrest.

Apair of corresponding guard members .6 are hingedlytconnected to, thebaok; rest 9', adjacent 2 the side-edgesithereoi and above theseat l0; Each of said guard members it includes avertical side wall portion 5? to a rear edge of which hinge leaves I 8 are secured byadditional fastenings l3. Similar hinge leaves H are secured by fastenings E3 to the back rest 9 and said hinge leaves lsand l9 are, provided with aligned, hinge barrels through which extend hinge pins or pintles 2| for swingably mounting the' guard members l 8 onthe back rest 9 for swinging move:- ment outwardly away from one another or. iiiwardly toward one another. The wall portions I! at their upper edges are provided with outwardly extending flanges forming arm rests.22. The wall portions I? are recessed at their bottom edges at points spaced. outwardly from their inner hinged edges to provide narrower guard elements 23 which are curved inwardly intermediate of their ends to provide front guard portions 24 which extend toward one another and ends of: which bear against-the back rest 9 and the underside of theseat 10 for urging the seat to swing upwardly toward said back rest. The pintles 24 of. the guard members l6 likewise mount coil springs 26 the ends of which bear against the back rest B and the inner sides of the walls H for urging the guard members It to swingoutwardly and away from one another,

asbest illustrated inFigure 4.

The wall portions l of the guard members 16 are connected to the seat 10 by flexible members suchaschains 21. Other flexible members, such as the chains 28, are connected to thetback rest 9 and seat 10 at points spaced from the seat hinge i4, Hi.

The seat 10 isprovicled with a removable disklike section 23 which is supported in an opening thereof by strap members 3! which are rigid and whichare secured to the upper side of the disk 29-and have outer ends overlying a portion of theupper side of the seat H) which surrounds the opening 36. The disk. 29 can be removed. so that the opening 30 can be employed with .a receptacle disposed .therebeneath as a toilet seat, A. horn member 32 has a base portion 33 whichis disposed on the seat lilbetween its forward edgeand the opening 3!) and which is secured thereto by a fastening 34. The horn 32 extends upwardly iromthe seat I0 and is curved forwardly away from the back rest 9.

A secondary: or rear back: member or. paneh35 is disposed behind the back rest 9 and is held spaced therefrom by vertical sidewalls 36 and a bottom wall 31 which combine with the back rest 9 and rear wall 35 to form an elongated box-like receptacle 38 having an open top which is normally closed by a cover 39 which is hinged at 40 to the upper end of the rear wall 35, for swinging movement upwardly and rearwardly away from the back rest 9 toward an open position. The back rest 9 extends to above the container or receptacle 38 and the upper portion thereof is provided with an opening to form a handheld M by means of which the seat structure 8 may be manually supported and carried conveniently. Metal strap members 42 are secured by fastenings 43 each to the back rest 9, rear wall 35 and one side wall 36 for reinforcing the receptacle 38.

A pair of double hooks 44 are swingably mounted on the receptacle 38 externally of the walls 36 by means of pivot pins it which extend inwardly through intermediate shank portions 66 of the hookmembers A l and which pivot pins are anchored in said side walls 36 and in upper strap members 42 thereof. A spacing member 41 is mounted on each pivot pin 45 between the adjacent strap member 42 and shank portion 46 for spacing the hook members 64 outwardly from the walls 36. Each hook member has a short hook 48 constituting one end thereof and an extension of one end of the shank 4B and a long larger hook 453 constitutin the other end thereof and an extension of the other end of the shank 46.

Assuming that the hooks 38 are disposed in uppermost positions, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, said hooks may be engaged over the upper edge of the back rest of a straight chair for supporting the seat 8 on the front side thereof and with the rear wall member 35 engagin against the front side of the chair back rest, not shown. The seat member in will be supported at an incline upwardly and outwardly with respect to the back rest 9 by its springs 25 and the uard members it will be displaced outwardly from their positions of Figure 3 by the springs 26 and to the limit as permitted by the chains 21, so that the guard members i6 will be spread to enable a child to be readily placed therebetween and on the seat member it and with the legs straddling the horn 32. The weight of the child on the seat member ill will cause said seat member to swing downwardly to a position substantially at a right angle to the back rest 9 and in which position it is supported by the flexible members or chains 28. This downward swinging movement of the seat member it will cause the flexible members 21 to pull the guard members It inwardly to position the walls I! thereof substantially parallel, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and so that the guard members IS will substantially surround the torso of the child. So long as the weight of the child is on the seat member I it cannot swing the guard members l6 away from one another and is thus confined within the seat 8. The legs of the child extend outwardly from either side of the born 32 and beneath the guard member extensions 23. However, by merely lifting upwardly on the child to remove its weight from the seat member Hi, the guard members l6 will be swung apart so that the child can be readily removed from the seat 8. The back wall 35 is spaced a substantial distance behind the back rest 9 and seat It so that the weight of the child is spaced forwardly from the chair back rest on which the seat 8 is suspended thus preventing a child from pushing against a table or a similar structure and overturning a chair backwards on which the seat member 8 is supported.

The hook members 44 may be swung on their pivots 45 through arcs of 130 approximately to position the hook elements 49 in uppermost positions for engagement over the upper edge of the back rest of an automobile seat or a piece of upholstered furniture for similarly supporting a childs seat 8 on the front thereof. A child is applied to and removed from the seat 8 when applied to a vehicle seat back rest or to the back rest of an upholstered piece of furniture, in the same manner as previously described.

Where the seat 8 is used by older children who can support their weight on a chair or vehicle seat for spreading the guard members I 6, a latch is provided for detachably connecting the guard portions 24. Said latch comprises a bar 50 which is swingably connected adjacent one end thereof by a fastening 51 to the outer side of one of the guard portions 24. A keeper 52 is anchored in and extends outwardly from the outer side of the other guard portion 24 and includes an outwardly extending stem having a head at its outer end. The bar 58, near its free end, is provided with a keeper receiving notch 53, as best illustrated in Figure 5, having one end opening outwardly of the bottom edge of the latch bar 58 and an outwardly offset closed opposite end through which the stem of the keeper 5?. extends. Thus, to release the latch bar 50, the guard members it must be swung slightly toward one another after the latch bar 58 has been swung upwardly to disengage the keeper 52 from the upper closed end of the notch 53 and so that the keeper 52 can be aligned with the open lower end of the notch 53 to permit the latch bar 58 to then be swung upwardly to a released position. A child seated on the seat member I0 would be unable to accomplish these successively operations necessary to release the latch bar 59 and is thus retained in the seat member 5.

The receptacle 38 may be used for any suitable purpose as for example in storing diapers or other articles for use by a young child.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, with out departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A childs seat structure comprising a back rest, means connected to said back rest including chair or seat back engaging hooks for suspending the childs seat structure on the back rest of a chair or seat, a seat having an inner edge hingedly connected to the back rest near a lower end of said back rest for vertical swinging movement, guard members having inner ends hingedly connected to said back rest above said seat and adjacent the side edges of the back rest for horizontal swinging movement about vertical axes,

said guard members having inturned outer free guard members including vertical wall portions maintained in substantially parallel relationship to one another by said springs and seat when a weight is supported on the seat, and said inturned outer free end portions having bottom edges upwardly offset from the bottom edges of said wall portions for accommodating the legs of a child between said inturned end portions and the seat.

4. A childs seat structure as in claim 1, spring means urging said guard members to swing away from one another, and latch means releasably connecting the inturned outer end portions of the guard members including a latch bar having a keeper receiving slot provided with offset open and closed ends whereby swinging movement of the guard members is required for disengaging the latch bar from the keeper.

5. A childs seat structure as in claim 1, said means connected to said back rest and provided with supporting hooks including a rear wall connected to the back rest and spaced from the side thereof opposite to the side on which the seat is supported, said rear wall being adapted to engage against the forward side of the chair or seat back rest on which the childs seat structure is suspended for spacing the childs seat structure back rest therefrom.

6. A childs seat structure of the type adapted to be suspended on a chair or seat back rest including a back rest and a seat member hingedly connected to a forward side of said back rest for vertical swinging movement between a raised position and a lowered position in which lowered position the seat member is disposed at a greater angle to the back rest than in the raised position thereof, a pair of guard members hingedly connected to said back rest above the level of the seat member hinge for swinging movement in horizontal planes about vertical axes toward and away from one another, spring means urging said guard members outwardly of one another, and means connecting the guard members and seat whereby the seat is swung upwardly by outward swinging movement of said guard members and said guard members are swung toward one an other by downward swinging movement of the seat member when a weight is placed thereon for positioning the guard members in positions substantially surrounding the seat member when the seat member is in a lowered position.

'7. A childs seat structure as in claim 6, and means forming a stop for limiting downward swinging movement of the seat member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,902,709 King Mar. 21, 1933 2,621,708 Luce, Jr Dec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 624,906 France Apr. 16, 1927

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