US2729275A

US2729275A - Folding chair with independent seat-fold

Info

Publication number: US2729275A
Application number: US489048A
Authority: US
Inventors: Erving B Morgan; Benjamin J Oom; Gerald V Spencer
Original assignee: American Seating Co
Current assignee: American Seating Co
Priority date: 1955-02-18
Filing date: 1955-02-18
Publication date: 1956-01-03
Anticipated expiration: 1973-01-03

Description

1956 E. B. MORGAN ETAL FOLDING CHAIR WITH INDEPENDENT SEAT-FOLD 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 18, 1955 Fig. 1

INVENTOR an 111d rrigry 0/0 90min W44 ATTORNEY Jan. 3, 1956 E. B. MORGAN ET AL 2,729,275

FOLDING CHAIR WITH INDEPENDENT SEAT-FOLD Filed Feb. 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS INVENTOR cf'rw'ng 191L701 a M F Hen/0mm 0m 7 qera/a )4 Jjoerzcen BY ATTORNEY United States Patent FOLDING CHAIR WITH INDEPENDENT SEAT-FOLD Application February 18, 1955, Serial teams 1 Claim. or. 155-142 The present invention relates to folding chairs and more particularly to folding chairs of the inverted Y-type.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide such a folding chair in which, when the chair is in its unfolded condition of occupancy, the chair seat is independently swingable to a lowered position for use and to a raised position of non-use so that the chair occupant may more conveniently rise and stand rearwardly to permit others to pass in front of him.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chair in its completely unfolded condition for occupancy;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the chair in its completely folded condition for storage;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the chair in its unfolded condition but with the chair seat swung upwardly to its independently raised position; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the chair similar to Figure 3 but with the chair seat omitted in this view to better disclose other parts of the chair.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, the folding chair there shown generally comprises an inverted U- shaped tubular metal front frame which forms the front chair legs and a back support 11 in which is mounted a chair back 12, and tubular metal rear legs 13 which are pivotally connected at 14 to the front legs 10 above the level of the chair seat. The rear legs 13 and front legs 10 thus form spaced pairs of pivotally connected legs which are interrelatively movable to folded positions with the rear legs lying alongside the front legs as seen in Figure 2 and to unfolded inverted V-form positions as seen in Figures 1, 3 and 4. The rear legs are connected by an upper strut 15 and a lower strut 16, while the front legs are connected by an upper strut 17 and a lower strut 18 the medial portion of which is bent rearwardly-upwardly and secured as by welding to the upper strut 17.

Side arms 19 are pivotally connected at 20 to the front legs 10 of the chair, and extend both forwardly and rearwardly of the front legs in the unfolded condition of the chair. A U-shaped strap metal seat support 21 connects the front ends of the side arms 19, being secured to said side arms forwardly of their pivotal connections to the front legs 10 as by welding.

Links 22 have their rearward ends pivotally connected to the rear legs 13 and have their forward ends pivotally connected to the rear parts of the side arms 19, rearwardly of said side arms pivotal connections to the front legs 10. The chair seat, which comprises a seat cushion 23 mounted on a metal seat pan 24, is pivotally mounted at its opposite sides on the side arms 19 at pivot points 25 located between but slightly below the pivotal connections of links 22 to the side arms 19 and the pivotal connections of the side arms 19 to the front legs 10. The extreme rearward ends of the side arms 19 are provided with bumpers 26 adapted to contact the upper rear strut 15 of the chair to limit unfolding movement of the chair.

The chair may be unfolded from its folded condition shown in Figure 2, by simply moving the forward edge of the seat forwardly and downwardly, thus moving the seat support 21 and the forward parts of side arms 19 forwardly-downwardly, and thus moving the rearward parts of side arms 19 rearwardly-upwardly until they contact strut 15 to stop the unfolding movement. The links 22 effect simultaneous unfolding movement of the rear legs 13. In this completely unfolded condition of the chair, seen in Figure l, the forward portion of the chair seat rests on the seat support 21.

When the chair occupant desires to stand, as to permit others to pass in front of him, he rises and lifts the front part of the chair seat which independently swings about its pivots 25 to a raised, non-use position as seen in Figure 3. The special configuration of the lower front strut 18 permits the occupant to stand back a little while thus standing. The seat may thereafter again be lowered to use position resting on the seat support 21.

The chair is folded up by first lifting the seat from its position seen in Figure 1 to its position seen in Figure 3, and then lifting the seat support 21 thus automatically and simultaneously returning the other parts of the chair to their folded positions seen in Figure 2.

While but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as the same is defined by the following claim.

We claim:

In a folding chair: spaced pairs of pivotally connected front and rear legs interrelatively movable to folded positions with the rear legs lying alongside the front legs and to unfolded inverted V-form positions; side arms pivotally connected to the front legs and extending both forwardly and rearwardly therefrom in the unfolded condition of the chair; links connecting the rear legs and the rearward parts of the side arms for effecting folding movement of the rear legs when the forward parts of the side arms are lifted, a seat support connecting the forward parts of the side arms; a seat pivotally mounted at its opposite sides on the side arms intermediate the forward and rearward parts of said side arms whereby in the unfolded condition of the chair the seat is independently swingable to a lowered position of use resting on the seat support and to a raised position of non-use, in either of which independently swung positions of the seat the chair is foldable by the application of a lifting force to the seat support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,091,660 Boogaard Aug. 31, 1937 2,371,256 Nordmark Mar. 13, 1945 2,595,582 Hoven et a1. May 6, 1952 2,620,019 Merrill et al Dec. 2, 1952