US3025101A - Combination chair and stool - Google Patents

Description

March 13, 1962 R. c. MCKINNIE AND STOOL m m N m T M N P fi pmo Nc r 0 l u A o WM R 9 5 9 l 2 l n m d e l i F iUie Y? tates 3,025,101 COMBINATION CHAIR AND STOOL Roxton C. McKinnie, 2435 Walgrove Ave., Los Angeies, Calif.

Filed Apr. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 803,644 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-56) This invention relates generally to utility type collapsible furniture and more particularly to a combination chair and stool preferably for domestic use.

Collapsible chairs per se are well known in the art. Further, collapsible type stools of one or two steps are also well known. Each structure has advantages peculiar to its particular use and the structural design of each is accordingly directed towards such use. As a consequence, interchanging the functions of a collapsible type chair with a collapsible type stool is generally not practicable and can even result in possible injury when the structure is not used in its intended manner. For example, to use a collapsible card table type chair as a stool by standing on the seat, can cause the seat to pivot about its mounting and collapse the chair. This pivoting action is a result of the seat itself being pivoted intermediate its front and rear edges. Unless the extreme front portion of the seat is employed as a standing area, automatic collapse of the chair can occur.

In using a step stool as a chair, on the other hand, there is lacking the advantage of a back rest for the user. In addition the seating area itself is usually much smaller than a conventional seat to the discomfort of the user.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel combination chair and stool which retains the advantages of each separately to the end that a single structure can readily serve both functions.

Another important object is to provide a combination chair and stool meeting the foregoing objects in which several elements of the structure serve two or more functions to the end that a minimum number of components are required to fulfill all of the desired functions with consequent simplicity, reliability, and savings in manufacturing cost.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a light, portable, collapsible combination chair and stool which stands by itself in either spread apart or collapsed position whereby storing and shipping are greatly facilitated.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of the present invention are attained by providing pairs of crossed front and rear legs pivoted together at their cross over points for scissoring movement from a first spread apart position to a second collapsed position. The legs themselves are preferably formed of aluminum tubing so that they are light and strong.

The structure additionally includes a seat and a step respectively positioned above and below the cross over points of the legs. The seat is pivoted at its extreme rear edge between the front legs and the underside of the front portion of the seat rests on the upper end portions of the rear legs when in the spread apart position so that adequate support is provided. The upper ends of the front legs extend upwardly beyond the termination points of the rear legs and turn inwardly towards each other to connect together and thereby provide a back rest for the seat. The step itself includes pivoting means adjacent its rear end for pivoting between the rear legs at a point below the cross over points and a simple cross bar is secured between the front legs at a corresponding level to engage the under front portion of the step.

By the foregoing arrangement, the entire structure may be collapsed by simply pivoting the seat and step about their pivot points thereby scissoring the front and rear legs together.

A better understanding of the invention as well as further features and advantages thereof will be had by referring to a preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an overall perspective view of the combination chair and stool in its open or spread apart position;

FIGURE 2 is a side view taken in the direction of the arrows 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing the chair and stool in partially collapsed position; and,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the combination chair and stool in completely collapsed position.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the combination chair and stool comprises a pair of front legs 10 and 11 and a pair of rear legs 12 and 13. As shown, the front and rear pairs of legs extend upwardly in crossed relationship and are pivoted together at the cross over points as at 14 and 15. The front legs extend upwardly above the cross over point and thence turn inwardly towards each other to connect together as at 16. The upper ends of the rear legs 12 and 13, on the other hand, terminate in engaging end portions 17 and 18 at a level lower than the top end portions of the front legs 10 and 11.

A seat 19 has its rear edge portion pivoted at 20 and 21 between the front legs 1t} and 11, respectively, above the cross over points of the legs. These pivot points are at a level corresponding substantially to the level of the end portions 17 and 18 of the rear legs so that the underside of the front portion of the seat 19 is supported by these engaging ends of the rear legs in an horizontal position as shown.

Disposed below the cross over points of the legs is a step 22 including rear pivoting means in the form of rearwardly extending braces 23 and 24 pivoted at their rear ends as at 25 and 26 to the rear legs 12 and 13 respectively. A cross bar 27 at a corresponding level to the rear pivot points is secured between the front legs 14 and 11 and engages the underside front portion of the step 22 so that the step 22 extends in an horizontal position as shown.

As more clearly illustrated in FIGURE 2, there is provided a spreader link 28 pivoted between the cross bar 27 and a pivot point 29 located at an intermediate position on the rearwardly extending brace 23. When the step 22 is in its horizontal position as shown in FIGURE 1, the spreader link 23 is substantially in parallel alignment with the rearwardly extending brace 23 and thus serves to limit the maximum spread apart position of the rear and front legs.

In the particular embodiment chosen for illustrative purposes, there is also provided an actuating link in the form of a bar 30 pivoted between the seat 19 and step 22 at corresponding sides. By this arrangement, pivoting movement of either the seat 19 or the step 22 will be communicated to the other through the actuating link 30.

The structure may also include cross bracing as indicated at 31 and 32 between the lower rear portions of the legs 12 and 13 to hold these rear legs in spaced parallel position.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the combination chair and stool will be evident. In the position illustrated in FIGURE 1, the device can be employed as either a chair or a stool. When used as a chair, the occupant simply sits on the relatively wide and comfortable seat 19, the inwardly turned connected ends of the front legs 10 and 11 as at 16 providing convenient back rest for the user. In addition, the step 22 may serve as a foot rest for any person seated on the seat 19.

When the device is to be employed as a stool, the user may simply step on the step 22 and from the step 22, step to the seat 19. In this connection, the back rest portion 16 serves as a convenient gripping handle to steady a person in climbing the step 22 and ultimately onto the seat 19, As a consequence of the pivoting of the seat 19 at its extreme rear edges as at 20 and 21, there is no possibility of the weight of the user on the seat tending to cause the seat to pivot in a counter clockwise direction. Thus, complete stability is assured.

When it is desired to store or ship the combination chair and stool, either the seat 19 or the step 22 may be simply grasped by the hand and rotated in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1 upwardly. With particular reference to FIGURE 2, it will be noted that the initial result of this pivoting action is simply to lift the seat 19 from the engaging ends 17 and 18 of the rear legs and simultaneously through the action of the actuatinglink 30 lift the step 22 from the cross bar 27, the spreader link 28 and brace 23 crooking at the pivot point 29 as shown.

Continued counter-clockwise movement of the seat and step results in the front and rear legs scissoring together to a collapsed position such as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The design of the structure is such that the center of gravity of the combination chair and stool in collapsed position when upright as shown in FIGURE 3 falls between the lower ends of the front and rear legs so that the structure will stand by itself. In this position, it will be evident that the turned in connected portion 16 of the upper front legs provides a very convenient carrying handle.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that many parts of the combination chair and stool perform two or more functions. For example, the turned in portions 16 at the upper ends of the front legs and 11 not only serve as an easy carrying handle when the structure is collapsed as described in connection with FIGURE 3, but also provide a handle to hold onto when using the structure as a step stool. In addition, the same structure serves as a back rest when the device is employed as a chair.

The lower step 22 also serves several functions. First, in co-operation with the spreader link 28, its rear brace portions constitute a spreader to limit the maximum spread of the front and rear legs, Secondly, the step serves its intended function of a lower step when the structure is employed as a stool, and finally the same step serves as a foot rest when the device is employed as a chair.

While an actuating link 30 is provided so that either the seat 19 or the step 22 can be rotated to eifect collapsing or spreading out of the legs, it is not essential to the invention. Thus, an equivalent structure could be employed in the form of a spreader type link structure between the upper engaging end 17 or 18 of the rear legs and an intermediate portion of the underside of the seat 19 between the ends 17, 18 of the rear legs and the pivots 20, 21. With this structure and the actuating link 30 omitted, upward pivoting movement of the seat 19 would automatically cause the front and rear legs to scissor together, this action in turn effecting pivoting movement of the step 22 through the spreader link 28. Further, if desired, the upper engaging ends 17 and 18 of the pair of rear legs 12 and 13 could be turned inwardly and connected together in a manner similar to the top portion 16 of the front legs to provide a cross bar portion for the underside forward portion of the seat 19 to rest upon. In this case, further rigidity would be provided between the rear legs 12 and 13 and the gross braces 31 and 32 could be eliminated,

Many other such minor variations that fall clearly within the scope and spirit of the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The combination stool and chair is, therefore, not to be thought of as limited to the particular embodiment shown and described for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

A combination chair and stool comprising: pairs of crossed front and rear legs pivoted together at their cross-over points for scissoring movement from a first spread apart position to a second collapsed position, the upper ends of said front legs extending to a higher level than the upper ends of said rear legs and turning inwardly towards each other to connect together; a seat having its rear portion pivoted between said front legs above said cross-over points and the under side of its front portion resting on the upper end portions of said rear legs, said upper ends of said front legs at their turned in connected portions serving as a back rest for said seat when said legs are in said first spread apart position, and as a carryinghandle when said legs are in said second collapsed position; a lower step including rearwardly extending brace members pivoted to said rear legs respectively at a level below said cross-over points, the vertical distance between said seat and lower step being at least as great as the vertical distance of said lower step above the lowerends of said legs; an horizontal cross bar rigidly secured between said front legs at a corresponding level to the pivoting level of said braces to engage and support the under side of said lower step, the front edge of said lower step extending forwardly beyond the front edge of said seat; at least one spreader link pivotally connected between said cross bar and an intermediate position on at least one of said braces, said link being parallel to said one of said braces when said front and rear legs are in said first spread apart position to limit the degree of spread of said front and rear legs, said lower step serving as a foot rest for said seat, and said connected portions of said upper ends of said front legs also serving as a holding means to facilitate stepping onto said lower step and stepping therefrom onto said seat; and an actuating link pivotally connected to corresponding portions of said seat and lower step forward of said cross over points whereby pivoting movement of said seat and step upwardly takes place simultaneously, and the center of gravity of said combination chair and stool when vertically disposed in said second collapsed position falling on a vertical line passing between the lower ends of said front and rear legs, respectively, whereby said combination chair and stool stands by itself when in said collapsed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 100,219 Verity Feb. 22, 1870 207,764 Mitchell Sept. 3, 1878 950,469 Barth Mar. 1, 1910 1,023,671 Moore Apr. 16, 1912 1,806,502 Rosenberg May 19, 1931 1,817,760 Peters et al. Aug. 4, 1931 2,685,325 Webster Aug. 3, 1954 2,777,503 Grace Ian. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 431,860 Great Britain July 10, 1935 917,995 France Sept. 30, 1946 1,032,291 France Mar. 16, 1955 1,103,090 France May 18, 1955

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