US3082037A

US3082037A - Lock-joint chair

Info

Publication number: US3082037A
Application number: US63637A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard W Anderson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-10-19
Filing date: 1960-10-19
Publication date: 1963-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1980-03-19

Description

March 19, 1963 H. w. ANDERSON 3,082,037

LOCK-JOINT CHAIR Filed Oct- 19, 19 60 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3.

INVENT OR Howard W. A ndersoh March 19, 1963 H. w. ANDERSON 3,082,037

LOCK-JOINT CHAIR Filed Oct. 19, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR Hbword W. Anderson United States Patent 3,082,037 LOCK-JOINT CHAIR Howard W. Anderson, 1110 S. 38th, Tacoma 8, Wash- Filed Oct. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 63,637 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-440) This invention relates generally to furniture, and particularly to the construction of a novel self interlocking chair.

The design of modern furniture has demanded some measure of ingenuity from the manufacturer who must produce a stable and economical structure to meet the designers requirements. One of the high costs in the manufacture of furniture involves the actual assembly of the different parts. Another important factor is shipping cost which is a function of the volume of the crated article. This invention is concerned with minimizing these factors without sacrifice to design or utility.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a chair constructed of parts which may be assembled without adhesives and which may be dismantled at will for storage purposes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a chair constructed of parts which are self interlocking to provide a chair of modern design and comfortable in use.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a chair constructed from a minimum number of parts which are self interlocking to provide a chair which is highly economical in manufacture and in distribution to the consumer market.

The invention consists of a vertically disposed central support member having a downwardly extending leg projecting from the forward end and an upwardly extending back support spaced rearwardly of the leg. A cradle member is provided with two spaced legs and upwardly disposed cradle arms spaced to receive an arcuately sprung seat. The cradle interlocks with the central support to form a tripod support with the three legs, and a back rest embraces the back support and is arcuately sprung to engage and interlock between the cradle arms. A transverse seat brace interlocks with the support member above the leg to provide further support for the seat.

A full understanding of the construction of this invention, together with further novel features and advantages, will be had from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the chair fully assembled.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the chair which comprises my invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view shown partly in cross section showing the method of securing the back support to the leg framework.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the three interlocking members which combine to form the frame.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the seat in a fiat unassembled condition.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the chair back, also in the flat unassembled state.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the numeral 10 represents a Z-shaped central support member which provides support for a seat 11 and a back rest 12. The member 10 has a central section 13 having an upper edge 35 adapted to locate substantially parallel to the ground. The for- "ice ward end of member 10 terminates with a downwardly extending front leg 14. The rear end of member 10 projects upwardly to form a support 15 for the back rest 12. The back support 15 has a forwardly facing support surface 16 disposed at a slightly obtuse vangle relative to the upper edge 35 of the central section 13. The leg 14, central section 13 and back support 15 are cut from one piece of material. A vertical slot 17 is provided transversely across the forward end of the central section 13 and a second slot 18 is formed at the junction between the back-support 15 and the rear end of the central section 13. The slot 18 is cut from the underside of the mentioned location and is formed at an acute angle relative to the front leg 14. A spur or spigot 19 projects from the upper end of support surface 16 to complete the central frame support member 10.

A cradle member 20 is provided with two spaced downwardly projecting legs 21. Curving outwardly and upwardly above each leg 21 are cradle arms 22. The upwardly directing edge of the arms 22 connect to form an arcuate face 23 which terminates at each end with inwardly projecting spigots 24. The cradle member is likewise cut from a single sheet of material and is further provided with a transverse slot 25 cut into the centre of the arcuate face 23.

A seat brace 26 consists of two arms 27 which provide an arcuate seat support face 28. Centrally of the two arms is a downwardly extending protrusion 29 which is bifurcated by a vertical transverse slot 30.

The seat 11 shown in FIG. 6, is shaped with a slightly convex rear edge 32 having a slot 33 cut into the centre. The forwardly disposed edge 34 is substantially oval in shape and completes the peripheral edge of the seat. A small hole 35 is formed at each end of the seat at the points of intersection of the two edges 32 and 34.

The back rest 12 shown in FIG. 7, has an upper edge 37 of arcuate form and a lower edge 38 of substantially elliptical shape. The two

edges

37 and 38 meet at

points

39 and 40. A small hole 41 is located adjacent the centre of the upper edge 37 and two further holes 42 are formed adjacent the

meeting points

39 and 40.

The assembly of the lock joint chair may be carried out in the following sequence. The cradle member 20 and the central support member 10 are connected by interlocking the

slots

25 and 18 respectively in an overlapping manner such that the arcuate face 23 of the cradle aligns with the upper edge 25 of the central support member. Leg 14 and legs 21 now support the two elements in a tripod configuration. The seat brace 26 is now interlocked with the central support member 10 by means of the two

slots

17 and 30. Engagement is made such that the support face 28 transversely aligns with the upper edge 35 of the central sup ort member. The support framework is now complete. The seat 11 is then bowed such that the small holes 35 engage over the spigots 24 which project from each end of the arcuate face 23. At the same time the slot 33 engages about the base of the back support 15. The back rest 12 is then bowed in a similar manner to that of the seat such that the spigot 19, projecting from the back support 15, engages in the hole 41 and the spigots 24 engage in the holes 42. The sprung condition of the seat and the back rest provide a rigid relationship with the support framework to complete a sturdy utilitarian chair of exceedingly pleasing design.

Having described the invention with considerable part cularity, it should be understood that various modificatrons may be made to the detail thereof, without departmg from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A self interlocking chair comprising, a fiat vertically disposed rearwardly extending central support member, a leg extending downwardly from the forward end of the support member, an upwardly extending back support rearwardly spaced from said leg by a horizontally extending seat support section, a flat cradle member having two spaced legs and two upwardly extending arcuately formed cradle arms, inwardly projecting spigots projecting inwardly from the ends of the cradle arms, a slot formed intermediate the cradle arms inwardly of their upper edge for interlocking engagement with a second slot formed in the underside of said seat support section, a fiat seat brace interlocking transversely with the forward end of the upper edge of the seat support section, a seat arcuately sprung to engage between the ends of the cradle arms and embrace the seat support section and the seat brace, the ends of the seat having means interlocking with said spigots, and a back rest arcuately sprung to engage between said cradle arms and embrace the back support, said back rest having similar means for interlocking with said spigots, said arcuately sprung seat and said arcuately sprung rest maintaining the interlocking engagement of the fiat cradle member with the central support member and said seat brace with the central support member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,541,835 Saarinen Feb. 13, 1951 2,546,812 Anderson Mar. 27, 1951 2,628,668 Basile Feb. 17, 1953 2,890,744 Ng June 16, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Horne Craftsman, Jan-Feb. 1950, page 17.