US3632161A

US3632161A - Side arm stowable table

Info

Publication number: US3632161A
Application number: US54268A
Authority: US
Inventors: George Arfaras; Reni J Brunelle; Robert J Richardson
Original assignee: Universal Oil Products Co
Current assignee: PTC Aerospace Inc; Universal Oil Products Co
Priority date: 1970-07-13
Filing date: 1970-07-13
Publication date: 1972-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-04

Abstract

A foldable and stowable table is provided in the side arm rest of a vehicle seat or chair in a manner to be entirely out of the way when stored but readily unfolded and usable as a cocktail or meal table. A preferred embodiment has a compression spring in combination with a hinge support portion so as to permit an initial release and a partial outward movement of the table from within a storage space.

Description

United States Patent Inventors George Artaras Newtown; Reni J. Brunelle, Waterbury; Robert J. Richardson, Lltchfield, all 01 Conn. Appl. No. 54,268 Filed July 13, 1970 Patented Jan. 4, 1972 Assignee Universal Oil Products Company Des Plaines, [IL

SIDE ARM STOWABLE TABLE 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

0.8. CI 297/145, 297/ 194 Int. Cl A47c 7/70 Field of Search 297/145,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,947,348 8/1960 Peckham 297/ 145 2,000,916 5/1935 Bloom 297/194 X 3,197,254 7/1965 Hendrickson 297/162 FORElGN PATENTS 1 16,999 1 H1929 Austria 297/145 12,376 1908 Great Britain. 297/155 755,261 9/1933 France 297/155 Primary ExaminerJames T. McCall Attorneys-James R. Hoatson, Jr. and Philip T. Liggett ABSTRACT: A foldable and stowable table is provided in the side arm rest of a vehicle seat or chair in a manner to be entirely out of the way when stored but readily unfolded and usable as a cocktail or meal table. A preferred embodiment has a compression spring in combination with a hinge support portion so as to permit an initial release and a partial outward movement of the table from within a storage space.

3J6s2116i PATENIH] m 4972 SHEET 1 BF 2 A TTORNEYS v PATE'NTED JAN 4 B72 n v T CIT l 0U 28 Hi wn 7 E E R I fif 5 W EXPANDED SPRING COMPRESSED $58 Raw mm N 3 E VQJ. m 1%. GR /|\//|J/l Robert J. Richardson SIDE ARM STOWABLE TABLE This invention relates to a construction and arrangement for providing a table that may be folded and stowed within the side arm portion of a chair or vehicular seat.

More particularly, there is provided a stowing system for a side arm table that incorporates springbiasing means which will effect an initial release and partial horizontal movement of the table outwardly from its storage space at the side of the seat.

Various types of folding or hinged tables have been provided for school room or auditorium seats, as well as for aircraft or other vehicular passenger seats. However, most of these folding tables have been attached to the back of a seat in front of the user or they have been made to hand from the side of a seat or chair and thus have not been stored in a manner to be entirely out of the way and thereby provide a more aesthetic appearance to the seating unit.

It may also be noted that in connection with aircraft passenger seats which face a bulkhead or begin a row, there is the lack of a seat back to have a tiltdown table to be used by the occupants in such first row seats; and, as a result, there is the need to have various types of lap trays or plugin" table means for the serving of meals to the passengers in such seats. The plugin tables are necessarily stored at some other point in the aircraft and must be obtained, as well as put away, by an airline stewardess.

It is thus a principal object of the present invention to provide a side arm support and storage arrangement for a serving table which is particularly useful in connection with aircraft seats or for other passenger vehicle seats.

It may be considered a further object of the present invention to have a folding table and stowing system which provides for at least a partial horizontal movement of a folded down and stored table outwardly from a vertical storage slot in the side portion of a seating unit. A still further object of the invention is to provide a compression spring and a release means in combination with a slidehinge support means which will effect an initial movement and dislodgement of the table from its storage zone.

In a broad embodiment, the present invention provides a stowable table arrangement for use with a seat, which comprises in combination, a vertically disposed storage section at one side of said seat sized to store at least one table member therein, a table support member pivotally connected to the top of said storage section and a slidehinge means as a part of said support member connecting to one edge of a table member to thereby provide a holding of the latter within and outside of said storage section, with said pivot connection for said table support member providing for endwise rotation of the attached table member through at least about l80and said slidehinge means providing for rotation of the table member from a vertical position to a horizontal position across the front of the seat, said slidehinge means additionally comprising at least two sections which are slideable with respect to each other to thereby permit fore and aft movement of the table member with respect to said support member and with respect to said seat.

In a normal stored arrangement, the table will be suspended from the table support member in an enclosed storage section which is within a side arm area of the seat and except for an edge of the table member it will be entirely within the storage slot and no obstruction problems. However, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there will be incorporated a springbiasing member in connection with the slidehinge means and the support means such that the pressing of a release button, or the lifting of a release pin, or whatever, will permit the spring means to push the table member outwardly from the storage section whereby the table can then be gripped, lifted, and rotated upwardly through an approximate 180 arc to be along side the seat occupant above the arm or storage section. The table may then be rotated approximately 90 downwardly about the hinging means to be positioned in front of a seat occupant. Where desired, the table member itself may be in two sections, with one section foldable upon the other so as to provide a greater table width when rotated downward to be in front of the seat occupant.

In view of the need to rotate the table member through approximately l80", the support member is, in the present construction, provided with a single pivot point in its attachment to the side arm or storage portion of the seat and will necessarily have an upper face which is exposed at the time of the table being stored and then subsequently turned to an upsidedown position when the table is being used in front of the seat occupant.

Various types of combined slide means and hinge means may be provided to connect the edge of a table member to the pivotable support member which is coextensive therewith and can provide for fore and aft movement with respect to the storage section; however, in one embodiment, there may he an inner tubular member encased within an outer tubular-fonn member such that there can be rotation of the inner member with respect to the outer, as well as the possibility of longitudinal movement between the concentric members. Also, with the use of concentric and slidable tubularform members in the hinging means, there may be the positioning of a compression spring within a tubular member such that the spring means can provide movement of the table member, that connects to one tubular member, with respect to the other tubular member, that in turn connects to the support means and the storage section.

It is also to be noted that in a particular embodiment, when desired, there may be the forward movement, or vice versa, of the table member after it has been rotated upwardly and folded down into the horizontal position so as to provide proper spacing or comfort with respect to the seat occupant. In a specific arrangement, where a compression spring means is used in combination with the hingesupport member to effect an initial outward movement, or dislodgement, of the table member from the storage section, the resulting effect after lifting and rotating the member through approximately 180", is to have the table member closer to the occupant and to the back of the seat. Thus, where it is desired to have more space, the user may, after rotating the table upwardly into a vertical plan, push forward on the table member so as to slide one hinging section into the other a distance equivalent to that which the table was moved outwardly from the storage area. Actually, the table can be moved to be locked, by a spring operative latching means, such that the compression spring is again locked into its compressed state.

Reference to the accompanying drawings and the description thereof will serve to illustrate one embodiment of the present invention as well as point out variations and advantageous features which may be obtained in the construction and operation of the present side arm storage arrangement.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show, in isometric views, how a folding serving table may be stored vertically in the side arm portion of a seat so as to be out of the way while the table is in the stowed position, as well as show the unfolded position for use in front of a seat occupant.

FIG. 4 indicates diagrammatically how the unfolded serving table can be moved forwardly after it has been brought out of the storage section and is to be placed into use.

FIG. 5 of the drawing shows, in a diagrammatic side elevational view, the use of a pivotable support member and the attachment of such member through hinge means to one edge of a folding table member, the latter being vertically suspended from the support means when in the storage section of the seat unit.

FIG. 6 indicates an end elevational view of the table member and of the pivoting support means, as indicated by the line 66 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically a side elevational view of a tubularform hinging means for use between one edge of the table member and the pivoting support member, with such tubular-form hinging means of two tubularform sections and having an internal compression spring member to effect longitudinal movement of one section with respect to the other section whereby an attached table member can be moved fore and aft with respect to the seat unit.

FIG. 8 of the drawing is a diagrammatic side elevational view indicating how the stored table member may be rotated through approximately I80 and then folded down to a substantially horizontal position in front of a seat occupant. This view also shows how the compression spring release means and the tablesupporting member rotates about a pivot point moving from a rightsideup, or a stored position, to an upsidedown position as the table is placed into use.

Referring now briefly to FIGS. 1 through 4 in the drawing, there are shown seating units 1 and 1' where there is a side arm portion 2 having a vertical slotted type of storage section 3 adapted to provide for the storage of a folding table member 4. It will also be noted in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 that there is a top trim plate 5 with a rearwardly positioned push button section 6 whereby there can be a release of an internally positioned compression spring (not shown in these drawings) whereby table member 4 can move horizontally forward from the position of FIG. 1 to that of FIG. 2. There is also an indication, by the dash lines 4" in FIG. 2, that the table 4 may be lifted and rotated in a vertical arc about a pivot point provided through a support member 7, partially shown in FIG. 3, with respect to the top portion of storage section 3. As a result, the upper plate 5 as well as the support member 7 pivots in a manner to become entirely upsidedown within the upper portion of arm section 2 and storage zone 3. After table 4 has reached the position 4" in FIG. 2, it may be rotated downwardly approximately 90 to be in a horizontal plan in front of the seat occupant, as shown by FIGS. 3 and 4. Also, where the table member 4 has a folded twopart table, then a folded section such as 4a can provide a greater width table in front of the seat occupant.

In FIG. 4, it will be noted that section 4a has been unfolded from the section 4 that attaches to support means 7 and, in addition, that the table members may slide forward with respect to support member 7 whereby there may be more space between the table and the front of the seat occupant.

In FIG. 5 of the drawing, table member 4 is shown (in full lines) within the storage section 3 at the side of the seat unit 1 in a manner to be suspended from the upper support member 7. There is also indicated the use of a roller 18 in the lower portion of storage section 3 so as to assist in the easy forward movement of table member 4 from the storage section 3. In the diagrammatic embodiment shown, the trim plate 5 and the channelform support member 7 interlock with one another and the latter is supported from a pin member, at a pivot point 8, that connects to the side arm portion 2 for the seat unit 1. Thus, the support member 7 is free to rotate in a vertical plane and in an approximate l80arc so that the table member 4 may be lifted from its lower position 4' to an upper position above the arm rest section 2.

In accordance with the present improved construction, there is indicated a tubular form of hinging means between the lower edge of support member 7 and the upper edge portion of table member 4 with such tubularform hinge means being indicated at 9. As better shown in FIG. 7, the tubular-form hinge means 9 has two sections such that an inner tubular member 9' can slide longitudinally back and forth within an outer tubular form section 9" to permit table member 4 to move fore and aft with respect to support means 7 as well as with respect to the seat unit I. Also, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present construction, there will be a compression spring 10 encased within the tubularform hinge means 9 such that upon its release the section 9' will be moved longitudinally with respect to section 9" and, at the same time, move the attached table member 4 with respect to the support means 7 and storage section 3 into position 4' (as shown in FIG. 5).

Referring again to FIG. 5, there is indicated that the downward push of a release button 6, in the reanvard portion 11 of plate 5, will in turn push a lever means 12 about pivot point 8 so as to release a pin or arm member 13 in tubular member 9' such that the latter together with table member 4 will move forward to position 4' from the action of spring member 10 (indicated in FIG. 7). It should be noted that the compression spring 10 is held in a given zone between pin members 14 and I5 but upon the release of the latching means 13 there will be a release of the compression spring 10 to its expanded position and the accompanying movement of the inner tubular member 9' in section 9" by virtue of slot means I6 to the extent permitted by pin means 14, whereby the position 4' of FIG. 5 is obtained by table member 4.

With particular reference to FIG. 8 of the drawing, there is shown the movement of table member 4 from position 4' into position 4" and the pivoting of support means 7 about pivot point 8 such that the latter results in the upsidedown position with trim plate 5 also upsidedown within the storage section 3 and table member 4 elevated to the upper horizontal position above arm rest section 2 in the manner equivalent to FIG. 4 of the drawing. After table member 4 has been brought to the position 4", or to the unfolded position shown in full, then, if desired, it may be slid forwardly or outwardly with respect to seat unit 1 and support member 7 so as to reach the position 4", as shown in FIG. 8.

In effecting the removal of table member 4 from the front of the seat occupant and into its storage section, the reverse movements of the table are exerted by first folding the table members from the horizontal position into a vertical plane and thence to position of 4" so as to permit the downward rotative movement around pivot point 8 to then reach position 4'. The table member is subsequently slid into the storage section 3 where it is entirely out of the way of the seat occupant.

Although not shown in the drawing, it is to be noted that where passenger seats are utilized in rows, there can be one table member for each arm section whereby an individual table member is stored within each vertical storage section 3. On the other hand, where desired, a single storage section may be provided between adjoining seat units and two table members could be stored within a widened storage section, with one table member supported in a manner to unfold toward one seat unit and the other table member arranged to unfold in the opposite direction and be in front of the seat occupant of the adjoining seat unit.

The present drawings indicate table unit 4 to be in two sections so as to provide a greater width by virtue of the folding section 4a; however, there may be a single smaller or larger table member attached to the pivoting support member in accordance with the system and it is not intended i0 limit the present invention to any one size or shape for the table portion. Various types of attachment means or hinging means such as 17 within FIG. 4 may be used to effect the folding of one table section onto another section and again it is not intended to limit the present invention to any one special form or type of hinging means. It is to be further noted that various types of sliding hinging means may be utilized with respect to the connection between the support member 7 and edge of the table member 4. However, a tubularform hinge which may be constructed of concentric and telescopic sections is of advantage in that it permits transverse rotation while at the same time permitting fore and aft sliding movement of one section with respect to the other. Also, the tubularform hinge means is of advantage in being able to fit into a recessed edge of the table member, such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing.

Still further, it is to be noted that it is not intended to limit the present storage system to any one type of compression spring or spring biasing for effecting the outward and forward movement of the table member 4 with respect to storage section 3 inasmuch as spring means could be provided externally of hinging section 9 rather than within the tubular portion thereof. Also, the release button 6 together with the movement of release pin 13 might well be accomplished in an equivalent mechanical manner to provide the desired holding of the spring 10 under compression until such time as the springbiasing action is desired to provide automatic movement of table member 4 with respect to support means 7. Still other modifications and variations may be made in connection with the pivoting support system and still be within the broad scope of the present invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A stowable table arrangement for use with a seat, which comprises in combination, a vertically disposed storage section at one side of said seat sized to store at least one table member therein, a table support member with a pivot connection to the top of said storage section and a slidehinge means as a part of said support member connecting to one edge of a table member to thereby provide a holding of the latter within and outside of said storage section, with said pivot connection for said table support member providing for endwise rotation of the attached table member in the plane of said storage section through at least about l80and said slidehinge means providing for rotation of the table member from a vertical position to a horizontal position across the front of the seat, said slidehinge means additionally comprising at least two sections which are slidable with respect to each other to thereby permit fore and aft movement of the table member with respect to said support member and with respect to said seat.

2. The stowable table arrangement of claim 1 further characterized in that springbiasing means connects with said slidehinge means such that there is spring biasing of one section of the latter with respect to the other, and a releasable lock means is provided to connect with at least one portion of said slidehinge means to permit a release of the springbiasing means to effect the biased horizontal movement of said table member outwardly from said storage section for a predetermined distance when the table member is hanging in the stored position.

3. A stowable table arrangement for use with a seat, which comprises in combination, a vertically disposed storage section at one side of said seat sized to store at least one table member therein, a table support member with a pivot connection to the top of said storage section and a slidehinge means as a part of said support member connecting to one edge of a table member to thereby provide a holding of the latter within and outside of said storage section, with said pivot connection for said table support member providing for endwise rotation of the attached table member through at least about land said slidehinge means providing for rotation of the table member from a vertical position to a horizontal position across the front of the seat, said slidehinge means additionally comprising at least two sections of concentric tubular-form members which are slidably interconnected with respect to each other such that one section may slide longitudinally with respect to the other and at the same time permit at least rotation of one section with the other to thereby permit fore and aft movement of the table member with respect to said support member and with respect to said seat.

4. The stowable table arrangement of claim 3 still further characterized in that a compression spring as said spring biasing means is positioned within said concentric tubularform members whereby to effect the biased movement of one section with respect to the other, and a releasable lock mean is connectable to at least one section of said concentric sections permitting the release of said compression spring and the sliding of one tubular section in the other to in turn move said table member for a predetermined distance as determined by the length of said expanded compression spring.

5. The stowable table arrangement of claim 1 further characterized in that said table member has at least two table sections, with one table section being foldable against the other for efi'ecting movement in the endwise rotation and for housing in the storage section.

Claims

1. A stowable table arrangement for use with a seat, which comprises in combination, a vertically disposed storage section at one side of said seat sized to store at least one table member therein, a table support member with a pivot connection to the top of said storage section and a slide-hinge means as a part of said support member connecting to one edge of a table member to thereby provide a holding of the latter within and outside of said storage section, with said pivot connection for said table support member providing for endwise rotation of the attached table member in the plane of said storage section through at least about 180* and said slide-hinge means providing for rotation of the table member from a vertical position to a horizontal position across the front of the seat, said slidehinge means additionally comprising at least two sections which are slidable with respect to each other to thereby permit fore and aft movement of the table member with respect to said support member and with respect to said seat.

2. The stowable table arrangement of claim 1 further characterized in that spring-biasing means connects with said slide-hinge means such that there is spring biasing of one section of the latter with respect to the other, and a releasable lock means is provided to connect with at least one portion of said slide-hinge means to permit a release of the spring-biasing means to effect the biased horizontal movement of said table member outwardly from said storage seCtion for a predetermined distance when the table member is hanging in the stored position.

3. A stowable table arrangement for use with a seat, which comprises in combination, a vertically disposed storage section at one side of said seat sized to store at least one table member therein, a table support member with a pivot connection to the top of said storage section and a slide-hinge means as a part of said support member connecting to one edge of a table member to thereby provide a holding of the latter within and outside of said storage section, with said pivot connection for said table support member providing for endwise rotation of the attached table member through at least about 180* and said slide-hinge means providing for rotation of the table member from a vertical position to a horizontal position across the front of the seat, said slide-hinge means additionally comprising at least two sections of concentric tubular-form members which are slidably interconnected with respect to each other such that one section may slide longitudinally with respect to the other and at the same time permit at least 90* rotation of one section with the other to thereby permit fore and aft movement of the table member with respect to said support member and with respect to said seat.

4. The stowable table arrangement of claim 3 still further characterized in that a compression spring as said spring biasing means is positioned within said concentric tubular-form members whereby to effect the biased movement of one section with respect to the other, and a releasable lock mean is connectable to at least one section of said concentric sections permitting the release of said compression spring and the sliding of one tubular section in the other to in turn move said table member for a predetermined distance as determined by the length of said expanded compression spring.

5. The stowable table arrangement of claim 1 further characterized in that said table member has at least two table sections, with one table section being foldable against the other for effecting movement in the endwise rotation and for housing in the storage section.