US3758149A

US3758149A - Chair with u-shaped wooden support beams

Info

Publication number: US3758149A
Application number: US00211398A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Emold
Original assignee: RELAXAWAY Inc
Current assignee: RELAXAWAY Inc
Priority date: 1971-12-23
Filing date: 1971-12-23
Publication date: 1973-09-11
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-11

Abstract

A chair seat and back structure is supported for rocking motion by a pair of U-shaped molded plywood beams of substantially constant cross-section, each beam having a floor engaging portion with a long intermediate upwardly bowed part. A pivoted locking member is provided for selective positioning to prevent rocking.

Description

United States Patent [191 Emold [451 Sept. 11, 1973 CHAIR WITH U-SHAPED WOODEN SUPPORT BEAMS [75] Inventor: Harry G. Emold, Milwaukee, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Relaxaway, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.

[22] Filed: Dec. 23, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 211,398

[52] U.S. Cl 297/259, 297/269, 297/445 [51] Int. Cl A47c 7/00, A47c 7/20, A47c 3/02 [58] Field of Search 248/387, 392;

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,913,038 l1/l959 McDerby 248/392 3,556,591 1/1971 Smith 297/439 1,317,580 9/1919 2,271,461 l/l942 Musselman 297/447 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nwnberg Attorney-Irvin A. Lavine [57] ABSTRACT A chair seat and back structure is supported for rocking motion by a pair of U-shaped molded plywood beams of substantially constant cross-section, each beam having a floor engaging portion with a long intermediate upwardly bowed part. A- pivoted locking memher is provided for selective positioning to prevent rocking.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures CHAIR WITH U-SIIAPED WOODEN SUPPORT BEAMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The prsent invention relates to a chair, and more particularly to a chair supported for rocking motion by a pair of generally U-shaped beams.

There have been provided heretofore chairs which were capable of yielding under the weight of a person sitting in the chair, so that a rocking or oscillating motion was obtained. These chairs were provided with a generally U-shaped support structure of material which was sufficiently resilient that it yielded under the weight of the occupant, and could be oscillated or rocked by the occupant. Such chairs were heretofore widely used as lawn or garden furniture, the U-shaped members being made of metal, such as flat strips or straps of metal, or appropriately bent metal tubes. Such chairs were not generally accepted, however, for interior use, because they lacked sufficient aesthetic appeal.

While not presently known to have been ever actually manufactured, there was suggested a chair of this general type having U-shaped members made of wood: see Mies, U. S. Pat. No. 2,283,755. In that patent, generally U-shaped members of wood were disclosed,

which diminished in cross-section in going from the floor engaging portion to the upstanding leg portion and thence to the seat-engaging portion. This suggested construction would not be satisfactory for a number of reasons, including not only the aesthetic reason of awkward appearance, but in addition because of the expense involved in producing such members having sufficient strength to bear up under the weight of occupants of such chairs. In practice, the actual manufacture of wooden members having continuously decreasing cross-sections presents substantial and expensive problems, so that the proposed solution was not satisfactory from the important economics standpoint.

Another suggestion is found in McDerby U. S. Pat. No. 2,913,038, where the U-shaped members are of ply-wood molded to provide a continuous curve at the bight connecting the floor engaging portion and the seat engaging portion, with the floor engaging portion being straight. This construction provides only a single spring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a chair construction which is capable of rocking, being economical to manufacture, and of improved, pleasing appearance. The chair construction of the present invention embodies a pair of generally U-shaped ply-wood beams, each made of molded, laminated and glued wood plies, there being provided thereby an upper, generally horizontal, seatengaging portion, this seat-engaging portion being joined by an arcuate portion to a generally vertically extending or upstanding leg portion. At its lower end, the leg portion is joined by an integral arcuate portion to a generally horizontal floor engaging portion characterized particularly by a front part adjacent the lower arcuate portion, an intermediate upwardly bowed part which is relatively long in comparison to the total length of the floor engaging portion, and a terminal or rear part, rearwardly of the intermediate bowed part. The intermediate bowed part functions as an additional spring means, and assists the arcuate portion connecting the upstanding leg and the floor engaging portions in resisting backward tipping or over-turning of the chair under the load of the occupant. The U-shapcd integral wooden beam of the present invention is of substantially constant cross-section throughout.

A pivoted locking member is provided for converting the chair into a fixed position chair.

It will therefore be seen that among the objects of the present invention are to provide a chair suitable for use in-doors, providing an aesthetic appearance, and having sufficient and adequate strength. A further object of the present invention is to provide a rocking chair having generally U-shaped beam members made of wood, and of economical construction. Other objects will be readily understood from a consideration of the following description, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF Til-IE DRAWING FIG. I is an elevational side view, with parts removed, of a chair in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the chair shown in FIG. ll.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a U-shaped member forming a part of the chair of the present invention.

FIG. 4i is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view, to an enlarged scale, of the member shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view showing a pivoted locking member, with parts broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like or corresponding reference numerals are used to designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. I a chair generally designated 10, in accordance with the present invention. The chair It) may be seen to comprise a seat 12 and back 14, which may be formed as a unit in accordance with existing practices, and including a pair of arms 16 and 18 (see also FIG. 2). There is preferably provided a cushion 29, which may be separate from the above described chair structure, or formed as a portion of the seat structure.

Leg means in accordance with the present invention are provided for supporting the seat 12 and back 14, for rocking or oscillating motion under weights and forces imposed by an occupant of the chair I0, such leg means being generally designated 30, and including a pair of generally U-shaped

beams

32 and 32, of substantially identical construction.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the generally U-shaped structure of the wooden beam 32 is shown, and includes a substantially flat seat-engaging portion 34, an upper arcuate portion 36, an upstanding leg portion 38, a lower arcuate portion 42 and a floor engaging portion 44, the latter having three parts. Adjacent the lower arcuate portion 42 is a relatively short and flat part 46, rearwardly of which is upwardly bowed part 48 which is relatively long, and rearwardly of the upwardly bowed part 48 is a generally flat rear part 52. The U- shaped wooden beam 32, as shown in FIG. 4, is made of molded, laminated and glued wood plies, for exam ple l3 plies, and is of substantially unvarying or constant cross-section from end to end thereof, transversely of the axis extending through each of the noted

portions

34, 38 and 44.

Referring now to FIG. 5, it will be seen that the seat support portion 34 is approximately twice the length of the upstanding leg portion 38, and to provide stability and strength with economy, the entire floor-engaging portion 44 is approximately three times the length of the upstanding leg portion 38. In addition, the upwardly bowed part 48 of floor-engaging portion 44 is approximately two-thirds of the total length thereof, but may be somewhat shorter, down to approximately one-half of the length thereof.

When the load of an occupant seated in the chair is borne by the leg means 30, each of the generally U- shaped integral beams assists in resisting the backward over-turning moment resulting from the weight and forces imposed by the occupant. As will be readily understood, the

arcuate portions

36 and 42 flex or yield within the elastic limits thereof, and because of the provision of the upwardly bowed part 48 of floor-engaging portion 44, the resistance to over-turning and to yielding which is provided by the lower arcuate portion 42 is substantially assisted and enhanced thereby. That is to say, the force of a person seated in the chair 10 will generate a counter clockwise moment (as viewed in FIG. 4) about the arcuate portion 42, which will be resisted by the arcuate portion 42. However, there will also be produced a resistance to that moment by the flexing of the bowed part 48: bowed part 48 not only acts as a spring giving a restoring or counter-acting force, but it is to be specifically noted that it has three areas of flexure or change of direction of the neutral axis thereof, one being at the region of the merging of the bowed part 48 with the forward part 46, another at the region of merger of bowed part 48 with rear part 52, and the third at the upper region or area of the bowed part 48.

As will be clearly seen in FIG. 5, the

parts

46 and 52 rest upon a floor or other supporting surface, while the bowed part 48 is above the level thereof.

In order to limit the extent of bending or flexure of the leg means 30, there is provided a stop member 54, positioned on the rear part 52, so that upon extreme depression of the seat 12 and back 14, movement thereof will be limited.

For some occupants of the rocking or oscillating chair 10, it may be desirable to prevent the noted rocking or oscillating motion, and for this reason there is provided a locking arrangement generally designated 60, in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown the rear end of the seat-engaging portion 34 secured by screws or the like to the seat 12. Secured in turn, to the portion 34 is a fitting 62 having a pair of depending

ears

64 and 66 between which is a strut 68, pivotally connected thereto by a pin 72. Stop means (not shown) may be provided to limit the extent of pivoting of the strut 68, so that when it is in position so that the lower end thereof engages with the upper surface of the part 52, it is held in that position. Hence, oscillating or rocking motion of the seat 12 and back 14 will be prevented.

There has been provided a chair capable ofa rocking or oscillating motion, and including a pair of economically manufactured support structures in the form of generally U-shaped ply-wood beams. These beams are characterized by a floor-engaging portion having an upwardly bowed part which cooperates with a lower arcuate portion so that both contribute to the resistance to over-turning and straining of the U-shaped beam: as a consequence, the beam may be of substantially constant cross-section with resulting economy of manufacture. Since the chair in accordance with the present invention is provided with wooden beams of the noted construction, the chair has a pleasing appearance while being suitably economical. Further, the relationship of the lengths of the constituent parts and portions of the U-shaped beam are such that they contribute to both strength and appearance.

In addition, a pivoted strut is provided to lock out the oscillating action, where desired, and a limiting stop is provided to prevent the possibility of over-stressing the U-shaped wooden beams.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the ap pended claims.

I claim:

1. A chair comprising a seat and a back, and leg means, said leg means comprising a pair of generally U-shaped continuous wooden beams each including a floor engaging portion, an upstanding leg portion and a seat support portion,

said upstanding leg portion being connected to said other portions by upper and lower arcuate portions,

said floor engaging portions comprising integral resilient means deflectable under the load imposed by a person sitting in said chair and including a relatively long intermediate upwardly bowed part, a forward part adjacent said lower arcuate portion and a rear part,

said forward and rear parts being at a lower level than said intermediate bowed part.

2. The chair of claim 1, wherein said floor engaging portion is approximately three times the length of said leg portions.

3. The chair of claim 2, wherein the length of said bowed part is approximately one-half to two-thirds the length of said floor engaging portion.

4. The chair of claim 1, wherein the length of the said bowed part is approximately one-half to two-thirds the length of said floor engaging portion.

5. The chair of claim 1, and further including means pivotally connected to one said portion for preventing bending of said beams, whereby to prevent oscillatory movement of said seat and back.

6. The chair of claim 5, said means being pivotally connected to said seat support portion and extending in one position thereof to said floor engaging portion.

7. The chair of claim 1, wherein each said beam is of substantially constant cross-section.

8. The chair of claim 7, wherein each said beam is of molded, laminated and glued wood plies.

9. The chair of claim 1, wherein each said beam is of molded, laminated and glued wood plies.

i I. II 4 4

Claims

1. A chair comprising a seat and a back, and leg means, said leg means comprising a pair of generally U-shaped continuous wooden beams each includinG a floor engaging portion, an upstanding leg portion and a seat support portion, said upstanding leg portion being connected to said other portions by upper and lower arcuate portions, said floor engaging portions comprising integral resilient means deflectable under the load imposed by a person sitting in said chair and including a relatively long intermediate upwardly bowed part, a forward part adjacent said lower arcuate portion and a rear part, said forward and rear parts being at a lower level than said intermediate bowed part.