US382937A

US382937A - Egbert babcock

Info

Publication number: US382937A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1888-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1905-05-15

Description

(No Model.)

B. BABOOCK.

POLDINGTABLE.

No. 382937. Patented May 15 1888.

wmwtop Q ljimfjawa,

- I 1 v 45% a N. PETERS. PhotwLllhngmphcn wasnm mi. u. c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EGBERT BABOOGK, OF LAURENS, NET/V YORK.

FOLDING TABLE.

J EiTPIEl(IRRIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No.382,937, dated May 15, 1888.

7 Application filed December 9, 1887. Serial No. 257,443. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, EGBERT BABOOOK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Laurens, in the county ofOtsego and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Tables, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in folding tables; and it consistsin the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the appended claim.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the under side of a table constructed according to my invention and showing one pair of legs folded and the other pair extended. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail. view of one of the cleats. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the folding brace, to show more clearly the shoulders which limit the downward motion of the adjacent ends of the arms of the said brace.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates the table-top, to the under side of which near the ends are secured the cleats B B, which are povided on their inner sides near the ends with shoulders O O.

D D represent thelegs,which are pivoted at their upper ends to theshoulders G G by means of bolts or screws. 7 These legs are connected together in pairs, (the two legs attached to each cleat constituting a pair,) by the cross braces E E, which are attached to the outer sides of the said legs at their upper ends. The braces are beveled on their outer sides to render the upper or bearing surfaces thereof broader than the lower edges. When the legs are extended or arranged in vertical positions, the upper edges of the cross-braces bear against the lower sides of the'cleats, and thus prevent the legs from swinging beyond a vertical position when they are subjected to an outward strain.

The object in pivoting the legs of the table to shoulders on the cleats instead of pivoting them to the ends of the cleats will now be clearly seen. The cross-braces extend to the outer sides of the legs, and as the cleats ex tend beyond the. outer sides of the legs the entire upper edge of each cross-brace finds a bearing-surface on the cleat. Further, the cleats will be readily appreciated.

G G represent the hinged andjointed braces,

which consist, respectively, of the arms gg,

which are jointed together at their adjacent ends, and the ears 9 g, which are hinged or jointed to the outer or free ends of the said arms. These ears are secured by screws or other similar means respectively to the lower edge of the cross-brace between the legs and the under side of the table top between the cleats.

The adjacent and connected ends of the arms 9 g are provided with the bearing-shoulders H H, which are adapted to come in contact when the legs are extended, and the braces are bent slightly beyond a straight line. The object in arranging the said shoulders so as to allow the brace to bend beyond the straight line before they come in contact is to prevent a slight jar or blow upon the brace or the leg of the table from disturbing the brace and allowing it to fold. It will also be ob served that the braces fold outward-that is, toward the ends of the table. Therefore, when the legs are extended the weight of the centers of the folding braces hold the shoulders H H in contact. If the joints of the brace should through long use become loose the braces will not be rendered unsafe, as their weight will still hold them in the operative position. Also, when the legs are extended the braces will assume their proper positions without operating them individually. If, on the other hand, the braces are so arranged as to fold inward or toward the center of the table, the weight of the center of the brace will tend to cause it to fold. joints become loose by wear, this tendency to fold will render the table unsafe, as a slight jar or blow upon the inner side of one of the legs will allow the center of the brace to drop, and as a consequence the table will fall. Thus the mere sagging of one of the braces will re suit in the collapse of the table and the pro Therefore, when the 9 5 cipitation of itscontents upon the floor. This objection therefore is of great importance, it being of absolute necessity in a table to guard against even the possibility of an accident.

When the legs of the herein-described table are folded, the corresponding legs at opposite ends of the table are adapted to bear side by side against the under side of the top.

K represents a button or catch, which is pivoted on the lower end of thestandard L, which ,is attached to the tabletop, and is adapted to be turned under two adjacent folded legs to thus lock them in their folded position.

Many tables are constructed with their legs hinged directly to the top. This construction is objectionable-first, because all the strain of the legs is brought upon two or three points, and the result is (especially if the top is constructed of a series of strips or boards) that the top is warped or drawn out of shape; and, second, the screws which secure the hinges to the top are liable to tear out under severe strain. These objections are not applicable to a table constructed according to the above description. In this case the strain is distributed by the cleats, and the latter must be pulled off bodily in order that the legs may be detached.

The legs 9 g of the folding braces G-open upwardly and outwardly, so that when the table is closed they fold away between the cross-braces E and the top of the table and are both protected and out of sight. The arms 9 are of equal length, as can be seen in Fig. 2; consequently the leverage from the pivotal point of each leg to the common joint is'equal for both, and the jointcannot be bent by legs have been pivoted to transverse cleats against which a transverse bar, connecting the legs at said end, bears when the legs are extended. Iain further aware that buttons pivoted to the table have been used to keep the legs folded. I am further aware that braces have been composed of two pieces hinged together at their meeting ends and at their other ends hinged, respectively, to the bar connecting the legs at each end and to the platform of the table. I am further aware that transverse cleats having shoulders at their ends against which the legs are pivoted are not new in the art. Such elements I do not claim, broadly.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim- The hereindescribed folding table, comprising the top A, the transverse cleats B, having the shoulders O, the legs D, pivoted to said shoulders, the cross-braces E, connecting the outer sides of said legs and resting against the corresponding cleats when the legs are pen pendicular to the top, the buttons K, arranged to be turned outward and hold both pairs oflegs folded, and the hinged braces G, each having legsg g of equal length, one of which is pivoted in an ear, 9, secured to the table, and the other to a similar ear secured to the corresponding brace, E, the said braces folding upward and outward and resting between the top of the table and the corresponding braces E, in order to be protected and out of sight, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EGBERI BA BCOGK.