US3897104A

US3897104A - Convertible swingable chair

Info

Publication number: US3897104A
Application number: US465834A
Authority: US
Inventors: John O Black
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-05-01
Filing date: 1974-05-01
Publication date: 1975-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 1992-07-29

Abstract

A swingable type chair is made from arcuate sections which are releasably united to be adjustable to a multiplicity of angular positions from the one for sitting and swinging. The sections are hung on aligned pivots supported on pedestals at each side of a circular or oval base so as to be oscillatable to swing back and forth on the pivots. The chair can be changed from a normal seating configuration to a reclining configuration and to an elongated bed-type configuration.

Description

United States Patent [191 Black July 29, 1975 CONVERTIBLE SWINGABLE CHAIR [76] lnventor: John 0. Black, 18094 Parkside,

Detroit, Mich. 48221 [22] Filed: May 1, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 465,834

[52] US. Cl. 297/353; 297/118; 297/313;

297/445 [51] Int. Cl. A47C 3/00 [58] Field of Search 297/445, 118, 311, 68,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 463,863 ll/l89l Johnson 297/282 X 817,816 4/1906 Stevens 297/68 825,984 7/1906 Schmersahl... 297/282 X 830,487 9/1906 Backe et a1... 297/282 X 2,931,640 4/1960 Riddle, Jr. 297/380 X 3,062,583 11/1962 Hamilton 297/254 X 3,069,204 12/1962 Vesterholt et a1. 297/D1G. 2 3,379,472 4/1968 Hilfiker 297/118 3,469,882 9/1969 Larsen 297/118 3,558,094 1/1971 Radke et al 248/372 3,727,974 4/1973 Swenson et al 248/372 Primary ExaminerJames T. McCall Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Harness, Dickey & Pierce [5 7 ABSTRACT A swingable type chair is made from arcuate sections which are releasably united to be adjustable to a multiplicity of angular positions from the one for sitting and swinging. The sections are hung on aligned pivots supported on pedestals at each side of a circular or oval base so as to be oscillatable to swing back and forth on the pivots. The chair can be changed from a normal seating configuration to a reclining configuration and to an elongated bed-type configuration.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 2 91975 SHEET CONVERTIBLE SWINGABLE CHAIR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Oscillatable chairs are usually of the rockable type with arcuate rockers directly engaging the floor or a base or can be hung on four links to move backwardly and forwardly as a swing. The swingable chair of the present invention is believed novel not only because of its swinging on an are but because it can be used as a chaise lounge or a bed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The base of the present invention has a bottom portion of cylindrical or oval shape with two upstanding pedestals having aligned pivots on their upper ends. Three sections are provided for the chair, a central seating section which may be semi-spherical and end sections which may be a leg and back section which mates with the semi-spherical shape of the central section. The upper ends of the sections are aligned on the pivots for individual swinging movement. Locking means are provided at the upper ends of the section by which some or all of the sections may be locked together so as to swing as a unit. One of the end sections may be lowered to rest upon the bottom portion of the base to obtain a chaise lounge effect with the other end section and when all three sections are pivoted together at the bottom the upper portions of the end sections may be released and moved downwardly into horizontal alignment with the central section in bed position. While it is noted that the sections are substantially of semi-circular cross section, it is to be understood that they may have a central flat portion of substantial length to which hinges may be directly applied which permit the upper free ends of the leg and back sections to hinge upwardly into aligned locked relation with the upper end of the central section which is pivoted to the pedestals. The base is preferably mounted on ball rol lers to permit the chair to be rotated to any position on shag rugs and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a chair of the swingable type embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the chair illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view of structure, similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1, showing another form of swingable chair;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a broken end view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view of structure, similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5, showing a further form of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, taken on the line 7-7;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, taken on the line 88 thereof; and

FIG. 9 is a view of the chair unit illustrated in FIG. 1 in the position assumed when occupied.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a chair 11 is illustrated embodying a base 12 and a chair unit comprising a seating section 13, a leg section 14 and a back section 15. The base 12 has a bottom circular portion 16 with two upstanding pedestals 17 disposed opposite to each other. The pedestals 17 are provided with aligned pivots 18 on which the upstanding portions of the three sections of the chair unit are pivotally supported. The pivots have locking means 19 (not shown in detail) by which the three

sections

13, 14 and 15 are locked in unit relation for pivotal movement on the pivots 18. The sections can be released so that the leg and

back sections

14 and 15 may be swung downwardly to abut each other in aligned horizontal position capable of being used as a bed or cradle which rests on the bottom portion of the base. When the sections l3, l4 and 15 are in locked relation, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a person wishing to occupy the chair moves the section 14 downwardly and sits thereon and on the central section 13 while the section 15 extends upwardly in back position. With this arrangement, the chair may be swung on the pivots 18 forwardly and backwardly in the conventional manner. The back section 15 may be released and swung downwardly to form a chaise lounge relationship with the

sections

13 and 14. The base portion 16 is mounted on ball rollers 21 which are preferably of the angle type so as to rotate freely upon shag rugs and the like.

A similar type of chair is illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 8 inclusive, one having a similar base 12 comprising a body portion 22 which may be of circular or oval shape from which oppositely disposed pedestals 23 extend upwardly. The swingable unit of the chair embodies a central section 24 and end sections 25. All three of the sections are semi-circular in cross section being made of plywood bent to the selected cross-sectional form. The sections are secured together at the bottom by hinged elements 26, 27 and 28 which are riveted or otherwise secured to the sections on a central line between the pedestals. The sections 25 have the upwardly extending portions aligned with the edges of the upwardly extending portion of the section 24 and are locked together by a locking mechanism 31.

The mechanism 31 embodies an inverted channel section 32 which extends over the top edges of the central section 24 having laterally extending arms 33 which have outwardly deflected ends 34. The outer portion of the inverted channel element 32 has a spring element 34 secured thereto, as by welding at 35, to permit the ends to move outwardly as the upper ends of the sections 25 are moved into engagement with the upper ends of the central section 24. Knobs 36 are secured to the ends of the spring element 34 having a latching detent 37 on the inner side which is engaged by a plate 38 secured to the outer top edge of the upper ends of the sections 25. This moves the ends of the spring element 34 outwardly as they pass over the detents 37 into locked position therewith with the upstanding ends of the sections in aligned relationship, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 8. The channel element 32 is secured to the tops of the central section 34 by screws 39. The bottom 22 of the supporting base 12 has a reinforcing member 41 thereon to which a plurality of ball rollers 42 are mounted to permit the base and chair to be rotated.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when the two sections 25 are released from the latching mechanism 31 to hinge downwardly into horizontal alignment with the central section 24, the two sections 25 will rest upon the bottom 22 of the base 12 and the portions of the pedestals 23 adjacent thereto so as to be in non-swingable bed relationship on the base. By moving one of the sections 25 upwardly into latched relation, a chaise lounge configuration is provided which is not swingable as the one section 25 rests upon the base 22. When both of the sections 25 are in latched relation, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the chair may be swung upon pivots 43 which supports the central section 24 on the top portion of the pedestals 17. The pivot 43, as illustrated more specifically in FIG. 7, has a head 45, an enlarged portion 46, a reduced threaded portion 47 and a cap nut 48 on a threaded end. A washer 49 abuts the shoulder between the

portions

46 and 47 so that the cap nut can be tightened while permitting free oscillation of the central section 24 on the enlarged portions 46 of the pivots. The chair, as illustrated in FIG. 5, has the edge 51 of either section 25 extending upwardly from the bottom 22 of the base 12 which permits the chair to be occupied from either side. This requires the moving of the edge 51 downwardly so as to form a seat adjacent to the bottom 22 which can be occupied. When seated, the chair will move to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 and backwardly thereof and continue to swing if pushed backwardly by the feet of the occupant. Since the chair can be occupied from either side, one side may face a fireplace and a seating group and also face outwardly into the room and a seating area therein. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the sections 24 and 25 may have a flat central bottom portion 52 which are joined together by elongated hinges 53 which may provide more comfort in seating, reclining and bed positions, otherwise, such a chair would be of the same construction as that described hereinabove.

I claim:

1. In a swingable chair, a base having a continuous band forming a bottom supporting portion from which two upstanding oppositely disposed pedestals extend, a chair unit made of a central and two end sections of U- shape having a central portion and oppositely disposed upstanding arms located between said pedestals, and a pair of pivots for securing the arms of said sections together and to the upper portion of said pedestals.

2. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 1, wherein two of the three chair sections are releasable from said pedestals to permit a bed configuration to be formed with the central section supported on said pedestals and with the two outer sections resting directly upon the bottom supporting portion.

3. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 2, wherein the release of only one of the end sections to rest directly on the bottom supporting portion produces a chaise lounge configuration with the other two sections which are supported on the pivot on each said pedestal.

4. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 1, wherein the three sections are similar, and hinge means for securing the sections together along the bottom abutting edges while said arm portions of each section are secured together and pivoted at the top to said pedestals.

5. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 4, wherein the central section only is secured by the pivots in swingable relation on the pedestals.

6. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 5, wherein locking means are provided on the top portion of the central section above the pivot thereof, and latch means on said securing means which locks the top side portions of the sections in unit relationship.

7. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 6, wherein the securing means has oppositely disposed channel portions which receives the top side portions of the end sections to have them aligned with the edges of the central section.

8. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 1, wherein the base has a bottom portion of circular configuration with the upstanding pedestals of arcuate form following the circular form of the base.

9. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 8, wherein a reinforcing member is provided within the bottom portion of the base, and casters supported by said reinforcing member.

10. In a swingable chair as recited in claim 6, wherein the release of either of the end sections of the chair and its movement into engagement with the bottom supporting portion of the base produces a chaise lounge configuration which is changed to a bed configuration when both of the end sections rest upon opposite sides of the bottom supporting portion of the base in aligned relation to each other and the central section which remains pivoted to the pedestals.

Claims

1. In a swingable chair, a base having a continuous band forming a bottom supporting portion from which two upstanding oppositely disposed pedestals extend, a chair unit made of a central and two end sections of U-shape having a central portion and oppositely disposed upstanding arms located between said pedestals, and a pair of pivots for securing the arms of said sections together and to the upper portion of said pedestals.