US964078A - Store stool or seat. - Google Patents

Description

W. G. WINANS. STORE STOOL 0R SEAT. APPLIUATIQN FILED D110. 20, 1909.

Patented July 12, 1910.

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IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESLEY G. WINANS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO SPOKANE AUTOMATIC SEAT COMPANY, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

STORE STOOL OR SEAT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WESLEY Gr. WINANS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Store Stools or Seats; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in store stools or seats, and particularly to the store seats which are employed behind counters for the use of the salespeople.

Heretofore the store seats most commonly employed have been ordinary four-legged stools which occupy considerable space, and inasmuch as they are removable and can be freely moved about, they are frequently crowded together and congest the aisle and provide obstructions over which the salespeople may stumble, or else the store seats generally employed are permanently fastened to the fixtures and swing or fold upwardly against the fixtures or shelves containing the merchandise. The seats of the latter type whether swung upward by hand or automatically are objectionable for the reason that they are more or less unsightly, they occupy much needed space against the shelving, and are a source of inconvenience when it is desired to remove merchandise from the shelves behind the seats or to again return the merchandise to the shelves, as it is always necessary to swing the seats downward to a horizontal position before such merchandise can be removed from the shelves or again replaced upon the shelves. Not only are such seats inconvenient, but as they occupy considerable aisle space the salespeople, particularly saleswomen, are frequently injured by bumping against the same or have their clothes torn and worn when passing along the aisle.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a store seat which is free of the objectionable features above stated and when not in use or unoccupied swings to a position such that it is normally out of the way of the salespeople and leaves the aisle free and unobstructed, and at the same time does not interfere with the removal of the mer- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1909.

Serial No. 534,090.

chandise from the shelving or its restoration to the shelving.

In carrying out my invention I provide a store seat or stool which is attached to the fixtures behind the counter, and is supported in a manner such that it may swing horizontally underneath the shelving, and in the preferred embodiment of my invention I provide a spring which is arranged to automatically swing the seat rearwardly underneath the shelving as soon as the occupant rises from the seat.

The invention may be further summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

For an understanding of my invention reference is had to the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of a section of store fixtures including the shelving, two store seats being shown, one in normal position beneath the shelving and one swung outward in position for use. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view substantially along the line 22, of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow, the seats having the same relative arrangement as in Fig. 1. Fig.

.3 is an enlarged front view of one of the seats and an adjacent portion of the fixtures,

the seat being in its normal position beneath the shelving. Fig. 4: is an enlarged horizontal sectional view substantially along the line l4l, Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 5 is a side sectional view slightly enlarged substantially along the line 5-5, Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

The store fixtures which are arranged behind the counter (not shown) may be of any suitable construction, but as here shown consist of shelves 10 and uprights 11 which sup port the shelves. The store seats, which, as stated before, are supported on the fixtures, each includes a seat portion or seat proper 12 which is supported bya shaft or arm 13 having a horizontal portion 14: which extends underneath the seat 12 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner such as by a strap 15. The arm 13 is also provided with a vertlcal portion 16 which is received with- Patented July 12, 1910.

tally outward in front of the upright 11 to which the seat is attached.

Formed integral with the bracket 18 and arranged at the rear of the socket 17 and preferably slightly above the latter is a second vertical socket 20 which receives loosely a rod 21 having a vertical portion 22 which passes through the socket 18 and extends downward below the latter. This rod is also provided with an angular offset portion 23 which projects upwardly above the arm 13, and with a portion 24 which extends underneath the seat and passes through a staple 25 secured to the lower side of the seat in a manner such that the portion 24 may slide freely through the staple. The seat is preferably swung rearwardly under the shelving 10 when the occupant rises from the seat, by means of a coil spring 26 which surrounds the lower vertical portion 22 of the rod 21 and has one of its ends which is shown at 26 engaging the adjacent upright 11 of the fixtures, while its other end which is shown at 27 engages and is preferably hooked over the portion 24 of the rod adjacent the angular offset portion 23. This spring is so arranged that when the seat is swung outward, increased tension is placed on the spring and when the seat is released, the spring by its pressure on the rod 21 will swing the seat beneath the shelvmg.

It will be seen that inasmuch as the angular offset portion 23 of the rod 21 projects upwardly above the arm 13 and since the arm 13 and the rod 21 have different axes of movement this angular portion 23 will be engaged by the arm 13 when the seat is swung outward a certain distance and therefore the angular portion 23 will act as a stop to limit the swinging movement of the seat and there will be no danger of the seat or bracket 16 being torn from the fixtures. Also the angular offset portion 23 forms a shoulder which is engaged by the end 27 of the spring. This arrangement of the spring about the rod 21 as here shown has a further advantage in that the lower vertical portion of the rod 21 acts as a support for the spring. It will be seen also that the seat may be readily swung outward in front of the shelving and when the occupant rises from the seat, the latter will automatically swing underneath the shelving so that it cannot obstruct the aisle and form an obstacle against which salespeople may stumble. It will be seen also that the seat, when not in use, does not conceal any of the merchandise which is supported on the shelving or interfere in any way with the removal or restoration of the merchandise. Furthermore the seat is durable, strong and will not easily get out of order.

WVhat I claim is,-

1. The combination witha store-fixture of a bracket secured to the fixture, an arm rotatably supported on said bracket, a seat mounted on said arm, a rod having a portion which is pivotally connected to said bracket and a portion which loosely engages the seat and a spring mounted on said bracket and having a portion thereof engaging said rod.

2. The combination with a store fixture of a bracket secured to the fixture, an arm rotatably supported on said bracket so as to swing in a horizontal plane, a seat mounted on said arm, a rod having a portion which is pivotally connected to said bracket and a portion which loosely engages the seat and a spring mounted on said bracket and having an end engaging said rod.

3. The combination with a store fixture of a bracket secured to the fixture and provided with a vertical socket, a horizontally arranged arm having a portion which is loosely received in said socket, a seat mounted on said arm, a rod having a portion which is pivotally connected to said bracket and a portion which loosely engages the seat and a coil spring mounted on said bracket and having an end engaging said rod.

4. The combination with a store fixture of a bracket secured to the fixture, said bracket having two vertical sockets, an arm having a portion which is loosely received in one of said sockets, a seat mounted on the free end of said arm, a rod having a portion which is loosely received in the other of said sockets on said bracket and having a portion which loosely engages the seat and a coil spring surrounding the portion of said rod which extends through the socket of said bracket.

5. The combination with a store fixture comprising uprights and shelving supported thereby, of a bracket secured to the fixture and having a pair of vertical sockets, an arm having a portion which is loosely received in one of said sockets, a seat mounted on the free end of said arm, a rod having a portion which is loosely received in the other of said sockets on said bracket and having a portion which loosely engages the seat, said rod having an ofiset portion which extends upwardly above said arm and is engaged by the latter to limit the swinging movement of In testimony whereof, I sign the forethe seat and a coil spring surrounding the going specification, in the presence of two vertical portion of said rod and having one witnesses. end acting upon the upright and the other WESLEY G. WINANS.

5 end upon the rod adjacent to the oifset por- Witnesses:

tion, said spring serving to swing the seat VIoToR C. LYNCH, rearwardly underneath the shelving. N. L. MCDONNELL.

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