Chair

Oct 30, 1934.

L. LARSEN

CHAIR

1,979,073

Filed Jan. 28, 1933

<img file="US1979073A_D0001.tif" />

Patented Oct. 30, 1934

1,979,073

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,979,073

CHAIR

Lewis Larsen, Menominee, Mich., assignor to Heywood-Wakefield Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts

Application January 28, 1933, Serial No. 653,989

Claims. (CL 155—50)

This invention, relates to improvements in chairs and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a comfortable chair for outdoor use, such as upon porches and lawns and which chair is so made as to ably withstand the hard usage it naturally receives and is unaffected by in10 clement weather conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an all metal, spring base chair which permits of a teetering action, with the base made of flat spring strip stock and the seat and back frame 15 made of light weight tubing and thin metallic strips running from the top of the back frame to the front of the seat frame to provide the back rest and seat respectively therefor.

A further object of the invention is to pro20 vide an all metal chair of this kind which though strong and durable, is light in weight so that it can be readily moved about from one place of use to another.

The above mentioned objects of the invention 25 as well as others, together with the many advantages thereof, will more fully appear as I proceed with my specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair em30 bodying the prefererd form of the Invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the top end of the back rest of the chair as viewed from the rear thereof;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view 35 on an enlarged scale through the front end of the seat of the chair as taken on the line 3—3 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse vertical detail sectional views on an enlarged scale through one 40 side of the chair as taken on the lines 4—4 and 5—5 respectively, of Fig. 1.

In general, my improved chair includes a spring base of flat strip stock and tubing formed to provide both a back rest frame and a seat 45 frame. In connection therewith are arm rests with turned back bottom portions disposed between parts of the base and seat frame and secured thereto. The said back rest and seat frames have associated therewith laterally 50 spaced, metallic straps or bands that form the back rest and seat respectively, for the chair and said straps or bands are curled or curved under and rearward at the front end of the seat to there form a smooth rounded, under-the-knee 55 roll for the chair.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

indicates as a whole the base of the chair and 2 indicates as a whole the frame of the chair. 60

The base is made of flat spring stock and comprises a U-shaped floor engaging portion 3 including laterally spaced, slightly upwardly bowed side members 4—4 connected at their rear ends by a cross member 5. The front end of each side 65 member is bent backwardly and includes a normally horizontally disposed rear end portion 6, and a downwardly and forwardly extending midportion 6α connected to the associated side member by a rounded bend 7 of generous diameter. 70

The frame 2 which is made of tubing comprises an inverted and substantially upright back rest frame 8 including laterally spaced side members 9—9 connected at their top ends by rounded corners 10—10 of substantial radii with 75 a top cross bar 11. The bottom ends of said side members are bent to provide horizontally and forwardly extending members 12—12 connected thereto by rounded comer portions 13. The front ends of said members 12—12 are 80 connected together by a front member or rail 14 which is disposed in substantially the vertical plane of the rounded bends 7 of the base.

The members 12—12 and front rail 14 make up the seat frame and said members 12—12 85 are further connected together at a point between their front and rear ends by intermediate and rear transverse brace bars 15 and 16 respectively.

Associated with each side of the back rest 90 frame and seat frame is an arm rest which includes a horizontally disposed rail 17 arranged in a plane above the side member 12 of the seat frame.

Each rail 17 which carries an arm rest of any 95 suitable kind on its top side, is curved upwardly at its rear end as at 18 to there be secured to the associated side member 9 of the back rest frame. The front end of each side rail 17 is joined by a rounded comer 19 with an 100 upright post member 20 which extends downwardly beyond the junction of the side and front rails of the seat frame to there be welded to said junction.

The bottom end of each post member below 105 said junction of the said frame members 12 and 14 is bent to provide a comer 21, and upwardly and rearwardly inclined portion 22 and a substantially horizontally · disposed rear end portion 23. Said inclined and rear end portions

1,979,078 of each arm rest frame are bent to correspond with the parts 6α and 6 of the base upon which they engage as best shown in Fig. 1. The portions 23 terminate at their rear ends at sub5 stantially the corners 13 of the side members 9 and 12 of the back rest and seat frames and are there connected together by the cross bar 16.

To secure the parts in position, rivets 25 10 extend through the members 9 and portions 23 and 6 respectively. It is apparent that with the construction described, the arm rests also function to brace or hold the back rest members 9 and seat frame members 12 in operative rela15 tion.

The upright members 20 of both arm rests are connected together at a point below the front rail 14 of the seat frame by a cross bar 26 and the two side members 9—9 of the back 20 rest frame are connected together by transverse rods 27 and 28 respectively. Just below the top cross bar 11 of the back rest frame is a cross rod 29 of substantially small diameter and this rod is welded at its ends to the inside 25 of the corners 10.

The seat frame and back rest frame support seat and back rest providing means in the form of laterally spaced straps 30 which follow in shape, the shape of the side members of the back rest 30 and seat frames. These straps which are preferably metallic ones are secured in any suitable manner at points between their ends to the cross members 14—15—16—27 and 28 respectively upon which they engage. The top end of each 35 strap is curled about the cross rod 29 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner. The other end of each strap beyond the front rail 14 of the seat frame, is curved downwardly and rearwardly to engage with and be secured 10 to the bottom side of the cross rod 26 in any suitable manner. Thus the said curved portions of all of said straps coact to provide a roll for the front of the seat so that no sharp edges or corners are presented to the underside ¢5 of the knees of a person occupying the chair. Each strap is provided along each margin throughout its length with a beading 31 which not only does away with sharp corners thereon but makes the straps more rigid against bend50 ing or flexing.

With the arrangement shown the seat and back rest frames which are made of tubing presents a rigid structure, mounted on the flexing flat arms 6—6α of the base.

₅₅ When the occupant rocks back and forth, a teetering action is set up about the curved parts 7 of the base 1 as an axis. It is pointed out that the bottom portions of the arm rests form a truss arrangement that makes the frame OO and chair as a whole much stronger and this without increasing the weight thereof.

Again, with the side members 4 of the base bowed upwardly and extending a considerable distance beyond the plane of the back of the g5 seat frame, the tendency of the chair to creep or to tip over backwardly while in use is overcome.

In describing the invention, I have referred in detail to the form, arrangement and construction of the various parts of the chair, the same is to be considered merely in an illustrative sense, so that I do not wish to be limited thereto, 80 except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.