Chair tiering tubes

Oct 25, 1966

3,281,184

W. G. AXTELL

CHAIR TIERING TUBES Original Filed Aug. 23, 1962

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United States Patent Office Patented Oct. 25, 1966 each side, tubular front and rear legs 10 and 11, respectively, which are square in cross-section and are conveniently formed integrally with a horizontal seat bar 12. Conveniently, a chair frame 13 formed of tubular members and having a lower forwardly extending seat portion and a rearwardly and upwardly extending back portion, may be attached to the spaced front and rear legs, as by bolts or by welding, and is adapted to support a seat cushion 14 and a back cushion 15. The lower end of each leg 10 and 11 is conveniently provided with a foot F, which is attached to the leg for pivotal movement to permit the foot to conform to the angularity between the chair leg and the floor or other surface upon which the chair is placed.

The tiering tubes T of FIGS. 1-6 may be utilized in securing a series of chairs together in a straight row or in an arcuate row, as in FIG. 1. Conveniently, each tiering tube T is of hollow, tubular construction, provided at one end with a ball 16 and at the other end with an open mouthed socket 17, for receiving the ball of the tiering ³ tube on the next adjacent chair. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each ball 16 has an outer diameter the same as the tube, with an open end at the front and a reduced neck 18 inwardly therefrom. The socket 17 is conveniently an enlargement whose inner surface corresponds to the outer surface of a ball 16, thus being provided with an inwardly extending end flange 19, whose inside diameter at the outer edge is only slightly greater than neck 18 and which extends around the upper half of the end of the tube and also downwardly along each front edge of a skirt 20. Each skirt 20 extends downwardly from approximately the center of each side of the tube to provide a slot, which the lower edge of each skirt conveniently slants inwardly, as in FIG. 6, so that when a socket 17 is pushed downwardly onto a ball 16, the ball will snap into the socket.

The sockets 17 are readily formed by removing a generally triangular piece of metal, having a base corresponding to an edge 20 between the skirts, and curved sides corresponding to the contour of the lower edge of each skirt unwrapping from the tube. Then, the skirts may be flattened out, with an inclination toward each other at the bottom, and the bell shape of the upper portion and flange 19 then formed. Such operations are readily carried out in a punch press or similar machine. Each ball 16 is conveniently formed by spinning, i.e. applica45 tion of pressure by a suitable tool, while the tube is rotated. For this purpose, relatively thin tubing is preferably utilized, such tubing being practical, since the stress on the ball and socket joints is not great. It will be understood, of course, that the tiering tubes T may be 50 manufactured in any other suitable manner and also that other types of ball and socket connections may be utilized.

Each tiering tube T is conveniently disposed in a position abutting the rear of front legs 10 of a chair and held 55 against the underside of chair frame 13, as by means of a bolt 22, as in FIGS. 3 and 6. Each bolt 22 conveniently extends through a hole 23 in the tiering tube, shown in FIG. 5 and into a tapped hole in frame 13. The tiering tubes prevent the chairs from pulling apart by the re60 duced neck 18 adjacent ball 16 of one tube into which extends the flange 19 of the socket 17 of the next tube, so that the ball will not pull out of the socket, as in FIGS 5 and 6. The chairs, after being connected, may be arranged in a straight row or in a semicircle or arc, as in 65 FIG. 1, by placing the outer chairs of the row forwardly, the connection between the ball and socket of adjacent

3,281,184

CHAIR TIERING TUBES

Willard G. Axtell, Englewood, Colo., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Samsonite Corporation, Denver, Colo., _ra corporation oi Colorado °

Original application Aug. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 218,885, now Patent No. 3,207,551, dated Sept. 21, 1965. Divided and this application Oct. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 411,956

Claims. (Cl. 297—248) . 10 This invention relates to tiering tubes, and more particularly to tubes for attaching adjacent chairs together in rows. This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 218,885, filed August 23, 1962, now U.S. Patent No. 3,207,551, granted September 21, 1965.

Various types of tiering clamps and bars have been provided previously, but these have each had certain inherent disadvantages. Some tiering clamps consist of longitudinal bars extending along the row of chairs, which attach the chairs together in a row but which produce an inconvenient obstruction for the feet of persons sitting in the chairs. Also, the chairs are usually relatively permanently attached to this type of tiering bar so that a given number of chairs, such as four, must be attached to each pair of bars. Thus, the number of chairs on each pair of bars cannot be altered, unless the. bar is cut so that it does not extend beyond the ends of the outer chairs. In another type of tiering clamp, a pair of bars connect one chair behind another. This arrangement has the obvious disadvantage that a person moving between the rows of chairs must step over these bars, which extend below the seat of each of the chairs. Also, this arrangement has the same disadvantage as the previous bars, in that a predetermined number of chairs must be attached to the bars or the bars must be cut to a shorter length to accommodate a lesser number of chairs. Another disadvantage of either of the above arrangements is that since the chairs are rigidly attached together, the arrange- ₄₀ments in which the chairs may be placed is limited.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide novel tiering tubes which will interconnect adjacent chairs adjacent the seats thereof, to form longitudinal rows; to provide such tiering tubes which permit the outer chairs of a row to be moved inwardly, so that the chairs may assume an arcuate position in the row; and to provide a tiering tube which is simple in construction, yet efficient in operation.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a plurality of chairs attached together by tiering tubes of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of one of the chairs of FIG. 1 having a tiering tube attached thereto;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of a chair of FIG. 2, showing the manner in which a tiering tube is attached to a chair;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevation, on a further enlarged scale, showing the ends of two tiering tubes in engaging position;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the connection between two adjacent tiering tubes, as shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal, vertical section, taken along line 6—6 of FIG. 5 and showing also the attachment of one tiering tube to a seat bar of the chair frame.

In accordance with this invention, two or more chairs, such as chairs C of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be connected together by novel tiering tubes T.

Chairs C have, at tubes permitting such latitude in positioning of the chairs.

For disconnection, each chair, in turn, may be lifted slightly to remove the socket off the ball of the tiering tube of the next chair.

3,281,184 ο

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that the objects hereinbefore set forth have been fulfilled to a marked degree. A tiering tube has been provided which attaches adjacent chairs together adjacent the front legs thereof, in such a way that they may be moved with respect to each other into a semicircular arrangement or maintained in a straight row. The tiering tubes are provided with ball and socket joints which permit ready attachment, as well as ready detachment, of adjacent chairs.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, it will be readily under stood that various changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.