Arm structure for reclining seat

An arm structure for a reclining seat such as those used on planes, buses, and train coaches, in which one or both of the arms are adjustable between a substantially horizontal position when the back is in upright position and a horizontal or fully down position when the back of the seat is in a reclined position. A latch mechanism holds the arm in the various positions and is released to move the arm to any one of the positions by pulling the arm forwardly and moving it to a selected position. The arm can be lifted to any one of the positions by merely lifting the arm which snaps successively into the various positions as it is pivotally raised. The latch mechanism holds the arm rigidly in position with respect to any pressure applied downwardly thereon by the arm of the occupant of the seat. The arm rest may have one of a number of different types of upholstery or covering to match the covering on the seat.

Most seats on commercial passenger aircraft, interstate buses and passenger 
train coaches are of the reclining type having two arm rests. In this type 
of seat, the seat portion is usually stationary and rigidly supported on a 
pedestal, base, or other firm support, and the back of the seat is pivoted 
to the rear of the seat portion and is normally adjustable to a number of 
angular positions from almost vertical position to a substantially 
reclining position. On the conventional type seats, the arm rests are 
mounted on and connected directly to the seat portion by a rigid structure 
which holds the arm rests in a single fixed position regardless of the 
position of the back. This often places the occupant in an uncomfortable 
position in the seat, with little or no support for the occupant's arms by 
the arm rest when the back is in a reclined position. This difficulty has 
been partially alleviated in the past by attaching the arm rests directly 
to the back so that they move back when the back is moved to a reclining 
position; however, with the arm rests rigidly attached, they do not remain 
in a generally horizontal position, but rather follow an angular movement 
as the seat back is adjusted. Consequently, the arm rests are frequently 
in a position which interferes with a person entering or leaving the seat, 
and provide little comfort for the occupant when the seat is in a 
substantially reclined position. It is therefore one of the principal 
objects of the present invention to provide an arm structure for a 
reclining seat, which can be readily adjusted to various angular positions 
with respect to the reclining back, and which can be adjusted to a 
generally horizontal position when the back of the seat is in its fully 
upright position or in a substantially reclining position. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an arm structure for 
reclining seats, which will give firm, comfortable support to the 
occupant's arms in normally adjusted position of the seat back, and which 
will fold down along the side of the back so that the arm rest will not 
interfere with the occupant. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide an arm rest structure 
of the aforementioned type, which is simple in construction and operation, 
and which can be easily adjusted between various angular positions by the 
occupant without his leaving the seat, and which is so constructed and 
designed that it is adaptable to either the right or left side of the seat 
.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and to FIG. 1 in particular, 
numeral 12 designates generally a seat such as that used on a plane or 
bus, the seat including a back 14, a seat portion 16, and pedestal 18, and 
a base 19 for attaching the seat rigidly to the floor or other supporting 
structure. Attached to the back 14 are pivoted arms 20 and 22, shown in 
their raised position for supporting the arms of the occupant of the seat 
when the back is in its substantially vertical or upright position. The 
principal part of the invention involves the structure in which the arms 
are pivotally adjustable between several positions so that they may be 
placed in horizontal position both while the seat is in its upright 
position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and in its substantially reclined 
position, as seen in FIG. 3. The arms may be moved from the position shown 
in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3, and thence to the 
position shown in FIG. 4. The remaining structure of the seat or chair may 
be of any number of different types, including those used on planes, 
buses, trains, in theaters, and in lounges and homes if desired. The seat 
shown in the drawings has upright tubular frame members 24 on each side of 
the back, to which the arm structure is attached, and while the frame 
shown is commonly used for seats and chairs, other types of frames may be 
used on which my arm structure is mounted. 
The arm structure 22 includes an arm rest 30 supported by an operating 
mechanism indicated generally by numeral 32 and being attached by a lug 34 
to seat frame member 24. The arm rest shown in the drawings consists of an 
inverted U-shaped or channel-like metal section having the longitudinal 
center portion 36 forming the top of the arm rest frame, and the two 
downwardly extending portions forming sides 38 and 40 of the arm rest. 
Holes 42 and 44 in the top, and 46 and 48 in the opposite sides, are 
provided for attaching the upholstery, padding, or some other outer layer 
or structure of the arm rest. Lug 34 is welded or otherwise rigidly joined 
to frame member 24 and is attached to arm rest 30 by a pin 50 secured in 
the two sides 38 and 40 and extending through a slot 52 in the outer end 
of lug 34. The slot 52 permits pin 50, and consequently arm rest 30, to 
move longitudinally forwardly and rearwardly with respect to lug 34, and a 
coil spring 60 attached to pin 50 and to a rigid metal anchor member 62 on 
lug 34 constantly urges pin 50 and arm 30 rearwardly, i.e. toward frame 
24. 
The arm rest 30 is held in its two upper positions by pins 64 and 66 
extending parallel to pin 50 and being secured in holes in the two sides 
38 and 40. With pin 50 in the rear end of slot 52, pin 64 engages the 
upper side of lug 34 and prevents the arm rest from moving downwardly. A 
downwardly extending member 68 attached to and preferably forming an 
integral part of upper side 36 of arm rest 30 extends downwardly and forms 
a stop for the upper position of the arm rest. Thus, when pin 50 is in the 
rear end of slot 52, the arm is held rigidly in place by pin 64 and the 
end of member 68. Pin 66 retains arm rest 30 in a partially lowered 
position, the movement between pins 64 and 66 being achieved by pulling 
arm rest 30 forwardly, thereby moving pin 50 forwardly in slot 52, and 
thus disengaging pin 64 from the upper surface of lug 34 and permitting 
the pin to bypass the forward end 70 of lug 34. Further movement 
downwardly engages pin 66 with the upper surface of lug 34 as spring 60 
retracts pin 50 and arm 30 rearwardly, thus holding the arm rest in a 
second rigid position. Movement of the arm forwardly also disengages pin 
66 from the upper surface of lug 34 and permits the arm to move to its 
fully lowered position where member 68 engages the upper side of lug 34 
and retains the arm in a position substantially parallel with back 14. The 
arm rest can be placed in either the intermediate or upper positions by 
pulling the arm rest upwardly to cause pins 64 and 66 to pass over the 
forward end of lug 34 to either the intermediate or upper arm position. 
The mechanism for the left hand arm is the same as that shown and 
described for the right hand arm, the two arms being adapted for either 
side without change. 
In the operation and use of my arm structure for the reclining seat, with 
the back in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, arm rest 30 extends 
generally outwardly from lug 34, and pin 64 rests on the upper side of the 
lug when the arm rest is held in its retracted position by spring 60 
reacting between pin 50 and anchor 62. Thus the arm rest is held in 
substantially horizontal position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the back 
is reclined to the position shown in FIG. 3, the arm rest can be placed in 
horizontal position by pulling the arm rest forwardly until pin 64 will 
pass downwardly over the forward end 70 of lug 34. When the pin has passed 
the upper part of the end, releasing the arm permits the arm rest to be 
retracted to the point where pin 66 engages the upper side of lug 34, thus 
holding the arm in its intermediate position illustrated in FIG. 9. 
When the arm rest is to be positioned in the place illustrated in FIG. 4, 
the rest is again pulled forward and pushed downwardly, thus causing pin 
66 to pass the forward end of the lug. Further movement of the arm 
downwardly causes member 68 to engage the upper side of the lug and hold 
the arm in a downwardly fixed position. The arm can be returned to either 
of the two elevated positions by lifting the arm, causing the pin 64 to 
engage the forward end of the lug and slip upwardly to either of the two 
positions where one or the other of the two pins 64 or 66 again engages 
the upper surface of lug 34 after the arm rest has been retracted by the 
spring. In the upward movement of the arm, it is not necessary to pull the 
arm forwardly, since the forward end 70 of the lug acts as a cam when 
engaged by either of the two pins, thus causing the arm to move forwardly 
sufficiently to permit the pins to pass the forward end of the lug. In all 
three positions the arm is held against further downward movement so that 
the arm of the occupant will be firmly supported by the arm rest. 
It is seen that the present arm structure can be readily adjusted to 
various angles relative to the back of the seat, to position the arm rest 
in horizontal position or in a position in which it does not interfere 
with the movement of the occupant of the seat. While only two positioning 
pins 64 and 66 have been shown, one or more additional pins may be 
included in the structure if additional positions of the arm rest are 
desired. The additional pins will operate in essentially the same way as 
pins 64 and 66 to hold the arm in elevated positions. The shape of the arm 
rest may be changed to accommodate different types of upholstery and 
covering for the rest, to adapt it to various types and designs of seats 
and coverings thereon. The arm structure is readily adaptable to various 
types of seats, including conventional living room and office chairs, as 
well as plane, train and bus seats. 
While only one embodiment of the present arm structure for reclining seats 
has been described in detail herein, various changes and modifications may 
be made without departing from the scope of the invention.