Improvements in Seats or Cushions for Furniture, Railway Cars, and other uses.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 17th Nov., 189.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION. ·
Improvements in Seats or Cushions for Furniture, Railway Cars,
and other uses.
[A communication from abroad by WILLIAM VOGLER, of Somerville, County
of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Superintendent.]
ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
London Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention relates to seats or cushions employed in connection with
upholstery for furniture, railway car seats and other uses, my improved seat or
cushion taking the place of ordinary upholstery.
One part of my invention consists in a seat or cushion composed of a series of
multi-armed springs bent upon themselves and also to form wire coils, said springs
being joined side by side both at their ends and between their ends by sets of
connections, one set of connections being free to yield as the arms of the springs
are made to approach each other under the action of a weight upon the seat or
cushion, substantially as will be described.
My invention also consists in a seat or cushion, composed of a series of three
armed springs, each containing in its bends between its ends spring coils, and a
supporting frame for said three-arned springs, said frame comprising rigid rods
and coiled springs which are extended through said spring-coils, substantially as
will be described.
Also in a seat or cushion composed of a series of three-armed springs, each
containing between its ends spring-coils, its free ends terminating in eyes, and a
supporting frame for said three-armed springs, said supporting frame comprising
rigid rods and coiled springs upon which said three armed springs are strung by
passing said rods and coiled springs through the spring-coils and eyes, substantially
as will be described.
Also in a seat or cushion composed of a series of three armed springs, each
containing between its ends spring coils and having its free ends bent to form eyes,
a supporting frame for said three-armed springs, said supporting frame comprising
rigid rods and coiled springs upon which said three-armed springs are strung by
passing said rods and coiled-springs through the spring coils and eyes, and
connecting spring-links for the upper free ends of said three armed springs,
substantially as will be described.
Also in a seat or cushion composed of a supporting frame, comprising rods or
bars, one or more of which are composed of coiled springs, a suitable foot-holder
composed of a rigid rod, and a series of three armed springs provided with spring
coils and eyes by which they are strung upon said supporting frame and foot holder,
the coiled springs of said supporting frame engaging the uppermost coils and eyes
of the three-armed spring, substantially as will be described.
Fig. 1, in plan view, shews a sufficient portion of a seat to enable my invention
to be understood.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.
Fig. 3 shews one of the springs detached.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew parts of a modified form of seat; and
Fig. 6 yet another modification.
The seat shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 is of a shape suitable for a lounge or sofa, that

page_text: is, it is supposed to be longer than it is wide, but the particular outline or shape of
the seat may be varied at will without departing from my invention, as it will be
obvious from the description hereinafter contained that the independent or
individual springs may be arranged in connection with supporting rods or bars of
any shape.
My improved seat is composed essentially of a series of wire springs A having
preferably three branches a, a, a, the free extremity of the branch a being coiled
to form an eye a³, while the free extremity of the branch a is bent to form an
eye a, the wire at the junction of the arms a, a2 with the portion a' being coiled
into the form of springs, as at aº, a®.
The loops or eyes a are entered by a bar or rod b, preferably a rigid wire, and
the spring-coils as are entered preferably by a wire or rod 6'.
The spring-coils a' are entered by coiled wire springs c, and the eyes a² by coiled
wire springs c', and as represented in Figs. 1 and 2, the coiled springs c', located at
and about the middle of the seat, are further united by elastic or spring links d,
shewn also as coiled wire springs, attached to buckles or hooks 2, 2, which engage
the said coiled wire springs c¹.
In the use of the invention, the portions of the seat indicated by the rods b, bl;
b will have a firm foundation on a suitable frame of desired construction, and a
weight applied to the top of the seat will depress the same, the top of the seat,
composed chiefly of the arms a and, as represented, of the spring, links d, yielding
under the weight upon it, and at the same time the wire springs c and c¹ yield more
or less or bend to conform to the weight or to the requirements of the weight, thus
making a very easy, flexible but strong seat.
The seat may be covered with upholstery and a suitable amount of hair or other
wadding, and the portions of the seat represented by the coils a and coiled springs c
and coils at and rod 6 may be spanned by a strip or binding of flexible material,
such as commonly designated in upholstery as the puffing at the front of a seat,
the coils a when covered constituting a round flexible edge, such as required in
first class upholstery.
It will be understood that I do not limit my invention to the shape of the seat
or cushion.
Instead of the springs A and their connecting or supporting rods being arranged
to form a rectangular seat, they may be arranged to form a circular seat, as shewn
in Fig. 4, in which the coils a of the springs A are entered by or strung upon a
circular coiled spring c, the coils a being entered by or strung upon a circular rod b,
and the inner coils as and a of said springs A are entered by or strung upon a
circular coiled spring c¹ and a circular rod 6 respectively.
In the modification Fig. 4 the spring links d of Fig. 1 are omitted, as they
may be, for that shape of cushion or seat, it being applicable for round seated
railway chair, etcetera.
In view of the above description, I denominate the springs c and c' and the
rods b', as a supporting frame, the rod or rods 6 serving as a foot holder for the
arms a constituting the bottom of the seat.
In the modification Fig. 6, instead of employing the yielding links d, and the
spiral springs cl, I have made the arms a, a, longer so as to overlap and have
provided the ends of said arms with eyes turned over from the side so that the
eyes of each of said arms will embrace the other arm and slide thereon when weight
is applied to the top of the seat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In a seat or cushion for furniture, railway cars and other uses, a series of
multi-armed springs bent upon themselves and also to form wire coils, said springs
beiug joined side by side both at their ends and between their ends by sets of
connections, one set of connections being free to yield as the arms of the springs

page_text: are made to approach each other under the action of a weight upon the seat or
cushion, substantially as described.
2. In a seat or cushion, for furniture and other uses a series of three-armed
springs, each containing in its bends between its ends spring-coils, and a supporting
frame for said three armed springs, said frame comprising rigid rods and coiled
springs which are extended through said spring coils, substantially as described and
shewn.
3. A seat or cushion for furniture and other uses, composed of a series of three
armed springs, each containing between its ends spring coils, its free ends
terminating in eyes, and a supporting frame for said three armed springs, said
supporting frame comprising rigid rods and coiled springs upon which said three-
armed springs are strung by passing said rods and coiled springs through the spring
coils and eyes, substantially as described.
4. A seat or cushion composed of a series of three armed springs, each containing
between its ends spring-coils and having its free ends bent to form eyes, a
supporting frame for said three armed springs, said supporting frame consisting of
or comprising rigid rods and coiled springs upon which said three armed springs
are strung by passing said rods and coiled springs through the spring coils and
eyes, and connecting spring-links for the upper free ends of said three armed
springs, substantially as described.
5. A seat or cushion for furniture and other uses, composed of a supporting
frame, comprising rods or bars, one or more of which are composed of coiled springs,
a suitable foot holder composed of a rigid rod, and a series of three armed springs
provided with spring coils and eyes by which they are strung upon said supporting
frame and foot holder, the coiled springs of said supporting frame engaging the
uppermost coils and eyes of the three armed spring, substantially as described.
Dated the 15th day of October 1894.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.