IMPROVEMENTS IN RECLINING OR INVALIDS' CHAIRS AND IN SWINGING OR SHIPS' CHAIRS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Thomas Hassall, of the Firm of Hassall and
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers,
and Michael Burke, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Cabinet
Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RECLINING OR INVALIDS'
CHAIRS AND IN SWINGING OR SHIPS' CHAIRS."
Sealed the 19th September 1862, and dated the 3rd April 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Thomas Hassall
and Michael Burke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 3rd April 1862.
We, HENRY THOMAS HASSALL, of the Firm of Hassall and Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, and MICHAEL
BURKE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Cabinet Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RECLINING OR
INVALIDS' CHAIRS, AND IN SWINGING OR SHIPS' CHAIRS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in constructing reclining or invalids' chairs in
the following manner :-The back and seat are jointed together, and the arms
are also jointed to the back. The front of the chair by which the footboard is
carried is also jointed to the front of the seat, and rods or bars rising on either
side from the said front are jointed to the front ends of the arms. Each side
of the chair thus consists of a parallelogram, of which the arm and.edge of the
seat constitute two opposite horizontal sides, and the lower part of the back

page_text: and the rod or bar connecting the arm to the seat and front of the chair the
two opposite vertical sides. The moving parts described are supported on a
fixed frame, to which they are jointed by joints in the vertical sides of the
parallelogram, the said joints being situated about the middle of the said
vertical sides. When a person sits on the chair he may by a very slight
exertion cause the back seat and front carrying the footboard to assume a
nearly horizontal position, or by inclining his body in any position between
that and a vertical one he may cause the moving parts of the chair to take
any inclination he may wish.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in constructing swinging or ships' chairs
in the following manner :-We support the seat and back of the chair and the
footboard upon a fixed frame, the parts described being so hung to the frame
that they swing laterally and preserve an upright position, although the fixed
frame may be inclined. The connection to the fixed frame is effected at two
points, one at the back and the other at the front of the seat. The back of
the seat is suspended from a pin or centre a little above the centre of gravity
of the chair, and the front of the seat is supported on a roller on which it
travels as the chair swings.
The arrangement first described for giving a backward and forward motion
to reclining chairs may be combined with the oscillatory lateral motion of the
swinging chair. We also give a lateral swinging motion to chairs by making
the back of a jointed parallelogram which can change its figure, as the fixed
frame which carries it is moved out of the perpendicular. The arms and seat
are connected with the back, and the chair is suspended on centres situated
below the arms and a little above the centre of gravity of the chair.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Thomas Hassall and Michael Burke in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 30th September 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
THOMAS HASSALL, of the Firm of Hassall and Company, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, and MICHAEL BURKE, of Liverpool,
in the County of Lancaster, Cabinet Maker, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the

page_text: :
said Henry Thomas Hassall and Michael Burke, Her special licence, that we,
the said Henry Thomas Hassall and Michael Burke, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Henry Thomas Hassall and
Michael Burke, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter,
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RECLINING OR INVALIDS' CHAIRS, AND IN SWINGING OR SHIPS' CHAIRS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Thomas Hassall and
Michael Burke, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samė
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Thomas Hassall, on behalf of
myself and the said Michael Burke, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in constructing reclining or invalids' chairs
in the manner herein-after described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of
the accompanying Drawing.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the skeleton or framework of a
reclining or invalids' chair, constructed according to our Invention; Figure 2
represents a front elevation of the same; and Figure 3. represents the said
chair when the moving parts have been made to assume a nearly horizontal
position. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1,
2, and 3.
The back a and seat 6 of the chair are jointed together at c, and the arms &
are also jointed at e to the said back a. The front f of the chair by which the
footboard or rest g is carried is also jointed at h to the front of the seat 6, the
prolonged ends of the front bars f rising on either side from the said front or
bars f, being jointed at i to the front ends of the arms d. Each side of the
chair thus consists of a parallelogram, of which the arm d and edge of the
seat 6 constitute two opposite horizontal sides, and the lower part of the back a
and the prolonged part f' of the front of the two opposite vertical sides, as will
be understood by an examination of Figure 1. The moving parts described.

page_text: .are supported on a fixed frame k, to which they are jointed at l, m, on the
vertical sides of the parallelogram, the said joints being situated about the
middle of the said vertical sides. The footboard or rest 9 is jointed at g³ to
the bottom of the front f of the chair. When the footboard g is in use it is
turned into the position represented in dotted lines in Figure 1. The frame k
is supported at back and front by stays n, n. The moving parts and fixed
frame of the chair are made of thin bars or plates of metal bent into the
shapes represented; or, the said parts may be made partly of wood and partly
of metal, or wholly of wood.
When a person sits on the chair, Figures 1 and 2, he may, by a very slight
exertion, cause the back a, seat b, arms d, and front f, fs, to assume a nearly
horizontal position, as represented in Figure 3, and thereby to convert the
chair into a bedstead or couch; or, by inclining his body in any position
between a horizontal one and a vertical one, he may cause the moving parts of
the chair to tr, any inclination he may wish. The skeleton frame of the
chair is ornanted by attaching thereto the required ornamental parts,
and the cha is finished by the addition of coverings and cushions in the
ordinary way
Our Invention consists, secondly, in constructing swinging or ships' chairs,
in the manner herein-after described and illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the
accompanying Drawing, Figure 4 being a front elevation, and Figure 5, a side
elevation of a swinging or ships' chair, made according to our Invention. The
same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 4 and 5.
In the said chair, Figures 4 and 5, we support the seat o, back p, and front
q, carrying the footboard r upon a fixed frames, the said frame being, by pre-
ference, permanently fixed to the floor supporting the chair. The connection
of the moving parts to the fixed frames is effected at two points, one at the
back and the other at the front of the seat o. The back of the seat o is sus-
pended by an arm t, turning upon a pin u, near the top of the upright v; the
said upright v being secured in the manner represented to the fixed frame s.
The front of the seat is supported by a nearly semicircular plate w, fixed to
the said seat of the chair. The said plate w is supported upon rollers x, x,
situated in a plately, having nearly the same curvature as the plate w; or the
rollers x, x, may be dispensed with and the plate w made to bear directly on
the curved plate y.. The said plate w'is guided in its motion upon the plate y
by the ears on either side of the said plate y. The plate in which the'roller's
x, x, work is secured to the fixed frames in the manner represented. As the
seat o is moved laterally, the said seat turns at back upon the pin u and travels
at front upon the rollers x, x. By banging the moving parts of the chair in

page_text: the manner described and represented, the said parts preserve an upright
position, although the fixed frames may be inclined. The seat and moving
parts may be fixed in any position by a small bolt on the top of the side of the
frame s. The arms p³ and bars p³ may be rivetted or rigidly connected to the
uprights p', carried by the frames; but when it is required to make the chair,
Figures 4 and 5, capable of taking the backward and forward positions
described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3, the arms p' and bars p³ are
jointed to the bars p and q, and the parts p and q are jointed to the uprights pt;
in the manner represented in Figure 5. In this case the cushions or seat is
carried by the bars p³.
Our Invention consists further in constructing swinging or rocking chairs in
the manner represented in Figure 6, which Figure 6 represents 'in side eleva-
tion a swinging or rocking chair, made according to our Invention. 2 is the
seat of the chair, and 3 the back of the same. The said seat and back are
capable of an oscillatory or rocking motion upon the fixed frame 4. The said
seat 2 is supported by two rods, one on either side of the seat, which rods pass
downwards, and are jointed near the bottom of the fixed frame 4. One of these
rods is marked 5, and the joint upon which it turns is marked 6. The said
seat 2 is also supported by the metal springs 7, 7, having the form repre-
sented. Springs similar to the springs 7, 7, are situated on both sides of the
One end of each of the springs 7, 7, is fixed to the under side of the
seat 2, and the other end to a pin on the fixed frame 4. In place of the metal
springs 7, 7, straps or bands of vulcanized india-rubber may be employed. By
the motion of the body on the seat 2 and against the back 3, an oscillatory or
rocking motion may be given to the said seat and back without imparting
motion to the frame 4. The chair may be provided with arms and a foot rest,
and may be made wholly of metal or wood, or partly of metal and partly of
seat 2.
wood.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do not
limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our
Invention; but we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, arranging or combining the parts of reclining or invalids' chairs,
essentially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1,
2, and 3, of the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly, arranging or combining the parts of swinging or ships' chairs,
essentially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 4
and 5 of the accompanying Drawing.

page_text: Thirdly, arranging or combining the parts of swinging or rocking chairs,
essentially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated in Figure 6
of the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Thomas Hassall, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERBETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
HENRY THOMAS HASSALL. (L.S.).