Improvements in or relating to School Desks, Forms, and other Articles of Furniture.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1894-Accepted, 5th May, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to School Desks, Forms, and other
Articles of Furniture.
A communication from Messrs. RAMMINGER AND STETTER, of 1, Eugenstrasse,
Stuttgart, Germany, Manufacturers of School Desks.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
The object of the hereinafter described improvement in the kind of articles or
objects specified, consists essentially in being able to make use of such articles, by
adjusting their height, for persons of different ages, that is to say of different
heights. This is of especial value in the case of school forms and seats, since
owing to room or pecuniary needs, it is often necessary to make one and the same
form do for different classes of scholars, and therefore, from a hygienic point of
view, it is very desirable that the form and seat should be capable of easy
adjustment.
This adjustment of height in the specified articles is obtained by means of a toothed
spring rack, as it were, the construction of which is seen from the accompanying
sheet of drawings. Amongst the many articles to which this invention is applicable,
the drawings show it as applied to a school bench or desk for two scholars.
Fig. 1, is a vertical side view of the desk. Fig. 2, is a corresponding front view.
Fig. 3, is a plan. Figs. 4 and 5 are drawn to a larger scale and show more clearly
the vertical adjustability of the table. It is now supposed that different heights,
four in number, are to be given to the table or seat, though naturally any other
number may be selected. For this purpose the tongue of the table support F
has teeth below on both its sides and can slide in the foot G which has also teeth.
The teeth off and G correspond in such manner that the teeth of ƒ fit into the
corresponding indents of G, or vice versa. The shape of the teeth may be pointed
like a cone, as shown in the drawings, or they may be of a round or other shape,
they must however always be such that the parts of the same, to which a certain
amount of spring is given by a slit g in the tongue f, can automatically spring
back on the support
being slid up or down in the foot G. The tongue is fixed
fast by means of a slightly conical wedge m which is held fast, hinge fashion, to
the plate M made fast in the tongue f, and as seen in Figs. 2 and 5 can be turned
up. The wedge m takes into the slit g and presses both the spring parts of the
tongue f, with their teeth, tight against the teeth of the foot G in such manner
that the tongue of the support and the table foot are then connected firmly with
one another. The seat A of Fig. 1 is made adjustable in a similar manner to the
table of Figs. 4 and 5, in that the spring toothed tongue of the seat support H
engages in the toothed part of the foot J and is held fast by means of the wedge m¹
engaging in the slit k of the tongue of the seat support..
A further way of adjusting the table is shown in Fig. 1 but the difference as
compared with Fig. 4 is only one of construction. Instead of one slit in the
tongue of the support there are two slits in the table foot and they are so arranged
that the wooden parts of the table foot G, situated between the teeth and the slits,
can act in a spring manner. The fixing is then effected by means of two wedges
seated on a common plate and engaging both the slits.

page_text: The adjustability of table and seat, especially in the case of school desks, is not
always sufficient if the same school bench has to answer for scholars of different
ages, a further improvement, one in connection with the table, therefore becomes
necessary, which allows of the shoving back (not the folding to) of the latter, so
that the scholar can conveniently rise and remain standing and can also get to and
from his place with ease. Moreover the table can be adjusted slopingly for reading
purposes.
In order to push back or to adjust the table portion in a sloping manner, the
table portion consists of several parts D, D', D2, which are connected with one
another by means of hinges or joints in such manner that the hinges connecting D
with D will come below whilst those connecting D₁ with D² will come above.
Moreover a slide e is connected with the table plate D by means of a hinge d and
this slide e is guided in slide ways e¹ which are fastened to the board E of the
table and it is to be mentioned that the board E runs the entire length of the desk.
If the table plate D is pushed back it will then move from the position at the
left of Fig. 1 to that shown at the right of the same figure, and the slide e. lies on
the back of the bench, the two portions of the table D and D' being held fast'
in the raised position.
The part. D of the table runs throughout the entire school bench, and is
fastened to the same.
Each scholar has his own particular slope D, D¹, and can push back the same to
suit himself.
It is therefore an easy matter for the scholar to regulate the minimum horizontal
distance for writing purposes between table and seat by means of pushing back
the slope, or the requisite plus distance for reading purposes, or vice versa.
If it is not desired to adjust this seat then when the table is to be adjusted the
foot-board C must be made adjustable, for this object the foot-board is seated
on two sloping rails c, e¹ one of which has indents or teeth, into which pins on the
foot-board C can take, and which hold fast the adjustable foot-board. According
to the number of indents or teeth in the strips c the foot-board can be adjusted to
varying heights.
In order that the back B. of the seat can be adjusted similarly to the adjust-
ability of the table, supports bare fastened to the side parts of the seats supports,
do there run obliquely, and winged nuts and bolts pass through slits, or the back
may be adjusted in any suitable way.
School benches therefore which are provided with the herein before described
improvement offer the advantage that they fulfil all requirements which either
hygienic or pedagogical requirements may demand, and the same bench can be
made use of indifferently for scholars of varying ages.
The adjustable arrangement can as has been mentioned in the title be made
use of for various other articles of furniture.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A toothed slotted spring arrangement for adjusting the height of articles of
furniture, and in particular of school forms and seats as well as of writing, and
reading desks, characterised by both parts which are to be adjusted being provided
with rows of teeth, and behind which in either the one or the other part, or in both
parts, there are slits or slots at such a distance that during the adjustment the rows
of teeth can yield by reason of the springyness, whilst by the insertion of a
wedge shaped piece into such slot the springy nature of the rows of teeth provided
with the slot is done away with, and both adjustable parts are held tight to one
another.
2. In school benches with a toothed slotted arrangement of the kind specified
under Claim 1, the further requisite appliance for allowing the table to be pushed
back consisting in several parts jointed together, and which can be pushed

page_text: together, whereby when pushed together, and automatically held fast, the front
broad part of the table stands slopingly, whilst in the drawn out position of the
table, it is supported by means of one or more slides sliding in guide ways, or in
any other suitable way.
001 1004
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.