Improvements in Seats, chiefly designed for use in Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Seats, chiefly designed for use in Railway
Vehicles.
I, HARRIS ANSEL WHEELER, of 652, Monroe Street, Chicago, United States
of America, Gentleman, 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 invention relates to that class of seats employed in cars and other places,
which have a shiftable back and seat cushion whereby the facing direction of the
seat and the inclination of the cushion may be changed at will.
The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved, simple and
durable construction whereby the seat back may be readily shifted forward and
back to change the facing direction, and if desired also simultaneously alter the
inclination of the seat cushion to suit either position.
Another object of the invention is to have the construction of such a character
that the parts which are liable to severe shock and strain may be composed of
ordinary bar steel or forgings and thus avoid the use of castings liable to break
while at the same time lightening and cheapening the construction.
Another object of the invention is to cause the bodily throw of the back by a
comparatively short arm pivoted far up under the seat cushion and to prevent the
seat back from inclining to too great a degree by causing its upper edge to auto-
matically recede towards the seat or in a direction opposite to that in which such
arm moves when the back is being shifted whereby the upper end of the arm
may move throughout a greater degree of a circle than does the top or upper edge
of the back and the arm may consequently undergo a sufficient movement to
throw the lower edge of the back from side to side of the cushion without im-
parting too great a movement to the upper edge of the back.
A further object of the invention is to provide improved and simple means
whereby the seat back may be readily adjusted for either a sitting or a reclining
posture.
And a still further object of the invention is to provide an improved seat of the
reversible character which shall be of such a construction that the seat cushions
thereof, during storage or shipment, may be stacked in a compact pile or form,
notwithstanding the necessity for the employment of the usual rockers under
such cushions for supporting them in the position for use on the seat frame.
With these ends in view the invention consists in certain features of novelty
in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts by which the said
objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully.
described with reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly
pointed out in the claims.
In the said drawings,
Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of a car seat embodying my improve-
ments, the section being taken on the line 1-1 Figure 3, the seat cushion and
its_supporting rockers being shown in dotted lines.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the seat cushion and its supporting sills looking

page_text: Figure 3 is a plan view of the seat frame with the back and cushion removed,
one end of such frame being broken away..
Figure 4 is an end elevation of the back showing a modification whereby the
inclination of the back may be varied at will.
Figure 5 is a rear elevation thereof looking from the right in Figure 4, and
Figure 6 is a detail of a modification hereinafter described.
In carrying out the invention one end only of the seat is shown but it will be
understood that the mechanism is the same at both ends and therefore the descrip-
tion of one end will suffice for the two.
1 represents one of the end frames of the seat supported upon suitable legs or
standards 2 having longitudinal sills 3 which connect the end frames of the seat
together and support the seat cushion 4 in a well known or any suitable manner.
The seat cushion 4 which is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and in full lines in
Figure 2, is made detachable from and rests upon the usual rockers 5, one of
which is arranged at or near each end of the cushion and extends across the beveled
edges of the sills 3 in the usual manner, but instead of securing the cushion 4
permanently to the rockers 5 such rockers 5 are provided in their upper edges
with a recess or notch 6 while the bottom of the seat cushion is provided with
one or more longitudinal ribs or blocks 7 which fit into the recess 6 of the rockers 5
and thus securely hold the seat cushion from sliding out of place. In order that
the rockers 5 which rest loosely upon the sills 3 may be compelled to retain their
relative positions such rockers are connected together by a cross-bar 8. With this
construction it will be seen that when it is desired to take the cushion off and stack
it up with others of like construction for shipment or storage it may be readily
lifted off the seat and disposed in a compact and neat pile without having the
rockers, which have heretofore been attached, defeat this desirable end.
Pivoted at 9 to the inner side of each of the end frames 1; or as shown in this
particular form to a plate 1 secured to such frame 1, is an arm 10 whose extreme
upper end is pivoted at 11 to the end of the back 12 or to an arm 12" forming a
part of the end frame of such back. The lower end of each of the arms 10 is
secured to a crank shaft having a cranked portion 13 journaled at 9 in the
plates 1 of the end frames, and a longitudinal portion 14 extending from end to
end of the seat and engaging in a yoke or notch 15 formed in the under side of
cach of the rockers 5, so that as the arms 10 are shifted or oscillated on their
pivots 9 the portion 14 will shift the rockers 5 forward and back on their sills 3
and consequently project the seat cushion to the right or to the left according
to the direction in which the back is shifted and simultaneously cause its projected
edge to rise and thereby impart to the cushion a comfortable inclination. The
arm 10 is preferably composed of a more or less flat bar of steel or forging so
as to occupy but little space between the end frame 1 and the cushion, and such
arm is comparatively short and its pivot 9 located far up under the seat cushion
so that the lower end of the arm will be substantially excluded from view and
prevented from causing injury, but in order that the upper edge of the seat back
may not travel through the same degree of a circle as does the upper end of the
arm 10, which would cause too great an inclination of the back for sitting posture.
such upper edge of the back is caused to swing on a greater radius than the distance
between such upper edge and the pivotal point 9 and in doing this the upper edge
of the back is compelled to recede towards the seat cushion in a direction the
opposite of the direction in which its lower edge moves. To accomplish this
movement the following described mechanism is resorted to, which not only
effects this desired end but is compact, simple, durable and inexpensive. The
lower end of the frame 12ª is extended slightly below the lower edge of the back
in the form of an arm 12b and is provided with a pivot or stud 16 which engages
in a slot 17 formed in the upper end of a lever 18 which is pivoted at 19 to the
arm 10 at about its mid-length while its lower end is provided with a slot 20
engaging over a stud 21 fixed to the end frame 1, or as shown in this specific form of
the invention, to the plate 1ª, thus providing the lever 18 with sliding connection at

page_text: its lower end with the fixed stud, and sliding connection at its upper end with the
lower edge of the back.
When power is applied to the back 12 for shifting it to the opposite side of the
seat the arm 10 on one side will transmit such power through the intermediary
of the cranked shaft 13-14, to the arm 10 at the other end of the seat, both of
such arms 10 being rigidly secured to the said cranked shaft 13-14 and both
ends of the back will consequently move in unison without torsional strain. The
parts are so proportioned and arranged that when the arm 10 reaches a vertical
position all of the centers 9-21-19–16 and 11 will be substantially in line but
as soon as the arm 10 is shifted from a vertical position the lever 18 by virtue of
its pivotal connection at 19 with the arm 10 and the fixed pivotal connection at
its lower end, will begin to shift the centre 16 to the right or to the left of such
straight line according to the direction in which the arm 10 is moving, it being
always in the direction of movement of the arm 10 but at a greater rate of speed
than that portion of the arm 10 immediately contiguous to the pivot 16, so that
the lower end of the arm 12b will be shifted to the right if the back be moving to
the right, and the back caused to turn on the pivot 11 whereby the upper edge
of the back will be caused to recede towards the seat or in a direction the opposite
of that in which the lower edge of the back moves and hence instead of the back
being thrown down at an angle in line with the arm 10 it will be brought back
to a position suitable for a sitting posture. The movement of the parts is limited
in both directions by stops 22 secured to the plate 1* on the end frame of the
seat and receiving the impact of the lever, 18.
All of these parts it will be seen may be constructed of plain bar steel or forg-
ings whereby they may be made comparatively thin and yet possess the requisite
strength, and even the cranked shaft 13-14 may be made as a continuation of
the arms 10 and integral therewith as indicated in Figure 6, the arm 10 in that
event being pivoted at 9 to the end frame or to the plate 1" instead of being
supported upon the cranked shaft 13-14, as in the other form, which constitutes
the pivot of the arm.
In Figures 4 and 5 is illustrated the slight modification of the construction
shown in Figure 1 whereby the back may be thrown down at a greater angle
should the sitter desire to rest in a reclining posture. In' accomplishing this
the upper end of the arm 12, which is secured to the back, is provided with a
slot 23 in which engages a stud or pivot pin 24 secured to the upper end of the
arm 10. Also pivoted to this stud 24 is a plate 25 whose lower end carries a
pivot stud 26 engaging in the slot 17 of the lever 18. The lower end of the
arm 12b instead of being held by the pivot 16 is seated in one of three
sockets 27-28-29 formed on the lower end of the plate 25. The edges or walls
of the middle socket 28 are sufficiently low to permit the entire back and arm 12" to
be raised with relation to the stud 24 and the lower end of the arm 12b lifted over
into either the socket 27 or 29 according to the direction in which it is desired
to incline the back. Should the back be in the position shown in the drawing it
would simply be necessary to lift upward on the lower edge thereof until the
arm 12 disengaged from the middle socket; it would then fall of its own accord
until the lower end of the arm struck the outer wall of the socket 29 which outer
wall of the socket 29 as well as the outer wall of the socket 27 is sufficiently high
to prevent the lower end of the arin 12b from passing it before the lower end
of the slot 23 comes against the stud 24 as the back is lifted. Thus it will be
seen that the back may be readily and conveniently thrown into position for
either a sitting or a reclining posture.
Having now particularly described ant 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 The herein described improvements in reversible seats in which the back
is pivotally and bodily movable in combination with the means substantially as

page_text: described for causing the upper edge of the back to recede towards the seat or in
a direction the reverse of that in which the lower edge of the back moves, sub-
stantially as set forth and shown.
2: A seat having in combination a shiftable back, a pivoted arm having pivotal
connection with said back and forming a support therefor, a lever having a
slotted end and being pivoted to said pivoted arm, a fixed fulcrum or pivot engaging
in said slotted end, an arm projecting down from said back and having pin and
slot connection with said lever at a point between the pivots which connect the
pivotal arm with the back and the lever with the pivotal arm, substantially as
set forth and shown.
3: A seat having in combination a shiftable back, having a depending arm, a
pivoted arm pivotally connected to said back, a lever pivoted to said pivoted arm
at a point between the pivot of the latter and the pivot which connects said pivoted
arm with the back, a fixed stud or fulcrum having sliding connection with said
lever at a point between the pivot of said pivoted arm and the pivot of said lever,
and a sliding connection between the other end of said lever and said depending
arm of the back, said latter connection being located between the pivot of the
lever and the pivot which connects said pivoted arm with the back, substantially
as set forth and shown.
4: The herein described improvements in reversible seats in which the back
is pivotally and bodily movable from side to side, in combination with means
substantially as described for causing the upper edge of the back to recede
towards the seat in a direction opposite to that in which the lower edge of the
back moves, and means substantially as described for permitting the back to drop
back to a reclining position, substantially as set forth and shown.
5: A seat having in combination, a shiftable back, a pivotal arm pivoted to said
back, a lever having one end fulcrumed and being operatively connected with said
arm, a plate pivotally connected with said arm and having sliding connection with
the other end of said lever, a series of sockets carried by said plate, and a detachable
projection on the back adapted to engage in said sockets, the end sockets being
deeper than the intermediate one, substantially as set forth and shown.
6. The herein described improvements in reversible seats in which the seat
cushion is detachable from its supporting sills and such sills and cushion having
interlocking means for holding them in place, in combination with means for
shifting the sills from side to side, substantially as set forth and shown.
7: A seat having in combination the sills 3, the rockers supported upon said
sills, a bar 8 connecting said rockers together, a seat cushion detachably supported
upon said rockers, and means for shifting said rockers, substantially as set forth
and shown.
Dated this 7th day of October 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.