IMPROVE MENTS IN RAILWAY CAR SEATS AND ARM CHAIRS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jozé Luis, of the British and Foreign Office for
Patents, No. 1º, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, London, in the
County of Middlesex, (Patent Agent,) for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN RAILWAY CAR SEATS AND ARM CHAIRS."-A communication
from abroad by Bernard Joachim La Mothe, No. 10, Rue Mogador,
Paris, in the Empire of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jozé Luis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th July 1859.
I, JOZE LUIS, of the British and Foreign Office for Patents, No. 1", Welbeck
Street, Cavendish Square, London, in the County of Middlesex, (Patent
Agent,) do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY CAR SEATS AND ARM CHAIRS," & that it has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Bernard Joachim La Mothe, No. 10, Rue
Mogador, Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
My improvements in the construction of seats or chairs of all descriptions
for rooms, railway carriages, vessels, render them perfectly comfortable either
for home use or travelling, and consist in making the back of the chair
movable, so as to take a position more or less sloping, at the desire of the
person making use of the seat, whereas the present immovable angle and fixity
of the seat or chair are the cause of considerable fatigue, especially during

page_text: travelling it is to avoid this inconvenience that I introduce the present
improvements.
The pieces employed in the construction are two metal springs of the same
form and size, strongly attached to each other at a distance conform to the
desired width of the seat; the connection of these two springs is made by
a piece of sheet iron, wire gauze, or wood, this serves as the seat. The
arms and legs of the chair, &c., can be made of wood, metal, or any other sub-
stance, and having any form that may be desired. A strong fastening of metal
or wood, &c., unites the arms and legs of the chair. A slide, groove, or roller
of metal or otherwise is firmly attached at at proper height, each side of the
chair to the frame or legs, and in or on these the two springs above mentioned
are held so as to slide either backwards or forwards. The back is attached to
the arms or frame of the chair, but in such a manner as to be subject to the
movement of the seat, and so incline or not, according to the direction the seat
is moved by the person occupying it. Thus by a forward motion of the seat,
the back inclines more or less, & by a backward movement the contrary takes
place. The back seat & arms of the chair can have any form, and be stuffed
or not, as desired, and as well as the frame be made of wood, iron, or other
substance. By attaching the back to the chair by means of a movable iron
rod or bar on each side, having their support on the arms of the chair, the back
can be made to act on either side of the seat, a great advantage when the seats
are fixed, as in railway carriages.
By means of the above simple arrangements the person occupying the seat
can at will change bis position, and thus avoid the fatigue and discomfort of
being obliged to retain the same position; this is one among the many
advantages obtained by the improvements I have introduced in the construction
of chair & other seats.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jozé Luis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOZE
LUIS, of the British and Foreign Office for Patents, No. 15, Welbeck Street,
Cavendish Square, London, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Jozé Luis, Her special licence that I, the said Jozé Luis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Jozé Luis, my 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY CAR SEATS AND ARM CHAIRS,' a communication from
abroad by Bernard Joachim La Mothe, No. 10, Rue Mogador, Paris, in the
Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jozé
Luis, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describo
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same 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 Jozé Luis, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My improvements in the construction of seats or chairs of all descriptions
for rooms, railway carriages, or vessels, render them perfectly comfortable
either for home use or travelling, and consist in making the back of the chair
moveable, so as to take a position more or less sloping, at the desire of the
person making use of the seat, whereas the present immoveable angle and
fixity of the seat or chair are the cause of considerable fatigue, especially
whilst travelling. It is to avoid this inconvenience that I wish to introduce
the present improvements.
Fig. 1 represents a front view of the chair in a finished state; Fig. 2, a side
view of the skeleton of the chair; the dotted lines show the same in another
position. The same letters correspond to the same parts in each of the
Figures.
The pieces employed in the construction are two metal springs A, A, Fig. 2,
of the same form and size, strongly attached to each other at a distance con-
formable to the desired width of the seat; the connection of the springs is
made by a piece of sheet iron, wire gauze, wood, or other substance, which.
serves as the scat. The arms and logs B, B, Figs. 1 & 2, of the chair may be

page_text: made of any material and in any form that may be desired. A strong wooden
or metal fastening C, Fig. 1, unites the arms and legs of the chair or seat. A
groove or slide D, D, furnished with a roller of metal or otherwise, is firmly
attached at a proper height on each side of the chair to the frame or legs, and
in or on these the two springs A, A, above mentioned are held, so as to slide
either backwards or forwards. The back E, E, Figs. 1 & 2, is fastened to the
arms or frame of the chair in such a manner as to be subject to the movement
of the seat, and to either incline or not, according to the direction in which the
seat is moved by the person occupying it. Thus by a forward motion of the
seat the back inclines in a greater or lesser degree, whilst by a backward move-
ment the contrary takes place. The back, seat, and arms of the chair can be
made of any shape, and either stuffed or not, as desired. They may also, as
well as the frame, be made of iron, wood, or other suitable material. By
attaching the back to the chair by means of a moveable iron rod or bar on
each side, having their support on the arms of the chair, the back can be made
to act on either side of the seat, a great advantage when the seats are fixed as
in railway carriages.
By means of the above simple arrangement the person occupying the seat
can at will change his position, and thus avoid the fatigue and discomfort of
being obliged to retain the same position; this is among the many advantages
obtained by the improvements I have introduced in the construction of chairs
and other seats.
The groove or slide above mentioned D, D, in or upon which the seat freely
moves can be furnished or not with rollers, as may be thought preferable.
The metal springs may also be omitted, the seat being made to move in a
simple slide. A support for the feet may be connected with the seat, and when
not required can be kept under the seat. It can be made to advance either
by means of springs or otherwise. When the seat would be subjected to
concussion, as in a railway carriage, boat, &c., in order to obtain greater
stability in any of the positions required by the occupant, the seat or back, or
both of them, may be held firm by a catch of any form or make preferred.
It will be perceived that this seat differs materially from any other seat
known in this very important feature, that when the back of the seat is on the
incline it has risen several inches above the seat itself, and by this means a
rest for the head is provided when required only, whilst in other reclining
seats the back is always the same height, and is then an inconvenience to the
occupant, and, besides, the seat is not so elegant in appearance, and con-
sequently is not suitable for saloons, &c.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner in which the same

page_text: is or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do
not confine myself to the above details, as they may be varied or modified
to suit circumstances; what I claim is, the arrangement above described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings, by which the back of the seat inclines
more or less, according to the position of the seat, and also the elongation of
the back in proportion to the forward motion of the seat itself, together
with the elliptical form of the springs A, A, above mentioned, as applied
to seats.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jozé Luis, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 2nd day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty.