Improvements in Folding Chairs.
Year: 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE NORTH WESTERN WIRE MATTRESS
COMPANY, & Corporation organized and existing under and by virtue
the laws of the State of Wisconsin, and having its principal place of business
at Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States of America.]
Improvements in Folding Chairs.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained, in and by the following
statement:-
1
11ted in the accompanying
COMPANY, a corporation organized and existing
ԱԱԱԵԼ
the laws of the State of Wisconsin, and having its principal place of business
at Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States of America.]
Improvements in Folding Chairs.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained, in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to folding chairs and is illustrated in the accompanying
drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chair embodying my improvement.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same chair.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the chair folded.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of the chair.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the same.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of the same when folded.
AA are side rails separated from each other a little more than the width of the
seat of the chair. B is the seat. CC are the legs supporting the front of the
seat. Said legs are preferably located between the side rails, A. A., and
pivoted on a rung A', extending through said legs and said side rails. At
their lower end, said legs, C. C. may be joined to each other by a rung, C¹³ or
otherwise. The upper ends of the side rails may or may not be joined to each
other by a bar B³.
At their upper ends, said legs, C, C, are hinged to the front of the seat, B,
at C. D is the back of the chair. This is located above the seat, B, and between
the side rails A. A and hinged to the latter at or near the middle of the lateral
edges of the back at a distance above the hinge, B¹ mentioned below substantially
equal to half the distance between said hinge B', and said hinge C. A hinge,
marked D', is preferably located at the front of the back D, and in the rear half
of the side rails, A, A, so that when the chair is opened, the lower portion of the
back will stand rearward of the side rails and so that when the back is rotated
upon said hinge until the upper end becomes the lower end, the back will occupy
the front portion of the space between the side rails A A, as indicated by the
dotted lines in Figure 3. A hinge marked B', joins the rear edge of the seat B
to the lower edge of the back D.
In folding the chair, the seat, B and the upper ends of the legs C, C, are pushed
backward through the space between the side rails A, A. This causes the lower
portion of the back D, to move rearward and upward on the hinge D', whereby
the rear end of the seat B, is also carried backward and the upper end of the
back D, turned downward. In other words, the back D, makes nearly a half
rotation on the hinge D¹, and carries the rear end of the seat B, rearward and
upward until the hinge B', and the meeting ends of the seat and back are between
If the side rails, A, A, are of a
the side rails, A, A, as indicated in Figure 3.
width equal to the combined thickness of the back and seat, the back and seat
will just fill the space between said side rails, as shown in Figure 3. And the
legs C. C, may be of the same width as the side rails A, A, so that they will just
fill the space at the inner side of the side rails A, A. The location of the several
hinges is to be such as to bring the legs C, C, and the seat B, into line with each

page_text: each other.
other and within the side rails A, A, when the seat and back have been folded upon
When the chair has been folded as shown in Figure 3, the hinge formed on the
rung A', the hinge joining the legs, C, C, and the seat. B, and the hinge joining
the seat B and the back D are substantially in line, and the meeting ends of the
legs C C and the seat B, may be moved either forward or backward. The forward
movement is the proper one, and the inovement in the opposite direction is pre-
vented by a stop A', applied to one or both of the side rails A, A, and made to
extend into the way of the legs, C, C, or seat B.
To prevent the upper end of the legs, C, C, and the seat B from moving forward
and downward, a stop B', of any suitable form and supported by the seat B, may
be fitted to engage the side rails A, A, from the rear. In the drawings, the
stop B², is shown as applied to the bottom of the seat, B, at the rear of the side
rail A, and the stop A, so that said stops B2, and A³, are exposed to each other.
This forward movement of the seat may also be prevented by a stop A³, arranged
to effect engagement between the upper portion of the back B, and the side
rail A, whereby the rearward movement of the upper portion of the back D is
limited.
If the bar, B³ be omitted, the upper ends of the side rails A, A, may be held in
their proper positions through the hinge D'. In this case, the side rails A, A, need
not extend higher than said hinge.
The portion of the back D, between the hinge D', and the hinge B', virtually
constitutes a link controlling the rear portion of the seat, B.
It will be observed
that the movement of the seat would be the same if the portion of the back above
the hinge D, were removed. It will be observed further that the movement of the
seat would be the same if a distinct piece extended from each hinge D', downward
to the adjacent corner of the seat B.
Such a construction is illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. In said construction,
the side rails, rungs, legs, seat, and the bar B³, are the same as in the preceding
figures. But the back and seat are not hinged to each other. On the contrary,
the upper portion of the back is hinged to the side rails A, A, at D2, and the lower
end thereof is free, while each rear corner of the scat B, is joined to the lower
end of a link D³, which link has its upper end hinged to the side rail, A, at D',
substantially the point at which the hinge, D', in Figure 1, is located. The back
is shown as extending between the links D, and resting against inwardly directed
lugs D, at the rear of said back. When the chair is to be folded, the seat B, and
the upper ends of the legs C are pushed rearward between the side rails A, and
the rear end of the seat B, is carried rearward and upward by the links D³,
in the same manner as the seat is carried rearward and upward by the back D, in
Figure 1.
It is to be noted that the back may be altogether omitted, the back of the
person occupying the chair being allowed to rest against the bar B³, which is in
fact a fixed back. And if desired, more bars, B³, may be placed below the one
shown within the space occupied by the back D when folded.
- Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :
1. The combination of the legs, C, C, side rails A, A, seat B, hinged to said
legs at its front, and a link connection hinged to the rear edge of said seat and
extending thence upward a distance substantially equal to half the distance
between the hinges at the front and rear of said seat and there hinged to the
Bide-rails, A, A, these several parts being otherwise so spaced and hinged as to
allow said legs, seat, and link connection to fold parallel with and entirely within
the space between the side-rails, A, A, and a stop to limit the forward movement
of the seat and upper ends of the legs when the chair is unfolded, substantially as
described.

page_text: 2. The combination of the legs, C, C, side-rails A, A, seat B, hinged to said legs
at its front, and a link connection hinged to the rear edge of said seat and extending
thence upward a distance substantially equal to half the distance between the
hinges at the front and rear of said seat and there hinged to the side-rails, A, A,
these several parts being otherwise so spaced and hinged as to allow said legs seat
and link connection to fold parallel with and entirely within the space between the
side-rails, A, A, and a stop to limit the forward movement of the seat and upper
ends of the legs when the chair is unfolded, and a stop to limit the rearward move-
ment of said legs and seat, substantially as described.
3. The combination of the side rails A, A, legs C, C, seat B, hinged at its front
to said legs back D, hinged at its lower end to the rear of said seat, and hinged at
its sides to the side rails A, A, at proper position to allow said lower end and
the rear end of said seat to pass rearward and upward between the side-rails, A, A,
into a position parallel with and wholly within the space between the side rails A, A,
while the legs C, C, fold parallel to and wholly within the space between the side-
rails A, A.
4. The combination of the side-rails, A, A, legs C, C, hinged to said side-rails,
seat B, hinged by its front to the upper ends of the lege C, C, back D, hinged by
its lower end to the rear end of the seat B, and near its middle to the side-
rails, A, A, these several parts being so spaced and hinged as to fold parallel to and
wholly within the space between the side-rails A, A, and a stop for limiting the
forward movement of said seat and the upper ends of the legs C, C, substantially
as shown and described.
5. The combination of the side rails A, A, legs C, C, hinged to said side-rails,
seat B, hinged by its front to the upper ends of the legs C, C, back D, hinged by
its lower end to the rear end of the seat B, and near its middle to the side-
rails A, A, these several parts being so spaced and hinged as to fold parallel to and
wholly within the space between the side-rails A, A, and stops A2, B2, for limiting
the forward movement of the seat and the upper ends of the legs C, C, substantially
as shown and described.
6. The combination of the side-rails A, A, legs C, C, hinged to said side-rails,
seat B, hinged by its front to the upper ends of the legs, C, C, back D, hinged by
its lower end to the rear end of the seat B, and near its middle and forward of the
plane of said back to the side-rails A A these several parts being so spaced and
hinged as to fold parallel to and wholly within the space between the side rails A, A,
and a stop for limiting the forward movement of said seat and the upper ends of
the legs C, C, substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 7th day of February 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.