IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE TABLES, STANDS AND STOOLS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lewis Isaac, of Elysium Villas, Northumberland
Park, Tottenham, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE TABLES, STANDS
AND STOOLS."
Sealed the 7th September 1869, and dated the 28th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lewis Isaac at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition, on the
28th April 1869.
I, LEWIS ISAAC, of Elysium Villas, Northumberland Park, Tottenham,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE TABLES,
STANDS, AND STOOLS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in folding or collap-
sible tables, stands, and stools, and is designed to enable such articles
to be closed up within a small compass so as to occupy very little room
CD 87

page_text: when not required for use, and in some cases so that the top and base
framing of a small table or stool can be packed up within a tube, which
then serves as a walking stick, but in such manner that when the parts
are opened out and placed in position the tube shall serve as the leg of
the table, stand, or stool. For these purposes in large tables or stands
the framing of the top of the table or stand is formed by a combination
of hinged or jointed radial bars connected together by jointed tie rods,
and provided with hinged or jointed legs, which legs rest upon the floor
when the frame is open, and so support the outer portions of the table
or stand, whose central part is carried by a main pillar or support
provided with pullies or guides. Cords, ropes, or chains pass from the
radial arms over the pullies or guides, and are connected together, so that
by actuating a single cord, rope, or chain or its equivalent, the whole of
the framework of the table or stand can be drawn up around the main
pillar or support, leaving the space previously occupied by the table or
stand available for other purposes. The top of the table may either be
made of material that will fold up by the closing of the frame, or may
be composed of wood or other material capable of being removed before
the frame is closed.
In small portable tables, stands, and stools, cords and pullies are
dispensed with. The radial arms of the framing of the top of the table
or stool are hinged or jointed to a ring or collar, and are connected
together by jointed rods, so that when opened out the arms fit into
suitable slots or recesses in a tube or cap which fits on to one end of the
hollow leg of the table, stand, or stool, and is there secured in position
for use.
The lower part or base of the stand is likewise composed of
radial arms which are hinged or jointed to a vertical bar, the upper end
of which fits into or can be attached to the lower end of the leg. The
radial arms of the base or lower part of the stand are arranged some-
what like an umbrella frame with tie rods which are hinged or jointed
to a collar capable of sliding along the vertical bar so as to open out or
close up the base of the stand. When not in use both the top framing
and the base framing can be folded up and placed within the hollow
leg of the table or stool. Or the tube may be made in parts so as to
slide one upon another like the case of a telescope, and the framing
may be permanently attached to one part of the tube so as to fold up
within another part when not in use.

page_text: In some cases folding frames for the tops and bases of tables or
stands as described may be used together without the hollow leg or
tube.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Lewis Isaac in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEWIS
ISAAC, of Elysium Villas, Northumberland Park, Tottenham, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Het
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Lewis Isaac, Her special licence
that I, the said Lewis Isaac, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Lewis Isaac, my executors adminis-
trators 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 FOLDING OR
COLLAPSIBLE TABLES, STANDS, AND STOOLS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Lewis Isaac my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe 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 Lewls Isaac, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof (that is to say): -
This Invention is designed to enable table stands or stools to be closed
up within a small compass so as to occupy very little room when not

page_text: required for use, and in some cases so that the top and base framing of
a small table or stool can be packed up within a tube, which then serves
as a walking stick (made to carry an umbrella if desired) arranged in
such manner that when the parts are opened out and placed in position
the tube or a part of it shall serve as the leg of the table stand or stool.
I will now proceed to describe the manner of performing my Invention
according to its various applications, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, in all the Figures of which similar letters relate to
corresponding parts.
In large tables or stands the framing of the top a of the table or stand
is formed as shewn on Sheet 1, Fig. 1 being a side elevation, and Figs. 2
and 3 plan views. It consists of radial bars 6 hinged at c to a jointed
collar d, carried by the pillar e and connected together by tie rods f
formed with screw threads, and joined together by short screwed
tubes 9 ; h are legs hinged at i to the radial bars b and rods f. These
legs rest upon the floor when the frame is open and so support the outer
portions of the table' or stand whose central part is carried by the
pillar e. Cords, ropes, or chains k pass from the radial bars 6 over the
pullies or guides l, and are connected together so that by pulling the
single cord, rope, or chain k¹ (when the screwed tubes g are turned back
so as to disconnect the screwed ends of the tie rods f) the whole of the
framework of the table or stand can be drawn up around the pillar e,
leaving the space previously occupied by the table or stand available for
other purposes. The top of the table may either be made of material
such as cloth that will fold up by the closing of the frame, or may be
composed of wood or other material capable of being removed before the
frame is closed. In portable tables, stands, and stools, cords, chains,
and pullies are dispensed with.
In Figure 4 (Sheet 2) is shewn a small portable table frame placed
beneath a tent stand, which latter will be herein-after described. In
this case the support instead of being an ordinary pillar e, is composed
of three legs e¹ hinged to a boss e, upon which the collar d fits. The
table frame in other respects resembles that already described with
reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Similar frames for very small table tops may be made without the
legs h, and be supported by a central tube, which may be arranged to
contain the folded top framing when not in use, as also a small bottom

page_text: stand with three or more short radial legs hinged to a screwed boss, as
herein-after described with reference to another Figure.
On Sheets 3 and 4 I have illustrated my Invention as applied to
walking sticks, with and without umbrellas.
Fig. 5, Sheet 3, shewing in elevation a small frame in position for
supporting a silk or other table top; and Fig. 6, Sheet 4, representing
the same frame when its upper part is closed up within the tube m,
shewn in section, which tube m serves as part of the stick, which in this
case carries an umbrella n, the remaining part of the stick being formed
by the tube m', which also forms a part of the table stand; this tube m'
receives the base rods or legs e hinged to the screwed lower boss of
the table stand when not in use, as shewn in Fig. 6. It will be seen
that the tube m' carries a screwed boss m³, which fits into the cor-
respondingly screwed end m³ of the tube m. This boss m² has hinged to
it the radial rods b, which are arranged in the same way that I prefer to
arrange the base framing when great strength is necessary, namely,
somewhat like an inverted umbrella frame, with tie rods b', which are
hinged to a collar & capable of sliding along the fixed vertical guide
bar o, so as to open out or close up the base of the stand. The lower
part of the collar d is in the form of a split tapering tube formed with
a screw thread around its outer surface, and provided with a cor-
respondingly screwed ring a, so that by screwing or unscrewing the ring
it enables the split tapering tube to grasp the bar o and so hold up the
frame, or to slide freely along the bar carrying the boss and rods 6 and
6' with it for closing or opening the top framing. I prefer to use a
similar split tube and ring for the rods of the umbrella itself (which
however I do not claim), so as to obviate the cutting of the tube m
for the reception of spring catches.
Stool stands, consisting of top and base frames without central tubular
legs, as shewn in elevation in Figs. 7 and 8, may be arranged to pack up
within tubes serving as walking sticks, as described. In such cases the top
framing goes into the upper tube m, and the base framing into the lower
tube m', which latter is then formed simply as a cap that can be screwed
on to the lower part of the boss m³ so as to contain the base frames or
legs e. In Fig. 7 the radial rods 6 have jointed to them at c the tie
rods b' formed with small projections which take into corresponding
holes in the enlarged upper end of the fixed vertical guide bar o. When
folding up this stand the ends of the rods b' are raised up out of their

page_text: holes and the rods then turned back upon their hinges so as to lie with
the radial rods b alongside of the bar o. In Fig. 8 the hinged rods b
and legs e¹ are tubular, the upper framing in other respects very much
resembles that of the table shewn in Fig. 5, and will be readily under-
stood from the Drawing. The seat may be made with holes or caps
fitting on to the projections shewn on the tops of the rods b.
Fig. 9 shews a "walking stick" table stand whose upper rods b are
hinged to a screwed boss m² and held when open by tie rods 6' hinged
to a sliding collar d which is kept in position by a split tapering tube
and screwed ring x, as previously described with reference to Fig. 5
The collar can be turned slightly upon the guide bar o, so as to bring
its rods b¹ between the rods 6 for closing up the frame, for which purpose
also recesses are formed in the collar to receive the radial rods b. The
outer ends of the rods 6' are formed with projections like those described
with reference to the inner ends of the rods b' in Fig. 7, and they take
into recesses in the rods b. It will be seen that when the position of
the boss m² is reversed it serves as the knob of a walking stick, and its
rods enter the tube. In like manner the lower boss reversed serves as a
ferrule and its legs e¹ enter the other end of the tube. Rods b', sliding
collars d, and fixed vertical guide bars o may be readily applied to the
legs e¹ of stands or supports, such as I have described with reference to
other Figures.
In some cases I apply rods b', collars d, bars o, and legs e¹ in com-
bination to form stands for supporting the folding wood or other seats
of camp or other stools having no tubes or rods b, as shewn in Figs. 10,
11, and 12 (Sheet 2), as also to form tent stands or frames without the
ordinary and inconvenient centre pole, as shewn in Fig. 4. In both cases
the stands may be folded up and put into tubes for portability, and for
this purpose, in the last-mentioned arrangement in order that the
apparatus may be folded up within a small compass the legs e¹ are
jointed at h', and the upper part of each leg has pivotted to it a flat
plate or catch h³ (Figs. 13 and 14, Sheet 2), having a slot h³ in its side
which receives a pin h fixed to the lower part of the leg, so that the
two parts of the leg are held rigidly together until the plate h³ is drawn
back when the legs can be folded up.
In Fig. 15 on Sheet 5 I have shewn to a larger scale the rods b',
sliding collar d, bar o, and legs e¹ in combination, as applied to a stand
for supporting a photographic camera, a theodolite, a telescope, or for

page_text: any other similar purpose. The ends of the rods b' are formed with
racks so that the several legs may stand at varying angles and yet be
held firmly in their respective positions.
On Sheet 6, Figs. 16, 17, and 18 represent a modification of table or
stool stand consisting of a combination of top and base frames, which
will be readily understood on reference to the Drawings.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would remark that the details
illustrated may be modified to meet the requirements of particular cases,
so long as the distinguishing features of my Invention are retained;
thus, for instance, in some cases it may be found convenient to make
the tubes forming the legs of the stands in parts so as to slide one upon
another like the case of a telescope, and the framing may be permanently
attached to one part of the tube so as to fold up within another part
when not in use. I would also state that I make no claim whatever
to the use of any of the parts separately; but that what I do claim is, the
general construction and respective arrangements of the parts in com-
bination, as shewn in and described with reference to the accompanying
Drawings from Fig. 1 to Fig. 18 inclusive or any mere modification
thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lewis Isaac, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
W. LLOYD WISE,
Assoc. Soc. Engineers,
Patent Agent,
Chandos Chambers,
Adelphi, W.C.
LEWIS ISAAC. (L.S.)