IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE TABLES
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ALEXANDER BARR, of 7 Melrose Street, Glasgow, in the County of Lanark
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING OR COLLAPSIBLE TABLES" and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :—
My said Invention has for its object the constructing of folding or collapsible
tables in an improved manner. My Invention is applicable to tables made with
three, four, or six legs; and on an accompanying Sheet of explanatory Drawings
there is delineated by way of example a table having six legs, and as made with my
improvements.
Figure, 1, is a vertical section of the table as having the movable legs turned out,
and with the folding parts of the top opened up, two of the legs being supposed to
be removed. Figure, 2, is an end elevation of the table as in its folded or collapsed
condition. Figure, 3, is an inverted plan partly in section, corresponding to
In these
Figure, 1; and Figure, 4, is an inverted plan corresponding to Figure, 2.
Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts.
wherever they are repeated.
The table is shown as having a round top and with the legs quite plain, but the
top may be hexagonal, octagonal or of any other suitable shape and the legs and
parts connected therewith may be ornamented in any desired way. The top of
the table consists of a narrow middle part, 5, and two side parts or Haps, 6, which
are hinged to the middle part. The middle part, 5, has fixed to it near its ends
two legs, 7, and at its centre a spindle, 8, this last being considerably shorter than
the legs. There are four movable legs, 9, and each of these has fixed to it an upper
horizontal bar, 10, the inner end of which is jointed or hinged on a pin, 11, fixed
up into the underside of the middle top piece, 5. Each movable leg, 9, has also fixed.
to it a lower horizontal bar like the upper one, 10, but supposed to be cut away in
Figure, 3, and the inner end of each lower horizontal bar enters in between
flanges, 12, 13, on the central spindle, 8, and is jointed on a pin fixed to the two
flanges. Fixed bars, 14, like the lower horizontal bars of the inovable legs, connect
the fixed legs, 7, to the central spindle, 8. These lower bars or both the upper and
the lower bars may be advantageously in the form of ornamental fretwork brackets
of wood, metal, or other suitable material. The movable legs, 9, with their
bars, 10, have their centres, 11, in such positions as that when each leg is turned in
towards the fixed leg, 7, nearest to it the bars, 10, become parallel to the centre line
of the middle part, 5, of the table top, as shown in Figure, 4; and when the
movable legs are turned in in this way the flaps, 6, can be folded down as shown in
Figures 2, and 4. The movable legs, 9, are connected in pairs by pairs of metal

page_text: toggle links, 15, the two links of a pair being connected to each other by a joint, 16,
of a cylindrical form and containing a helical spring or a volute spring which has
one end fixed to one link and the other end to the other link and which is strained
so as to give the links a tendency to open or move their outer ends apart when in
the positions in which they are shown in Figure 4. Each spring joint, 16, of the
links, 15, is guided by means of a headed pin at its centre this pin working in a
guide slot, 17, formed in a metal plate fixed to the underside of the middle part, 5,
of the table top. The guide slots, 17, are of such a length and so placed as to
determine the positions assumed by the movable legs, 9, when opened, the spring
joints, 16, being then at the inner ends of the slots, 17, and it is an important
feature of the arrangement that the movable legs, 9, are locked when in this opened
position. This locking is obtained by arranging the parts so that when the spring
joints, 16, of the toggle links, 15, are at the inner ends of their guide slots, 17, the
links have gone slightly beyond the positions in which the two links of each pair
are in line with each other, so as to have a slight inclination in the reverse direction
to that which they have when the legs are being folded or turned in. On
considering Figure, 3, it will be seen that any effort to turn in the movable legs, 9,
would be prevented in consequence of the spring joints, 16, bearing against the
inner ends of their guide slots, 17, and that before the legs, 9, can be turned in the
spring joints, 16, inust be first moved so far away from the inner ends of the guide
slots, 17, as to. reverse the inclinations of the toggle links, 15. For the purpose
of turning in the movable legs, 9, cords, 18, are provided having each one end fixed
to the upper horizontal bar, 10, of a movable leg, 9, near the leg and next passing
through a link, 19, at the spring joints, 16. From the spring joints, 16, the
cords, 18, proceed in pairs through guide holes in the fixed legs, 7, and through
guides, 20, to tassles, 21, and when it is desired to close the legs and flaps of the
table the cords, 18, are drawn out by means of the tassels, 21. The first action of
the cords, 18, when thus drawn out, is to pull out the centres or spring joints, 16,
of the toggle links, 15, and afterwards whilst continuing to pull out the spring
joints, 16, the cords act with increasing leverage on the legs, 9, themselves and
easily bring them quite hone. When the inovable legs, 9, are thus turned quite
in the flaps, 6, fold down and prevent the legs from turning out again. Instead of the
toggle links, 15, having springs applied at their joints as described, rubber or other
springs may be applied so as to simply tend to draw the joints, 16, towards the
inner ends of the slots, 17; or springs may be applied in any other equivalent
manner.
If in the modification shown in the Drawing one of the fixed legs, 7, is removed
and also the connected pair of movable legs, 9, near the remaining fixed leg, the
table becomes a three-legged one; and if the two fixed legs, 7, are removed and
the movable legs of each pair are arranged to have their horizontal bars at right
angles to each other when open, the table becomes a four-legged one.
Having thus particularly described the nature of my said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed I proceed to ascertain the distinctive feature of
novelty thereof by declaring that what I claim is :-
The construction of a fulding or collapsible table with one or more pairs of
movable legs, the legs of each pair having combined with them toggle .links and
springs arranged and operating substantially as herein before described.
ALTL
Maal 1001
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent. 50