Improvements in Chairs for the Use of Invalids and for other Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1889-Accepted, 29th June, 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by MARTIN EUGENE SCHUTT and ALBERT WELLINGTON
CHAPMAN, both of Chesaning, Michigan, United States of America,
Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Chairs for the Use of Invalids and for other
Purposes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
This invention relates to chairs to be suspended by elastic means and which are
convertible for a sitting and a reclining position of the occupant; and it has for its
objects the novel construction and association of parts, substantially as below described
and claimed.
In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation ;
Fig. 2, a front elevation looking from a point at the left of Fig. 1.
Referring to the lettered parts of the drawings, a a are the framed sides of the
chair, and the bottom. The bottom here shown consists of slats; but this is
now material, for the bottom will ordinarily be upholstered at the pleasure of the
purchaser.
The chair is divided into three sections, a center part or seat proper, a front part
or foot-rest proper, and a back part. These sections are hinged together, and are
either adjusted all in a horizontal position, as in dotted lines in Fig. 1, or the foot
rest may be fixed at a downward incline, as at left hand in Fig. 1., and the back
at an upward incline, as at the right hand in Fig. 1, leaving the center section or
seat horizontal. In this position the occupant sits in the chair with his legs below
the knee inclining down the front part and his feet on the foot-board. X. Of course
the parts can be adjusted and fixed at intermediate points from the two positions
here illustrated, as will appear clear from the following:
The center section or seat part is supported by two pendent rods, b b. The
sections are hinged at 24 to the bottom rail of the sides. To each front lower
corner of the rear section is attached a slotted strap, f. To the rear upper corners
of the center section are fixed latteral projections 5, which pass loosely through the
slot of the straps f. When the back is down, these straps form a continuation of
the top of the sides of the chair, the same as the straps c, Fig. 1 form a con-
tinuation of the top of the sides between the front and middle sections. These
straps c, however, have notches which catch over the projection 3 of the middle
section and hold the front section at the different positions. The rear section is
supported at its different angles by the rods d which rods are jointedly attached to
the sides of said section a at the lower ends of said rods. On each rod b is a sliding
collar, e, held at different heights on said rods by set-screws, Figs. 1 and 2. The
upper ends of the rods d are jointedly attached to the collars e. The upper ends of
the rods bb are attached to a cross-piece, i. is a cross-piece adapted to be suspended
from a suitable beam, E., or other support.
At u are a series of spiral springs attached at the upper ends to the cross-piece i¹
and at the lower ends to the cross-piece . These springs are detachable, and hence
as many of them may be employed at a time as desirable, according to the weight of
the occupant of the chair.
This chair can be used by persons in health as a swing elastically supported, but is
especially desirable for invalids, and, owing to its simplicity and cheapness and ease
of adjustment. is very available and useful.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The convertible suspending chair comprising the pendant rods, the central
section supported by said rods, the front section attached to the center section by
hinges at the lower side and the projections and notched bars at the upper side, the
rear section hinged to the center section, the collars with set-screws on the vertical
rods, and the oblique rods jointedly attached to said collars and the rear section,
substantially as set forth.
2. The chair-sections hinged together, the dependent rods supporting the center
section, the sliding collars on said rods and their set-screws, the rods jointedly
attached to said collars and to the rear sections, and springs elastically suspending
the whole, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination of the convertible chair-sections binged together, the upper
cross-pieces, the series of vertical springs between the cross-pieces and attached
thereto at their ends, the pendent rods attached to the lower cross-piece and
suspending the center section, the sliding collars on said rods and their set-screws,
and the oblique rods jointedly attached to the collars and to the rear section of the
chair, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1889.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.