Improvements in Excentric and Revolving Chairs for Ships' Saloons.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th May, 1890-Accepted, 14th June, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Excentric and Revolving Chairs for Ships'
Saloons.
I, ALEXANDER ROBERTSON of Danson Terrace, Carron in the County of Stirling,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to chairs or seats of the kind usually fixed around ships'
saloon tables and having their pedestals or supports fixed to the floor whilst the seats
are fitted to revolve or turn excentrically thereon, and the improvements have for
object the provision of means whereby passengers using such chairs may be enabled to
draw the seats nearer to or farther from the table and automatically lock or fix them
in the position most suitable for use in the act of setting down, and when retiring, to
turn round to the passage for exit.
Over the pedestal or fixed stand of the chair, I fit a socket piece which is adapted to
revolve on the pedestal and is free to move vertically between a bearing shoulder on
the stand on which the socket rests when the chair is in use and a point above limited
by a stop pin or like device to which the socket is raised by the power of a spring or
equivalent means the spring being preferably of helical or volute form and placed in
an annular recess between the socket and pedestal.
The upper end of the socket has formed on it a bracket piece having slide guides
over which is fitted a sliding top plate formed with undercut grooves to fit the guides
and which carries the seat or chair proper. This sliding plate provides for movement
of the chair on the fixed pedestal to bring the seat nearer to or farther from the table
whilst the socket piece carrying the sliding plate being free to revolve provides for
turning the chair on the pedestal as a centre.
On the upper end of the pedestal and within a square formed in the socket is a
toothed plate or friction pad and on the underside of the sliding top plate over it is
formed a correspondingly toothed rack or friction surface which by the power of
the spring is normally kept out of contact with the toothed catch plate or friction pad
when the chair is not in use, but which is brought into engagement with it and
thereby locked or held to prevent further sliding movement when the passenger, after
suitably adjusting the position of the chair, sits down and by his weight depresses the
socket piece against the power of the spring.
In conjunction with the arrangements described any of the forms of excentric
swivelling plates at present in use in saloon chairs may be employed.
Dated this Twulfth day of August 1889
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Excentric and Revolving Chairs for Ships'
Saloons.
I, ALEXANDER ROBERTSON, of Danson Terrace, Carron in the County of Stirling,
Engineer, 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 or seats of the kind usually fixed around ships'
saloon tables and having their pedestals or supports fixed to the floor whilst the seats
are fitted to revolve or turn excentrically thereon, and the improvements have for
object the provision of means whereby passengers using such chairs may be enabled to

page_text: draw the seats nearer to or farther from the table and automatically lock or fix them
in the position most suitable for use in the act of sitting down, and when retiring to
turn round to the passage for exit.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
Figures and 2 are vertical sections at right angles to each other and
Figure 3 a plan of part of a revolving chair showing my improvements under one
modification.
Figures 4 and 5 are respectively a vertical section and plan of another modification.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are vertical sections of other modifications and
Figures 9 and 10 are respectively an end elevation and vertical section of still
another modification.
As represented in figures 1, 2 and 3 I fit over the pedestal or fixed stand A, of the
chair, a socket piece B, which is adapted to revolve on the pedestal and is free to
move vertically between a bearing shoulder a, on the stand on which the socket B,
rests when the chair is in use and a point above limited by a stop pin b, or like
device to which the socket is raised by the power of a spring C, or equivalent mean's
the spring C, being preferably of helical or volute form and placed as shown in an
annular recess C, between the socket and pedestal. The upper end of the socket has
formed on it a bracket piece B¹, having slide guides 61, over which is fitted a sliding
top plate D, formed with undercut grooves at d, to fit the guides and which carries
the seat or chair proper. This sliding plate D, provides for movement of the chair
on the fixed pedestal to bring the seat nearer to or farther from the table whilst the
socket piece B, carrying the sliding plate being free to revolve provides for turning
the chair on the pedestal as a centre. On the upper end of the pedestal A, and within
a square formed at B2, in the socket is a toothed plate E, and on the underside of the
sliding top plate D, over it, is formed a correspondingly toothed rack D', which by
the power of the spring C, is normally kept out of contact with the toothed catch
plate E, when the chair is not in use, but which is brought into engagement with it
and thereby locked or held to prevent further sliding movement when the passenger,
after suitably adjusting the position of the chair, sits down and by his weight depresses
the socket piece B, against the power of the spring C.
In conjunction with the arrangements described any of the forms of excentric
swivelling plates at present in uso in saloon chairs may be employed, the swivelling
plate F, as shown in dotted lines being fitted on the sliding plate D, and the seat
transferred from said plate D, to the plate F. In this case the socket piece whilst
free to move vertically is prevented from revolving on the stand. As represented
at figures 4 and 5 a friction pad or pads D¹, of rubber or like material may be
substituted for the toothed rack on the sliding plate D, and the toothed catch plate E,
may also be replaced by a friction pad. In the modification represented at figuro 6,a
chisel pointed pin or bolt is substituted for the toothed catch plate to engage the
teeth of the rack on the underside of the sliding plate D; and in figuré 7 a 'V'shaped
rib D, on the underside of the plate D, is adapted to engage a V groove in the
block E, to hold the seat in position by frictional contact. In figure 8 the toothed
rack or frictional surface D', is formed on the bracket arm B', of the stand and has no
vertical motion and the toothed or friction block E, is formed on a central pin or bolt
under the seat and which is held out of engagement with the rack by springs C, fitted
round.it and round guide pins G, between the seat. and bracket: Thotseat in this case
is fitted on an excentric plate. Figures 9 and 10 show an arrangement in which the
toothed or friction plate D, is fitted to slide on a plate H, hinged or pivotted at 1, to
the stand or bracket piece B¹. The plates H and D are normally tilted up,as.shown
-by a spring C, but when the seat is used they are brought down to a horizontal
position in which the rack D', engages a tooth E, or friction plate. on the socket. B.
¡Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
*claim is :-
"
An excentric or swivelling chair constructed under any of the several modificu-

page_text: tions represented in the accompanying drawings and arranged to operate substantially
as herein before described.
2. In an excentric or revolving chair a sliding seat adapted to lock in position in
the act of sitting on it substantially as described.
3. In an excentric or swivelling chair the combination with the stand or socket B,
of the sliding plate D, and locking plate E, one or other having vertical movement
and a spring C, serving to maintain the platos normally out of contact substantially as
described.
Dated this Twelfth day of May 1890.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,.
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.