IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING SEATS FOR COUNTER, DESK AND OTHER USE.
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Herbert Avis of Polegate in the County of
Sussex for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING SEATS FOR COUNTER,
DESK AND OTHER USE.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Herbert Avis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th August 1882.
WALTER HERBERT AVIS of Polegate in the County of Sussex IMPROVEMENTS
IN FOLDING SEATS FOR COUNTER, DESK AND OTHER USE."
My Invention relates to an improved folding seat for use at refreshment bars,
office desks, behind shop counters and other places where a seat is required and
there is little room to pass to and fro behind it.
My improved seat is so constructed that it is capable of being folded up quite
close against the counter or other support to which it is affixed so as to be altogether
out of the way when not in use and is likewise pivoted so that it may be swung
round from one side to the other of its point of support as may be most convenient
for use.
The seat top is supported upon a bracket or jib constructed of three members
jointed together as follows viz; a vertical post having journals at its top and
bottom ends supported in bearings fixed to a counter or other support, and which
forms the axis upon which the bracket or jib swings; an arm pivoted by one end
to the top of the post and having the seat fixed upon its other end; and a diagonal
member or strut hinged to the free end of the arm and connected to the post by n
pin engaged in a slot extending upwards from the bottom nearly to the top of post
so as to permit the pin to slide upwards when the seat is folded. When in position
for use the arm carrying the seat top is supported in the horizontal position by the
diagonal strut the pin at whose lower end is then at the bottom of the slot in the
post, and when folded up the arm and seat top are raised to a vertical position, the
strut also rising and lying against the arm and post, the pin rising in the slot to
permit this movement. The upper end of the slot is curved or recessed to form a
sufficient stop for the pin to retain the seat in the raised position or a clip may be
fixed on the counter or other support to embrace the arm and strut when folded up
for the same purpose.
To prevent racking strains on the joint pin beneath the seat top when in use the
strut is formed with projecting lugs at its upper end which support the seat at
different points.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Walter Herbert Avis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd February 1883.
WALTER HERBERT AVIS of Polegate in the County of Sussex
IN FOLDING SEATS FOR COUNTER, DESK, AND OTHER USE."
"IMPROVEMENTS
My Invention relates to an improved folding sent for use at refreshment bars,
office desks, behind shop counters, and other places where a seat is required and
there is little room to pass to and fro behind it.
My improved seat is so constructed that it is capable of being folded quite close
against the counter or other support to which it is affixed so as to be altogether out of
the way when not in use and is likewise pivoted so that it may be swung round from
one side to the other of its point of support as may be most convenient for use.
This scat top is supported upon a bracket or jib constructed of three members
jointed together as follows, viz-a vertical post having journals at its top and
bottom ends supported in bearings fixed to a counter or other support and which
forms the axis upon which the bracket or jib swings; an arm pivoted by one
end to the top of the post and having the seat fixed upon its other end; and a
diagonal member or strut hinged to the free end of the arm and connected to the
post by a pin engaged in a vertical slot and sliding up and down therein in the act
of raising and lowering the seat. When in position for use, the arm carrying the
Beat top is supported in the horizontal position by the diagonal strut.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I have illustrated
it in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a side view of one form
of the seat in position for use and also in dotted lines as folded up against the
counter or other support, Figure 2 being a similar view of a sent so modified as to
fold downwards instead of upwards. The same letters of reference indicate the
same parts in both the figures.
A B C are the three members composing the jib to support the seat D, A being
the post having journals supported in bearings a at top and bottom so as to be free
to turn on a vertical axis. B the arm formed with a pair of knuckles at one end
by which it is jointed at b to a corresponding knuckle formed on the post A, the
arm having a claw at the other end by which the seat D is screwed to it, and a
downwardly projecting knuckle at the underside by which the diagonal strut C is
jointed to it at c. The strut C has at its upper end a pair of knuckles c¹ and a
toe c, the knuckles c¹ being of such length as to afford lateral support for the seat
and prevent racking strains of the joint pin c. The strut C has a return end at
bottom forked to embrace a web or rib on the post A and drilled to receive a pin e
which passes through and works up and down in a slot E. This slot is formed in
a web or rib cast on the post A and is straight and vertical except at the upper
end where it is curved or recessed outwards just sufficiently to allow the strut to
lie close against the arm throughout its whole length and permit of the seat being
raised and moved just past the vertical so as to tend to fall against the counter
rather than away from it so that the parts will be retained in the raised position
without tendency to fall of themselves, but so as to immediately drop by a slight
outward pressure against the seat.
In Figure 2 (which is drawn to a smaller scale) the parts are similar except that
the post A is necessarily longer and the slot E is lower down with respect to the
other parts so that the pin e will be at the top of the slot when the seat is in
position for use, and at the bottom of the slot when folded as shown in dotted
lines. The upper end of the slot is also rather more curved or provided with a

page_text: downward recess or depression to receive the pin e when the seat is in the raised
position and prevent it slipping out of the slot. In this case also there would be
no toe on the upper end of the strut.
I prefer to make the various members of the jib or bracket of malleable cast iron
and the joint pins of steel. I have represented the jointed jib or bracket as
supporting a round seat top, but I would have it understood that a long seat or
form may be supported on a pair or more of such jointed jibs or brackets and fold
up and down precisely in the same way, but in this case the post A of each
bracket would be a fixture and not rotate on journals at top and bottom.
It should be observed that an advantage of my Invention is that the floor is
quite unencumbered as the seat is fixed against a wall, counter, desk, or other
vertical supporting surface so that when folded there is no obstruction to the feet
of passers by as in other folding seats which rise from the ground.
Having described the nature of any Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is
1st A combined swinging and folding seat supporting bracket or jib constructed
substantially as shown and described for fixture to a vertical surface, as and for the
purpose specified.
2nd The combination of a vertical post (whether pivoted or fixed) and having a
vertical guide slot with a seat-carrying arm jointed thereto and a diagonal strut
jointed to the arm and working in the slot of the post for supporting the seat and
permitting the folding of the three members together, substantially as shown and
described.
In witness whereof I the said Walter Herbert Avis have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal this second day of February Å D 1832