AN IMPROVED PORTABLE FOLDING CHAIR OR SEAT PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR RAILWAY TRAVELLING
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Jones, of West Gate, Peterborough, in the
County of Northampton, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED PORTABLE FOLDING CHAIR OR SEAT PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR
RAILWAY TRAVELLING:"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st May 1875.
I, JOHN JONES, of Westgate, Peterborough, in the County of North-
ampton, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for. "AN IMPROVED PORTABLE FOLDING CHAIR OR SEAT PARTICULARLY ADAPTED
FOR RAILWAY TRAVELLING," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention consists of so constructing a portable folding elbow
chair, that it may be used in railway and other carriages, and with some
modifications as a garden seat. As adapted for use in railway carriages, it
consists of a steel or other metal framework or seat of convenient width
for sitting upon, to which is attached an india-rubber air bag with valve

page_text: for inflation; this framework or seat is connected by joints to a support
for the back and two elbow rests, all of which are so jointed as to be
From the
capable of being easily folded up when not required for use.
centre of the back support a sliding rod is attached which may be
raised or lowered to suit the height of the person sitting, and at
the top of this are cross pieces enclosing a cushion or head rest, affording
to the user support for the head, and enabling him to take
travelling in a comfortable posture; the elbow rests are supported by
jointed levers which rest upon the cushion, and this chair is placed on
the seat of the carriage. The whole may be folded into a convenient
nackage.
repose
while
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor by the said John
Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JONES, of Westgate, Peterborough, in the County of Northampton,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Jones, Her special license,
that I, the said John Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Jones, my executors, administrators,
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 "AN IMPROVED PORTABLE FOLDING CHAIR OR
SEAT PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR RAILWAY TRAVELLING,"
upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Jones, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their

page_text: hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Jones, 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:-
My Invention consists of so constructing a portable folding elbow
chair that it may be used in railway and other carriages, and with some
modifications as a garden seat. As adapted for use in railway carriages,
it consists of a steel or other metal or wood framework or seat of con-
venient width for sitting upon, to which is attached an india-rubber
air bag with valve for inflation to form a scat, or if desired the scat
may be made of ordinary cloth with horsehair or other padding, but in
either case the cushion will be made of such a length as to be turned
upward to form a support for the lower part of the back when sitting.
The framework of the seat is connected by joints to a back frame, so
arranged as to be capable of being casily folded up when not required
for use.
Through the centre of the back support passes a sliding rod
which may be raised or lowered to suit the height of the person sitting,
and at the top of this rod are cross pieces enclosing a cushion or head
rest, affording to the user support for the head, and enabling him to take
repose in a comfortable posture while travelling. The wings of the head
rest are made to stand forward so as to protect the face against wind and
noise. For convenience of folding the wings are jointed at the corners so
as to be flattened out in line with the back; the rod is also jointed to
enable the head rest to be folded over to shorten the length of the chair
when not in use. Elbow rests jointed at one end to sliding rods in the
back frame, and supported at the other by jointed levers resting on the
cushion or scat form arms or sides to the chair; these arms may be made
wider or narrower according to the size or convenience of the person
sitting by merely drawing forward or pressing backward the sliding
rods. The whole may be folded into a convenient package; and when
required for use it has merely to be opened and placed upon a carriage
seat, the back support being at the same time fixed to any required
angle

page_text: When used as a seat in places where there is no support for the back
frame, there must be used in conjunction a rest or support.
And in order that my Invention may be better understood and more
readily put into operation, I will now describe the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, which shews my improved chair as adapted to a
railway carriage seat.
Figure 1 shews a front elevation, and Figure 2 a side elevation;
letters of reference apply to similar parts in the two views.
A is the frame of the seat to which small pads of leather or india-
rubber are attached to prevent it sliding off the carriage seat; B is the
cushion or seat turned up at the back, and inflated through a valve at
the corner; C, C, are joints connecting the back frame with the seat;
wing nuts on the screwed ends of the joint pins lock the back frame in
any required position; D, D, is the back frame jointed at C; E, E, are
elbow rests jointed so as to fold back; they may be prolonged if desired,
and also jointed in the centre of their length so as to fold over on them-
selves; F is the sliding bar carrying the head rest G, this bar is jointed
just below the head rest, the wings of the head rest are also jointed;
H, H, are jointed levers supporting the outer ends of the elbow rests;
K, K, are sliding rods carrying the arms which may be drawn out to
increase the width between them.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
Invention and how the same may be carried into practical operation,
I would have it understood that what I claim and desire to secure by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the construction of a
portable folding chair with seat, back, head rest, and arms capable of
adjustment to any required position, and of being folded up into a flat
package when not in use, substantially as herein-before described and
ascertained by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Jones, have hereunto set g
my hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.