IMPROVED EXTENDING TABLE
Year: 1884

page_text: וי
I, ALEXANDER THOMSON of 144 West Regent Street Glasgow in the County of
Lanark Draughtsman & Designer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for AN IMPROVED EXTENDING TABLE to be as follows:-
Having an arrangement of the grooved and tongued siderails whereby they aro
greatly lengthened, by being carried completely through the knees, or top squares
of the supporting legs, and also continued beyond the outter faces of said squares
in the form of a bracket, untill they reach the outtermost or end edges of the
overhanging top. The ends of the said siderails that are not attached to the legs,
being steadied, and kept in place by three horizontal cross bars, one being fixed
to the inner pair of sliding rails, flush with their top edges, and two being fixed
to the lower edges of the two, outter sliding rails. The object boing, to increase tho
extending capacity of an ordinary double rail table, so that it may more nearly
equal, the expanding capability of an ordinary tolescope table, where a series of
slides have to be used one within the other.
The top of the table is divided into six sections or leaves, two being hinged or
attached to an end or outtermost section, that is secured to the right hand half of
the sliding frame and two being hinged or attached in a similar manner to the left
hand half of the frame, in such a way that when the frame is extended the leaves
can either be wholly or partly unfolded, and brought to a horizontal position without
being detached from the table, and can be as readily folded back again, when it is
desired to close, or contract the table the four inner leaves being supported where
necessary, when in an extended position by means of small projecting block bearers,
that are attached to the under surfaces of the leaves and rest on the top edges of
the siderails.
The said blocks, when the leaves are folded up, fitting into suitable recesses, cut
out of the surface of the corresponding leaves. The hinges connecting the six
leaves or sections of top are arranged in such a manner that when the top is in
use they are perfectly invisible and nothing but close and flush joints are seen, on
the top surface.
The table is also fitted with a centre leg or support, that acts automatically
with the extension of the frame and comes into position as the table is fully
extended, and then only. Going, and keeping out of sight, when the frame is at its
medium size, cr is entirely closed.

page_text: "
The top square of this centre leg is secured by a hinge, to the top crossbar,
before mentioned. And when the table is closed, or only partly extended, it rests in a
horizontal position on one of the lower crossbars, but when the table frame is
further extended, than the medium size, the centre leg is carried beyond, and clear
of, both the lower cross bars, and gradually falls, to an inclined position, where two
pins projecting from its sides are caught by metal clutches (fixed to the lower
surface of the outtermost, lower, crossbar) and it is then pulled forward, to the
plumb, or upright position, where it then acts as a check or stop, to provent any
further expansion, of the frame. The action of this swivelled leg being reversed,
and it is effectually stowed away by the contraction of the frame to its medium or
its smallest size.
The centre leg is intended to be optional or in other words, to be applied when
the size of the table renders it desirable to have extra sability in the centre. And to
be omitted when the tables, are of such a small size that the grip or overlap, of the
siderails is sufficient to give the required support to the tops.
The table is also constructed to open in the centre as far as the leaves are
concerned, and to be extended or contracted by means of the ordinary screw
expander, or to be opened by simply pulling out the frame and closed by pushing
the same inwards.
Dath the 14th doo Nambar 1984

page_text: ALEXANDER THOMSON, Designer 144 West Regent Street Glasgow in the County
of Lanark, N.B. do hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN IMPROVED
EXTENDING TABLE and in what [manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention consists of an improved extending table as shown by the
accompanying drawings figures 1 to 10.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a medium sized table when closed, or at its
Binallest size, fig 2 is an end elevation, and figs 3 & 4 are sections of same.
From these it will be seen, that the top is so arranged, that it can be used in any
number of leaves, or sections from three to eight or ten, according to the size of
table wanted.
These leaves or flaps, are hinged at their edges to each other and then have their
outter sections attached to the framo of the table, one lot of leaves, to the right pair
of legs, and connecting rails and the other portion to the left pair of legs and
connecting rails in such a manner that they can be unfolded, as indicated by dotted
lines, on left of fig 5 and brought to a flush horizontal position, as shown on the
latter figure where they are supported by a series of block bearers marked T fixed
to the under surfaces of the leaves and resting upon the upper edges of the siderails
marked L & I.
A special feature in this method of hingeing the flaps or leaves to the table
frame, being this, that when it is desired in the larger tables, to have the tops
absolutely free from the appearance of hinges, and present nothing but a flush and
unbroken horizontal surface, for dining or other purposes.
This is accomplished by substituteing for the ordinary hinge and flush head at the
junction of sections A. C. & A 1. B1 a series of improved hinges constructed of
india rubber bands marked E on drawing, and two pins fashioned and arranged as
shown at figure 7.
These hinges are inserted in the lower or inside faces of sections A, C, A1 & B 1.
as shown on plan fig 10 The rubber bands allowing the leaves marked C & B 1.
to be wrought as freely as is required when moved in an upward or downward
direction, and the retaining pins marked F on fig 7 working in the slot G keep the
leaves in position horizontally while they also rest on the step formed by the
projections of sections marked B & C 1.
Figure 6 is an enlarged drawing of the bearer blocks and the recess that is cut
out of the face of the corresponding leaf, to receive it, so that when the leaves aro
folded out, tho bearer comes into use or position automatically and when the leaves
are folded in or stowed away the bearer blocks are kept out of sight.
The frame of the table, (which can be extended either by means of a screw
expander or simply by pulling the two parts of the table in opposite directions)
consists of four supporting legs connected by endrails marked V on plan, and
attached to four grooved and tongued sliding siderails marked L & I the outter
or grooved pair of rails being attached to one pair of legs and the inner or tongued
pair of rails being attached to the others.
In the case of larger size tables as the one illustrated by the accompanying
drawings the siderails L & I although fixed to the top squares of the supporting
legs, at the parts where they cross or intersect are constructed so as to pass
completely through, and beyond the legs, out to the end edges of the top in the
form of brackets, as shown on drawings, thus securing greater length of siderails,
and a correspondingly increased extending capacity.

page_text: The ends of these siderails that are not attached to the supporting legs are
steadied and kept in position by horizontal crossbars marked J. K. & H on
drawings.
The bar H being fixed to the inner pair of siderails, flush with their top edges,
and bars J & K are fixed to the lower edges of the two outter siderails.
These crossbars J. K & H. besides steadying the siderails, are utilised to work
and bring into position (automatically with the extension of the frame) a hinged
or swivelled centre support or leg marked P on drawings.
This is accomplished by hingeing the leg P to the crossbar H so that it can either
be folded up horizontally under the table tops or hang vertically under the tops as
shown on figure 8 the centre leg being supported in a horizontal position, when the
table is at its smallest size, by cross bar J as shown on figs 3 & 4, and by cross
bar K, when the table is at its medium size as shown at fig 5, but it will now be
seen, that when the frame is further extended the centre leg is carried past its last
support or crossbar K and gradually falls to an oblique position, as shown at fig 9
and by the continued extension of the table frame the projecting pins marked M
get caught in the metal clutches marked N, which are fixed to the underside of
crossbar K, and by means of the still extending frame are carried forward, pulling
the centre leg tightly to the plumb and abutting on crossbar K stop any further
extension of the table.
The various actions before described for the extension of the tables and the
unfolding of the leaves are simply reversed, when it is desired to contract or close
the tables..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
".
1st a new method of securing a longer sliding siderail than forinerly attained in
this class of table thus increasing the extending and contracting capabilities of
such tables.
2nd A new manner of hingeing and arrangeing the leaves, and the application
of them so arranged, to a telescope table frame either when such frame is made on
the doublerail principle as before described, or made in the usual manner, with a
series of slides one within the other, so that all loose leaves are dispensed with and
the table top becomes its own leaf holder without any of the leaves being detached
from the table.
B
3rd A new system of block bearers for maintaing the table leaves at the level
when their under supports are taken away.
4th A new method of hingeing the fixed pieces of the tops to moveable or
swinging sections of same in such a manner, that while the two upper surfaces of
the fixed and the moveable pieces are on the same level, the hinge is invisible from
the top.
5th A new system of providing a selfacting centre leg or support with tightening|
and adjusting clutches and the various contrivances for the automatic action of
such centre leg, by which a rigid support is provided for the centre of a table when
it is fully extended only and as effectually taken away and concealed when the
frame is shortened or closed.
'
All as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and set forth in the foregoing
specification.
101 of Docomo 188A