Improvements in Springs for Use in Upholstering Seats or Cushions of Chairs, Sofas, and other Furniture or Upholstered Goods.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 25th Jan., 1896
DE BULLIV
Improvements in Springs for Use in Upholstering Seats or Cushions
of Chairs, Sofas, and other Furniture or Upholstered Goods.
I WILLIAM VOGLER, of Somerville, in the County of Middlesex, and State
of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 improvements in springs for use in upholstering the
seats or cushions of chairs, sofas and other furniture or upholstered goods and is an
improvement on the device patented to Alfred George Brookes by Letters Patent
dated October 16th 1894 No. 19,609 on a communication from me.
It is desirable in spring upholstered goods that there should be a sufficient
yielding of the surface and yet have rigidity and resiliency sufficient to maintain
the proper normal shape of the article. It is also preferable that the yielding
motion should be vertical and that there should be no tendency of the springs to
shift laterally.
Accordingly, I have provided in my invention means for allowing perfect freedom
of movement in a vertical direction, while at the same time provision is made for
bracing against any end wise shifting movement.
My invention consists of a spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely
disposed angular springs, and two similar sets of springs arranged within the same,
said four sets of springs being united at their lower ends by a suitable rod, the
upper ends of the inner and outer springs at one side the center of the spring
seat being connected by spiral springs or yielding connections, the said spiral
springs or yielding connections being connected by links, substantially as will be
described.
Also of a spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely disposed angular
springs, and two similar sets of springs arranged within the same, said four sets of
springs being united at their lower ends by a suitable rod, the upper ends of the
inner and outer springs at one side the centre of the spring seat being connected
by spiral springs or yielding connections, the said spiral springs or yielding con-
nections being connected by links, the outer angles of the outermost sets of springs
also being connected side by side by spiral springs or yielding connections substan-
tially as will be described.
Also of a spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely disposed angular outer
springs having three arms and two spring coils, two sets of oppositely disposed
angular iuner springs arranged within the said three armed springs, and having
each one spring coil, a suitable rod to hold the lower parts of all the said spring arms,
spiral springs to connect together the upper arms of the outer and inner springs at
one side of the centre of the compound spring, links to connect the said spiral
springs, and spiral springs connecting the outer angles of the outer springs of each
set, substantially as will be described.
Fig. 1. is a vertical cross section of my improved compound seat spring showing
one section thereof.in elevation, a number of said sections being in practice joined
side by side.
Fig. 2. is a detail view of one of the outer springs.
Tie 2 is a detail view showing one of the inner bracing springs.

page_text: Fig. 4. is a detail of the spiral spring -used to connect the outer angle of the
outer spring and the upper ends of the outer and inner springs together; and
Fig. 5. is a detail of one of the upper or connecting links.
The compound seat spring herein described is composed of a plurality of similar
spring members, preferably made of steel spring wire, assembled side by side in
substantially the same manner as is set forth and illustrated in the above mentioned
Patent, a greater or less number of said springs being used according to the length
of the seat or cushion to be made.
The main or outer spring members Aas--herein shown; consist each of a lower
portion or foot a adapted to rest on the bottom of the seat frame or support, an
intermediate portion a¹ and an upper portion a². These portions are formed to
normally lie in zig-zag relation to each other and the intermediate angular joints a³
and a are formed with one or more. spiral coils or turns of the wire in order to
give the proper rigidity and resiliency to the member A.
The upper end of such spring members A. terminates in an eye a³.
The inner or bracing spring member B comprises a lower portion b and an upper
portion joined together by a spiral-coil 6 formed by giving the wire a plurality
of turns at that point. At. either end of the bracing spring member B, I form
suitable retaining eyes 68 and 6. The lower portion of the outer and inner spring
members are retained in proper position by having their eyes a³, 63 threaded over
a retaining rod C provided at one end with a head c and at its opposite end with
a suitable clamping uut, not shown.
The upper ends 6 and a of the said inner and outer spring members are made
to embrace suitable yielding connections D, similar to those shown in the before
mentioned Patent, and consisting of wire tightly wound to form a spiral spring,
and provided at either end with a washer d and a tightening screw d' or other
securing means, the coiled wire constituting a guide for the screw threads by
reason of its interior spiral corrugation.
These yielding connections for the upper ends a, b of the outer and inner
spring members are held in separated relation, substantially as shown in Fig. 1,
by means of link connections E, preferably made of wire, provided at either end
with an extended eye portion e formed with a suitable number of turns of the wire
to properly separate the-various-spring members of the seat, the turns corresponding
substantially to the number of coils in the spiral coil at. Yielding connections Dr,
similar to those marked D, are threaded through the successive spiral coils a* of
the contiguous outer-members.
In assembling the above described parts, in order to constitute a spring seat or
support according to this present invention, I arrange oppositely but side by side
on a suitable rod C a number of the outer members A according to the length of
the seat to be made, and interpose among these outer members a suitable number
of inner bracing members B, according to the degree of resistance and bracing
effect required. In the ordinary car seat or sofa I have found that one bracing
member B to two outer members A is sufficient.
The arms a constitute feet for the outer members and prevent them from tipping
unduly about the foot support C, and they will preferably be used for the best
results.
The inner members B serve as braces to minimize any. tendency that there might
be in the portions a' or a² to buckle by reason of any end wise thrusts thereof.
In making a long-cushion, I have found it advisable to insert, or thread, on the
rod C between, or alternating with each of, the two innermost spring wire members
assembled as already described side by side a collar, or a closely wound spiral of
wire, to thus separate (after the fashion of a washer or spacing piece) the lower
ends of all the spring members (composing a correspondingly long row of spring
members) slightly, to incline them towards the centre of the cushion.
Such inclination of the spring-members prevents undue vibration in the direction
of the length of the cushion, the oppositely inclined spring members bracing
each other.

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 1
claim is :-
1. The herein described spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely disposed
angular springs, and two similar sets of springs arranged within the same, said four
sets of springs being united at their lower ends by a suitable rod, the upper ends of
the inner and outer springs ni one side the centre of the spring seat being
connected by spiral springs or yielding connections, the said spiral springs or
yielding connections being connected by links, substantially as described.
2. The herein described spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely disposed
angular springs, and two similar sets of springs arranged within the same, said four
sets of springs being united at their lower ends by a suitable rod, the upper ends
of the inner and outer springs at one side the center of the spring seat being
connected by spiral springs or yielding connections, the said spiral springs or
yielding connections being connected by links, the outer angles of the outermost
sets of springs also being connected side by side by spiral springs or yielding
connectious substantially as described.
.3. The herein described spring seat, composed of two sets of oppositely disposed
angular outer springs having three arms and two spring coils, two sets of oppositely
disposed angular inner springs arranged within the said three armed springs, and
having each one spring coil, a suitable rod to hold the lower parts of all the said
spring arms, spiral springs to connect together the upper arms of the outer and
inner springs at one side the centre of the compound spring, links to connect the
said spiral springs, and spiral springs connecting the outer angles of the outer
springs of each set, substantially as described.
Dated the 20th day of December 1895.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.