Improvements in or applicable to Ohairs, Stalls, Benches, or other Seats.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Sept. 1896--Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1596
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Ohairs, Stalls, Benches, or
other Seats.
I AUSTIN WALTERS of 31 Dorset Street, Hulme, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster, 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 principally to such seats as the stalls or chairs in a theatre
or concert room but it may also be applied to other seats if desired.
The object of the invention is to provide a shelf upon which a hat, parcel or the
like can be placed and which is capable of being folded up out of the way when
required, the invention being especially useful in the case of seats which can be
thrown back or raised out of the way when not in use.
The invention consists in affixing to the underside of the sent a shelf of any
suitable kind so mounted upon its supports that it and they can be raised up close
to the underside of the seat and fixed in that position when not in use.
My invention will be readily understood from the following description on
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figs. 1 and 2 on the annexed drawings are side elevations (in section through
about the centre) of part of a seat (say a stall in a theatre) with my improvements
applied thereto,
Fig. 1 shows the seat raised and the shelf folded out of the way and in dotted
lines shows the seat let down.
Fig. 2 shews the seat and the shelf let down so that a hat or a parcel or the like
can be placed on the latter.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation partly in section of Fig. 2.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew a modified form of the shelf.
a is the seat pivotted at a+ to the frame a' which may be provided with arms a*
AS usual.
To the underside of the seat a I pivot (at 6+) a pair of arms or a frame b
preferably provided with cross bars (see Figs. 2 and 3) and to the frame or
arms b I pivot or hinge at ca shelf c which is or may be also connected to the
underside of the seat by a chain or other equivalent device as an additional
support.
I may make the frame b (for supporting the shelf c) of a series of jointed links
like lazy-tongs (as seen at Figs. 4 and 5) or in other suitable form so long as the
shelf c can be raised up to the under side of the seat a when not in use as seen at
Figs. 1 and 4.
Any suitable locking device may be used for holding the shelf c in this last
named position, I prefer however to use a small catch d capable of turning on a
pivot d' and prevented from moving too far by suitable stops d' (see also detached
plan Fig. 24).
In some cases I may cause the shelf o to be automatically released by the weight
of a person sitting upon, or otherwise applying suitable pressure on, the seat a (as
seen at Fig. 4), such weight when applied depresses the end e of a cranked lever e e
and removes a catch et on the end 'e from beneath the shelf c which can fall of its
own weight (or it may be otherwise depressed) into the position seen at Fig. 5.

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 [
claim is :-
ቤ
1. The combination with a seat of a shelf provided with a support so arranged
that the said shelf can be folded or raised close to the undor side of the
seat when not in use and lowered when required, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The combination with a pivotted seat of a folding shelf applied substantially
as and for the purpose herein before described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of
the annexed drawings.
3. The combination with a seat of a shelf automatically lowered by the weight of a
person sitting upon the soat or by similar pressure substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Fig. 4.
Dated this 31st day of August 1896.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.