IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTIBLE SCHOOL DESKS AND SEATS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Hugh Wippell, of Exeter, in the County
of Devon, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTIBLE SCHOOL
DESKS AND SEATS."
Sealed the 22nd August 1871, and dated the 1st March 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Hugh Wippell
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st March 1871.
I, HENRY HUGH WIPPELL, of Exeter, in the County of Devon, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONVERTIBLE SCHOOL DESKS AND SEATS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in combined school desks
and forms, whereby the same may be readily converted into a backed
seat, and so that all the sitters in the several seats may face in one
direction, although the different desks may be in reversed positions.
This is especially useful at tea meetings, lectures, and other similar

page_text: assemblies, as two or more desks may be combined to form tables and
afterwards be converted into backed seats without changing their
position.
Tu carrying out my Invention I mount the desk top and form or
bench on suitable standards, those at each end rising from a common i
footing. The "form" or bench I pivot at the ends and towards one
edge to the top of the seat standards, on which said bench is entirely
supported when used as a seat to the desk. In order to convert the
same into a backed scat. I turn the form or bench over on its pivots (so
as to bring the under side uppermost) until its other edge abuts or rests
upon a support projecting from the desk standard, and the desk top
(which is pivoted at or near the centre of its width to its support or
standard), being oscillated and brought into a slanting or nearly upright
position a backed seat is obtained.
In order to form a backed seat towards either the back or the front
of the desk, so as to permit of all the sitters facing in one direction,
although the desks may be in opposite positions, I make the top of each
desk standard of elbowed or inverted form, that is to say, with a short
projecting horizontal arm. To the extremity of this arm is jointed a
bar of corresponding length, to the other end of which the desk top is a
pivoted. This bar in one position lays along the fixed or horizontal arm
and supports the desk top at two points in its width, viz., at. the middle
where it is pivoted to the one end of said bar and also at the front edge.
The desk top may be turned up edgewise to form the back of a seat,
as above described, or the said desk top may be swung over to the front 2
to form the back for a seat facing in the opposite direction the course
described by the desk top in its passage from one side to the other
being a semicircle, of which the extremity of the horizontal arm of the
desk standard is the centre and the bars jointed thereto. When the
desk top is brought over on this side to form a back its edge rests 3
on the tops of the bench, and the elbowed tops of the desk standards
and bars jointed thereto serve as arms to the backed seat.
To form a backed seat in one direction or the other the bench must
in either case be folded over so as to bridge the space between the desk
and bench standards, by both of which it is thus supported, as before 3
stated. I provido the desk with a foot rest, which may serve as a
kneeling board to the backed seats when required. It consists of a

page_text: plauk pivoted at the ends towards one edge to the footing of the desk
standards and furnished with double hooks pivoted loosely at the ends
towards the other edge of the board, which hooks serve as feet for the
kneeling board and also as a means of fixing the foot rest at the height
required by turning it up on its centres or pivots and attaching the
looks to pins projecting from the desk standards. The foot rest is
made removable from its bearings in order that it may be applied either
to the bench or the desk standards (as the case may be, according to
whichever is at the rear of the backed seat) to serve as a kneeling board
|for the occupants of the scat behind.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Hugh Wippell in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st September 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
Hugu WIPPELL, of Exeter, in the County of Devon, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Hugh Wippell, Her special
licence that I, the said Henry Hugh Wippell, my executors, adminis
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Hugh
Wippell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTIBLE SCHOOL DESKS AND SEATS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Hugh Wippell, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause, the same to be filed in the

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Henry Hugh Wippell, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed and to the letters and Figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :—
My Invention relates to improvements in combined school desks and
formis, whereby the same may be readily converted into backed seats,
and, if required, so that all the sitters in the several seats may face in
one direction, although the different desks may have been in reversed
positions. This is especially useful at ten meetings, lectures, and other
similar assemblies, as two or more desks may be combined to form
tables, and afterwards be converted into backed seats without the incon-
venience of having to change the position of some by turning them
bodily.
"
In carrying out my Invention I mount the desk top and form or
bench on suitable standards, those at each end rising from a common
footing. The "form or bench I pivot at the ends and towards one
edge to the top of its standards, on which said bench is entirely sup-
ported when used as a seat to the desk. In order to convert the same
into a backed scat I turn the form or bench over on its pivots (so as to
bring the under side uppermost) until its other edge abuts or rests upon
a support projecting from the desk standard, and the desk top (which
is pivoted at or near the centre of its width to its support or standard)
being oscillated and brought into a slanting or nearly upright position,
a þacked seat is thus obtained.
In order to form a backed scat towards either the back or the front
of the desk, so as to permit of all the sitters facing in one direction,
although the desks may be in opposite positions, I make the top of each
desk standard of elbowed or inverted L form, that is to say, with a short
projecting horizontal arm. To the extremity of this arm is jointed a
bar of corresponding length, to the other end of which the desk top is
pivoted. This bar in one position lays along the fixed or horizontal
arm, and supports the desk top at two points in its width, viz., at the
middle, where it is pivoted to the one end of said bar, and also at the

page_text: front edge. The desk top may be turned up edgewise to form the back
of a scat, as above described, or the said desk top may be swung over
to the front to form the back for a seat facing in the opposite direction,
the course described by the desk top in its passage from one side to the
othor being a semicircle, of which the extremity of the horizontal arm
of the desk standard is the centre and the bars jointed thereto the
radius. When the desk top is brought over on this side to form a back
its edge rests on the tops of the bench standards, and the elbowed
tops of the desk standards and bars jointed thereto serve as arms to the
backed scat.
To form a backed seat in onc direction or the other the bench must
in either case be folded over so as to bridge the space between the
desk and bench standards, by both of which it is thus supported, as
before stated. I sometimes provide the desk with a foot rest, which
may serve as a kneeling board to the backed seats when required. It
consists of a plank pivoted at the ends towards one edge to the footing
of the desk standards, and furnished with double hooks pivoted looscly
at the ends towards the other edge of the board, which hooks serve as
fect for the kneeling board, and also as a means of fixing the foot rest
at the height required by turning it up on its centres or pivots, and
attaching the hooks to pins projecting from the desk standards. The
foot rest is made removable from its bearings in order that it may be
applied either to the bench or the desk standards (as the case may
be, according to whichever is at the rear of the backed seat) to serve as
as a kneeling board for the occupants of the seat behind.
Figure 1 is an end view, and Figure 2 a front clevation of a combined
bench and desk of simple construction, arranged so as to form a backed
scat, the disposition of the movable parts when it is to be used as
a bench and desk being shown in red lines. In this construction the
backed seat is capable of facing in one direction only, except by moving
it bodily.
A and B are the desk and bench standards respectively, each pair
rising from a common footing C preferably in one piece if in cast iron,
but they may be made of wood if desired; D is the bench or seat pivoted
at D' to the top of standards B, which are of the form shown, and are

page_text: cach provided with a projecting ledge B' on the inner side to support
seat D when used as a form to the desk, as shown in red lines; E is tho
desk top secured at either end to a metal frame or bracket F pivoted
at F to the top of the desk standard A, as shown, and provided with a
sector or quadrant G for securing the desk top at any angle by means of
a bolt G passing through the standard A, and through any one of a
series of holes in the quadrant G. Each desk standard A is formed with
a projecting ledge H to receive and support the bench D when turned
over, as shown in Figure 1, to form a backed seat in conjunction with
the desk top, which is turned on its centre F until it attains the desired
position to form a back to the seat, where it is secured by the bolt G'
and quadrant G. The bolt is shown on an enlarged scale. Figure 3,
which is a section of part of standard A; in this instance the standard
would be of wood. The round bolt G' slides in a round hole a in
standard A, and is provided with a flat stem ₺ working through a corre-
sponding slit in a plate c attached to standard A. To the stem ↳ a
handled is attached by a short stem or neck which admits of the bolt
being locked by turning in the hole a, whence it cannot be withdrawn
until the stem 6 coincides with the vertical slit in plate c. e is the
staple to receive the end of the bolt, and G is the quadrant. I, Figure 1,
is a book rest, which is fixed to the desk standard A. K is a foot or
kneeling board; it is pivoted between the standards A to the foot piece
C, the pivots, as in the case of the bench D, being placed towards one
edge of the board to admit of its being thrown over in either direction,
as shown in red and black lines. L are curved or hooked feet pivoted to
the ends of board K to serve either as fect to support when used as a
kneeling board or as hooks to suspend it at any height from pins fixed
to the standards A, as shown in dotted lines, so as to adapt it as a foot
rest, and permit of its adjustment to suit children of different sizes. It
may be removed by lifting or withdrawing the pivots from their bearings
or sockets.
A more convenient arrangement of desk and sent is shown in end
view in Figure 4, and in front clevation at Figure 5. Figures 6 and 7
show end views of the same when arranged as a backed seat to face in
one or other direction.

page_text: with a short horizontal arm A' at the upper part, as shown, to the
extremity of which a bar M is connected by a joint N. To the other
end of this bar M is pivoted the metal bracket F supporting the desk
top E midway of its width. When used as a desk or table the bar M is
doubled down on part A', the top E being supported, as shown, either in
an inclined position or horizontally, as represented in red lines, Figure 4,
to serve as a table, being held firmly in either position by an arm or
extension g formed in one with the swivelling bracket F, the lower end
of which abuts against or engages with a wedge shaped stop / fixed or
cast on the side of the standard A. When it is required to form a
backed seat it is simply necessary to turn over the bench D to the dotted
position shown in Figure 4, where it rests on ledge H, and either to turn
up the top E edgewise until it assumes the position shown in Figure 6,
or to throw it entirely over to the position shown in Figure 7, in which
case the top E rests on the standards B according to the direction it is
desired to face. In Figure 7 the parts A and M form curved arms to
the ends of the seat. O is a book shelf pivoted at the ends between
standards B, so as to admit of its being turned up edgewise out of the
way, as in Figures 6 and 7. Figure 8 shows the same seats arranged as
a table and afterwards converted into backed seats facing in the same
direction, as shown in red lines.
.
Having described the nature of my 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. The bench D pivoted towards one edge to admit of its being
folded over and supported on one side or the other, as herein-before
described, in combination with an oscillating desk top E to form either a
backed seat or to serve as a bench to said desk, as required, all as
herein-before described and shown in Figure 1 of the Drawings.
2ndly. The standard (A curved, as shown in Figure 4), bar M, and
back E, all combined and arranged substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated in the Drawings, for the purpose of forming a
back to a seat to face in either direction.
3rdly. The combination with standard A, bar M, desk top E, and
bracket F, of a bench D pivoted, supported, and arranged substantially
as hereiu-before shown and described, for the purpose of forming a desk

page_text: or table with bench, or a backed seat to face in either direction as set
forth.
Athly. The combination with a pivoted or hinged board of hooked feet
for supporting it in any of the positions shown, so as to adapt it for a
kneeling board to the backed seats or as a foot rest for children seated at
the desk.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Hugh Wippell, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Thirty-first day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
onc.