Improvements in Collapsible or Folding Wardrobes or like Articles of Furniture.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Jan., 1895-Accepted, 1st June, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Collapsible or Folding Wardrobes or like Articles
of Furniture.
I, WILLIAM HENRY VAUGHAN, of Nos. 332 and 334, Old Street, in the County
of London, Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to improvements in collapsible or folding furniture and
has for its object to enable a wardrobe or like article having the outward appearance
of an ordinary piece of furniture of first class manufacture to be collapsed and
folded into a small compass for transport.
n
In carrying the invention into effect, the back of the wardrobe is divided and
hinged vertically so as to fold and the sides of the wardrobe are hinged to the
back so that the entire back and sides may when desired be folded one upon the
other without separation.
The sides of the wardrobe at the front are held in position by means of a plinth
attached to the bottom and extending across the front and furnished with pegs or
dowels which enter the front edges of the side pieces and thus hold them against
movement whilst at the top the sides are similarly held by means of the cornico
which dowels onto the sides and back and is adapted to be lifted off for transport.
The bottom board of the wardrobe immediately beneath the doors slides into
position in grooves on the inner faces of the side pieces and against the back which
it retains in its extended position, whilst the doors are furnished with downwardly
projecting pins which engage holes formed in the sliding bottom board or in the
plinth hereinbefore referred to, whilst similar but upwardly projecting pins, at the
tops of the doors, engage corresponding holes in the cornice, the pins constituting
hinges upon which the doors turu whilst the cornice is held in position by means of
catches carried by the sides whereby the rigidity of the wardrobe is secured and
maintained.
One or more shelves are provided to slide or spring into grooves in the sides and
the under surfaces of such shelves are provided with suitable folding hooks.
By the means herein before described, it is only necessary to take off the cornice
when the doors may be removed and to slide out the shelf or shelves and the bottom,
when the slides and back of the wardrobe may be compressed and the whole of
the parts may be packed into a flat parcel either to be conveyed as a parcel in itself
or to be packed away in a box, couch or ottoman or in a packing case.
Furniture of this character is especially adapted for the use of officers in camp
whilst it is also particularly useful to persons who are in the habit of frequently
changing their residence, and to whom the moving of ordinary furniture is a
considerable task.
Dated this 10th do- of Ontahan 1801
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Collapsible or Folding Wardrobes or like Articles
of Furniture.
I, WILLIAM HENRY VAUGHAN, of Nos. 332 and 334, Old Street, in the County
of London, Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what mannor the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My said invention relates to improvements in collapsible or folding furniture, aud
has for its object to enable a wardrobe or like article, having the outward appearance
of an ordinary piece of furniture of first-class manufacture, to be collapsed and
folded into a small compass for transport.
In carrying the invention into effect, the back of the wardrobe is divided and
hinged vertically so as to fold, and the sides of the wardrobe are hinged to the
back so that the entire back and sides may when desired be folded one upon the
other without separation.
The sides of the wardrobe at the front are held in position by means of a plinth
attached to the bottom and extending across the front, and furnished with holes or
recesses which engage pegs or dowels fixed on the front edges of the side pieces
and thus hold then against movement, whilst at the top the sides are similarly held
by means of the cornice which dowels on to the sides and back and is adapted to
he lifted off for transport.
The bottom board of the wardrobe immediately beneath the doors slides into
position in grooves on the inner faces of the side pieces, and against the back,
which it retains in its extended position, whilst the doors are furnished with down-
wardly projecting pins which engage holes formed in the sliding bottom board or in
the plinth hereinbefore referred to, whilst similar but upwardly projecting pins at
the tops of the doors engage corresponding holes in the cornice, the pins constituting
hinges upon which the doors turn whilst the cornice is held in position by means of
catches carried by the sides whereby the rigidity of the wardrobe is secured and
maintained. One or more shelves are provided to slide or spring into grooves on
the sides and the under surfaces of such shelves are provided with suitable folding
hooks.
And, in order that the said invention may he more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying drawings, more fully
to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a collapsible or folding wardrobe constructed
according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.
Dhui1
.. 13
i

page_text: Figure 11 is a sectional view, drawn to an enlarged scale, illustrating the
fastening employed to connect the cornice with the sides and the plinth or bottom
with the back, and,
Figure 12 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 11.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
a represents the doors at the front of the wardrobe, 6 represents the sides of the
wardrobe, whilst c represents the cornice,, and d represents the plinth, 6' represents
the back of the wardrobe which is divided vertically, the parts being connected
together by means of binges 61*.
The sides of the wardrobe are connected to the back b¹ by means of hinges 61**,
so that the entire back and sides which constitute the body may when desired
be folded one upon the other without separation, as indicated by the dotted lines at
the left hand of Figure 6.
The sides of the wardrobe, at the bottom thereof, are held in their expanded
position by means of the plinth d and bottom board d hereinafter more fully
referred to, which plinth extends across the front of the wardrobe and is furnished
with holes or recesses d", which engage corresponding pegs or dowels 6* on the
front edges of the sides b and thus hold the latter against movement, whilst, at the
top of the wardrobe, the sides are similarly held by the cornice c, which is
provided with recesses c* to engage pegs or dowels b* carried by the sides b and
back, the cornice e, and plinth d are thus adapted to be lifted off or removed.
с
In order to prevent the accidental displacement of the cornice c and to tie the
parts together, it is removeably fixed with the body of the wardrobe by means of a
fastening, such, for example, as that represented moro particularly at Figures 11
and 12, and which consists of a plate e', to which is hinged a plate or hasp e
furnished with a slot e* adapted to receive the head e' of a turn button fixed to one
of the sides b by a plate or fitting e**.
The bottom board d' of the wardrobe, which is fixed with the plinth d and
occupies a position immediately beneath the doors a, slides into position in
grooves provided for that purpose in the inner faces of the sides 6 until it abuts
against the back 6', when it, together with the plinth d, is fixed in position by
means of a similar fastening to that hereinbefore described, the slotted plate or
baspe of which engages a corresponding turn button e³ carried by the back b¹, and
the bottom board, at the same time assists to hold the back band sides b in their
extended position.
Holes or recesses are formed in the back to receive the heads of the turn
buttons, upon the sides when the device is folded for transport.
The doors a are furnished with downwardly projecting pins or studs a¹ of steel,
which are received into corresponding recesses d* formed in metal fittings d² carried
by the plinth d and bottom board d', whilst similar, but upwardly projecting pins a²
at the tops of the door a, engage corresponding recesses *, formed in a plate or
fitting fixed with the underside of the cornico e, the pins or studs a', together
with the corresponding recesses constituting hinges upon which the doors a are
adapted to swing, whilst studs de carried by the plinth act as shutting stops for
the doors.
The hinge edges of the doors a are rounded; and the sides bare formed with
corresponding recesses b³ to receive the same in order to give a neat finish to the
device.
The wardrobe is provided with a shelf f, or, in the case of a cabinet, several
shelves might be employed, which is held in position by means of grooves or
recesses formed in the sides b, but which grooves are closed at their front ends,
and the shelf is introduced into the grooves b before the cornice c and the plinth d
are placed in position as represented at Figure 4, the sides 6 being sprung apart to
allow of the ends of the shelf entering into the grooves b*.
Folding clothes books' are provided upon the underside of the shelf f, and the
shelf is formed with recesses into which the hooks f¹ are received when the
wardrobe is collapsed for transport.

page_text: From the foregoing description, it will be seen that it is only necessary to take
off the cornice c, when the doors a may be removed, and to slide out the shelf and
bottom board d¹, together with the plinth d, when the sides 6 and back 61 of the
wardrobe may be compressed as represented at Figure 6, and the whole of the parts
may then be packed into a flat parcel either to be conveyed as a parcel in itself' or
to be packed away in a box, couch, or ottoman, or in a packing case for transport.
Although the invention is described in connection with a wardrobe, it will be
evident that it is equally applicable to cabinets or like articles of furniture.
Furniture of the hereinbefore shown and described cliaracter is especially
adapted for the use of military officers in camp, whilst it is also particularly useful
to persons who are in the habit of frequently changing their residence, and to
whom the moving of ordinary furniture is a considerable task.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manuer the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a wardrobe or like article of furniture, the combination of a body formed
of a back, divided and hinged vertically, and sides hinged to the back so as to be
capable of folding or collapsing, means for holding such parts expanded, a pair of
doors at the front of the wardrobe, and means for supporting the same with
capability of swinging, substantially as herein shown and described and, for the
purpose stated.
2. In a wardrobe or like article of furniture, the combination of a body formed
of a back, divided and hinged vertically and sides hinged thereto so as to be capable
of folding or collapsing, a plinth carrying a bottom board and formed to removeably
fix on to the sides at the front, a cornice formed to removeably fix on to the sides
and back, fastenings for locking the parts together, a shelf held in position by
grooves or recesses formed in the sides, and a pair of doors provided with hinge
pius or studs engaging.corresponding recesses in the cornice and plinth, substantially
as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1895.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.