Improvements in Chairs.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in Chairs.
We, RICHARD NAETHER, and ALBIN NAETHER, of Zeitz, Prussia, in the Empire of
Germany, Manufacturers, 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 :-
:-
Our invention relates to chairs provided with movable backs and leg-rests which
are adapted to be adjusted by the occupants without the necessity for rising, so that
they may place themselves in more or less reclining positions.
The chief object of our invention is to provide a chair of this class which is adapted
to fold so as to occupy little room and to render it easily portable.
In our improved chair the back and leg-rest are connected together so as to move
simultaneously, and are so balanced that by simply leaning against the back it can
be caused to assume any desired. position, the leg-rest being raised at the same
time.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved chair in position for use, and
Figure 2 is a similar view of the chair in its folded position.
bare the crossed leg-frames, which are pivoted at c and provided with the
jointed links d and e, the latter holding the leg-frames firmly in an open
position.
fis the chair-back, which is loosely mounted on the rod g of the leg-frame a; and h
is the leg-rest, which is jointed at to the upper end of the leg-frame b, so that the
front of the leg-rest is considerably in advance of the rod k of the frame b.
With this arrangement the leg-rest in raising elevates the legs of the occupani at
a point slightly below the houghs, thus. giving the back fa much greater leverage
than if the leg-rest were mounted in an axial line with the rod k, in which case the
leg-rest would bear against the legs of the occupant more towards the heels,
thereby considerably increasing the leverage of the leg-rest relatively to that of the
back.
I are bars forming arms connecting the back with the leg-rest, the said bars being
jointed to the back at m and to the extensions n of the leg-rest at o. The said extensions n
are curved forward so that the points o are located in front of the joint at i. The

page_text: leg-rest and its extensions thus form a kind of cranked lever, the arms being curved
considerably to reach the points o.
The effect of this location of the points o relatively to the points i, together with
the novel construction of the leg-rest, is such that, under the weight of the occupant,
the back is perfectly balanced by the leg-rest and the leg-rest by the back in every
more or less reclining position, and that by the least increase of the normal pressure
on the back or leg-rest the position can be changed at will. The chair can thus be
used to produce a motion similar to that of a rocking chair. Stops a¹ are provided
for limiting the rearward motion of the back and the upward motion of the
leg rest.
p are slots formed in the arms for allowing the arms and the back to fold
down backward, close to the leg-frames a and b when the latter are folded, as
shown in figure 2.
7 is the chair-seat which is formed of flexible material and is a covering for
the leg-rest. As shewn, the seat and covering for the leg-rest are in one piece, one
end being attached to the bar g and the other end to the bar s of the leg-rest; they
may, however, be in separate pieces.
t is the material forming the back proper of the chair, and attached at its two
ends to the bars u, v.
The back proper, seat and leg-rest covering may be attached in any suitable
manner; and, if desired, formed of wood or other stiff material.
w is a footboard hinged between two links c, the latter being jointed to the
leg-rest /.
The footboard rests flat on the floor when the chair is in its normal position, thus
serving as a comfortable foot-rest, and at the same time, owing to its friction on the
ground, stopping the forward motion of the leg-rest. After the raising of the
leg-rest the links will be upon the bar or stretcher s, in which position the foot-
board we can be turned and adjusted by the occupant with the foot to any angle,
or it can be stretched out to form an extension of the leg-rest. By means of the
holes y the footboard can be adjusted to any height to accomodate the legs of the
occupant; or it may be taken entirely off the leg-rest or folded flat with the latter
when the chair is folded, as shewn in Figure 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :
1. In a chair, the employment, in combination with an adjustable back, of a leg-rest
having upward projections connected to the back by bars, so that the back and leg
rest move simultaneously, substantially as described.
2. A chair having an adjustable back and leg-rest and adapted to fold.
3. The improved chair constructed substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
T
111
arl
A 1000