improvements in anu connected with Chairs.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1899-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1900
improvements in anu connected with Chairs.
We, JETHRO Foo1 and ROBERT JETHRO FOOT, both of 171, New Bond Street,
in the County of London, 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:-
This invention relates to improvements. in and connected with chairs.
In the accompanying drawing,- +
Figure is a longitudinal section of a chair of the kind described in our
former Patent No. 26852 of 1896 and having the improvements applied thereto,
this type of chair being, however, only given as an example:
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line 2---2 Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a sectional plan shewing the lower portion or base of the frame
of the chair; and
Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of the said base.
a is the base or support of the chair, b the seat and e the back thereof, these
parts being connected together as described in the Specification of our former
Patent.
d, d are the sliding rods or bars by means of which the seat can be locked at
any desired inclination to the base a and e is the ottoman or foot support.
In the improved chair the ottoman e is adapted to be secured to the front
edge of the seat b by means of hooks e¹, e' attached to the said ottoman and
adapted to enter eyes b¹, b¹ on the front of the seat b. In lieu of the notched
frame described in the Specification of our former Patent for adjusting the
inclination of the ottoman to the seat we now employ the following device, that
is to say, a frame is provided in the under part of the chair, the said frame
comprising lateral arms ƒ, ƒ rigidly secured together by a rod at their outer
ends, which are provided with rollers f, f. The inner ends of the arms are
bent inwards towards one another at right angles, as shewn at f, the said arus
being then bent upwards and backwards, as shown at f, f respectively, the rear
ends being connected together and provided with a roller as clearly shewn
in Figures 1, 3 and 4. The angle formed by the two connected arms f. fis
filled in so as to form a cup the use of which is hereinafter described. The
lateral arms f, f are arranged to run in guide holes a', a¹ in the base of the
chair and are provided near their rear ends with notches g, 9 which are adapted,
when the frame is pulled to its outermost position, that is to say, to the position
shewn in Figures 1 and 3, to drop on to the lower edges of the guides holes a¹
which thus form a fulcrum about which the frame can turn. h is a curved rail
which extends from the front to the back of the base a of the chair underneath
the roller f upon the inner end of the frame. When the notches 9, 9 are
released from the guide holes the frame can be pushed back, the roller fo
running upon the rail until it reaches its innermost position when the rear
end of the frame is guided by the upwardly inclined portion of the rail into a
recess arranged near it in the crosspiece a of the base a.
To adjust the inclination of the ottoman e we advantageously provide the

page_text: following mechanism for turning the above described frame upon its fulcrum,
such mechanism comprising the system of levers i, i arranged upon the lazy
tongs principle and adapted to bear with its lower end upon the cup at the
rear end of the frame, the upper ends of the levers being pivotally secured
to nuts engaging with right and left hand screw threads, respectively
upon a rod which passes transversely through the base a of the chair and is
provided with an external handle 3 whereby it can be turned. With this arrange-
ment, therefore, when the ottoman has been hooked into position on the front
of the chair band the frame f, f', etc., pulled out from the position indicated in
Figure 4 so that the rails e, e' provided underneath the ottoman e can rest
upon the rollers at the outer end of the frame, the inclination of the said
ottoman can be adjusted to the position indicated in Figures 1 and 2 by turning
the handle which collapses or extends the system of levers i, i so as to depress
the inner end of the frame f, f¹, etc., to the required extent, the cup always
being held against the lower end of the system of lovers by the weight of the
ottoman resting upon its front end.
The side bars can be used independently, that is to say, without being con-
nected together transversely, in which case a guide rail would be provided for
each bar.
The ottoman is also advantageously provided with a foot-rest 7 which is
furnished with dowels or pins, adapted to enter holes upon the outer end of
the ottoman e so that it can assume either of the positions indicated in full and
broken lines in Figure 1. This foot-rest is also adapted, when the ottoman e
is not to be used, to be secured by means of its dowels to the lower part of the
base a of the chair, as shewn in broken lines in Figure 1, so as to form a foot-
rest when the chair is used as an ordinary arm chair.
Although we have described and shewn our mechanism for adjusting the
inclination of the ottoman or leg rest as applied to a combination chair of the
kind described in our former Patent No. 26862 of 1896 it is to be understood that
the said mechanism can be applied to any other kind of chair.
In a chair constructed as described in our former specification a separate lock-
ing knob was required upon each side of the chair for securing the seat at the
desired inclination. We, now, provide means whereby both the lateral rods d, d
cau be simultaneously locked from one side of the chair. To this end the said
lateral rods d, d are caused to pass through eyes m, m formed at the two enda
of the transverse rod m', one of which ends extends through the side of the
base a of the chair and is screw-threaded, as clearly shewn at m³, so as to receive
an internally screw-threaded knob n; the two eyes m are guided in recesses m³
in brackets o secured to the base a and a forked slide piece or sleeve p is mounted
upon the screw-threaded end of the said rod, the forked portion of the said
piece embracing the eye m at this end.
With this arrangement when it is desired to secure the seat 6 of the chair at
a suitable inclination the knob n is screwed up upon the screw-threaded end mª
of the rod m so as to thereby cause the slide piece p to press the lateral bar d
against the bracket thus holding the said knob against futher longitudinal
movement so that the screwed rod m' is screwed into the said handle; this
movement of the rod causes the other curved bars d to be gripped by the other
eye m against the bracket o. The inclination of the back of the chair can also
be adjusted by a similar device to that used for the seat; this device is not shewn
in detail in the drawing but is indicated in dotted lines at Figure 1.
It will be obvious that our improved locking device can also be applied to
chairs other than rocking chairs of the kind above referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is; -
1. In a chair the arrangement for adjusting tho inclination of an ottoman

page_text: or leg rest to the seat of the chair to which it is hinged, such arrangement com-
prising a frame normally slid into the base of the chair but which can be pulled
outwards so as to be fulcrummed in the front of the chair, and means whereby
the inner end of the said frame can be raised or lowered so as to lower or raise
the outer cud upon which the ottoman rests, substantially as described.
2. In a chair of the kind described in Claim 1 the described means for raising
and lowering the inner end of the frame, such means comprising a rod having
right and left hand screw threads with which engage nuts pivoted to the ends
of levers forming part of a system of levers connected together on the lazy tongs
principle whereby on turning the rod the nuts are moved towards or away from
one another so as to expand or collapse the levers and operate the frame, sub-
stantially as herein before described and illustrated.
3. In a chair wherein a movable frame or bars is or are arranged in the under
part for supporting an ottoman or leg rest, the employment of one or more
guide rails upon which the frame or bars can travel, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated.
4. In a chair the arrangement for simultaneously locking two curved rods
for adjusting the inclination of the seat of the chair simultaneously from one
side of the chair, substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
5. Chairs constructed substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawing.
TEⱭ THIS SIN ⱭRY OF NOVCHIDET
1099.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.