IMPROVEMENTS IN SCHOOL DESKS AND THEIR SEATS, AND PARTLY RELATING TO PADS FOR THE BACKS OF THE SAME AND OTHER SEATS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Glendenning, of Chalk Hill Works, in the Hamlet
of Thorpe, in the County of the City of Norwich, School Desk Manufacturer,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCHOOL DESKS AND THEIR SEATS,
AND PARTLY RELATING TO PADS FOR THE BACKS OF THE SAME AND OTHER
SEATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Glendenning at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th March 1880.
JOHN GLENDENNING, of Chalk Hill Works, in the Hamlet of Thorpe, in the
County of the City of Norwich, School Desk Manufacturer. IMPROVEMENTS IN
SCHOOL DESKS AND THEIR SEATS, AND PARTLY RELATING TO PADS FOR THE
BACKS OF THE SAME AND OTHER SEATS."
My Invention relates chiefly to school-desks and seats of that class in which one
desk and one seat are combined upon a single frame or stand, and is chiefly designed
to provide a combined seat and desk in the most suitable relative positions for the
occupant when writing, with a capability of adjustment for conveniently taking
and leaving the seat or standing.
My said Invention further relates to a movable pad, designed for the back-
support of a school seat, but also applicable for chairs or other seats.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I attach the desk proper to its
standard in such a manner that the desk may slide towards and from the seat; and
the seat is also attached in a similar manner to its own standard, that is to say,
with a capability of sliding towards and from the desk. Therefore when the desk
and seat are to be occupied by a scholar, or when he has to leave them or to stand
up, he can have ample room by sliding the desk forward and the seat backward, and
any desks and seats not in use may be caused to slide towards each other, so that
they are each flush with the ends of the single stand on which they are supported.
The desk proper may be made a fixture and the seat only movable, or the seat a
fixture and the desk movable.
I may in some cases modify the construction of the seat either in combination
with a sliding desk or with a fixed desk by attaching the seat proper to a portion
of-the-standard-by -hinges or otherwise-in such a manner that it-will-fold-back
instead of slide, as above described, and in this case the part of the standard for
Posing S21

page_text: supporting the back of the scholar may be curved outward to form a recess to
receive the seat proper when folded back.
In some cases I may arrange the seat to tilt automatically, as described in the
Specification of former Letters Patent, dated 4th September A.D. 1877, No. 3363.
The pad above referred to consists of a convex piece, which may be made of any
suitable material. It has a projecting pin or stud extending from its rear side,
which stud passes into a longitudinal groove provided in the back support, so that
the pad may be adjusted vertically to fit to and support the back of the person
who may occupy the seat. The stud is provided with a thumb nut or other con-
venient means for releasing and tightening the pad.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Glendenning in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th
September 1880.
JOHN GLENDENNING, of Chalk Hill Works, in the Hamlet of Thorpe, in the
County of the City of Norwich, School Desk Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SCHOOL DESKS AND THEIR SEATS, AND PARTLY RELATING TO PADS FOR THE
BACKS OF THE SAME AND OTHER SEATS."
My Invention relates chiefly to school-desks of that class in which the desk
proper and seat are supported upon a single frame or stand, and is designed to
provide a desk which has a capability of adjustment so that its parts may occupy
various positions to adapt it most conveniently for writing, drawing, or reading,
or for permitting the entrance or exit of the pupil, and his or her free movements
in rising or sitting down.
The said Invention also relates to a movable pad, designed for the back-support
of the seats of such desks, and also applicable to the backs of other school desk.
seats.
My Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which,-
Figure 1 is a plan,
Figure 2 is a side elevation, and
Figure 3 a front elevation of one of my improved school-desks, in which the desk
only is adjustable.
Figure 4 is a front view of the seat of the said school-desk.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of a school-desk in which the desk is fixed and the
seat movable.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of school-desk in which the seat
is hinged to its upright or support.
Likeletters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
a is the aforesaid single frame or stand, consisting of the base piece a* and
uprights a¹, a; b is the desk proper, on whose slope or writing board 6* the books
or other articles are placed while being used; c is the seat. The desk proper and

page_text: the seat are both supported by and upon the said stand or frame, that is to say,
the desk proper b is supported on the upright a¹, and the seat c on the upright a³,
extending up from the base a. The said base is firmly secured by screws or
otherwise upon the wooden cross pieces or sleepers d. e, e, are foot plates to form
a rest or support for the feet of the pupil.
According to the first part of my Invention, which is illustrated in Figures 1
and 2, I attach the desk proper b to its standard a¹ in such a manner that it may
be adjusted horizontally by sliding it towards or from the seat. For this purpose
I form on or attach to the standard a', a metal or other plate or top à³,
upon which
the desk brests. The side-edges a' of this plate, or flanges or tongues formed
thereon, project into channels or grooves in strips or bars b' formed or fixed on the
under-surface of the desk b, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3 of the Drawings, the said
edges or tongues being so fitted into the said grooves as to permit the desk b to
slide freely upon the top or plate a³ in a horizontal direction, while preventing any
rocking or vertical movement of the same. The desk may thus be very easily and.
conveniently adjusted by the pupil into the desired position. 63 represents a stop
on the desk b to limit the extent of movement of the latter towards the seat c; and
if required provision may be made by a pinching screw or other suitable device for
holding the desk firmly when drawn toward the seat. I also in some cases arrange
the seat c to slide towards or from the desk b by providing the upper end of the
standard a² with a plate a³, whose edges are fitted to grooves in the bars c¹ in such
a manner as to permit the seat to slide and be adjusted on the said plate in the
same manner as the desk b. This capability of adjustment of the desk or seat
affords the means for preventing any impediment or obstruction to the ingress or
egress of the pupil, while by sliding the desk proper toward the seat the essential
condition of a correct writing desk is secured, that is to say, the writing board will
be brought within the ascertained proper distance from the body of the pupil
engaged in writing. And it will be obvious that this Invention provides for the
ready adjustment of the writing board to suit the varied physical developement of
different pupils, so that the same relative position for writing is in all cases
maintained. Any desk not in use may with facility be adjusted flush with or
within the ends of the frame a.
In the modification of my Invention, illustrated in Figure 6, I employ in combi-
nation with the fixed or sliding desk b a seat c, which is supported by a bracket c
hinged or otherwise attached at to the upright a' in such a manner that it will
fold back, as shewn in dotted lines, instead of sliding as hereinbefore described.
In this case the part as of the standard a³ is curved outward to form a recess to
receive the seat c when turned or folded back, as shewn. Or the said seat in
combination with a sliding desk may be arranged to tilt automatically, as described
in the Specification of former Letters Patent, dated September 4th, A.D. 1877,
No. 3363.
My improvement relating to adjustable pads for the seat backs of school desks
is designed to afford a support for the lower part of the spine, and is most clearly
illustrated in Figure 5 of the Drawings. The pad f consists of a convex piece of
wood or other suitable material, which corresponds to the concavity of the lumbar
curves. This pad is provided with a screw-pin or stud f', extending rearwardly
through a vertical slot g'in the back-support g. This pin or stud is furnished with
a nut h, which when slackened or turned back permits the pad f to be adjusted
vertically, the said pad being held in any position in which it is adjusted by
screwing up or tightening the said nut against the surface of the back support g;
or I may use any other suitable device which will permit the ready adjustment and
securing of the pad. g² represents the concave upper part of the back of the seat
against which the convex parts of the shoulders of the pupil rest.
The two positions of the above described adjustable parts are indicated by the
full and dotted-lines.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I do not claim broadly or generally the

page_text: supporting of the parts of a school desk upon a single standard, or the use of an
adjustable seat for a school desk, as I have described these features in the Specifi-
cations of former Letters Patent, but the adaptation of the various improvements
herein described to a school desk, wherein the desk proper and the seat are sup-
ported upon a single stand or frame affords very important advantages in the
manufacture and in the use of this class of school furniture, and to the best of my
knowledge and belief the advantages of a single support or stand for the desk
proper and the seat, and those resulting from the adjustability of the latter, have
never been united in one desk, either in combination or not in combination with
the sliding desk, as above described. Moreover I am aware that in dental and
other chairs the backs or portions of the same have been made adjustable for
various purposes, but I am not aware that a school desk has heretofore had the
back support provided with a sliding or adjustable part whose arrangement in
combination with the desk and seat affords the means for supporting the back of
any pupil in such a manner as to prevent the injury to health which results from
sitting in improper positions at a desk; and I claim,―
First. In a school desk in which a single stand or frame supports both the desk
proper and the seat the means for obtaining the adjustment of the desk proper to
or from the seat by sliding it horizontally upon the top of the stand, substantially
as above set forth.
Second. The novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby I provide a
desk whose back and seat are both supported by and upon a single stand or frame,
with means for effecting the adjustment of the seat, substantially as and for the
purposes specified.
Third. Providing the back-support or seat-back of a school desk with an adjust-
able part which may be arranged or adapted to afford the most advantageous
support to any pupil or occupant of the desk, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Glendenning, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.