U.S. patent number 3,586,371 [Application Number 04/840,067] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-22 for seating arrangement.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Baresel-Bofinger, Rudolf. Invention is credited to Alfred Baetzner, Helmut Baetzner, Kurt Tischer.
United States Patent |
3,586,371 |
Baetzner , et al. |
June 22, 1971 |
SEATING ARRANGEMENT
Abstract
A one-piece stackable chair consists of reinforced synthetic
plastic material having a wall thickness of at least 3 mm., and
preferably ranging between at least 3 and 6 mm. Coupling means is
provided for coupling any two such chairs releasably to one another
so that at the will of a user such chairs may be arranged
side-by-side in coupled relationship, or the coupling may be
disengaged and the chairs may be stacked.
Inventors: |
Baetzner; Alfred (Karlsruhe,
DT), Baetzner; Helmut (Karlsruhe, DT),
Tischer; Kurt (Ilsfeld, DT) |
Assignee: |
Baresel-Bofinger, Rudolf
(Ilsfeld b. Hulbronn, DT)
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Family
ID: |
25281366 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/840,067 |
Filed: |
February 17, 1969 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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612736 |
Mar 13, 1967 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/248;
297/239 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
3/04 (20130101); A47C 5/12 (20130101); A47C
3/12 (20130101); A47C 1/124 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
1/124 (20060101); A47C 1/00 (20060101); A47C
3/04 (20060101); A47C 5/12 (20060101); A47C
5/00 (20060101); A47C 3/00 (20060101); A47c
001/124 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/239,248,249 ;108/64
;24/81CC,81C,81E,81T,81PB ;248/188.9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Zugel; Francis K.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of our copending
application, entitled "Chair" and filed on Mar. 13, 1967 under Ser.
No. 622,736.
Claims
What we claim as new and desire to be protected by Letters Patent
is set forth in the appended claims.
1. A seating arrangement comprising, in combination, a pair of
stackable chairs of synthetic plastic material and each including a
seat, a set of legs extending downwardly from said seat by a
predetermined distance and respectively having downwardly tapering
outwardly open angle profiles, and sidewall portions also extending
downwardly from said seat by a distance which is a fraction of said
predetermined distance; and quick-release clamping means for
coupling said chairs when the latter are arranged side-by-side with
respective sidewall portions in facing but spaced relationship,
said clamping means comprising a first clamping section having two
clamping portions each adapted to engage a sidewall portion of one
of said chairs at a side facing away from the other chairs, a
second clamping section arranged to extend between said facing
sidewall portions for engaging the latter at the facing sides
thereof and for clamping a part of each of said facing sidewall
portions against the respective clamping portion of said first
clamping section, and hinge means hingedly connecting said first
and second clamping sections for movement between an inoperative
and an operative position in which latter said sections clamp said
parts of said facing sidewall portions.
2. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 1, said first and
second clamping sections including respective barlike elongated
portions extending in parallelism with one another; and wherein
said hinge means comprises hinge straps encircling said elongated
portions.
3. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 2, said straps being
rigid with one of said elongated portions.
4. A seating arrangement comprising, in combination, a pair of
stackable chairs of synthetic plastic material, each of said chairs
including a seat, a set of legs extending downwardly from said seat
by a predetermined distance and each having a downwardly tapering
outwardly open angle profile, and sidewall portions also extending
downwardly from said seat by a distance which is a fraction of said
predetermined distance, and quick-release coupling means comprising
hinged first and second coupling sections hingedly turnable
relative to one another between an inoperative position and an
operative position in which said first section engages sidewall
portions of said chairs and said second section engages opposite
sidewall portions of said chairs so as to clamp between each other
adjacent sidewall portions of said chairs when the latter are
arranged side-by-side with said adjacent sidewall portions in
nonabutting relationship, whereby said chairs may be releasably
coupled in fixed side-by-side relationship when desired and may, by
turning of said coupling sections to said inoperative position, be
stacked for storage purposes.
5. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein the wall
thickness of said plastic material of said chairs is between
substantially 3 and 6 mm. and substantially constant throughout
each of said chairs.
6. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4, the seats of said
chairs each being provided with a downwardly concave shallow
depression.
7. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 6, each of said chairs
further comprising a front and a rear wall portion extending
between the respective sidewall portions in downward direction; and
wherein said front and sidewall portions of each chair define
respective upwardly convex shallow bulges.
8. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 7, each of said bulges
being provided at the underside thereof with a downwardly open
trough-shaped complementary cavity.
9. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4, said set of legs of
each chair including a pair of rear legs and a pair of front legs,
each front leg having an inner angle portion directed toward the
corresponding inner angle portion of the other front leg in
substantial parallelism therewith; and wherein each of said front
wall portions has opposite ends which respectively merge
substantially continuously into one of said inner angle
portions.
10. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4, each of said
sidewall portions being further provided with an upwardly extending
cutout of substantially parabolic contour.
11. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4, each of said
chairs further comprising a back rest extending upwardly from the
respective seat.
12. A seating arrangement as defined in claim 4; said legs of said
chairs each having a lower edge; and further comprising a
ground-contacting supporting plate portion provided at the lower
edge of each of said legs and extending transversely to the
direction of elongation of the respective leg.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, the present invention relates to chairs. More
specifically, the present invention relates to one-piece stackable
chairs, and still more particularly the invention relates to a
seating arrangement wherein any two of such chairs may be
releasably coupled to one another so that at the will of the user
they may be arranged side-by-side in coupled relationship, or may
be stacked when the coupling is disengaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a seating arrangement including at
least two one-piece chairs of reinforced synthetic plastic
material, and releasable coupling means for coupling such chairs
together.
The seating arrangement in accordance with the present invention
may be simply and quickly manufactured and is relatively
inexpensive.
By virtue of their particular configuration the individual chairs
according to the present invention have a high resistance to
breaking stresses and can be stacked very readily. On the other
hand, the provision of our novel coupling means makes it possible
for any two of such chairs to be releasably connected in
side-by-side relationship to provide two adjacent chairs or, if
additional chairs or additional coupling means are provided, to
provide one or more rows of such chairs which are firmly connected
with one another until the coupling means is released. Thus, a
seating pattern can be readily established, for instance in a large
space such as an auditorium or the like, and yet all of the chairs
can be readily disengaged from one another by release of the
coupling means and can then be stacked to save space and to again
afford open floor space in the area previously used for the seating
pattern, when the seating pattern is not needed.
In accordance with the above features, and others which will become
apparent hereafter, we provide a seating arrangement which
comprises a pair of stackable chairs of synthetic plastic material
each having a wall thickness ranging between substantially 3 and 6
mm. Each of the chairs includes a seat, a set of legs which extend
downwardly from the seat by a predetermined distance, and which
each have a downwardly tapering outwardly open angle profile, and
sidewall portions which also extend downwardly from the seat by a
distance which is a fraction of the aforementioned predetermined
distance.
We further provide quick-release coupling means operative for
engaging adjacent sidewall portions of the chairs when the latter
are arranged side-by-side. In this manner the chairs may be
releasably coupled in such side-by-side relationship when the
arrangement of a seating pattern is desired. On the other hand, by
release of the aforementioned coupling means, the chairs may be
separated from one another and may then be stacked for storage
purposes requiring very little space in this manner.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the
invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The
invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its
method of operation, together with additional objects and
advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following
description of specific embodiments when read in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a front-elevational view of one chair of a seating
arrangement according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a rear-elevational view of the chair of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top-plan view of the chair shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line VI-VI of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a coupling means according to the
present invention;
FIG. 8 illustrates an actuating member for operating the coupling
means of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing two chairs of the
seating arrangement connected by the coupling means; and
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of the seating arrangement of FIG. 9,
but seen from below to further illustrate details of the coupling
which is effected between the chairs of the seating
arrangement.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Discussing now the drawing in detail it is firstly pointed out that
in FIGS. 1--6 we have illustrated only a single chair of the
seating arrangement, it being evident that the other chair, or the
additional chairs if more than two constitute the seating
arrangement, will be the same as the one that is illustrated.
The illustrated chair is of one-piece construction and, because of
its particular configuration which is clearly shown in the drawing
and which will be discussed in more detail, it is readily
stackable.
Each of the chairs of the seating arrangement consists of a
thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic material which is reinforced
with a suitable filler or reinforcing material, such as glass
fibers, textile fibers or synthetic fibers. The seat of the
exemplary illustrated chair, and of all others, is configurated in
form of a shallow depression which dips or decreases in the
direction toward the rear of the chair and is bordered at the front
of the seat and at the sides thereof by a shallow downwardly open
bulge. The front edge portion of the seat is identified with
reference numeral 1 and it will be seen that the opposite ends of
this front edge portion 1, identified with reference numeral 2,
merge substantially constantly into the respective sections 3 of
the front legs of the chair, with the sections 3 of the two front
legs facing one another as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows
particularly clearly that the front legs as well as the rear legs
have an angular profile which tapers in downward direction (compare
FIG. 1).
The lateral edge portions 6 of the seat have forward ends 5 which
merge into the rearwardly facing sections 7 of the front legs which
are located substantially in a common transverse plane with
reference to one another. This is shown in FIG. 6 wherein it will
also be seen that the sections 7 extend substantially at a right
angle to the sections 3 of the respective front leg. The profile of
all of the legs, whether the front or rear legs, is open in outward
direction, that is in the direction away from the chair. This is
clearly illustrated in FIG. 6 also. The lateral edge portions 6 of
the chair seat extend downwardly below the level of the chair seat
in somewhat sheet like configuration, as evident from FIG. 4 which
is a section on the line IV-IV of FIG. 1. Reference may also be had
to FIGS. 3 and 5 for an illustration of this feature.
Intermediate the respective associated front and rear legs the
downwardly extending portions of the lateral edge portions 6 are
provided with cutouts of substantially parabolic contour. The front
edge portion 1 of the chair set is similarly extended downwardly
below the level of the seat, as shown in FIG. 1, and is also
provided with a cutout of substantially parabolic contour but of
course located between the two front legs of the chair. The
downwardly extending sheet portions of the respective side edge
portions 6 merge into leg-supporting portions 8 which taper
downwardly and in turn merge into the outwardly facing sections 9
of the rear legs. In the upward direction, the portions 8 merge
into the respective rearwardly open lateral bulge 10 of the
backrest 4 which, as evident from FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, is formed of a
transversely concave configuration.
It has already been pointed out that the shallow depression of the
seat dips towards the rear, so that the lowest point of the
depression in the chair seat is located adjacent the backrest 4.
The chair seat rises from this lowest point to merge with the
backrest 4 and this configuration conforms closely to the human
anatomy and makes the chair particularly comfortable. The
transverse extending upper edge portion 11 of the backrest 4 is
bent rearwardly and downwardly and forms a downwardly open through
with which the rearwardly extending sections 12 of the back legs of
the chair and of the backrest 4 merge more or less gradually.
In accordance with out invention the thickness of the material
utilized for making the novel chair is substantially constant
throughout and is at least 3 mm., but preferably is on the order of
between 3 and 6 mm. As pointed out before, both thermoplastic and
thermosetting plastic materials are suitable for constructing the
chair, and textile fibers, plastic synthetic fibers and glass
fibers are suitable as reinforcing materials. Depending upon the
type of plastic material which is used as a base material, the
percentage of fibers used for reinforcing the base material may be
between 20 and 70 percent of the total.
An example of a possible specific mixture suitable for making the
chair in accordance with the present invention--but which example
is not to be considered limiting and only illustrative--is a
mixture consisting of 1/3 glass fibers, 1/3 polyester material and
1/3 powdered filler material. This relationship can be changed
depending on the mechanical forces to which the finished chair is
to be subjected and other materials can of course be used, as
pointed out earlier.
The chair disclosed herein can be manufactured in a mold, by an
extrusion process or manually. Depending upon the method of
production which is chosen, pressures upwardly of 10 kg. are
necessary. The use of a hardening material as an additive to the
basic mixture depends upon the method of manufacture employed.
Again, in dependence upon the method of manufacture the time needed
for production of an individual chair ranges between 0.5 and 20
minutes.
While in FIGS. 1--6 we have illustrated a single chair of the novel
seating arrangement, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a coupling means and
an actuating member for the coupling means for coupling any two
chairs together, and FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a seating
arrangement wherein two such chairs are coupled by the coupling
means of FIGS. 7 and 8.
Discussing firstly FIG. 7 it will be seen that this illustrates a
coupling means 70 consisting of two clamping members 71 and 72,
respectively. The coupling means 70 is illustrated in its operative
position in FIG. 1. It will be seen that each of the clamping
members has a holding portion, that of the clamping member 1 being
identified with reference numeral 75 and that of the clamping
member 2 being identified with reference numeral 76. The holding
portion 75 is bent somewhat downwardly and inwardly with respect to
the holding portion 76. Two rodlike portions of the clamping
members 71 and 72 extend in parallelism with one another, as
illustrated, and are hingedly connected by two straps 77 and 78
which are looped about the rodlike portions, as illustrated in FIG.
7. The straps 77 and 78 are rigid with one of the rodlike portions,
for instance in the illustrated embodiment with the rodlike portion
associated with the clamping member 72, and the clamping member 71
thus can hingedly turn with respect to the clamping member 72.
When the clamping members are in the position illustrated in FIG.
7, the portion 75 will snap below and somewhat behind the portion
76 and will thus prevent undesired turning of the members 71 and 72
with reference to one another.
As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, to connect two chairs of the
seating arrangement in the manner under discussion, one of the
lateral edge portions 6 of each of two chairs, illustrated in FIGS.
9 and 10 and identified with reference numerals 4 and 4a,
respectively, is located in the gap between the lateral upwardly
extending portions of the clamping members 71 and 72.
Advantageously but not necessarily the inner face of the upwardly
extending portion of the clamping member 72--or that of the
clamping member 71 or of both clamping members--may be provided
with serrations or like roughnesses identified with reference
numeral 79 for the purpose of gripping the plastic material of
these lateral edge portions 6 more tightly. A top view of a seating
arrangement connected in this manner is shown in FIG. 9 and a view
from below as shown in FIG. 10 to more clearly illustrate the
relationship and the manner in which the chairs are engaged by the
clamping means 70. The actuating member shown in FIG. 8 is
identified with reference numeral 73 and may consist of wood,
synthetic plastic material, metal or the like, having an incision
or recess 74 which, when the coupling means 70 is to be operated,
may be placed about the two portions 74 and 76 whereupon, in
response to a turning movement of the member 73 about the turning
axis constituted in this manner by the portions 75 and 76, the
portion the portion 75 will be snapped downwardly and behind the
portion 76 or, if the turning movement is reversed, the portion 75
will be released from the portion 76.
Of course it will be appreciated that by providing more than one of
the coupling means 70, more than two of the chairs can be connected
so that the seating arrangement can be made larger or smaller, as
desired. When the chairs are disconnected they can be readily
stacked as mentioned before. Each of the chairs 4, 4a is provided
with inner projections or noses 80 and 81 (compared FIG. 10) which
serve to define the intended location of the coupling means 70 when
the chairs are being coupled together, and to prevent the coupling
means from sliding out of its allocated position.
The legs are provided at their lower ends with transversely
extending supporting plate portions 9a which serve to prevent
damage to the ground on which the legs rest. Advantageously we
provide upwardly extending recesses 9b in the supporting plate
portions 9a and these recesses may accommodate plugs of suitable
protective material, for instance of elastomeric material which
further serves to protect the floor or ground on which the chairs
rest.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or
two or more together, may also find a useful application in other
types of constructions differing from the types described
above.
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied
in a seating arrangement, it is not intended to be limited to the
details shown, since various modifications and structural changes
may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the
present invention.
* * * * *