U.S. patent number 3,589,772 [Application Number 04/793,373] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-29 for chair.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Steelcase, Inc.. Invention is credited to Gardner Leaver.
United States Patent |
3,589,772 |
Leaver |
June 29, 1971 |
CHAIR
Abstract
A chair having a frame with a right arm, left arm, seat cross
support member, and a back cross support member, said frame being
mounted on a U-shaped support member having two legs extending
upwardly, each of the legs being connected to one of the arms of
the frame; and a seat assembly having seat and back portions
mounted on said frame, the seat portion being connected to the seat
cross support member and the back being connected to the back cross
support member.
Inventors: |
Leaver; Gardner (New York,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Steelcase, Inc. (Grand Rapids,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
25159771 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/793,373 |
Filed: |
January 23, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/451.3;
297/290; 297/452.57; 297/452.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
7/004 (20130101); A47C 7/18 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
7/00 (20060101); A47C 7/18 (20060101); A47c
007/00 (); A47c 007/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/445--450,454,282,418 ;248/187,188.735 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
page 56, Oct. 1965 issue of INDUSTRIAL DESIGN MAGZ..
|
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege I claim are defined as follows.
1. A chair comprising: a base; support means extending upwardly
from said base and being generally of a U-shaped configuration; a
frame means including a left arm member and a right arm member
connected at their ends by cross supports; said frame means being
operably connected to and supported by said support means at said
arm members between said cross supports; a seat assembly including
a seat and a back, said seat assembly being operably connected to
and supported by said frame means, such that said arm members are
generally above said seat member.
2. The chair of claim 1 wherein said support means includes a left
leg and a right leg extending upwardly from said base, said legs
defining a generally U-shaped configuration.
3. A chair comprising: a base; support means extending upwardly
from said base and being of a generally U-shaped configuration; a
frame means including a left arm member, a right arm member and
cross support means being operably connected to said arm members; a
seat assembly including a seat and a back being operably connected
to and supported by said cross support means; each of said arm
members comprising a load-bearing structural member extending
downwardly from said back to said seat; said support means
extending above said seat of said seat assembly and being operably
connected to said arm members.
4. The chair of claim 3 wherein said support means includes a left
leg and a right leg extending upwardly from said base, said legs
defining a generally U-shaped configuration; said left leg being
operably connected to said left arm member and said right leg being
operably connected to said right arm member.
5. The chair of claim 4 wherein said cross support means
constitutes seat cross support means and back cross support means;
said seat being operably connected to and supported by said seat
support means and said back being operably connected to and
supported by said back support means.
6. A chair comprising a base; a generally U-shaped support means
having a left leg and a right leg extending upwardly from said
base; a frame means including a left arm member, a right arm
member, each of said arm members having two ends, and two cross
support members; said crossmembers joining said left arm member to
said right arm member near said ends thereof, said crossmembers
being generally parallel to each other; said frame means being
supported by said generally U-shaped support member, said left leg
of said support member being operably connected to said left arm
member intermediate its ends and said right leg of said support
member being operably connected to said right arm member
intermediate its ends; a seat assembly including a seat and a back,
said seat assembly being supported by said crossmembers, said seat
being operably connected to one of said crossmembers and said back
being operably connected to the other of said crossmembers.
7. The chair of claim 6 in which each of said arm members extends
from said crossmember supporting said back and curves downwardly to
said crossmember supporting said seat; each of said left and right
legs of said support means being connected to said left and right
arms respectively, at a point above the plane of said seat.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the furniture industry, there has been and is a constant need
for highly styled chairs which are unique, attractive, comfortable
and yet of a construction which can be manufactured at a practical
cost so as to be sold at a marketable price.
Many attempts have been made to accomplish this need but very few
have been successful. Either such chairs are not sufficiently
unique, attractive, or comfortable or the cost of the manufacturing
the same is prohibitive. In many such unsuccessful instances the
chairs are constructed of so many parts the simplicity is lost and
the cost of manufacturing the parts and assembling them makes the
cost impractical.
SUMMARY
The present invention is a chair which satisfies the need referred
to above. The components are very few in number including a base,
support means extending upwardly from that base, a frame means, and
a seat assembly supported on the frame. The construction is unique
in the shape and arrangement of these components which not only
creates a unique and pleasing design but produces a sturdy and
rigid chair which is relatively economical to manufacture and
therefore can be sold at a market price comparable to highly styled
chairs of this unique type.
Therefore, the object of my invention is to provide a highly styled
chair of unique construction which can be manufactured at a
practical cost.
Further, an object of this invention is to provide a highly styled
chair of a small number of components which are easily assembled
and produce a sturdy and rugged chair. The frame means is operably
connected to and supported by said support means. A seat assembly
including a seat and a back is operably connected and supported by
the frame means. Such a construction is unique, economical and
therefore advantageous and offers all of the advantages discussed
above.
The objects and advantages of this invention can be seen by
reference to the enclosed drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a slightly elevated perspective view of the chair;
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the chair;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the chair;
FIG. 4 is a rear view of the chair;
FIG. 5 is a slightly lowered perspective view of the chair;
FIG. 6 is a side view of the support means and frame means of the
chair;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the support means and frame means of the
chair;
FIG. 8 is a cross section of the bottom portion of the support
means taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a cross section of the seat assembly taken along line
IX-IX of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 10 is a side view of the base of the chair.
The basic elements of this chair can best be seen by reference to
FIG. 3 wherein there is shown a base 10, a support means 20, a
frame means 30, and a seat assembly 40. The overall combination of
these elements can further be understood by referring to FIG. 1, 2,
4 and 5.
Referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the base 10 is a
spindle-type base and includes a ring stand 11, cantilever supports
12a and 12b, spindle-tube mounting 14, and a spindle tube 13. The
ring stand 11 is simply a circular ring (see FIG. 1). Extending
upwardly from that ring and on opposite sides thereof are
cantilever supports 12a and 12b. These are welded to the ring stand
11 prior to the chrome plating of the base. The cantilever supports
12a and 12b support a spindle mounting 14 which is also welded in
place. The spindle tube 13 is then welded to the spindle-tube
mounting 14. As can be discerned from the dashed lines, the spindle
tube 13 is hollow with a hole extending all the way through it and
through the spindle mounting 14.
The support means 20 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.
It consists of a U-shaped support member 22 having a right leg 22a
and a left leg 22b which act to define a generally U-shaped
configuration. This member is welded to a bell housing 24 and a
spindle 23. A hole 25 is punched in this U-shaped piece of steel 22
at the base of the U. This is shown in cross section in FIG. 8. The
top of the spindle 23 then extends a short distance into this hole
25 and is welded in place. The darkened area 26 represents a weld
which has been ground flush. The spindle 23 is of a slightly
narrower diameter than the inside diameter of the spindle tube 13.
On the other hand, the bell housing 24 has a larger inside diameter
than the outside diameter of the spindle tube 13. Thus, the spindle
23 slides down through the spindle tube 13 while the bell housing
24 fits over the spindle tube 13. The spindle is locked in place by
some sort of lockwasher or locking cap 27 which keys into the
groove at the base of the spindle 23. (See FIGS. 5 and 6)
The frame means 30 is detailed in FIGS. 6 and 7. It has a right arm
31, a left arm 32, a seat cross support means 33, a back cross
support means 34, and screw holes 36. The right and left arms 31
and 32 have identical shapes and dimensions and as can be seen from
FIG. 1, they start at a point behind the seat assembly 40 and curve
down and around to a point beneath the seat assembly 40. They are
joined together at their ends by the seat cross support member 33
and by the back cross support member 34. These four members are
welded together. In each of the seat cross support member 33 and
the back cross support member 34, there are three screw holes 36
through which the seat assembly 40 can be connected to the frame
30.
The seat assembly 40 is detailed in FIG. 9. 41 is the seat portion
of the seat assembly 40 and 42 is the back portion. The cushion
frame 43 is a solid piece of plywood which has been formed into the
particular configuration shown. In addition, strips 46 have been
tacked onto the seat edge and the back edge of the seat assembly 40
in order to give the ultimate seat assembly 40 a slight curl at
these points. A cushion material 44 such as foam rubber or polyfoam
is placed on the cushion frame 43 and is covered with a cover
material 45. Note that the cushion frame 43 is equipped with screw
eyes 47 whose locations correspond to the location of the screw
holes 36 in the frame 30.
These four main elements are combined in the following fashion. The
top of the right leg 22a is welded to the right arm 31 of the frame
30. The position of this connection is roughly in the middle of the
right arm 31. In a similar fashion, the left leg 22b of the support
means 20 is welded to the left arm 32 of the frame 30. The frame 30
and the support means 20 can now be chromed as a unit. The seat
assembly 40 is placed on the frame 30 with the back 42 resting
against the back cross support member 34 and the seat 41 resting on
the seat cross support member 33. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, screws
35 are screwed through the screw holes 36 in the cross support
members 33 and 34, through the cover material 45, through the
cushion material 44, and into the screw eyes 47 which are secured
to the cushion frame 43. The spindle 23 is greased and slipped into
the spindle tube 13. The bell housing 24 conceals the spindle tube
13 and is preferably sufficiently large that it does not rub
against the spindle tube 13. The spindle 23 extends through the
spindle tube 13 and is locked in place by some sort of lockwasher
or locking cap 27 which keys into the groove at the base of the
spindle 23.
The result is obviously a most unique and attractive chair. The
frame 30 which supports the seat assembly 40 doubles as a frame and
as attractive armrests. The support means 20 extend upwardly from
the base 10 of the chair in a most attractive U-shape and support
the chair at the arms 31 and 32 of the frame 30. Thus in a sense,
the support means 20 doubles as an arm support and as a support for
the chair generally. The entire chair then rotates about a most
attractive cantilevered spindle-type base.
It is understood that the above is merely a preferred embodiment of
this invention and that changes and alterations can be made without
departing from the broad spirit and broader aspects thereof.
* * * * *