U.S. patent number 3,635,521 [Application Number 05/032,163] was granted by the patent office on 1972-01-18 for modular folding floor chair.
Invention is credited to Melvin D. Shivvers.
United States Patent |
3,635,521 |
Shivvers |
January 18, 1972 |
MODULAR FOLDING FLOOR CHAIR
Abstract
A modular folding floor chair including seat and back portions
substantially identical in shape and appearance. Chair units may be
used alone or in combination and may be placed on the floor or on a
supporting standard. Each of the chair units may be opened or
closed and when closed function as a table surface. The adjacent
hinged ends of the seat and back portions taper longitudinally
inwardly and abut each other to limit the opening of the chair unit
to an included angle of approximately 105.degree.. The seat and
back portions have ends opposite the hinge which also taper
longitudinally inwardly and present a front appearance
substantially identical to the back appearance when the chair unit
is closed. Magnetic means may be provided in adjacent sides of the
chair units to secure them together when more than one is being
used and in the back and seat portions to maintain the units in a
closed condition.
Inventors: |
Shivvers; Melvin D. (Des
Moines, IA) |
Family
ID: |
21863447 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/032,163 |
Filed: |
April 27, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/125; D6/336;
297/248; 297/DIG.6; 297/378.1; 52/DIG.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
85/04 (20130101); Y10S 297/06 (20130101); Y10S
52/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
85/04 (20060101); A47B 85/00 (20060101); A47b
085/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/DIG.33
;297/124,125,134,135,248,378 ;248/26A ;220/55MG ;108/64,91 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; James C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A modular folding floor chair furniture unit comprising, seat
and back portions pivotally interconnected,
said seat and back portions being substantially mirror images of
each other in their assembled relationship,
said seat and back portions are pivotally interconnected by hinge
means to move between open and closed positions, said seat and back
portions in said closed position each present to table surface on
the back side thereof and in said open position said seat and back
portions form an approximately 105.degree. angle therebetween and
present a seat structure,
said each of said seat and back portions have inner and outer
surfaces defining rear end portions therebetween, said hinge means
being connected to each of said end portions along said inner
surfaces thereof and each of said end portions taper longitudinally
forwardly from outer to inner surfaces and are in mating engagement
with each other when said seat and back portions are in said open
position thereby limiting the angle therebetween to which said seat
and back portions can open,
said hinge means includes a pair of hinge elements extending the
substantial width of said seat and back portions and integrally
connected to said inner surfaces, said hinge elements being
pivotally interconnected along a single transverse axis, and
said seat and back portions each having front end portions remote
from said hinge means and said front end portions taper
longitudinally rearwardly at approximately the angle of taper on
said rear end portions whereby the front and rear, opposite sides,
and top and bottom appearances respectively of said furniture unit
are substantially identical when in said closed position.
2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the front sides of each of said
seat and back portions are formed by removable cushions received in
compartments formed therein.
3. The structure of claim 1 wherein fastening means is provided
along at least one longitudinal side of at least the seat portion
and said fastening means is adapted to engage a cooperating
fastening means on an adjacent furniture unit.
4. The structure of claim 1 wherein a plurality of furniture units
of like structure are positioned in side by side relationship.
5. The structure of claim 4 wherein cooperating fastening means are
provided on adjacent sides of seat portions of each of said
furniture units to detachably maintain them together.
6. The structure of claim 5 wherein said fastening means is defined
as magnetic means and each of said furniture units have abutting
side shoulder portions in which said magnetic means is carried.
7. The structure of claim 2 wherein said seat and back portions
include cooperating magnet means for maintaining said positions
together when in said closed position.
Description
A prerequisite of modern furniture is that it be attractive in
appearance and versatile in use. The modular folding floor chair of
this invention is quite modernistic in appearance in using
substantially identical seat and back portions which may be folded
together to provide a compact package for using as a table surface
or for storage. The modular folding floor chair has no legs and may
be placed directly on the floor or on a benchlike structure. When
using three of the chair units for example the center one may be
closed to function as a table while the other two on opposite sides
thereof may be opened to provide seating. A magnetic means may be
provided in adjacent sides of the chair units to secure them
together and maintain them in alignment on a bench or the like.
Additional magnets may be used in the back and seat portions to
maintain them closed.
The longitudinally inwardly tapering ends of both the seat and back
portions provide a similar front and back appearance to the chair
unit when it is closed. The sides are preferably vertical and may
include a peripherally extending shoulder in which the magnetic
means is placed.
A cushion may be placed in each of the seat and back portions and
held therein by a detachable fastener such as the Velcro
fastener.
The open position of the chair unit is determined by the angle of
the longitudinal taper of the adjacent ends which are hinged
together since they will matingly engage each other when in the
fully opened condition forming an open angle of 105.degree. .
These and other features and advantages of this invention will
become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference
to the following description when taken into consideration with the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a three chair unit on a bench
support;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing two chair units in
their closed position functioning as decorative tables;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single-chair unit in its open
position;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the chair in its closed
position;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation view of two chair units in
their closed position; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6--6 in FIG.
3.
The modular folding chair of this invention is referred to
generally in FIG. 3 by the reference numeral 10 and is seen to
include a seat portion 12 connected by a hinge 14 to a back portion
16. The seat and back portions 12 and 16 are substantially
identical in their shape and appearance. The seat portion 12 has a
rear longitudinally inwardly tapering edge 18 having an angle of
52.50' which is adapted to matingly engage a similarly shaped
tapering edge 20 having an angle of 52.50' on the back portion 16
as seen in FIG. 3 to limit the included angle between the seat and
back portions when the chair unit is in its open position to an
angle of 105.degree.. When the chair unit is closed as seen in FIG.
4 the two rear end portions 18 and 20 form an inwardly extending V
which is symmetrical in appearance to the inwardly extending V from
the front of the chair unit as formed by longitudinally inwardly
tapering front end portions 22 and 24 on the seat and back portions
respectively. The longitudinal sidewalls 26 and 28 of the seat and
back portions 12 and 16 are vertically disposed.
A peripherally extending shoulder strip 30 extends along the
sidewalls 26 and across the front wall 22 of the seat portion 12 as
well as along the back portion sidewall 28 and across the front end
wall 24. Cooperating magnets 32 are imbedded in each of the
shoulders along the sides to secure the adjacent seat and back
portions of adjacent units together when two or more are positioned
in side by side relationship as seen for example in FIG. 1 and FIG.
5. Additionally, magnets 33 are provided in the front opposing end
walls of the seat and back portions to hold the unit closed as seen
in FIG. 2.
The interior construction of the seat and back portions is
illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the seat portion 12 is constructed of
a bottom wall 36 over which a cushion support wall 38 extends. A
cushion 40 is positioned in the seat structure and on the support
wall 38 where it is detachably secured in place by a convenient
detachable fastener such as a Velcro fastener 44.
The back portion 16 includes an outer wall surface 50 which
functions as a table top when the unit is in its closed position as
seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.
As seen in FIG. 3, the modular folding floor chair may be placed
directly on the floor 60 or may be placed on a bench 62 which as
seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the dash lines includes spaced-apart
support blocks 64.
It is apparent that the modular folding floor chair 10 is extremely
versatile in use and may be used alone or in combination with any
number of other chair units in contiguous or spaced-apart
relationship as seen respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is further
apparent that the seat portion 12 and the back portion 16 may be
reversed in their positions of use such that the back portion 16
becomes a seat and the seat portion 12 becomes a back. Moreover the
bottom wall 36 of the seat portion 12 upon the unit being turned
over could function as the table top surface 50 if desired. Since
the seat and back portions 12 and 16 are similar in design and
shape they may be manufactured in volume and connected together by
a piano-type hinge 14 with a minimum of time and labor being
involved. The abutting end portions 18 and 20 serve to give the
unit substantial strength when in the opened position of FIG.
3.
Storage of the chair unit is simple and convenient by virtue of the
compactness of the chair unit since it has no legs and may be
folded closed to the position of FIG. 4 whereupon the unit may be
stacked in any desired manner. Other possibilities of arrangement
and use of the chair unit of this invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my
modular folding floor chair without department from the real spirit
and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my
claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical
equivalents which may be reasonably included within their
scope.
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