U.S. patent number 3,674,311 [Application Number 05/018,019] was granted by the patent office on 1972-07-04 for chair construction.
Invention is credited to Richard H. Miller.
United States Patent |
3,674,311 |
Miller |
July 4, 1972 |
CHAIR CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A seat, such as an upholstered chair, sofa or love seat, is so
constructed that it can be shipped in a flat package, knocked down,
and assembled by the purchaser in a very few minutes. The seat has
a back, two arms and seat which are assembled by connecting the
back to the seat and then by ingenious means connecting the two
arms to the back and seat. The upper ends of the arms have hook
engagement with cooperating means on the edges of the back,
whereupon the seat is bolted to the arms to complete the assembly.
The seat construction employs conventional sinuous springs
extending from front to back and the seat deck construction is such
that longer springs may be used, connected in close proximity to
the front and back of the seat deck and at relatively low points to
improve the comfort of the seat by spring action. Tension means
connected to the springs prevents the "bucketing" of the springs,
the tensioning means being variable to control such action.
Inventors: |
Miller; Richard H. (Sacramento,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
24857364 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/018,019 |
Filed: |
February 26, 1970 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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711259 |
Mar 7, 1968 |
3526433 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
297/440.23;
297/450.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
4/028 (20130101); A47C 7/30 (20130101); A47C
4/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
4/02 (20060101); A47C 4/00 (20060101); A47c
007/00 (); A47c 001/12 (); A47c 007/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/440,416,445,452,456
;292/12T |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilliam; Paul R.
Parent Case Text
This application is a division of Ser. No. 711,259, filed Mar. 7,
1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,433.
Claims
I claim:
1. A chair comprising a frame formed of side rails and front and
back cross rails connected at their upper ends to said side rails
and having upper faces arranged below the top edges of said side
rails, hooks carried by the upper faces of said front and back
rails, sinuous springs connected between the hooks of said front
and back side rails and arching therebetween to support a cushion,
an auxiliary front rail spaced above and parallel to said
first-named front rail, a hOrizontal strip arranged on said
auxiliary front rail, a block supported by said side rail and
having its top surface arranged above said strip, a block supported
on each side rail forwardly of said auxiliary rear rail and having
its top surface substantially in the plane of the top surfaces of
said first-named blockS, a rubber webbing connected to and
extending between the tops of said blocks and projecting inwardly
thereof, the arrangement of said strip below the top of said blocks
and said rubber webbing being such as to provide for deeply
cushioned side edges of a cushion arranged on said webbing.
2. A seat unit according to claim 1 provided with an auxiliary rear
rail spaced above and parallel to said first-named rear rail, and
tensioning means connected between the top of said auxiliary rear
rail and each of said sinuous springs at a point spaced from the
rear end thereof to tension such spring.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is well known, it is the common practice in furniture factories
to manufacture completed, assembled, upholstered chairs, love seats
and sofas and the articles are usually shipped in large paperboard
cartons. These cartons are bulky and freight rates for shipping
them are quite high. The present improvement permits chair
components to be manufactured and shipped in knocked-down condition
as distinguished from the present method of manufacture and
shipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The bottom, back and sides of a chair are manufactured in their
entirety, including upholstery and coverings, and then are shipped
stacked one on top of the other in knocked-down condition to be
assembled by the use of a few bolts. The back is provided with a
bottom rail which, in assembling, is bolted to the back rail of the
deck and the back is provided in opposite edges near the top
thereof with a slot within which is arranged a hanger. The
completed sides of the chair are provided with flat upwardly
opening hooks insertable through the openings in the edges of the
back and then moved upwardly to engage the hooks with the hangers.
The side rails of the deck are then bolted to the sides of the
chair. With the upwardly opening hooks carried by the sides of the
chair, the weight of the back and its connection to the seat is
placed directly on the sides of the chair, the weight thus being
directly supported by the sides of the chair.
The deck includes a novel construction including low front and rear
rails to which are connected the ends of sinuous springs, and these
springs are connected to each other and to the side rails of the
deck by auxiliary springs. The arrangement of the parts relative to
the front and rear rails is such that longer than usual sinuous
springs may be employed and they are anchored to the front and rear
rails in close proximity to the forward and rear extremities of the
chair.
The deck further includes an auxiliary rear rail above the main
rail and beneath which the rear ends of the sinuous springs extend.
Tensioning means is connected between the auxiliary rear rail and
each sinuous spring to control the firmness and "bucketing" action
of the latter. An auxiliary front rail is spaced above the main
front rail and is provided with a support above the auxiliary rail
and below the upper extremity of the deck so that the seat cushion
may have a deep forward edge to improve the seating comfort of the
chair.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the finished chair;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the component parts of the chair
showing the sides of the chair separated from the bottom and
back;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the seat deck per se;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a detailed section on line 5--5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the deck structure of the chair with the
springs, etc., eliminated;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing the
connection of the back and one of the chair sides;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the frame of one of the
chair sides and a portion of the frame of the back; and
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary bottom plan of one corner of the chair
frame.
Referring to FIG. 1, attention is invited to the fact that while an
upholstered chair is shown, the invention is applicable to similar
articles such as sofas, love seats, etc. The chair comprises four
main components, namely, a seat 10, back 12, and sides 14. Each of
these components at the factory may be upholstered and covered and
completed as individual separate units.
The seat or bottom portion 10 comprises a frame shown in section in
FIG. 4. This frame comprises a front rail 16 and rear rail 18, and
it will be noted that both of these rails have their tops spaced
substantially from the top of the frame as a whole. These rails are
connected at their ends by side rails 20, and the connection
between the front and side rails is strengthened by the usual knee
blocks 22.
The side rails 20 have their upper edges at a higher elevation than
the tops of the front and rear rails, and front and rear blocks 24
and 26, respectively, are secured to the upper edges of the side
rails. These blocks may be of the same width as the side rails 20
as shown by the blocks 26 in FIG. 6. The tops of the blocks 24 are
flush with the auxiliary front rails 28 (FIG. 4) and a flat strip
30, preferably formed of thin plywood, extends over the auxiliary
rail 28 and over the tops of the front portions of the blocks 24.
The blocks 26 are higher than the blocks 24 and each of the latter
is provided with an auxiliary block 32, the top surface of which is
in the same horizontal plane as the tops of the blocks 26. A heavy
flexible rubber strip 34 is cemented or otherwise secured forwardly
and rearwardly to the upper faces of the blocks 26 and 32 and
projects inwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 5.
It will be noted that the auxiliary front rail 28 is spaced above
the main rail 16. An auxiliary rear rail 36 spans the side rails 20
(FIG. 4) and is spaced over the main rear rail 18. These spaces
between the main and auxiliary front and back rails are utilized to
receive a plurality of hooks 38 and 40 fixed, respectively, to the
main front and back rails 16 and 18. Sinuous springs 42 are
connected between corresponding front and rear hooks, the
arrangement of such springs being shown in FIG. 3. The springs 42
are connected to each other and to the side frames by auxiliary
springs 43. By providing the spaces referred to, the spring
mountings may be arranged very close to the front and rear limits
of the chair deck, thus providing for the use of substantially
longer springs of the sinuous type. The length and resiliency also
are improved by the fact that the hooks 38 and 40 are arranged
relatively close to the bottom of the chair deck. The spring arches
as shown in FIG. 4, the uppermost limit of the spring between its
ends being arranged above the rubber strip or webbing 34. These
relatively strong rubber webbings 34, as will become apparent,
allow the deck pad to cavitate on the sides of the chair without
producing a "hammock" effect.
Certain cross members of each of the sinuous springs are connected
by a strong rubber band 44 to hooks 46 fixed to the top of the
auxiliary back rail 36. Springs may be employed in place of rubber
bands as will be obvious. Where bands are used, they are looped
around certain portions of the springs and then arranged in V-shape
as shown in FIG. 3 and are connected at their ends to the hooks 46.
The bands 44 (or springs) control the firmness of the seating
comfort and bands of different tension may be employed. The seat 10
is of largely conventional construction and will be supported by
the elements described. Since the strip 30 is arranged below the
level of the webs 34, a deep cushioned front edge may be employed
to improve the seating comfort.
Each chair side 14 is of course provided with an interior frame,
and the same is true of back 12, as shown in FIG. 8. The frame for
each chair side comprises front and rear posts 48 and 50, upper
curved wood units 52 and cross members 54, 56 and 58. Each member
56 and 58 is provided with a bolt opening 60 for a purpose to be
described.
Each rear post 50 is provided with metal bracket 62 having an
upwardly opening hook 64, the body of each bracket lying in a
substantially vertical plane. The hooks 62 are employed for
connecting the sides of the chair to the back.
Among other elements, the back 12 comprises vertical side posts 66
and a bottom rail 68. The bottom rail 68 is provided with at least
one bolt opening 72 for a purpose to be described.
Each post 66 is provided near its upper end with a vertical slot 74
through which the bracket 62 is adapted to be inserted. On each
inner face of the post 66 is secured a chafing plate 76, the bottom
of which is downwardly notched as at 78. The bracket 62 is inserted
through the slot 74 and then is raised so that the notch 64 in the
bracket 62 slides upwardly into the notch 78 of the plate 76, as
shown in FIG. 7. The upward opening of the notch 64 is important
for a purpose to be described.
In FIG. 7 the back and side of the chair are shown as being merely
covered with upholstery material 80. It will be apparent, however,
that the frames of these units may be provided with both upholstery
or padding covered by upholstery material.
When each side 14 is assembled, as shown in FIG. 7, the bolt holes
60 will align with similar openings 82 in the side rails 20 to
receive bolts 84 for connecting the deck to the side members. These
bolts may be of the type shown in FIG. 4 for connecting the bottom
rail 68 of the back to the back rail 18 of the deck. Such bolts
preferably include heads 86 having points 88 projecting therefrom
to be driven into the wood of the elements by which they are
carried so that when the units are brought together, the bolts may
be inserted from the inside of the deck frame. Beneath the corners
of the deck frame are secured gusset or corner plates 90 (FIG. 9)
and the chair is provided with feet 92 adapted to be secured to
plates 90 of bolts 94.
OPERATION
As previously stated, each of the main units of the construction,
10, 12 and 14, are manufactured and completely assembled at the
factory, whereupon these units may be stacked in a much smaller
carton than is ordinarily used in the shipping of furniture. Thus a
great saving in shipping space and freight rates is effected. The
kit thus packed will include feet 92 as separate elements together
with the necessary assembly bolts.
The purchaser, for example a furniture store, will unpack the
furniture units and placing the back rail 68 in position against
the back rail 18 of the seat deck will secure these two units
together by the bolt 86 (FIG. 4), only one such bolt being
necessary. Having thus assembled the deck and back, the sides are
then assembled by inserting the brackets 62 through the openings 74
and then lifting the side relative to the back to seat the brackets
62 relative to their plates 76. The bolts 84 are then inserted
through the openings 60 (FIG. 8) and 82 (FIG. 5). Whereupon the
main units of the chair will have been completely assembled. The
plates 90 (FIG. 9) are then secured in position, and one of the
feet 92 is bolted to each plate 90 to complete the assembly.
Attention is invited to the fact that upwardly opening of the notch
64 is important. By this arrangement the entire weight of the back
of the chair is transmitted through the brackets 62 to the sides 14
which seat squarely on the floor. Thus, no force is transmitted
downwardly from the back 12 to the rear portion of the seat deck.
All of the foregoing operations of assembly are quickly and easily
carried out, and a resultant chair provides a strong rigid
construction. The rubber webbing 34 minimizes the hammock effect
due to the flexing downwardly of the seat 10 near its edges. Longer
sinuous springs 42 may be employed for the reasons stated, and the
resultant chair provides a higher degree of comfort in use. A chair
of excellent quality may be sold at a lower price because of the
elimination of the assembly operations in the factory, the
simplicity of the assembly operations by the purchaser, and the
great saving of space in the shipment of the article.
From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein
provided an improved chair construction which accomplishes all of
the objects of this invention and others, including many advantages
of great practical utility and commercial importance.
As various embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and
as many modifications may be made in the embodiments hereinbefore
shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein
is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting
sense.
* * * * *