U.S. patent number 3,844,612 [Application Number 05/330,525] was granted by the patent office on 1974-10-29 for arrangement in seating furniture or seats for attaching seat and back supporting elements.
Invention is credited to Kjell Christian Borggren, Nils Erik Soderstrom.
United States Patent |
3,844,612 |
Borggren , et al. |
October 29, 1974 |
ARRANGEMENT IN SEATING FURNITURE OR SEATS FOR ATTACHING SEAT AND
BACK SUPPORTING ELEMENTS
Abstract
In a seating furniture or seat each opposite marginal portion of
a flexible seat or back supporting element is secured to a ledge
having a groove diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal
middle plane of the piece of furniture and seat, respectively, said
ledge being detachably mounted in and complementary to a recess in
the frame of the furniture or seat, respectively.
Inventors: |
Borggren; Kjell Christian (703
60 Orebro, SW), Soderstrom; Nils Erik (702 28 Orebro,
SW) |
Family
ID: |
20261661 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/330,525 |
Filed: |
February 8, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 14, 1972 [SW] |
|
|
3230/72 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/451.3;
297/440.11; 297/452.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
5/06 (20130101); B60N 2/7041 (20130101); A47C
31/023 (20130101); A47C 31/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
5/00 (20060101); A47C 5/06 (20060101); A47C
31/00 (20060101); A47C 31/04 (20060101); A47C
31/02 (20060101); B60N 2/70 (20060101); A47c
007/00 (); A47c 007/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/440,441,444,445,452,456-459 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ladas, Parry, Von Gehr, Goldsmith
& Deschamps
Claims
What we claim is:
1. An arrangement in seating furniture or seats for attaching
flexible seat and back supporting elements, said furniture or seat
including two frame or rail members forming opposite side portions
of said seating furniture or seat, at least one recess in each of
said frame or rail members, said recesses extending at least
partially in the longitudinal direction of the said frame and rail
members and opening into one of two opposite sides thereof, wherein
a complementary ledge member is introducable into each of said
recesses radially to the longitudinal axis thereof, a groove in
said ledge member and extending in the longitudinal direction
thereof in a plane diverging outwardly from the middle plane of
said seating furniture or seat, a side marginal portion of a
flexible back and seat supporting material anchored in said groove
and means to increase the spacing between said side portions to put
the flexible seat and back supporting elements under tension after
anchoring said marginal portions in said grooves.
2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge and the
recess have a cross-section of parallelogram shape, and wherein the
side walls of the recess diverge outwardly in relation to the
longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture and the seat,
respectively.
3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge consists
of resilient material.
4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, including side members
consisting of section rails or frames in which said recesses are
provided in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the respective
section and open into their upper or lower side, wherein the ledge
is of U-shaped cross-section having its open side located in the
opening of the recess and side members shaped in such a way that
these will form between them a slot of uniform and relatively
narrow width and extending from the open side over an essential
part of the depth of the recess and being parallel with the
longitudinal middle plane of the recess, said slot being adapted to
receive said marginal portion and being widened at its inner end to
form a space to receive a thickened margin of said marginal
portion, said slot and space opening into the ends of the
ledge.
5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the side walls of
the slot are provided with flutes extending in the longitudinal
direction of the rail.
6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, the sections being rigidly
connected with each other through transverse elements of variable
length, wherein there is provided in the cavity of the section rail
a partition receiving the recess, and wherein said transverse
element is introducible through an aperture in the side wall of the
section rail and can be set against the partition with its end.
7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 6, having a recess opening
into the underside of the section, wherein that side of the
partition located next to the transverse element is provided with a
through aperture coaxial with the transverse element and the
aperture in the side wall of the section rail, and wherein the
transverse element is provided at its end with a pin coaxial
therewith and introducible into the aperture in the partition and
adapted to be set against one side member of the ledge.
8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, having a transverse
element consisting of parts telescopically engaging with each
other, wherein the outer portion is provided with an axial slot
starting from one of its ends and being of limited length, to whose
one side short angular slots are connected, and wherein the inner
portion is provided on one hand with a diametrically through slot
starting from its inner end and being of limited length and on the
other with a radially projecting pin which is introducible into the
slots of the outer portion and adjustable by means of a wedge which
can be driven into the slot of the inner portion between the end
thereof and the outer portion.
9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recess and the
ledge is defined by upper first portion and a lower second portion
having a parallelogram shaped cross section diverging outwardly in
relation to the longitudinal middle plan of the seating furniture
or seat, and an intermediate third portion having a rectangular
cross section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to seating furnitures and seats, such as in
motor-vehicles, and more exactly to an improved means for attaching
seat and back supporting elements of flexible material, such as one
or more layers of fabric. The object of the invention is to provide
a safe and strong attaching device which will considerably
facilitate assembling and disassembling of the seat and back
supporting elements, among other things in order to facilitate
their cleaning.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an arrangement in seating furniture or
seats, for instance in motor vehicles, for attaching seat or back
supporting elements of flexible material, e.g. in the form of one
or more fabric layers, wherein said furniture or seat comprises two
frame or rail members forming opposite side portions of said
seating furniture or seat, at least one recess in each of said
frame or rail members, said recesses extending at least partially
in the longitudinal direction of said frame and rail members and
opening into one of two opposite sides thereof, a complementary
ledge member detachably introduced into each of said recesses, a
groove in said ledge and extending in the longitudinal direction
thereof in a plan diverging outwardly from the middle plane of said
seating furniture or seat, and a marginal portion of a flexible
back or seat supporting material anchored in said groove.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to the
invention.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are vertical sectional views of a side member in the
frame of the chair with two different embodiments of the attaching
device.
FIG. 4 is a third embodiment of the attaching device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In FIG. 2 reference numeral 1 designates a section rail rectangular
in cross-section and forming part of one side member in the frame
of the chair. In the cavity 2 of the section rail 1 there is
provided a relatively thick partition 3 which is provided with a
recess 4 cross-sectionally in the shape of a parallelogram and
opening into the upper side 1A of the section rail. The recess 4
extends in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the section
rail 1 and may also open into the ends of the section rail. The
recess 4 is disposed in such a way that it will diverge outwardly,
i.e. towards the left, in relation to the longitudinal middle plane
of the seating furniture. A similar recess 4 provided at the
opposite side of the seating furniture thus diverges towards the
right in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of
furniture.
In the recess 4 there is mounted an elongated rail 5 of resilient
material having such a shape that it is complementary to the recess
4 and consequently fills it out so that its upper side 5A is in a
plane with the upper side 1a of the section rail. The ledge 5 is of
U-shaped cross-section having its open side located in the opening
of the recess 4 in the upper side 1a of the section rail 1. The
side members 6 of the ledge 5 are shaped in such a way as to form a
relatively narrow slot 7 extending from the opening downwardly over
an essential part of the depth of the U-shaped ledge and located in
a plane which is parallel to the longitudinal middle plane of the
recess 4 diverging outwardly. At its inner, i.e. lower, end the
slot 7 is widened into a space 8. Both the slot 7 proper and the
space 8 open into the two ends of the ledge 5. The side walls in
the slot 7 proper are provided with flutes 9 extending in the
longitudinal direction of the ledge 5.
The seat supporting elements of the piece of furniture consist, in
the embodiment shown, of a fabric 10 of flexible material, e.g.
tissue or plastic. The side marginal portion 11 of the fabric 10 is
provided with a margin 12 thickened in a suitable manner, which may
be manufactured for instance by welting so that its dimension in
cross-section is larger than that of the slot 7. The fabric 10
proper should, however, only have such a thickness that after the
ledge 5 has been withdrawn from the recess 4 it can be inserted
from the end of the ledge 5 into, and become displaced to, a
suitable position through the narrow slot 7, possibly overcoming a
certain friction, the thicker margin 12 being displaced in the
space 8, whereupon the ledge 5 with the fabric 10 thus attached is
reintroduced into its place in the recess 4. The fabric 10 will
consequently be folded at an acute angle around the inner margin 13
of the recess 4. When the fabric 10 is exposed to a load between
the two side sections of the piece of furniture, a highly effective
locking action is obtained, in that the thicker margin 12 from the
space 8 cannot be pulled upwardly into the narrower slot 7, and the
oblique surface of the ledge 5 is pressed fast against the opposite
oblique surface in the recess 4, at the same time as the side
members 6 of the resilient ledge 5 are compressed around the fabric
10 in the narrow slot 7. The longitudinal flutes 9 in the side
walls of the slot 7 which engage with the fabric 10 in that
connection will also contribute to the effective retaining
action.
The fabric 10 is kept tensioned by transverse members rigidly
connecting the two side sections of the piece of furniture with
each other. Such a transverse member may be of a kind known per se
and may consist for instance of a screw sleeve having interior
right-hand and left-hand threads, as well as screw spindles screwed
into said sleeve and having right-hand and left-hand threads,
respectively.
Instead of using a screw sleeve with screw spindles having
right-hand and left-hand threads it is also possible to use a
transverse member consisting of parts telescopically engaging with
each other. In FIG. 2 reference numeral 22 designates an outer
sleeve which is provided with an axial slot 23 of a limited length
and starting from one end. To the slot 23 there are connected a
number of short angular slots 24 -- in the embodiment shown three
in numbers -- the outer portions of which start at right angles
from the slot 23 and the inner portions of which extend towards the
right in parallel with the slot 23. In the outer sleeve 22 (not
shown) at the opposite side of the chair there extend the inner
portions of the slots 24 in parallel with the respective main slot
23 but towards the left. Into the sleeve 22 there is insertable an
inner portion 25 which is provided at some distance from its end
with a radially projecting short pin 26 which can be inserted into
the slots 23 and 24 of the sleeve 22. At its outer end the inner
portion 25 is provided with a coaxially projecting pin 20 and a
diametrically through slot 27 which is located in a plane displaced
through 90.degree. in relation to the pin 27 and extends from the
inner end of the inner portion over a distance along said inner
portion. Thus, the inner portion 25 may be introduced into the
outer sleeve 22 with the pin 26 sliding in the slot 23, whereupon
it is introduced through a through hole 15 in the side wall 16 of
the section rail 1 and is set with the pin 20 against one side of
the partition 3 in the cavity 2 of the section rail in order to
move apart the two side members of the chair and tension the fabric
10 between them sufficiently tightly. In order to be able to move
apart the outer sleeve 22 and the inner sleeve 25 in a simple
manner and without using tools, thus tensioning the seat support
element 10 as well as 18 and 19, a wedge-shaped plate 28 can be
driven into the through slot 27 of the inner sleeve 25. By means of
the plate 28 the inner sleeve 25 can thereupon be turned so that
the pin 26 is introduced into the outer portion of one of the
angular slots 24, the tension in the stretched fabric entailing
that the pin 26 will be automatically moved into engagement with
the inner portion of the respective slot 24, whereby the side
members of the chair are locked fast in their position with the
fabric stretched tight between them.
FIG. 3 shows a different embodiment of the attaching device which
is intended for seats provided with upholstery or padding material
17 located between an upper fabric layer 18 and a lower fabric
layer 19. These are attached in the same way as described in
connection with the preceding embodiment, although the slot 7 and
the inner space 8 should of course have correspondingly larger
dimensions in such a case. As it may be unsuitable in this case to
introduce the two fabric layers 18 and 19 from above into the
section rail 1, the recess 4 is disposed in such a way that it will
open into the underside 1B of the section rail 1 but in this case,
too, the recess diverges outwardly from the longitudinal middle
plane of the piece of furniture. The two fabric layers 18 and 19
are laid around the upper and lower outer margins of the section
rail 1 before being introduced into the slot 7.
In this embodiment, in which the pressure exerted on the ledge 5
when a load is applied to the fabric layers 18 and 19 is lower, the
coaxial pin 20 is introduced through a through hole in one side of
the partition 3 and rests against the ledge 5 so that the ledge and
the fabric layers 18 and 19 introduced into it are held securely
fast in the recess 4.
FIG. 4 shows a side member 31 having a recess 32 for a
complementary ledge (not shown) of a modified shape and consisting
of a central rectangular portion 32A and upper and lower
parallelogramshaped portions 32B and 32C, respectively, which
diverge outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of
the seating furniture. Thus, a ledge inserted into the recess 32 is
effectively locked against withdrawal at the two points 33 and
34.
It is evident that the embodiments described above and shown in the
drawings are mere examples of suitable embodiments of the invention
and that various modifications of the inventive idea are possible
without exceeding the scope of the invention as defined in the
following claims.
Thus, the recess 4 may also be of rectangular cross-section in
order to receive a cross-sectionally rectangular ledge having a
slot diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle
plane of the piece of furniture.
* * * * *