US680608A - Chair. - Google Patents

Description

No. 680,608. Patented Aug'. I3, I90I. J. A. MANAHAN.

CHAIR.

(Application led Feb. 27, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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d m wnNEssEs. t 1 |NVENTOR BY I UNITED STATES PATENT @EEICE.

JOSEPH A. M ANAHAN, or NEW Yonn, N. Y.

CHAIR.

VSPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,608, dated August 13, 1901.

Application filed February 27, 1900., Serial No. 6,742. (No model.) v

To aZZ wiz/0m, t 'may concern:

Beit known that I, JOSEPH A. MANAHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chairs, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to hinged-back or reclining chairs, and has for its objectto provide means by which the position of the back can be readily adjusted by the person sitting in the chair by means of a push-button releaseing a friction-clutch or lock and enabling a tension-spring to draw the back from a reclining to a more nearly upright position, the sitter by the pressure of his back against the hinged chair-back limiting the upward movement of the back or pressing it back to any point desired, at which point it will be arrested and securely locked when the pushbutton is released.

A suitable embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side View of a hinged-back chair, showing a simple application of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detached view of the parts of the adjusting device in perspective, showing also some modifications and improved details in the manner of constructing and applying the device. Fig. 3 is a det-ail vertical section of the locking device in the plane of the connecting rod, showing the latter in elevation.

A represents one of the arms of the chair, C the frame thereof, and B the back, hinged at b. To the side of the back, some distance above the hinge thereof, I connect a tensionrod l by means of a pivot 2, which may be permanently fixed to the back, as illustrated in Fig. 1, or for ready application to a chair already constructed I form a pivot 2 upon a screw-clamp 3, as shown in Fig. 2, by which it may be secured to the chair-back at the required height. The rod 1 is preferably made flatfor a portion of its length, as shown, for the purpose hereinafter described, and passes through a guide-bracket 4 and is connected at its forward end to a tension-'spring 5, which is attached in front at 6 to the chair-frame, so as to exert tension and tend to draw the back B toward vertical position. In order to lock the back in any inclined position at which it maybe set against the tension of the spring 5, I provide a rocking lock 7, inserted and turning concentrically within the bracket 4 and perforated with au aperature coinciding with those in the bracket through which the tension -rod 1 passes; but in order to produce a locking effect the perforated locking device 7 is rigidly connected to an arm 8, extending forward beneath the arm A of the chair and connected at its forward end to a tension-spring 9, the eect of which is to draw the arm 8 up, and thereby rock the lock 7, so as to throw the perforation therein out of alinement with the apertures in the bracket 4, thus binding the tension-rod 1 and forming a friction-clutch, by which the said rod is securelyheld, in any position in which it may be set. To release the rod 1 from the friction-clutch or lock, and thereby permit the back to move freely, I employa push-button 10, connected by a rod l1 with the arm 8 and conveniently located in a socket within the chair-arm A, the head or top of the push-button 10 being preferably iiush with the upper surface of thechair-arm, so as not to cause inconvenience or present an unsightly appearance.

In order to adapt the device to suit the dimensions and proportions of the chair to which it is to be applied, and thereby enable the manufacture of the device in large quantities ready for application to chairs of various sizes and shapes, I provide several means'of adjustment, as follows: The iiat portion of the tension-rod 1 is formed in two parts 1 and 1b, as shown in Fig. 2, sliding one on the other and locked in any position or length by a screw-clamp 12. In like manner the arm 8 of the locking device is formed in two parts 8 S with a lap or sliding joint, and it is ixed in any adjustment as to length by a screw-clamp 16. The rod 1 is formed with a number of perforations 13 and ltted to slide through a socket-rin g 14, to which the tension-spring 5 is connected, so that the end of the rod may be made to project to any distance within the spiral spring, and by means of a screw or pin 15, inserted in the socket ring or sleeve 14, the rod 1 may be fixed in any position with reference to the spring 5, and thereby the tension of the spring ad- IOC justed as required. The rear end of the rod 1 is connected to the front end of the vpart 1a by means of a rivet 1, so as to make a hinged joint between the parts 1 and la. Such a connection renders it possible to adj ust the back of the chair into any position without springing or bending the rod 1. The pushrod 11 is also preferably made in two parts sliding one Within the other and with a setscrew 17* for iixing the said push-rod in any position of adjustment as to length in order to adapt the rod to the thickness of the chairarm.

To provide for adjustment of tension of the spring 9, which applies the locking force to the clutch-lever 8, I prefer to connect the said spring to the lever-arm 8, as shown in 2, by hooking the en d of the spring into an eye 1S on the end of a rod 19, passing loosely through a vertical hole in the leverarm S and threaded at its lower end to receive a thumb-nut 20, bearing against the bottom of the arm 8, and by taking up the length of the rod 19 applying any desired tension to the spring.

17 represents a hinged door or shutter adapted to close the box orcase containing the tension-spring and locking device, so as to conceal the same from view and present a finished appearance.

The representation of the shutter 17 in Fig. 1 may be regarded as foreshortened or broken off. impractice it is long enough to extend from front to back of the chair-frame, so as to completely cover and conceal the back-operating mechanism, and may be made of any desired vertical width.

The back-operating mechanism is applied to either side of the chair or to both sides, ifdesired.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim afs new therein' and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

The combination of the chairframe C, hinged back B, a tension-spring 5 connected tothe chair-frame, a three-part tension-rod 1, the rear-end part being pivotally connected to the chair-back, a lap-joint connection between the rear-end part and the middle part, and a screw-clamp to admit of their relative adjustment, and a pivotal connection between the lniddle part and the forward-end part, a socket-ring 14 on the latter, and a setscrew therefor, by means of which the tension-rod is connected to the tension-spring, a guide-bracket through which the tensionrod passes and by which it is guided, a friction -clutch 7 in said guide, an adjustable arm S operating said clutch, a push-button pivotally connected at one end of the arm 8, and a spring 9 for maintaining the push-but t0n in an elevated position, substantially as set forth.

JOSEPH A. MANAHAN.

Witnesses:

OcTAvIUs KNIGHT, EDNA A. PEAsE.

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