US2135657A - Seat construction - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 8, 1938. F, O. CHURCH 2,135,657

SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 5; 1957 s Shee ts-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. fiq/v/lzm/ O. GfU/PC/i ATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. O. CHURCH SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 5, 1937 Nov. 8, 1938.

' INVENTOR. IR ANKLl/V O. CHz/RC'H. BY M =2 ATTORNEYS NOV. 8, 1938. E Q CHURQH 2,135,657

SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 195? b Sheets-Sheet 3 f/mA/m: //v O. Cwawacw.

flaw? '7 ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAT CONSTRUCTION Application February 5, 1937, Serial No. 124,170

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a seat construction of the sling type, that is, one in which a flexible sheet orfabric is connected at one end to a cross piece at the front of the seat portion and is connected at the other end to a crosspiece at the upper part of the back.

In seat constructions of the above type as heretofore made there has been a tendency to sag into a hammock-like loop which becomes uncomfortable to the occupant. Inasmuch as he cannot easily change his position, this is a particular disadvantage when this type of seat construction is used for vehicles such as busses or aircraft.

The above disadvantage is obviated by my invention which provides a seat construction of the above type that is comfortable and in which the sagging of the seat is avoided, which readily adapts itself to various sizes of occupants and which permits a great freedom of movement.

In my invention I provide a sling type of support for resilient cushions preferably of molded resilient material, such as cellular rubber or foamed latex rubber. The support for these cushions comprises a flexible, preferably nonstretchable, sheet or fabric either of textile material or metal mesh secured at one end to a cross end to a cross'piece at the top of the back and resting on an intermediate cross piece positioned at about the small of the back. The various cross pieces are of an upwardly convex cross section so as to avoid sharp or pronounced ridges. A smooth, flexible support is thus provided which forms a base for the cushions that permits them to conform readily to the body-of an occupant.

Resilient cushions of molded material are then mounted on the support thus formed. Preferably the cushion is made up of three pieces, one for the seat, one for the back and an upper back element for a head rest. These cushions are in turn covered with the covering material. Both cushions and covering material may be secured to the slung supporting base and to the side frame of the seat construction by suitable eyelets, bolts or other fastening means. The back surface of the seat, that is, the cross pieces and side frame may be enclosed or covered by a backing of any suitable material, either metal or fabric.

The various features are illustrated by way of example in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a seat embodying a preferred form of the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the slung supporting base for the seat construction; Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview showing each of three. cushions in their relative positions but each individually inverted from the position it would occupy on the supporting base in order to show the internal construction of the cushions; Fig. 4 is a perspective view in similar the accompanying drawings, in

relation of the covers for the respective cushions; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the completed seat construction taken on the plane 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a detailed perspective view of the upper or head rest cross piece; Fig. 8 is a vertical section on a larger scale of the upper part of the back construction; Fig. 9 asimilar vertical section of the lower part of the back construction; Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the front of the seat; and Fig. 11 is a detailed sectional view showing a manner of fastening the cushions and the covers to the support.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Figs 2 and 5, a front cross piece i2, an intermediate cross piece l3 and a top cross piece it are mounted at their ends on a pair of rails i5 and I6 which may be mounted on any suitable supports such as the legs I! and I8. A flexible sheet 19 of textile fabric, of mesh metal or other mate-, rial which is preferably non-stretchable is secured at its front end to the front cross piece i2 and at its top to the top cross piece It and extends over or rests on the front surface of the intermediate cross piece l3 which is positioned at such a position as to provide a support at the small of the back of a person occupying the seat.

On the support thus formed there are placed a seat cushion 20, a back cushion 2| and a head rest cushion 22 forming in effect a continuous cushion from the front support I2 to the top or head support 14. These cushions may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of molded resilient plastic, such as cellular rubber or foamed latex rubber, such molded cushions tending, to retain or resume their shape and thus aiding in preventing an undesirable sag to the flexible slung support.

While for convenience three cushions distributed as shown are preferred, it will be understood that this is merely by way of example and that other cushion arrangements could be made. Preferably the cushions are each of a honeycomb type of construction having upwardly extending recesses 23 and a continuous top wall 24 in order to give greater fiexibilityand yielding qualities. Also the lower or base portion of the cushion is preferably made of stiffer material either by being less porous or of a harder or stiffer composition and the upper part more yielding material or construction in order that a softness may be obtained combined with sufllcient resistance to any sagging or deformation. The cushions vill, 2| and 22 are covered by the covers 25, 26 and 21, respectively which enclose the top and side walls of their respective cushions and are secured to the supporting elements [9. Preferably the attachment of the cushions and their .covers is made detachable so that they may be readily and individually removed or replaced.

Any suitable manner of attaching the flexible sheet l9 and the cushions 20, 2| and 22 and their covers may be employed. As shown in Figs. 5, 8, 9 and 10, the end cross pieces are each constructed of an upwardly convex curved portion 28 which then extends horizontally towards the outer edge and is reversely bent in a convex portion 29, this leaving a recess 30 and a slit 3| as shown most clearly in Figs. 8 and 10.

The end portions of the sheet l9 enter the slits 3| and are then anchored in the recesses 30 by it 1 v ness is secured to the upper and lower faces of the head rest 'cushion 22 by the extensions and 36 and extends downwardly back of the cross piece 30 to which it is secured by studs 31 as shown in Fig. 8 which pass through eyelets or slits 38 in the flap. The cushion then hangs downwardly and rests against the cross piece l4 and the sheet |9.,

, The back cushion 2| is similarly provided with a flap 39 secured as at 40 and 4| to the upper and under faces of the cushion as shown in Figs. 3 and 8 and extending towards the head rest cush-' ion 22 and provided with eyelets or openings 42 to receive studs 43 projecting upwardly from the sheet IS. The bottom cushion 20 is provided at the rear with a flap 44 and at the front with a flap 45 secured to the cushions in the same :manher as the flaps 39 and 44 are secured to their respective cushions and is secured to the sheet l9 by bolts or studs 46 and 41 respectively, the bolts or studs 46 being secured to the sheet l9 and the bolts 41 to the cross piece l2. It will be noted that the bottom seat is secured at front and rear, whereas the head rest and back cushions are secured at their upper edges only and hang naturally down without the necessity of their being secured at their lower edges. However, further securing means may be employed if desired. The flaps 34, 39, 44 and 45 may be attached to their respective cushions by any suitable means. However, in the case of cellular rubber or foamed latex rubber they may be adequately secured by rubber cement. I

The covers 25, 26 and 21 may be detachably secured on their respective cushions. For this purpose the cover 21 is provided with a top flap 48 which folds over the cushion flap 34 as shown in Fig. 8 and with side flaps 49 and 50 which snap onto the side frame of the support. The front edge 5| of the cover covers the lower face of the cushion 22 which is provided with a strip 52 carrying eyelet studs 53 which engage suitable openings oreyelets 54 on the flap 5| to secure the lower edge of the flap to the lower face of the cushion. The flap 52 may be adequately secured to the cushion 22 by cement and has side extensions 55 to more securely hold it in position.

Similarly the cover 26 is provided with a. top flap 56 with side flaps 51 and 56 and with a front face 59 which are secured respectively to the studs'43 to the side elements of the frame and to bolts 61 and 68 for this purpose.

the attachment strip on the lower face of the cushion 2| respectively in a manner similar to the attachment of the cover 21.

The seat cover 25 is provided with'flaps 6|, 62 at its rear and front edges which have openings 63 and 64 respectively which fit over and are secured to the studs 46 and 41 respectively. Side flaps 65 and 66 are provided for securing the cover to the side elements of the frame as shown in. Fig. 6, the frame being provided with suitable It will be understood'that any suitable attaching means may be employed for securing the covers to these side elements and to the other elements of the combination, the bolts and eyelets being shown merely by way of example. The back of the seat or chair may be enclosed by sheet material 69. Any suitable sheet material such as metal, cloth or any fabric may be employed for this purpose. It will also be understood that the leg or under structure of the seat or chair may be of any suitable style or design dependent upon whether the seat is to be used in a vehicle such as a bus, train or airplane or as an article of furniture for a house, bungalow, etc. The formation and mounting of the cushions tend to hold the assembled structure in approximately the shape shown in Fig. 5 and thus avoids the hammock-like sag of the former sling seats. When occupied the cushion will be deformed to approximately the contour indicated by the broken line 10. This causes a change in the position of the sheet l9 from that shown in full lines to that shown in broken lines 1|, the sheet conforming locally to the pressure transmitted through the cushions and thus increasing the resiliency and flexibility of the latter. In this way the seat construction readily adapts itself to different sizes of occupants and to different positions of the latter.

What I claim is:

1. A seat construction which comprises a cross piece at the front of the seat, a head rest cross piece at the top of the back seat, and an intermediate cross piece placed below the top piece at a position corresponding to the small of the back of an occupant, a flexible supporting sheet at tached to the front and head rest cross pieces and resting on the intermediate cross piece, said head rest cross piece comprising a plate of rigid material bent to form a recess at the uppermost end, and a front cross piece comprising a plate of rigid material bent to form a recess at its forward edge and a surface extending rearwardly of said recess, said sheet being anchored in said recesses and extending over said surfaces, and a cushion of resilient molded composition mounted on said sheet and overlying said cross pieces.

2. A seat construction which comprises a cross piece at the front of the seat, a head rest cross piece at the top of the back of the seat, said cross pieces each comprising a plate of rigid material, said front cross piece being reversely bent up- 4 wardly to form a recess and a surface extending backwardly therefrom, said head rest cross piece being reversely bent forwardly to forma recess and a surface depending downwardly therefrom, a flexible supporting sheet anchored at opposite ends in said recesses, means to support said sheet in the back portion below said head rest cross piece, and cushions secured on said sheet.

FRANKLIN o. CHURCH.

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