US1979173A - Combined portable school desk and seat - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 30, 1934. 1 v. QUATRARO 1,979,173

COMBINED PORTABLE SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT Original Filed May 12, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1934. QUATRARO 1,979,173

COMBINED PORTABLE SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT Original Filed May 12, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

V/NCENT QU/YTK/YRO INVENTQR Z8 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 30, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Vincent Quatraro, Garfield, N. J.

Application May 12, 1930, Serial No. 451,796

Renewed July 26, 1933 2 Claims.

This invention relates to furniture and more particularly refers to improvements in furniture of the foldable type; and its primary object is to provide a novel and improved foldable structure,

" consisting of a desk and seat adapted. to be folded in a compact and easily portable form.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved foldable and portable furniture unit, consisting of a school desk and seat unit, including at each side thereof four bars crossed in pairs to form a major and: minor cross at each side of the furniture unit when the structure is ex-. panded; while also including two sheet-like structures forming one a desk top and the other a chair seat.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

.My. invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective, showing the unit expanded: and ready for use;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;'

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, showing'the unit completely collapsed, looking toward the. right in Fig. 5; v

Fig. dis a similar view, but looking toward '30 the left Fig. 5 (assuming the child not present, to clarify the drawing) Fig.5 is a side elevation showing the completely collapsed unit on the back of a child;

6 isa side elevation of an inkwell adjunct; and

i Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

-The embodiment of the invention illustrated is designed particularly for children either in solo or in class where it is desirable to have for the child, or each child, a desk and seat outfit readily transportable, say from an indoor class tov=an outdoor one, in accordance with the present ideas on pedagogy, and to avoid duplicate furniture sets both indoors and out. To that end the parts are desirably made of painted or varnished wood or compressed wood, to be light, strong and durable; although the right is reserved to make various bar, strip and sheet elements of thin metal or indeed any material. Due to the way in which its apparently very thinly dimensioned bar, strip and sheet components co-act mutually to fortify each other when the unit is expanded, it has been found that the total weight of the unit, for a child of early I 5* school years, need not exceed five to .Seven pounds, nor need the overallthickness at T in Fig. 5 exceed 1%.

The major crosses at both sides are each made up of bars 10 and 11, forming the front leg frame and the rear leg frame of the desk respectively, each such cross pivoted as by a rivet 12, and limited to a predetermined spread by the oppositely projected ends 14 of a strip 14 secured to bars 10. The minor crosses at both sides are each made up of bars 15 and 16, forming the front leg frame and the rear leg frame of the chair respectively, said bars being, however, here not interpivoted at their cross-point when expanded, but instead being slidable relative to each other due to the strips 1'? and 18 secured to opposite sides of and at longitudinally spaced positions along bars 15. The lower ends of bars 10 and 15 on .each side of the unit are pivoted together as by rivets 19. Then, with strip 14 acting as above, and with astrip 20 secured to bars 16 abutting strip 18, all eight bars, 10, 11, 15 and 16 are limited to the predetermined spread shown in Fig. 2.

The upper portions of bars 15 are preferably curved as indicated at 15', and are joined at the top by a strip 21, so that these parts form the chair back, as an open frame within which can be nested the chair seat when the chair is collapsed; while the chair seat is provided by a sheet-like structure 22 pivoted to bars 15 as by rivets 23 and to the tops of bars 16 as by rivets 24. Rivets 23 and 24 pass through side pendent or skirt portions 22' of such seat, bars 15 being external and bars 16 being internal to said skirt portions.

Across the top of bars 10 is secured rigidly a lesser desk top component 25 having a groove 25 for pens, pencils and the like, an'inkwell aperture 25", and a rather long and fairly wide opening 25A. There is also provided a main desktop component 26, including a main sheet 26' (hereinafter called the desk-top) secured to a pair of side arms 26a. Between these arms extend a bottom partition 26b, 2. front partition 26c, and a top slant 266 to provide a storage compartment 26". Near the rear or open end of the compartment, the arms 26a are pivoted as by rivets 2'7 to bars 10.

The forward end of desk-top 26 rests merely by gravity upon the tops of bars 11, when the apparatus is expanded fully, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A strip 28 is secured crosswisely of bars 10 in proximity of their lower ends, and a strip 29 is similarly applied to bars 11 somewhat above the level of strip 28; these strips 28 and 29 not projecting beyond the outer side of the bars to which they are attached.

It will be observed that strip 29 is secured to the outer edge of bars 11 with respect to bars 10, so as to permit the frame formed by bars 10 and cross strip 28 to become nestedwithin the frame formed by bars 11 and cross strip 29 when the structure is collapsed; strip 29 and strip 14. acting as stops limiting the movement 6f bars 10, 11, to the collapsed position.

As shown best in Fig. 4, portage straps, to be used as in Fig. 5, made of leather oi other suitable material, are suitably secured at their opposite ends to opposite sides of the unit and to the inner faces of bars 15 and 16. v

A hook 31 is also desirab'ly'preseiit; eh which to hang, say, the cap or bonnet. inliwell shown in Figs. 6, '7, comprises a main member 32 carrying the well W and shouldered at 32' and thereabove-rediiced in diameter andexte= riorly threaded for the applicatier-i of a niit 33 whereby the well may be secured within the aperture and to the member 25. Near its top, said well W is also preferably interiorly threaded at W, whereby a cover 34 having male and fe'-' male threads, as shown, m"ay be readily applied to and removed fromthe top of the well by 'cooper= ating with the exterior thread and the interior thread W of the member 32.

When the unit is collapsed as shown in Figs; 3 to 5,- the chief lateral projection is the width of the lesser desk-top component 25, and this; as 'seenelearl'y in Fig.- 5, is well above the childs I head; The slight prejection of the strip 21- and immediately adjacent portions of ends 15 of bars 15 presents no difficulty, since this always well clears the childs heckand head back. The strips 28 and 29 form stops t6 hold all these bars l6, l5 and 10 in the same place with the two bars 11; while the seat 22 is nested quietly and firmly in the same place, at one side by the strip 14, and at the other side by the dead weight or gfavityactiorr 6f desk-top 26'. With. the parts in this condition, the cella'psed outfit is instan= taneously attached to the back of the child by its passing under its armpits the bights of the straps:30.- The compartment 26" is now verti= eaL; with its bottom established by partitioh 26b, and with its opentop immediately below open= i-ng 25A; so that books, papers and the like may be comfortably and safely carried therein.

When the unit is expanded, the important op= erative strips 28 and 29 afford convenient foot rests for the child, in two comfortable positi'en's, bfitalways to keep the childs feet clear of the damp groun'dr It will be observed that when the structure is cellapsed all its elemerits will remain truly in the same plane. tween-air names formed by hai s 15*, 16; will be in the saiiie plans because ihrier ears l-dwill be hoiisedb'etweeii strips 17, 18'; while ski-ft pditioii-s 22' will remain between 15' of bars and bar's is, the seat ester 22 passing through and remaining slight 13 Beyond the space between e'iitensitih 15*. The chair sti'iict'iir'e thus collapsed, the enter dimensigns of which aresubstantially the dimensions 6f rame formedby bars 15:15", strips 17, is, and strip 21, will nestwithiri the open frame fiiiified by bars 10 and strip 14; 28; and the latter frame will nest within the frame formed l1 andstrip '29, while ccmpa-rtme'nt 26", which will remain above strip 21 of the chair back, will also be nested between the upper por tions of bars 10, the desk top 26' overlapping the collapsed structure at the rear, and abutting against seat 22.

Variations may be freely resorted to within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A folding desk and chair comprising a desk top, foldably connected forward and rear pairs of legs supporting the desk top, a chair seat, forand rear pairs of foldable connected legs supporting the chair seat, the forward chair legs being pivotally connected to the rear desk legs, whereby all of said legs may be folded into a comiiion plane, the desk top having side bars and the forward chair legs being extended to provide a back for the chair, the extensions of the forward chair legs being of curved form on their rear edges and the desk top side bars having their lowerinner edges of corresponding configuration to interfit with the chair leg extensions when the latter are fclded and the desk top is disposed fiat against the whole set of folded legs:

2. In a collapsible structure of the character described, a chair cemprising a front legfrar'n'e, a rear leg frame, each frame consisting of two transversely spaced barsand cross members ea tending between and'connecting said bars-said rear leg frame being narrower than and ne'stable within the other so as to leave a clearance space between each of its outer side surfaces aiidthe corresponding inner side surfaces of the front tiltable with respect to the front leg frame, so as Y to be movable from a collapsed position where said rear leg frame is nested within, and iii a common plane with saidfront leg frame; to an expanded position where said twofram'es are in a crossed relation to'each ether, and-a seat forming an articulated connection between said two fraines, said seat havih'ga width substantially corresponding t6 the distance between the inner side surfaces of the front leg frame and having at each side a depending" skirt pertien of a thickness substantially equal to the-width 'of the clearance space between the bars of thet'wo frames at the corresponding side, said skirt pertions being pivotally connected at the rear to the bars of said front leg frame and at theffor-i-t to the bars of said rear' leg frame; the barsof the front leg frame being external amuse bar's of the rear leg frame being internal to said skirt portions, the bars of said front leg frame extending upwardly beydnd th'e pivot'al connection be= tween said bars and said skirt portions ane being transversely connected at their upper'ends'to" forin aback fof said chair, and a desk cenibnjsi a front is; name, a rear leg frame wider than an pivotally connecte thereto, eac ffair'ie con: sisting or two transversey spaced bar' "cross members extending between and connecting the edges of said bars, and a toppivctally eeniiecte'd at the fear to the upper end of said front leg frame, said two frames being movable rrcm'a collapsed positionwhere said front'leg frame is nested within and a common transversal plane with Said rear ieg frame to anexnanded pesirion where said two frames are in a crossed relation to each other, the distance between the inner corres onding tome distance between the outer side surfaces of the front leg frame of said chair, the lower end (if the desk front leg frame being pivot-any connected to the lower end of the chair front leg frame; the foal 'fr'aifies the chair seat being nes'table within ene ahether and being all foldable in a common transversal plane, said desk top being foldable against the rear surface of the resulting collapsed structure, said desk front leg frame being longer than said chair front leg frame, and a pocket portion depending from said desk top, at the rear thereof, adapted to be-

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