US1338124A - Folding camp-stool - Google Patents

Description

H. G. D'ALE. FOLDING CAMP STOOL. ABLPLICATION FILED Aue.14, 1918.

Patented I 2 1920- HORACE G. DALE, OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

FOLDING CAMP-STOOL.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application filedAugust 14, 1918. SeriaiNo. 249,880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Home}; Gr. DALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Camp-Stools, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to camp stools, and particularly to certain improvements in the camp stool illustrated in the patent granted January 1st, 1901, No. 664,976, to Sheffy and Burnap.

Specifically, the objects of my invention are to improve upon the camp stool illustrated in said patent by so constructing the stool that a square canvas seat may be used in place of a triangular seat of canvas, as illustrated, to improve the means whereby the legs of the stool are connected to the seat, to improve the means whereby the legs are held in crossed relation and whereby they are urged into divergent relation but permitted to move into parallel relation, and to provide improved means for flexiblyconnecting the lower ends of the pairs of legs to each other.

Other objects have to do with improve ments in certain details of construction, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stool constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the annuli 16 and 17 and the adjacent portions of the legs, the annuli being broken away;

8 is a like view to Fig. 2, but showing the legs in parallel relation;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the annuli;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, of the attaching member 11;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary underside plan view of the seat and the attaching member; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the stool folded.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my improved camp stool comprises a seat 10, which is square and formed of canvas or, other like suitable material and having attached to its corners the strips or plates 11 having ears 12 and the perforations 13 on each end of the strip whereby the strips may be attached to the canvas seat by sewing or like means, these strips being disposed radially to the center of the seat.

Hingedly connected to the ears 12 are the legs 14. Each of these legs at its upper end is reduced in thickness as at 15 so as to be inserted between the cars 12 and pierced for the passage of a rivet or bolt. Each of these legs at its lower edge is also reduced in thickness and pierced for the attachment of the connecting strips, as will be later stated. The legs pass through a pair of annuli 16 and 17. These annuli. are hollow, that is, each annulus has a web and a pcripheral flange, the flanges of the annulus confronting each other. Disposed through the annuli is a pivot pin or shaft 18 to which the uppermost annulus is fast. The lowermost annulus is rotatable upon this pin or shaft 18. The annuli are both formed with circular apertures 19 arranged in quartering relation and mounted upon the member 18, by being coiled thereon, is a coiled torsion spring 20 having two arms or branches 21 which extend into the web of the annulus 17. The tension of this spring acts to urge the annulus 17 into a position with relation to the annulus 16 where the holes 19 of both annuli register. There is suflicient play between the holes 19 and the legs 14 as to permit the legs to take an inclined position with' relation to the web of the annuli and preferably these apertures 19 are elliptical in form.

Now if the annuli be turned so as to bring their holes in registry with each other and the legs 14 be disposed through these holes, it will be obvious that the legs will be held in parallel relation to each other, as illustrated in Fig. 8, but upon a release of the legs, the spring 20 will act to turn the annulus 17 in a direction to carry its apertures 19 out of re istry with the apertures 19 of the annulus 16 and the legs will be thrown into diagonally related positions which will act to spread the canvas of the seat and the lower ends of the legs into quartering rela tion.

The lower ends of the legs are connected by means of tension straps 22, four in number, which may be made ofmetal or any other like material. The inner ends of all of said straps are turned at right angles to the body of the strap and pierced for a connecting ring 23, while the outer ends of the straps are rebent and slotted to receive the lower ends of the legs, the rebent portion forming a bead 2% for the reception of a pintle 25 which may be in the form of a bolt or rivet. It will be noted that inasmuch as there are four legs, there are four of these tension straps and that when the camp stool is folded up, these straps will fold up within the space defined by the four legs of the stool. Inasmuch as these straps 22 are stiff, being made of metal or like material, they will, when the straps are in the position shown in Fig, 1, not only prevent the outward movement of the legs under the weight on the seat, but will also tend to prevent any accidental inward movement of the legs, unless the ring 23 is positively lifted. This would not be the case were these straps 22 of flexible material, such as webbing or leather.

The legs are preferably made of 9; round spring steel and the whole stool when folded weighs about one pound and eight ounces and will support the weight of a 275 pound man. At the same time the stool may be folded into a Very compact package for easy transportation. The steel is rendered particularly strong by reason of the additional leg and it will be noted that the hinged a tachment of the canvas seat 10 to the leg through the pieces 11 permits the canvas seat to take any desired angle with relation to the leg and thus conform to the person. A square seat is obviously much more comfortable than a triangular seat can possibly be.

I claim A camp stool of the character described having supporting means including an upper and a lower annulus having peripheral confronting flanges, an axial member attached to the inside face of the upper annulus and extending downward through the lower annulus and forming an axis therefor, said annuli having a plurality of elongated apertures adjacent their margins, a plurality of legs each passing through a pair of said apertures and formed with enlarged portions between the anuli whereby upon a rotation of one annulus relative to the other the legs will be turned into or out of parallel relation to each other, springs attached to the downwardly projecting, axial member below the lower annulus, said springs being wrapped around the axial member in the same direction and in parallel coils, and the springs being laterally bent to form two arms connected with diametrically opposite points of the lower annulus, and means limiting the divergence of the legs but permit ting the legs to be folded into an approximately parallel position, said means, when the legs are in angular relation, impeding the inward movement of the legs toward each other and into parallel relation.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. HORACE G. DALE. Witnesses:

A. Ln'rzKUs, IRENE HAWKINS.

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