US1842954A - Operating attachment for foldable brackets - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 26, 1932. H. ANDERSON 1,842,954

OPERATING ATTACHMENT FOR FOLDABLE BRACKETS Filed Nov. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LA 5% wxa-Wzw? awry/.504 @m ay m Jan. 26, 1932. HQANDEgsO I 1,342,954

OPERATING ATTACHMENT FOR FOLDABLE BRACKETS Filed Nov. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gaff/ii? 4/VHZKS'U/V 5/ I Patented Jan. 26, 1932 g -f HARRISON ANDERSON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA OPERATING ATTACHMENT FOR roLnAB E nRncKETs V Application filed November 20,1928. Serial No. 320,649.

My invention has reference tofoldable brackets for supporting'hinged table leaves, shelves, and the like in extended position where the bracket is normally ffolded when the leaf or shelf is folded, but which is moved to an extended position by and when the leaf or shelf is moved to extended position, and in which position the bracket is made rigid to firmly support the leaf or shelf in 1 extended position. With brackets of this character it is necessary, in practice, to reach beneaththe leaf or shelf and exert considerable pressure manually to break the joint of the bracket, before it can be collapsed to allow folding of the leaf or shelf.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide what may be termed an attachment to any bracket operable in the manner above described, andby means of-which the necessity is eliminated of collapsing the bracket by extendingthe hand beneath the leaf or shelf, and permitting such collapse by slight-pressure of the finger on the attachment,-,which may be performed simultaneously with grip- 2'5 ping of the leaf or shelf in lowering the latter to folded position. 7

I will describe only three forms of operating attachments and one form of actuating means for foldable brackets all embodying 2730 my invention, and will then point out the novel featuresthereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings: I Figure 1 is a view showing in side'elevation a hinged table leaf and a foldable bracket therefor having applied to the latter one form of operating attachment for the bracket embodying my invention; 1

, Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken onthe line 22 of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a view showing in p rspective the attachment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing two foldablexbrackets :of the type shown in Fig. '1 and an'attachment for simultaneously operating, both-of the brackets and embodying myinvention; V

i 1 Fig.5 is a perspectiveview on a reduced scale showing in detail the operating attach ment as shown in Fig. 4;; 1 6

Fig. dis a view similar to Fig. 1 showing connected to a plate 22 by means of a pivot pin 21.

supporting the leaf 17 in horizontal position. i

a different form of foldable bracket applied to atable leaf, and another form of operating attachment for the bracket embodying my invention; a r

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing v one form of actuating means embodying my invention for and applied to the operating attachment shown in Fig. 1; V

Fig. 8 is a View showing the actuatin means in bottom plan and applied to the op- 6 crating attachment of Figs. 1 and 7; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the actuating means applied to the form of operating attachment shown in Fig. .6.

' Similar reference characters refer to sim- 65 ilar parts in each of the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, and particularly. to Fig. 1, I have. here shown a conventional form of table including a base 15,.a top 16, and a leaf 17 connected to the top 16 by means of a hinge 18 so as to be movable to the extended position shown froma vertically folded position; The leaf 17 is firmly held in the extended position by means'of a conventional form of foldable bracket. This bracket, in the present instance, is shown as comprising a long arm 19 connected to the table base 15 by a hinged connection'20, and a short arm 21 pivotally The plate 22 in turn is secured to theunderside of the leaf 17. The opposite end of the arm 21 is pivotally connected to the long arm 19 by a knuckle or joint 23.

The knuckle 23 is of the type that limits movement of the arms 19 and 21 from a folded position to an extended position in which the armsare longitudinally aligned so that they coact to form a rigid arm for firmly The arms are 1 held in this aligned position by means'of a spring 24 connected tothe arms by pin extensions 25, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. Breaking of the joint to allow collapsing. of the arms may be effected by. downward nmvement of either arm through exertion of suflicient downward pressure or pull to overcome the tension of the spring 24:. To accomplish this collapsingor foldingvof the bracket, it is necessary to extend the hand beneath the leaf 17 and xert considerable downward pull or pressure on either arm 19 and 21, preferably the latter.

The attachment forming the subject matter of my invention is shown in Fig. 3 as comprising a single lever designated generally at L and consisting of an attenuated base 26 provided at its longitudinal edges with upstanding ears 27 having registering openings 28 through which the pivot pin 21 extends for pivotally supporting the lever as a unit on the plate 22. The base 26 is formed with a slot 29 to accommodate the arm 21, and to permit the lever to engage the arm beyond the pin 21 in order that when the outer end of the lever is pressed upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 its inner end will press the arm 21 downwardly and thus efiect a breaking of the joint 23 to allow collapsing of the bracket.

By reference to Fig. 1, it will be evident that the outer end of the lever L is disposed beneath and adjacent the outer edge of the leaf 17 so that one, in gripping the leaf, can extend a finger into engagement with the lever and by forcing the latter upwardly, as described, collapsing of the bracket will be effected to permit lowering of the leaf to vertical position. The mounting of the lever L in no way interferes with movement of the bracket arms to extended position, and it will, of course, be understood that the bracket is moved to extended position simultaneously with movement of the leaf to horizontal position.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, I have here shown another form of operating attachment embodying my invention which is designed for application to a pair of brackets of the same construction as the bracket shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 4, which is a view similar to Fig. 2, the brackets are shown applied to the leaf 17 in the same manner. They are spaced from each other, however, to effectively support the leaf in extended position. The attachment is shown as comprising a lever L formed of sheet metal or any other suitable material, and constructed at its ends to provide fingers 30 and ears 31, the ears being mounted on the pivot pins 21 of the two brackets so that the lever is supported for pivotal movement about its longitudinal axis. The fingers 30 are positioned to engage the arms 21 so that b I exertin u ward ressure with the finger on a medial extension 32 of the lever, the lever can be rocked to cause the fingers to exert a downward pressure on the arms 21 and thereby efiect collapsing of both brackets simultaneously deferring now to Fig. 6, I have here shown another form of foldable bracket in association with a hinged shelf 33. This bracket comprises a pair of arms 34 and 35 hingedly connected by brackets 36 and 37 to the shelf support 38 and shelf 33, respectively. The arms 34 and 35 are hingedly connected to each other by a joint 39 of such construction as to permit upward folding of the arms as distinguished from the downward folding of the arms of the bracket shown in Fig. 1.

For collapsing this bracket I provide an attachment in the form of a lever L fulcrumed on a bracket 40, the latter being secured to the under side of the shelf The mounting of the lever L is such that its in ner end is in engagement with the arm 35 so that by exerting a downward pressure on the outer end of the lever the arm 35 will be forced upwardly, effecting a collapse of the bracket to allow the shelf 33 to be lowered to folded position.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown substantially the same operating attachment illustrated in Fig. 1 disposed remotely with respect to the outer edge of the table leaf 17 so as not to be conveniently within reach of one operating the attachment. To conveniently operate the attachment when so positioned I provide an actuating means which comprises a rod 41 secured at one end in the end 26 of the attachment L which end is downturned as illustrated. The opposite end of the rod 41 is secured within the downward end 42 of a lever 43 fulcrumed on a bracket 44 secured to the underside of the leaf 17 so as to dispose the outer end of the lever adjacent the outer edge of the leaf and thus within convenient reach of the operator.

By forcing the outer end of the lever 43 upwardly, the lever is rocked to exert a longitudinal pull on the rod 41 which actuates the attachment L to break the joint of the foldable bracket and thus cause the latter to collapse and permit lowering of the leaf.'

to the form of lever and foldable bracket shown in Fig. 6. In this embodiment, the lever L is formed with an upturned end 45 to which the inner end of the rod 41 is secured so that when the rod is moved outwardly by operation of the lever 43 the lever L will be moved to break the joint upwardly and cause the bracket to collapse.

It will be manifest from the construction and operation of the actuating means in respect to the two forms of bracket operating attachments that provision is made for collapsing either form of bracket from the outer edge of the leaf or shelf where either bracket is applied to a leaf or shelf is of such width that without the actuating means the lever L or L can be reached only by extending the armbeneath the shelf or leaf, it being understood that the rod 41 may be varied in length to meet the demands in various installations.

Although I have herein shown and dements and one form of actuating means for foldable brackets embodying my invention,

it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

7 1. In combination, a member hinged to swing downwardly from an extended position to a folded position, a foldable bracket for rigidly supporting the member in extended position when extended and movable to a collapsed position to allow folding of the member, manually operable meansfor collapsing the bracket comprising an element pivoted soas to be movable and exert a pressure against the bracket, a rod connected to the element, and a lever connected to the rod and pivoted on the under side of the member for actuating the rod so as to move the element.

2. As an article of manufacture, an operating attachment for leaf or shelf brackets capable of being folded to allow folding of the leaf or shelf, comprising a lever fulcrumed to move and exert an upward pres sure from beneath against the bracket to cause collapsing of the latter, a rod connected to the lever, and a second lever connected to the rod for actuating the first lever through the rod.

3. As an article of manufacture, an operating attachment for leaf or shelf brackets capable of being folded to allow folding of the leaf or shelf, comprising a lever fulcrumed to move and exert an upward pressure from beneath against the bracket to cause collapsing of thelatter, and a second lever operatively connected to the first lever to actuate the'latter from a remote point.

4. In combination, a support, a leaf hinged on the support to swing upward from a vertically folded position to a horizontal extended position, a bracket for supporting the leaf in extended position, comprising arms pivotally connected to each other and to the support and leaf to occupy extended positions when the leaf is in extended position, and a lever mounted on the leaf so that one end thereof has sliding contact with one of the arms and the other end so positioned in reference to the leaf, whereby the lever can be operated to move said arm and thus collapse the bracket to folded position; v

vFnigned at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, this 3d day of November, A. D. 1928.

HARRISON ANDERSON.

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