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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

James G. Holmes, of Charleston, South Carolina

CHAIR FOR INVALIDS

Specification of letters Patent No. 3,761, dated September 24, 1844.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES G. HOLMES, of the city of Charleston, in the State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manner of Constructing Chairs for the Use of Invalids or Others, which I denominate the "Therapeutic Chair," and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The principal characteristic feature of my chair is the peculiar manner in which I have combined the seat with the back, with a jointed apron in front and with the lower frame of the chair, so that a person sitting therein can, by his own weight operating on the back, cause the back, and the apron, to assume a horizontal position, and to constitute a couch, or can cause the back and the apron to stand at any inclination to the bottom that may be desired, and can, also, by allowing his weight to press upon the seat, elevate the back, and depress the apron, at pleasure, from a horizontal, or, an inclined position.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1, is a perspective representation of my therapeutic chair, with its cover on Fig. 2, is an inside view of one side of the frame of the chair divested of its covering, and without any of that part of the frame work which constitutes the seat. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the same framework, and also of a part of that which forms the frame of the seat, which frame is represented as broken off at about the middle.

A, A, is one of the side pieces of the chair back. Each of these side pieces is attached, by a joint pin, at a, to the inner side of the frame, B, of the lower part of the chair, B', B', being two of the legs.

C, C, are the side rails of what I have denominated the apron, and which has, at its lower part, a jointed foot board, D, similar to those used in other invalid chairs. The side rails, C, C, of the apron, are, like the side pieces, A, of the back, connected to the frame B, by a joint pin, a.

E, Fig. 2, is one of the side rails of the frame of the chair seat, which frame is connected at each side of the chair by joint pins, b, b, to the pieces A, and C. The arms F, of the chair are hinged at c, c, to the pieces A and C, as shown in the drawing, the joints being so situated as that the side rails, E, and the arms F, will preserve their parallelism to each other, like the two slats of a parallel ruler. It will be seen that under this arrangement, the chair seat has an independent frame, and that when the back, A, is placed in a horizontal position, the joint pins, a, and b, will be on the same horizontal plane, or nearly so; that in assuming this position the seat will have been raised, and brought forward to a distance dependent upon the distance of the joint pins, a, and b, from each other.

Supposing a person sitting in the chair when in the position shown in the drawing; if he lean against the back, it will be depressed, the apron part preserving the same horizontal angle with it, and the seat will be elevated. If the back be brought to a horizontal position, the three parts above named will stand in the same plane; but this motion may be arrested at any intermediate point, with scarcely an effort on the part of the incumbent. On making an attempt to rise from the horizontal position, the weight thrown on the chair seat will depress it, and the back will rise and the apron fall to an extent dependent upon such effort. It is often desirable to secure the respective parts in place when they are standing horizontally; and to effect this there may be a sliding rail, d, d, on each side, of the seat frame, E. When these sliding pieces are drawn out, they pass under the apron frame, and support it. The sliding pieces, d, d, on each side of the frame may be connected by a cross piece, and both of them be drawn out together.

I ordinarily use latch levers also, for a like purpose, and for that, likewise, of retaining the back and apron at any desired inclination. One of these latch levers is shown at G, these levers are connected by joint pins, e, to the apron rails, C, and they are notched so as to be arrested at any point by the staple, f, which is made fast to B. By means of a cord, g, on each side of the chair, these levers may be raised or dropped, at pleasure, and the desired end attained.

Having thus, fully described the nature of my improvement in the therapeutic chair, and shown the manner in which the respective parts are arranged, and operate, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is --

The manner in which I have combined the seat, the back, and the apron, with each other, and with the lower segment, or legs, of the chair, as herein set forth; by which combination and arrangement the person occupying the chair is enabled, by the action of his own gravity, to govern the position of the movable parts; the whole being connected and combined substantially as herein set forth.