US PATENT CLASS 297
Class Notes
Current as of: June, 1999
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DEFINITION
Classification: 297/
Devices for supporting the weight of a person in a seated position including chairs, seats, and ancillary devices not elsewhere classifiable.
(1) Note. A seat is a support for bearing the weight of a person in a sitting position. It comprises (1) a bottom contoured to conform to the shape of the buttocks of the occupant or (2) supports for two or more different areas of the occupant's body or (3) any support surface disclosed as a buttocks support in combination with a means, such as a table, desk or an additional buttocks support, which limits the use of such surface to the disclosed use. As used in this class, the term "seat" is distinguished from the term "bottom" in that the bottom is the buttock supporting portion of a seat.
For the location of the definitions of a chair, a bottom, and a back, see Subclass References To The Current Class below.
SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:
411.1, for a support engaging the armpit of a seated person.
445.1, for the definition of a chair.
452.1, for the definition of a chair back and bottom..
REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES SEE OR SEARCH CLASS
4, Baths, Closets, Sinks, and Spittoons,
234+, for a closet seat with a cover or lid and subclasses 237+ for a closet seat, per se, especially subclass 239 for a detachable child's seat. A bottom having an opening is retained in this class (297). To be classified in Class 4, additional commode structure must be present, such as a receiver, a plug for the opening, a deflector shield, means for attaching the seat to the opening, etc.
5, Beds,
12.1+, for sofas convertible to beds, subclasses 600+ for beds having movable sections adjustable relative to each other to support an occupant in a reclining or sitting position, subclasses 131+ for cushioned supporting surfaces spaced from the floor and capable of supporting an occupant in either a recumbent or sitting position, and subclasses 652+ for cushions, per se, of general utility. The art in Class 5, especially in subclasses 12.1+ and 600+, is often structurally and functionally indistinguishable from that in this class (297).
52, Static Structures (e.g., Buildings), appropriate subclasses for a panel of general utility even though disclosed or defined as being a component of a chair or seat.
56, Harvesters,
323, for a seat combined with a machine of that class.
70, Locks,
261, for locks for seats to prevent unauthorized use thereof.
104, Railways, 115, for a chair or seat mounted on a cable railway, e.g., a ski lift.
105, Railway Rolling Stock,
322, for railway cars having sleeping berth, wherein a seat back forms the upper berths, and subclasses 345+ for seats built in the forming parts of a car structure.
114, Ships,
194, for self-leveling chairs attached to a ship, and subclass 363 for a seat combined with a boat.
128, Surgery, appropriate subclasses for a seat combined with a means to treat the body, particularly
33, for a seat combined with a vibrating massager.
144, Woodworking,
329+, for a process of making a chair or seat of wood.
160, Flexible or Portable Closure, Partition, or Panel, appropriate subclasses, for a flexible or portable panel usable as a seat back or bottom, especially
87+, for plural panels; subclasses 327+ for a panel supported at opposite edges by elongated elements; subclasses 371+ for a panel mounted in a frame, and subclasses 383+ for means to fasten one edge of a fabric panel to an elongated supporting element.
172, Earth Working, 431, for a seat combined with a machine of that class.
244, Aeronautics,
122, for an aircraft fuselage having a seat.
248, Supports,
118, for a headrest or armrest not disclosed as used in conjunction with a device of this class (297) and subclasses 127+ for a stand comprising a generally horizontal article supporting surface combined with depending substructure to
space the surface from the floor or ground.
267, Spring Devices,
80+, for springs and their framework for bottom and back cushions. They may include diverse types of spring material such as rubber and metal, and spring structures having different coefficients of resiliency for different areas of the cushion. See, also, subclass 117 for the structure of a fluid spring for the same use; and subclasses 142+ for other types of spring elements in a spring device for such use.
280, Land Vehicles, appropriate subclasses, for the combination of a vehicle of the type there classified and a chair or seat. The mere recitation of wheels or running gear on a chair or seat is insufficient to characterize that device as a Class 280 Vehicle; consequently patents having such structure have been classified in this class (297) on other features. However, additional vehicle features such as removable or retractable running gear, a push handle, means to propel the vehicle, a steering wheel or tiller, are examples of vehicle structure details which characterize the device as a vehicle for Class 280. Moreover, in the "baby walker" type of seat, a wheel-mounted bottom modified to enable the occupant to engage the floor or ground with his feet to move the vehicle (as by providing leg cut-outs, or by mounting the seat between the wheels) is a vehicle for Class 280. See especially
5.2+, for an invalid wheel chair having means for ascending and descending steps or similar obstructions; subclasses 7.1+ for a device convertible from a vehicle to a nonvehicle; subclasses 638+ for a seat having a running gear extensible relative to the seat to raise or lower the seat or to extend the wheels from an inoperative to an operative position; subclasses 200+ for a vehicle having occupant propelling means; subclasses 87.051+ for a vehicle propelled by the foot contact of an occupant with the floor (baby walker); and subclasses 47.38+ for a vehicle such as a baby carriage propelled by a handle.
296, Land Vehicles: Bodies and Tops,
63+, for a seat combined with a land vehicle body, particularly subclass 64 for the arrangement of a plurality of seats within a vehicle. 446, Amusement Devices: Toys,
482, for toy chairs or seats.
606, Surgery,
242, for a seat having an orthopedic device designed to adjust unfractured bones into their normal position.