Patent Application
20200146441
The present disclosure relates generally to an article of furniture; and, in particular, to an article of furniture with modern and minimalist design for enhancing the interior feel of a living and/or office space.
Furniture, and especially tables, have legs which support a table-top of the table at a desired height above the floor. Traditionally, the tables have been designed with one or more pairs of legs, such as having four legs with each leg being positioned at a corner of the table-top. Other table designs are known which may employ three or even only two legs for supporting the table-top. The purpose of providing multiple legs has generally been to provide stability to the table-top, which is traditionally accomplished by providing a sufficient number of leg that are positioned top optimally support the center of gravity of the table-top. However, such table designs have been known and implemented for centuries now, and they have become boring and unexciting for many consumers.
These days, there are consumers looking for minimalist, aesthetic, and bold designs for furniture, like tables, to enhance the interior feel of their living and work spaces. Generally, in addition to the design requirement to supply furniture with a minimalist and aesthetic appearance, the article of furniture should also be comfortable, easy to use, structurally sound, and have high quality construction. In particular, there is a need to provide a table which is structurally solid, yet at the same time provides an exciting design choice for consumers. The present invention proposes a design for an article of furniture, and in particular, for an article of furniture having a planar top surface which is modern and minimalist for enhancing the feel of a living and/or office space.
SUMMARY
In an aspect, an article of furniture positioned on a floor surface is provided. The article of furniture comprises an upper body section having a center of gravity. The article of furniture further comprises a leg supporting the upper body section from below. The leg is positioned below the upper body section wherein the leg is not positioned below the center of gravity of the upper body section, and the leg is secured to the floor surface by a fastener.
In one or more embodiments, the leg includes a section that is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the upper body section and the floor surface.
In one or more embodiments, the leg is secured to the floor surface by a threaded fastener.
In one or more embodiments, two or more legs are provided.
In one or more embodiments, the upper body section includes a planar top surface.
In one or more embodiments, only a single leg is provided.
In one or more embodiments, the leg is oriented at a substantially perpendicular angle with respect to the upper body section and the floor surface.
In one or more embodiments, the upper body section includes an enclosable cabinet.
In one or more embodiments, the upper body section includes a drawer.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
For a more complete understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, systems, apparatuses and methods are shown in block diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.
Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.
The embodiments are described herein for illustrative purposes and are subject to many variations. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or the scope of the present disclosure. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. Any heading utilized within this description is for convenience only and has no legal or limiting effect.
The present disclosure relates to an article of furniture, and in particular, to provide a versatile, rigid, and rugged article of furniture preferably having a planar upper surface. The present disclosure also provides novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawings merely show and the following description merely describes a limited number of embodiments of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.
Referring to
In the present embodiments, the upper body section 102 has a planar top surface 114, which is shown in the form of a table-top in
In the illustrated embodiments, the article of furniture 100 has been shown provided with a single leg 104. In some embodiments, the article of furniture 100 may be provided with more than one leg 104, i.e. two or more legs, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Generally, the leg 104 can include a supporting member 108 and an extension member 110 to support the planar top surface 114 above the ground at a height. In some examples, with structures in which the planar top surface 114 is of sufficient thickness, the supporting member 108 may be omitted, if desired. In the preferred embodiments, the supporting member 108 and the extension member 110 may be a unitary structure, i.e. the supporting member 108 and the extension member 110 may be formed integral with each other. In other examples, the supporting member 108 may be formed separate from the extension member 110, which are assembled together by any known joining techniques known in the art, including, but not limited to, use of fastening members like screws, nuts and bolts, etc.; adhesives like glue and the like, or some fitting joints.
The leg 104, including the supporting member 108 and the extension member 110, can be made using any suitable materials, such as wood, metal, polymers, combinations thereof, and so forth. Advantageously, the leg 104 is made or carved out from solid wood, plywood, or the like. In some examples, the leg 104 may be carved with some design features therein. In other examples, the leg 104 may itself be carved in the shape of a feature. The article of furniture 100 of the present disclosure provides contours which are distinct in design from conventional tables, or other supporting and frame structures. In particular, there is a unity of form of the planar top surface 114, the supporting member 108, and the extension member 110 which is quite distinct from conventional tables, as better shown in
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a section of the leg 104, i.e. the extension member 110, is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the upper body section 102 and the floor surface E That is, the extension member 110 may be disposed in an inclined position. The inclination direction of the extension member 110 may generally be towards an opposite side of the edge toward which the leg 104 is fixed to the upper body section 102. Such inclined configuration of the extension member 110 may help to somewhat compensate from the possible loss in balance for the article of furniture 100 due to an off-set location of support provided by the leg 104, from the position of the center of gravity 106 of the upper body section 102. Such design may also increase the aesthetic appeal of the article of furniture 100 of the present disclosure, making it bolder and exciting compared to conventional articles of furniture 100. Although not shown, the leg 104 can be oriented at a substantially perpendicular angle with respect to the upper body section 102 and the floor surface F.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the article of furniture 100 is positioned on the floor surface, the leg 104 is secured to the floor surface F by a fastener, such as a fastener 112 (as shown in
In one or more examples, the upper body section 102 can includes a drawer (not shown). In other examples, such as shown in
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
