Patent Grant
11690449
The present disclosure relates to a convertible multi-function furniture, and more particularly to a multifunction furniture enable to operate between a vertical configuration which may be employed as a shelf, a horizontal configuration which may be employed as a table, and a collapsed configuration which may be easy for transportation.
Generally, a multifunction furniture has been widely developed in the furniture industry. In particular, shelves and tables are two of the most popular furniture. The size of living spaces can be smaller and smaller in urban areas these days. Therefore, building smaller or collapsed furniture is only a way of solutions. However, the designing furniture articles which serves multifunction is more effective way to utilize precious living space in homes.
The multi-function conversion table which can be turned into a table or a shelf has been developed in the current market, but one non-limiting example of the problems associated with multifunction table is that in order to hold the furniture article either as a table or a desk, a complicity lock assembly should be employed. Specifically, the lock assembly may utilize cords or embedded locking mechanism which may increase the manufacturing cost or the total weight of the furniture article. Conventionally, an adjustable hand-wheel could be employed as the locking mechanism; however, the user needs to overcome the weight of the shelves in order to tightly lock the furniture in desired positions.
To overcome this known problem, past solutions have involved using locking pins to lock the shelves. However, when the furniture is performed as a shelf, the locking pins could not stably hold the furniture in positions. The locking pins could always be employed at a middle portion of the shelf or table, but two ends of the shelf or table are still suspended above the surface. Therefore, in this manner, the body or side frames of the furniture may shake or even collapse by the external force. In addition, even if the lock mechanism is easy to operate, the locking mechanism might be seized up or stopped through the daily use. The locking mechanism may need to be replaced or sent back to the manufacturers.
As mentioned in the foregoing description, for holding the furniture in desired position, there is a continuing need for new ways to hold the convertible multifunction furniture in the desired position through a simply locking mechanism without increasing the manufacture cost, and also maintain the security during the uses of the furniture in either performing as the shelf or as the table.
In a general implementation, a multi-function furniture that is convertible between a vertical, horizontal, and collapsed configurations, the furniture comprising: pairs of support frames, each of the support frames having a top end and a bottom end; a plurality of retaining pieces pivotally connected to the top ends of the support frames; pairs of parallel side frames, each of the parallel side frames pivotally connected to the retaining pieces; a series of angular frames, each of the angular frames having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal ends and each of the proximal end being pivotally connected to the parallel side frames; wherein one of the pair of the support frames is pivotally connected with the other one of the pair the support frame.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of pins arranged on one of the pair of the parallel side frames and a series of first hook rotatably arranged on the other one of the pair of the parallel side frames and configured to hook on the pins.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of pins arranged on one of the pair of the parallel side frames and a series of second hook rotatably arranged on the support frames and configured to hook on the pins.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the pairs of the support frames support the angular frames vertically arranged relative to the parallel side frames such that the furniture is at the vertical configuration.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the pairs of the support frames support one of the angular frames being in alignment with one another such that the furniture is at the horizontal configuration.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the pairs of support frames are folded to parallelly arranged relative to the angular frames and the parallel side frames, wherein each one of the angular frames in alignment with one another such that the furniture is at the collapsed configuration.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, one of the pair of support frames is pivotally connected to the other one of the pair of the support frame at an acute angle or obtuse angle.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, one each of the retaining pieces comprises an inner surface and an outer surface formed at an opposite side of the inner surface, wherein the top end of one of the pair of the support frames is pivotally connected to the inner surface and the top end of the other one of the pair of the support frames is pivotally connected to the outer surface.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, wherein the bottom end of the support frame is formed at an opposite end of the top end, wherein the bottom end is configurated to biased against a surface.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of second hook rotatably arranged on the support frames and near the bottom ends of the support frames, wherein the second hooks are configured to hook on the pins.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of pins formed one of the pair of the parallel side frames, and a series of first hooks rotatably arranged on the other one of the pair of the parallel side frames and configured to hook on the pins.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, each of the side frames comprises an intermediate end being pivotally connected to the retaining pieces, wherein the intermediate end bisects the side frame.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the distal end of the angular frame is pivotally connected to one of the pair of the parallel side frame, and the proximal end of the angular frame is pivotally connected to the other one of the pair of the parallel side frame.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of pins formed on one of the pair of the parallel side frames and a series of first hooks rotatably arranged on the other one of the pair of the parallel side frames and configured to hook on the pins, wherein the first hooks are above the level of the pins and the parallel side frames are vertically arranged relative to the angular frames.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the series of angular frames comprises pairs of first angular frames and second angular frames, wherein the first angular frame is parallelly arranged relative to the second angular frame.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a series of cross frames affixed with the first angular frame and the second angular frame, wherein each of the cross frames is parallelly arranged with one another.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the retaining pieces are pivotally connected to the top ends of the support frames to form first pivots, and the parallel side frames are pivotally connected to the retaining pieces to form the second pivots, wherein the second pivots are above the level of the first pivots.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, a plurality of shelves being secured on the angular frames and cross frames vertically arranged and affixed with pairs of angular frames.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the second hooks are inclinedly arranged to hook on the pins at an acute angle or an obtuse angle with respect to the support frame.
In another aspect combinable with the general implementation, the first hooks are normal to the support frames.
While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any inventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above and below as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, example operations, methods, or processes described herein may include more steps or fewer steps than those described. Further, the steps in such example operations, methods, or processes may be performed in different successions than that described or illustrated in the figures. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
It should be noted that the drawing figures may be in simplified form and might not be to precise scale. In reference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms such as top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, front, distal, and proximal are used with respect to the accompanying drawings. Such directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the embodiment in any manner.
The different aspects of the various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the embodiments, which are presented as illustrated examples of the embodiments defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the embodiments as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below.
The multi-function furniture 10 that is convertible between a vertical, horizontal, and collapsed configurations, wherein the furniture 10 comprises pairs of support frames 100, wherein each of the support frames 100 comprises a top end and a bottom end configured to support on a surface 200, and a plurality of retaining pieces 110 where the top ends of the support frames 100 may be pivotally connected thereto. Each pair of the support frames 100 comprises a first support frame 101 and a second support frame 102 pivotally connected with the first support frame 101, wherein the first support frame 101 may be intersected with the second support frame 102 at a pivotal point. Preferably, the pivotal point may be formed near the top ends of the support frames. Preferably, the pivotal point may be formed at the one fourth near the top ends of support frames 100.
As shown further in
In some embodiments, the angular frames 130 further comprises a plurality of first angular frames 131 and a plurality of second angular frames 132 parallelly arranged relative to the first angular frames 131, wherein the distal end and the proximal end of the first angular frames 131 may be pivotally and/or rotatably connected to one pair of the parallelly-arranged side frames 120, and the distal end and the proximal end of the second angular frames 132 may be pivotally and/or rotatably connected to another pair of the parallelly-arranged side frames 120.
In another embodiments, the multi-function furniture 10 further comprises a locking assembly configured to lock the furniture 10 in the vertical configuration, the horizontal configuration, and the collapsed configuration, wherein the locking assembly comprises a plurality of hooks and a plurality of pins, wherein each of the hooks defines a notch to be engaged with one of the pins so as to lock the furniture in positions.
Referring now to the details of
In some embodiments, the side frames 120 may be pivotally connected with the retaining pieces 110 at first pivots 113 and the top ends of the support frames 100 may be pivotally connected to the retaining pieces 111 at second pivots 114, wherein the first pivots 113 may be above the level of the second pivots 114.
Turning now to
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In another aspect, as shown in
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In still another aspect, as shown in
In still another embodiments, as shown
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According to all of the embodiments described herein, each of the angular frames 130 may be spacedly and parallelly arranged with one another in a distance “d”, wherein a length of the angular frame 130 could be defined as “D”. The distance “d” may be longer than the length “D” of the angular frame 130, and the angular frames 130 may have enough space to be operated either to be normal to or to be parallel to the side frames 120.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the embodiment includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed herein even when not initially claimed in such combinations.
Thus, specific embodiments and applications of the convertible multi-function furniture have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the disclosed concepts herein. The disclosed embodiments, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalent within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the embodiments. In addition, where the specification and claims refer to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring at least one element from the group which includes N, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.
The words used in this specification to describe the various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims therefore include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20220151380 A1 | May 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63113909 | Nov 2020 | US |
