Patent Application
20080245277
This invention relates generally to articles of furniture. More specifically, the invention concerns furniture that is “ready-to-assemble” or knockdown.
Historically, furniture pieces are manufactured and assembled at the factory and then shipped as a complete unit to the distributor or customer. The sections of the piece are joined by large bolts which extend through predrilled holes in the sections. In some furniture, the assembly is covered with upholstery that partially conceals the bolts. The resulting assembly can be cumbersome to deliver to the customer or to simply transport from one location to another. Additionally, the size of the furniture piece may make delivery to certain locations impossible because of dimensional constraints in hallways, doorways and stairways. As a result, customers may have limited selection of furniture because of the size and weight of fully assembled furniture pieces.
Knock-down (KD) or ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture has been developed in order to overcome such shortcomings and to provide increased options in the storage, delivery and moving of furniture. Unfortunately, early versions of ready-to-assemble furniture lacked strength and stability particularly under heavy loads. The furniture was perceived as flimsy and unreliable particularly as to the means for fastening the components of the furniture pieces. Screws or bolts were used to secure the components which tended to loosen upon extended use resulting in a breakdown of the piece. Such fasteners also do not lend themselves to quick and simple disassembly of the furniture piece requiring tools for removal of the bolts or screws. In some instances, repeated assembly and disassembly of the furniture piece may strip the fasteners ultimately resulting in their failure.
Customers within the display and furniture industries have recognized the need for versatile, portable, durable furniture units which are easy to assemble and disassemble, which will stack compactly for shipping or storage, and will easily reconfigure to meet changing needs. Such functional units of furniture have application as display stands for art galleries, tables and stools for retail and industry use, and furniture for children, trade shows, restaurants, and homes.
Conceptually functional units of furniture such as tables and stools involve the vertical support of a horizontally planar surface (e.g., the top of a given furniture unit) above another horizontally planar surface (e.g., the floor or an attached base of the given furniture unit). Pre-assembled furniture units are often bulky to warehouse, expensive to ship, and cumbersome to move. Furniture units labeled ready-to-assemble (RTA) or knock-down (KD) often require complicated assembly instructions, lengthy time to complete the project, and no guarantee that the completed unit will disassemble and reassemble. Moreover, each furniture unit is likely offered as a set package which combines a predetermined height and width of vertical planar piece(s) with a predetermined length and width of horizontal piece(s). Neither vertical nor horizontal piece(s) can be easily reconfigured to create a different functional unit of furniture.
Using one known technique, the vertical structural members are held together using structural reinforcement members. These structural reinforcement members consist of short wooden dowels. The wooden dowels are inserted horizontally between the vertical structural members at the top and bottom of the vertical structural members to cause self alignment and increased structural integrity. Cams and bolts are used between the vertical structural members and the horizontally top planar surface. If there was a horizontally base planar surface, cams and bolts are also used between the horizontally base planar surface and the vertical structural members. There are problems with using wooden dowels to hold the vertical structural members together. Wooden dowels may break easily, and they have a tendency to swell in humid weather making assembly and disassembly difficult.
Another known technique uses short steel pins as structural reinforcement members instead of wooden dowels. Problems also occur with this technique since the short steel pins are not long enough to penetrate the interior of the vertical structural members sufficiently. With rough handling, the vertical structural members could be torqued out of alignment. This effects structural stability. Thus, despite a large effort expended by designers and manufacturers of furniture, many drawbacks still exist.
What is needed to overcome these problems associated with the prior art, is a ready to assemble article of furniture that has a minimal number of components that are configured to be easily assembled and disassembled without the need of tools, adhesives or other external fastening means.
In order to address these needs, an interlocking table having an integral magazine holder is provided. The table includes a support assembly having an elongate cross-member, a first end panel having a top edge and an interlocking slot for engagement with an interlocking slot at one end of the cross-member, a second end panel having a top edge and an interlocking slot for engagement with the interlocking slot at the other end of the cross-member, and an intermediate support member having a pair of top edges and an interlocking slot for engagement with an interlocking slot at an intermediate portion of the cross-member. A tabletop panel is supported on the top edges of the end panels and the intermediate support. The article of furniture includes a magazine holder comprising an opening formed in the table top over an intersection point, the intersection point corresponding to a base for supporting magazines inserted through the opening.
Aspects and features of the present embodiments will become apparent as the following description proceeds and upon reference to the drawings, in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described in the following written specification. It is understood that no limitation to the scope of the invention is thereby intended. It is further understood that the present invention includes any alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments and includes further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.
Referring to
Each of the components of the table is preferably formed of wood, either as solid wood elements or as pressed-wood or composite elements. Alternatively, the components can be formed of plastic or any other suitable materials. In any event, in order to maintain the ready-to-assemble attributes of the table 10, the material of the components should be sufficiently rigid, yet light-weight to facilitate the construction of the table.
Referring to
As shown in
The intermediate panel 18 is a narrow U-shaped member having a pair of vertically extending ends 38. The vertically extending ends 38 each have a top edge 36 for contacting and supporting an intermediate portion of the table top 12 between the end panels 16. The inner edges 42 of the vertically extending ends 38 and the upper edge 40 of the horizontal member of the intermediate support 18 define a holding space for the magazine holder (explained in more detail below). The intermediate support panel 18 includes an upward slot 44 substantially centered between the ends 38 of the panel 18 and extending vertically from the bottom edge 46. The upward slot 44 of the intermediate panel 18 is configured to interlock with a downward slot 48 formed in the horizontal member 23 of the cross-member 20 at an intersection point. In the embodiment of
To assemble the support assembly 14, the interlocking slots 24, 44 of the end panels 16 and intermediate support panel 18 are received by the respective interlocking slots 26, 44 of the cross-member 20. The top edges 30, 36, 32 of the end panels, cross-member ends and intermediate support panel ends cooperate to define support edges for supporting the table top 12. Thus, the interlocking configuration of the support assembly 14 is configured so that the respective top edges are substantially coplanar to provide an even surface upon which the table top may rest.
Once the support assembly 14 has been assembled, the table top 12 can be positioned on the top edges of the support assembly 14. The table top 12 is a planar member having a top surface 15 and a bottom surface 17. In the embodiment of
As best shown in
Because the functional elements of the integral magazine holder 11 are incorporated into the table top 12 and support assembly 14 during fabrication of the respective panels, there is no need for extraneous materials or extra assembly time to include the magazine holder 11 of the table 10. In addition, while a magazine holder has been described, the opening, base support and lateral sides of the holder may be configured for receiving and holding other items besides magazines and/or books, and even a vase for flowers.
To secure the table top 12 to the support assembly 14, a connection system is provided that comprises a plurality of longitudinal guide grooves 50 formed in the bottom surface 17 of the table top 12 and a plurality of locking projections 54 that extend from the top edges 30, 32 of the support assembly 14. The plurality of locking projections 54 and guide grooves 50 are complementarily positioned on the top edges 30, 32 of the assembled support assembly 14 and the bottom surface 17 of the table top, respectively. Generally, the plurality of locking projections 54 is configured to be simultaneously inserted into the plurality of guide grooves 50 orthogonally with respect to the bottom surface 52 of the table as indicated by arrow R in
As shown in
In one embodiment, the locking projections 54 comprise dovetail-shaped projections for interacting with a complementary dovetail shaped groove portion (explained in more detail below). To simplify fabrication of the respective panels 16, 18, the dovetail shaped profile of the projections 54 may be oriented along the top edges 30, 32 of the panels. Not only does this configuration ensure that each locking projection 54 is oriented in the same direction, it allows the dovetail projections to be formed integrally with the respective panels by simply cutting or trimming the top edges of the panels to form the desired dovetail shapes. However, in alternative embodiments, the projections may be formed separately and then attached to the top edges of the panels.
Referring to
Enlarged views of an embodiment of a guide groove 50 are shown in
Once a locking projection 54 has been received in a locking section 60 of a groove, the locking section 60 is configured to secure the locking projection to prevent orthogonal, or vertical, movement of the locking projection with respect to the bottom surface of the table as well as to prevent longitudinal movement of the projection back toward the insertion section of the groove. Referring to
The locking section 60 of the guide grooves 50 may include any suitable structure or configuration for preventing lateral movement of a locking projection 54 toward the insertion section 56 of the guide groove. In one embodiment, the base wall 66 of the locking section of the groove 50 is vertically offset from the base 68 of the guide section of the groove as shown in
To remove the table top from the support member, the table top is moved vertically with respect to the support member so that the top edge of the locking projections 54 is no longer in an abutting relation with the retaining edge 70 of the locking section of the grooves. The table top 12 may then be translated with respect to the support assembly along axis L so that the locking projections 54 are slidingly guided from the locking section 60 of the groove to the insertion section 56 at which point the locking projections 54 may be removed from the grooves 50.
Although the locking projections 54 and guide grooves 50 have been described as having a complementary dovetail shape, other suitable shapes and/or configurations may be implemented. For example, the grooves and projections may be T-shaped, L-shaped, etc. Moreover, although, the locking section has been described as having a vertically offset base wall configured to limit lateral movement of the locking projections, other suitable configurations are contemplated. For instance, instead of being offset, the base of the groove may include a detent adjacent the locking section that includes a ramped edge on one side to allow movement toward the locking section and a flat edge on the inner side of the locking section that acts in a manner similar to the retaining edge, or lip, described above.
What has been described thus far is five panels which constitute support panels and a top surface of a table. All five panels interlock to provide a sturdy structure that may be easily assembled and disassembled by hand and that does not require the use of tools, adhesives, or other fastening means to construct. The translate-to-lock feature for fastening the table top to the support member is particularly advantageous because it provides a secure connection that is both easy to assemble and resistant to inadvertent dislodgment or disconnection. In addition, the unique configuration of the panels and the connection system allows the incorporation of an integral magazine holder that adds to the functionality of the table without adding to the complexity, materials, or assembly time of the table.
Another benefit of the ready-to-assemble articles of furniture described above is that manufacture and assembly of the table does not necessarily have to be harmful to the environment. For example, because extraneous fastening means are not required, toxic and environmentally hazardous adhesives may be avoided. In addition, the panels may be formed from reclaimed or renewable wood sources, recycled or recyclable materials, etc. Thus, in some embodiments, the articles of furniture of the present invention may be considered environmentally “friendly.”
It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the connection system of the present invention may be useful in the connection of planar members to support structures for articles of furniture such as stools, chairs, display stands, etc. It should be further apparent that this connection system only minimally dictates the overall configuration of the connected components. While the placement of the guide grooves and locking projections must be consistent, all other features of the connected panels may be modified as needed for aesthetic or functional reasons.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. It is understood that only the preferred embodiments have been presented and that all changes, modifications and further applications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
Reference is made to commonly-assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/697,420 filed Apr. 6, 2007, entitled “CONNECTION SYSTEM FOR FURNITURE” by Willy et al. (attorney docket no. 1793-0023), the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11697420 | Apr 2007 | US |
| Child | 11944754 | US |
