FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to furniture and, more particularly, to a furniture construction that allows a piece to be placed in a compact shipping configuration with ease of assembly after delivery.
BACKGROUND
Furniture products often must be shipped from manufacturers or retailers to customers. A compact shipping configuration is desirable in order to save valuable cargo space during transport and to also protect the furniture piece from breakage. In addition, furniture items are typically stored in inventory after manufacture, where space is also of premium value.
Customers, however, must assemble the furniture piece upon receipt. A furniture piece featuring a knock-down construction and that is easily assembled is desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
There are several aspects of the present subject matter which may be embodied separately or together in the methods, devices and systems described and claimed below. These aspects may be employed alone or in combination with other aspects of the subject matter described herein, and the description of these aspects together is not intended to preclude the use of these aspects separately or the claiming of such aspects separately or in different combinations as set forth in the claims appended hereto
In one aspect, a furniture piece includes a seat deck, a seatback pivotally connected to the seat deck so as to pivot between a folded configuration and an upright configuration and a pair of arms removably attached to opposing side edges of the seatback and the seat deck.
In another aspect, a process is provided for assembling a furniture piece and includes the steps of pivoting a seatback from a folded configuration to an upright configuration with respect to a seat deck, securing the seatback in the upright configuration by latching a bottom edge of the seatback to a bottom surface of the seat deck and attaching a pair of arms to opposing side edges of the seatback and the seat deck.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the furniture piece of the disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the furniture piece of FIG. 1 in a disassembled configuration;
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the seat deck and seatback of the furniture piece of FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrating pivoting of the seatback from a folded configuration to an upright configuration;
FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the seatback of FIG. 3A being latched in the upright configuration;
FIG. 4A illustrates the seatback and seat deck of FIGS. 3A and 3B in the upright configuration
FIG. 4B illustrates assembly of a pair of arms to the seatback and seat deck of FIG. 4A;
FIG. 4C illustrates the pair of arms being latched to the seat deck of FIGS. 4A and 4B;
FIG. 5A illustrates legs being attached to the furniture of FIG. 4C;
FIG. 5B illustrates seat cushions being placed on furniture piece of FIG. 5A;
FIG. 5C is a perspective view of the assembled furniture piece of FIGS. 5A and 5B.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
A sofa that features an embodiment of the construction of the disclosure is indicated in general at 10 in FIG. 1. It is to be understood that while a sofa is illustrated and described below, the furniture piece instead could be a chair or other type of furniture item. In the illustrated embodiment, the sofa 10 knocks down to a compact shipping configuration so that it may be shipped and stored in a single box. In addition, the construction of the sofa 10 enables it to be assembled using a minimal number of, or in some embodiments no, tools.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sofa includes a back rest or seatback 12 and a seat deck 14. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the seatback 12 and seat deck 14 are joined via a hinge 16 which, as an example only, may be a piano hinge. As a result, the seatback 12 may be folded from an upright position (illustrated in FIG. 2) to a folded position (with the front surface of the seatback resting against the top surface of the seat deck) for shipping, as illustrated by arrow 18. The piano hinge 16 may run approximately the full length of the seatback and seat deck. In alternative embodiments, a single hinge of a different width, or multiple hinges may be used in place of the piano hinge.
With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sofa also includes a pair of arms 22a and 22b, a pair of back cushions 24a and 24b and seat cushions 26a and 26b. The arms 22a and 22b ship in a disassembled configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and are attached to backrest 12 and seat deck 14, as explained in greater detail below.
While pairs of back cushions and seat cushions are illustrated, the sofa may instead include a different number of each.
When the sofa is in the disassembled configuration illustrated in FIG. 2, and with the backrest 12 folded down against the seat deck 14, in the direction of arrow 18, the pieces may be compactly stored in a container, such as a box, for economical shipping and storage. As described below, legs illustrated at 32a, 34a and 32b, 34b in FIG. 1 are secured to the bottom of the seat deck 14 after shipping.
Assembly of the sofa 10 of 1 and 2 after receipt by a customer will now be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the seat back 12 is pivoted in the direction of arrow 36 into an upright configuration with respect to seat deck 14 as an initial step during assembly of the sofa for use. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, rear latches 40a-40d extend between the bottom surface of the seat deck 14 and the bottom end of the seatback 12 when fastened and are used to secure/fix the seatrest 12 in the upright configuration. As an example only, the rear latches 40a-40d may be draw latches. An enlarged view of rear latch 40c is provided in circle 42. Any other latch assembly known in the art may be used, and the number of latches may differ from the four rear latches 40a-40d shown.
With the seat deck 14 positioned on a surface and the seatback 12 generally upright, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, assembly of the pair of arms to the side edges of the seat deck and seatback is ready to begin. FIG. 4B illustrates the arms 22a and 22b being connected to the seatback 12 and seat deck 14. This may be accomplished via mating fittings which may be, as an example only, tapered bed fittings. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the arm 22b is provided with a lower arm fitting 44b and an upper arm fitting 46b. As illustrated in FIG. 2, corresponding seatback fittings and seat deck fittings are provided at 52b and 54b, respectively. With continued reference to FIG. 2, arm 22a is provided with lower and upper arm fittings 44a and 46a, while with reference to FIG. 4B, the seatback 12 is provided with seatback fitting 52a while the seat deck is provided with seat deck fitting 54a. Enlarged views of lower arm fitting 44b and seat deck fitting 54b are provided in oval 56 of FIG. 4B, and enlarged views of upper arm fitting 46b and seatback fitting 52b are provided in oval 58. Arm fittings 44a and 46a of arm 22a slidingly engage seat deck fitting 54a and seatback fitting 52a, respectively, while arm fittings 44b and 46b of arm 22b engage seat deck fitting 54b and seat back fitting 52a, respectively so that the pair of arms 22a and 22b are attached to the seatback and seat deck, as illustrated in FIG. 4C.
As illustrated in FIG. 4C, side latches 62a, 64a, 62b and 64b, which may be draw latches (such as draw latch 40c in FIG. 3B), are then used to secure the arms 22a and 22b to the seat deck 14.
With reference to FIG. 5A, the legs 32a, 32b, 34a and 34b may be attached to the bottom of the seat deck 14 and the bottom edge of the seatback 12 by fasteners known in the art. As examples only, the fasteners may be screws or bolts or each leg may be provided with a threaded stud or other fastener that engages a corresponding socket or mating fastener positioned on the seat deck bottom or seatback bottom edge. In alternative embodiments, all of the legs may be attached to the bottom of the seat deck or to the bottom edges of the arms 22a and 22b or combinations of the arm and seatback bottom edges and seat deck bottom. The number of legs illustrated may be varied (i.e. the sofa may be provided with six legs instead of the illustrated four). The legs 32a, 32b, 34a and 34b may optionally be interchangeable in that a single sofa may be provided with multiple sets of legs that may alternatively be used to provide a purchaser with the ability to customize or vary the appearance of the sofa.
Turning to FIG. 5B the user completes assembly of the sofa by placing the seat cushions 26a and 26b on the seat deck 14 and the seatback cushions 24a and 24b against the seatback 12. The assembled sofa, illustrated in FIGS. 5C and 1 is then available for use.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Patent Application
20200375362
