Patent Application
20220295993
The present invention relates to furniture
Furniture is a staple product and covers a wide range of products and configurations. One pre-requisite is that it is sturdy and capable of withstanding the environment in which it is placed.
Items of furniture tend to be bulky and therefore expensive to transport and deliver. Knock down or flat pack furniture alleviates this and is popular for interior furniture. However, generally speaking the materials and the fastening systems used are not well suited to exterior use. Moreover, all the components required for a finished item are included so the weight and bulk of the packed furniture is increased.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a furniture system that obviates or mitigates the above disadvantages.
In general terms the present invention provides an article of furniture having a pair of side supports. The side supports are formed from panels of a sheet material having oppositely directed faces. An array of holes is formed in each panel extending between the faces and arranged as a uniform grid. Support members extend between the panels and are secured to the panels by fasteners passing through the holes and in to the ends of the support members. The placement of the support members may be adjusted to meet the configuration of furniture required with the fasteners passing through the appropriate ones of the holes in each panel.
Preferably, the support members may be formed from dimensional lumber to permit local sourcing and variation in the configuration of the article of furniture.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a pair of side members for use with a set of slats to provide an article of furniture. The side members have oppositely directed major surfaces on opposite sides of a core, a rectilinear grid of holes extends between the major surfaces to facilitate connection of the slats to the side members.
In yet another aspect, a side support for an article of furniture is provided, the side support formed from a panel of a sheet material having oppositely directed faces, an array of holes formed in the panel extending between the faces and arranged as a uniform grid, the holes accommodating fasteners to secure the ends a plurality of support members between the pair of side supports.
The side support may be made from steel.
The side support may have a thickness of about ⅛ inch.
The side support may be a wood laminate or resin material.
The side support may have a thickness of about ½ inch or ¾ inch.
The uniform grid may be a rectilinear grid with uniform spacing between the holes.
The holes may have a diameter about ¼ inch.
The uniform spacing may be about 1 inch.
The faces may delimit a core and the holes are formed through the core.
In yet another aspect, an article of furniture formed by a pair of side supports and a plurality of the support members fastened to each of the side supports is provided.
Each support member may be fastened to each side support by more than one fastener secured through more than one hole.
The support member may be nominal 4×4 lumber and up to 9 holes are provided for the side support.
Four fasteners may be arranged in a 2 by 2 grid for fastening the side support to the support member.
The article of furniture may be a stool or chair.
The article of furniture may be a table.
The features of the invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:
Referring first to the embodiment of
Holes 20 pass through the core 18 between the faces 16 and are arranged in a rectilinear grid like array with a uniform spacing between the holes. Typically, the holes 20 are a nominal ¼ in. diameter spaced apart on 1 in. centres on both the x and y axes. Other hole diameter and spacing may be used to suit the particular application.
The slats 14 are made from dimensional lumber, such as a nominal 4×4 or 6×6, and are of equal length. The slats have end faces 24 and side faces 26. The slats 14 are secured to the side members 12 by fasteners 22, preferably flat head screws.
To assemble the table 10, the first slat 14 is positioned with an end face 24 in engagement with the face 16 so as to be normal to the face 16 of one of the side members 12 and with the side faces 26 of the slats 14 in alignment with the edges of the side member 12. In this position, the end face 24 covers a number of the holes 20, typically 9 holes for a 4×4 with the holes 20 as described above. The fasteners 22 may then be inserted in the holes 20 and driven in to the end face 24 of the slat 14. Typically, four fasteners arranged in a 2×2 grid are used to fasten each slat 14 to a respective side member 12.
After the first of the slats 14 is attached, the remainder may be attached in a similar manner at the required spacing between the slats 14. The placement of the holes 20 ensures that a plurality of holes 20 are covered by each of the end faces 24 to secure the slats 14 in the desired location and orientation.
Once the slats 14 are attached to one of the side members 12, the other side member 12 is attached in a similar manner to provide the table 10.
The rectilinear grid of holes 20 maintains alignment of the fasteners 22 across the side members 12 for aesthetic considerations and avoids the need for special tools or manufacturing techniques.
An alternative embodiment of table is shown in
A foot rest 30 of the same length as the slat 14a is secured between the side members 12a adjacent to but spaced from the lower edge of the side member 12a. Conveniently, the foot rest 30 may be of the same dimension as the slats 14a or can be a different dimension, for example a 2×4 if appropriate. End faces of the foot rest 30 cover a number of holes 20a to allow fasteners 22a to secure it the foot rest 30 to the side members 12a.
A similar construction may be used to provide a stool 10b as shown in
A foot rest 30b is located at the front edge of the side members 12b at a height to suit an occupant of the stool. It will be seen that the grid permits the different components to be arranged in the required configuration without customized drilling or cutting of the side members 12b.
The versatility of the side members 12 is shown in
If preferred, the slats 14c may be staggered toward the front of the seat 10c and rotated to provide a sloped back. The spacing of holes 20c allows for such adjustment with the end faces 24c of the slats 14c overlapping several holes to permit fastening.
Multiple side members 12 may be connected to one another to provide an elongate structure, such as the lounger 10d shown in
Slats 14d are connected between the side members 12d by fasteners 22d which also connect the bridging side member 12d to each of the other side members 12d where they overlap. The slats 14d and side members 12d combine to form a unitary platform structure.
A lounger 10e can be formed with a sloping backrest as shown in
A further embodiment of lounger 10f is shown in
In each of the embodiments, the provision of the rectilinear grid of holes 20 allows secure fastening of slats 14 to the side members 12 and different configurations with the same side members 12. The slats 14 use dimensional lumber that is readily available and so avoids the need to pack and ship all the components required. A versatile, easily assembled and robust article of furniture is provided.
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto. The entire disclosures of all references recited above are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63164099 | Mar 2021 | US |
