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The present disclosure relates to quick assembly furniture, and more particularly to shelving or storage units wherein the side panels are connected to the back panel by folding hinges that can be locked into open positions via flexible fasteners. This configuration eliminates the need for any tools or know-how for assembly, and greatly enhances the packing efficiency and ease of assembly and disassembly of the unit.
Quick assembly furniture has become quite popular. Manufacturers of such furniture are called upon to offer inexpensive and easy-to-assemble furniture to consumers. Some furniture demanded by consumers, such as shelving or storage units, can be quite bulky and require a large amount of space in order to be shipped pre-assembled. In an effort to provide cost savings to consumers, manufacturers of quick assembly furniture seek ways to ship the furniture as inexpensively as possible.
In order to keep shipping costs down, furniture is typically shipped in multiple components that must be assembled by the consumer upon arrival. A shipment of multiple components of furniture may create problems. At times, components may inadvertently be left out of the shipping box when it is shipped. The packaging of the furniture may be damaged during shipping, resulting in tears to the shipping box and the loss of smaller components or the directions. Because the consumer must attach the hardware to the furniture components, the consumer is generally required to use tools and must, at times, follow complicated assembly instructions. Assembly performed by the consumer may not be as stable as factory assembly, due to the superior capabilities of factory assembly tools relative to the capabilities of tools normally available to or used by consumers. Additionally, once the furniture is assembled, it may be impossible or exceptionally difficult to disassemble the furniture without damaging the components.
In all of the configurations of
The consumer must also possess the necessary know-how to assemble the kit. This means being able to read and follow any instruction manual(s) sent with the kit. At times, the instruction manual(s) may be complicated and/or confusing. At times, the instruction manual(s) may not be included with the kit or may be lost during shipment. At times, the language(s) of the instruction manual(s) may not be the language of the consumer. These situations lead to the consumer adopting a trial-and-error method to determine the correct configuration of the components. The consumer may waste time and energy building the wrong configuration, or may end with a sub-optimal unit due to less-than-optimal placement of all the components.
Conventional approaches for a manufacturer that does not desire to have the consumer assemble the unit using his or her own tools and/or follow an instruction manual, is that the unit must be assembled by the manufacturer prior to shipment. This assembly results in increased space required for shipping, and therefore increases costs.
A further aspect of prior art approaches is that consumers may damage portions of the kit, either during assembly and disassembly, or simply during the everyday use of the article of furniture. Such articles are often fabricated using materials such as particle board or medium density fiberboard (MDF), for example. Conventionally, the fully assembled product is a rigid item of furniture, suited for its designed purpose. However, these materials of construction may be vulnerable to failure when stresses are applied to connection points or joints. A joint is the close securing or fastening together of two or more smooth, even surfaces—customarily rigid. In formal furniture sold in assembled form, joints are typically secured by dowels, dovetails, dados, glue blocks, rabbets, etc. In kit or knock-down furniture, joints are commonly made rigid by custom connecting fasteners, connector bolts, or through-bolts mating with fixed nuts. A disadvantage with this approach is that the improper positioning of fastening elements during assembly may result in weakened connection points or joints. In addition, rigid designs may result in the imposition of full stress of use on even properly positioned connection points or joints, possibly leading to failure of connections. Kit or knock-down furniture is likely to be relocated or disassembled for transport, and the joints are weak points. It would be desirable to provide a kit of furniture adapted to such stress, while still amenable to easy assembly and disassembly.
In all of the configurations of
There remains a need to simplify the process of assembling furniture while retaining the ability to ship the furniture in as small a container as possible. There also remains a need to create furniture that can be easily disassembled for transport to other locations.
The present disclosure relates to a kit that, when assembled, forms a unit of furniture. The kit comprises: a back panel having a height along a y-axis, a width along an x-axis, and a thickness along a z-axis; a plurality of position members; wherein the side panel defines at least one upwardly facing support surface extending along an x-z plane; wherein the back panel is configured to extend along an x-y plane, the back panel having a top, a bottom, and two sides; wherein each of the side panels has a top, a bottom, and two sides and is attached to an opposing side of the back panel by a folding hinge at a side of the side panel, wherein the side panels are configured to rotate about the y axis along the hinge from a closed position substantially parallel to the back panel to an open position that extends along a y-z plane; wherein each of the side panels is configured to define at least one position member receptacle on the top of the side panel, with the plurality of position members configured to extend along the y-axis when installed into the top of the side panels; wherein the base panel, upon assembly, is configured to extend along an x-z plane, and the base panel may be positioned on top of the support surface and between the side panels; wherein the top panel, upon assembly, is configured to extend along an x-z plane, positioned on top of the side panels, wherein the top panel upon assembly may be connected to the side panels by the plurality of position members installed into the top of the side panels and a bottom surface of the top panel, and wherein the position members restrict the top panel from relative movement along the x and z axes; and a plurality of pre-installed flexible fasteners, wherein a toggle portion of the fasteners is mounted to the side panel and at least one hook portion of a fastener is mounted to a bottom portion of the base panel, and at least one hook portion is mounted to a bottom portion of the top panel, and wherein the toggle portions reversibly attach to the plurality of hook portions to lock the side panels to the base panel and to lock the side panels to the top panel and to restrict the side panels from relative rotation about the y-axis and restrict the base panel and top panel from y-axis movement relative to the side panels.
In one embodiment, the fastener comprises a spring loaded toggle latch such that the unit is resilient upon loading and unloading.
In one embodiment, the position member is selected from the group consisting of a pin, a biscuit, a dowel, and a spline.
In one embodiment, the back panel comprises at least one position member receptacle at the top, and the kit is further configured such that at least one position member may be installed into the back panel.
In one embodiment, the position members may be removably installed.
In one embodiment, the support surface is defined by a support plate affixed to a lower portion of the side panel.
In one embodiment, the support plate is removably affixed to the side panel.
In one embodiment, the width of the side panels is equal to or less than one half of the width of the back panel.
In one embodiment, upon assembly the side panels swing away from the back panel by rotation along the y-axis, and the side panels may be substantially parallel to each other and extend along the y-z plane when the fasteners are locked.
In one embodiment, the kit comprises one or more shelves extending along an x-z plane and, upon assembly, the one or more shelves is removably attached to an inside portion of the side panels.
In one embodiment, the kit comprises one or more door panels that, upon assembly, extend along an x-y plane when closed so as to seal all or a portion of the case storage volume, and the one or more door panels may be pivotally attached to a front portion of the side panels when assembled.
In one embodiment, the unit is selected from the group consisting of a book shelf, a storage shelf, a cabinet, a bar table, an armoire, a case, a chiffonier, a closet, a dresser, a locker, a wardrobe, a case, a bin, a vault, a buffet, and a sideboard.
In one embodiment, the panels are manufactured from a material selected from the group consisting of MDF, plywood, hardboard, wood, metal, and plastic.
In another embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a kit that is designed, when assembled, to form a unit of furniture, the method comprising: providing a back panel, a top panel, a base panel, and two side panels that, when assembled, form a case, the case defining a storage volume having a height along an y-axis, a width along an x-axis, and a thickness along a z-axis, wherein the back panel is configured to extend along an x-y plane, the back panel having a top, a bottom, and two sides, and wherein each of the two side panels have a top, a bottom, and two sides; attaching the side panels to opposite ends of the back panel along a y-axis by a plurality of folding hinges along the sides of the side panels, wherein the side panels may be in a closed position substantially parallel to the back panel, and wherein the side panels may be rotated on the y axis and configured so as to unfold to an open position such that the side panels may extend along a y-z plane, substantially parallel to each other, and at right angles to the back panel, the tops of the side panels and back panel forming a contiguous top surface in an x-z plane; providing at least one support surface, wherein the side panels are configured to define at least one upwardly facing support surface extending along an x-z plane, wherein the support surface is defined by a support plate affixed to a lower portion of the side panel, providing a plurality of position members, wherein the top surface of the side panels and back panel are configured to define position member receptacles, the position members configured along the y-axis when installed into the position member receptacles; providing a plurality of hook and toggle fasteners; wherein the base panel is configured on assembly to be placed on top of the plurality of support plates so as to extend along the x-z plane; providing a top panel configured on assembly to be placed over a top portion of the side panels and back panel, wherein the top panel defines position member receptacles and is configured to be connected to the side panels by the plurality of position members when installed into the top of the side panels; wherein the side panels are configured to define toggle receptacles at a point proximate to a lower portion of the base panel when installed and at a point proximate to a lower portion of the top panel when installed, and wherein the base panel is configured to define at least one hook receptacle on a lower portion of the base panel, and the top panel is configured to define at least one hook receptacle on a lower portion of the top panel; and wherein when hook and toggle fasteners are configured such that when the base panel is placed over the tops of the side support plates and the top panel is placed over the tops of the side panels and back panel, the hook and toggle fasteners are capable of alignment so as to lock the base panel to the side panels and to lock the top panel to the side panels.
In one embodiment, the method comprises providing one or more shelves, and the kit is configured so that the one or more shelves may be attached to an inside portion of the two side panels.
In one embodiment, the method comprises providing one or more door panels that, upon assembly, are configured to be pivotally attached to the front portion of the side panels.
In one embodiment, the fastener comprises a spring loaded toggle latch such that an assembled unit is resilient upon loading and unloading.
In one embodiment, the back panel defines at least one position member receptacle within the contiguous top surface.
The following description includes various embodiments and method of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the present approach. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present approach.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the conventional furniture kits that are illustrated in
Optionally, one or more shelves 105 may be included to divide the case storage volume formed by the top panel 104, base panel 103, and side panels 102, as is shown in
Optionally, one or more door panels 106 may be included to seal off all or a portion of the case storage volume formed by the top panel 104, the base panel 103, and the side panels 102, as is shown in
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the approach. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The present approach may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the present approach being indicated by the claims of the application rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that numerous possibilities are available, and that the scope of the present approach is not limited by the embodiments described herein.