Not applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The RV-18 Café Table pertains to the field of endeavors including the manufacture of furnishings for motor homes, recreational vehicles, and travel trailers (hereafter referred to as “RVs”). Currently the motor home, recreational vehicle, or travel trailer furniture (hereafter referred to as “RV” furniture) market is dominated by square or rectangular designs meant to maximize the surface area available for food preparation or other activities. While useful, this design neglects other attributes that make RV furniture practicable for other purposes. Space is limited in RVs and existing RV furniture does not allow ease of movement throughout the compartment. It can be difficult for individuals to maneuver around such furniture; this is particularly true if individuals are disabled or overweight. The RV-18 Café Table reduces mobility challenges and offers an alternative to large and cumbersome RV furniture.
The RV-18 Café Table is a small, round table for RVs that utilizes existing mounting hardware commonly found in RVs. The RV-18 Café Table is constructed of solid surface resins and injection molded plastics and is affixed to existing, commercially available hardware (i.e. round surface mount pedestal base for a 2¼″ aluminum or lightweight steel pedestal table leg).
The RV-18 Café Table will be constructed of solid surface and injection molded plastics. Solid surfaces are those made of alumina trihydrate (ATH), acrylic, epoxy, and/or polyester resins and pigments and injection molded plastics are those made with plastic pellets containing “colorants” or other items to create patterns, sparkles, etc. in the finished product. Solid surfaces are purchased from manufacturers in sheets and then cut into pieces to assemble the café table. Thermoforming is the application of heat to shape the solid surface to create the edge profile or the “lip” of the café table. A press forces the solid surface into the correct shape and then the “mold” is trimmed and finished. Injection molding is a process where plastic pellets are fed into a hopper and barrel that melts the plastic and forces it into a mold where the plastic cools and is subsequently ejected.
The RV-18 Café Table is a new invention and is not commercially available for the RV furniture consumer. Today, RVs may have several styles of surfaces for cooking or food preparation but all are basically square or rectangular in design. None combine the space-efficiency, storage potential, and lightweight advantage of the proposed invention.
The RV-18 Café Table will be affixed to existing mounting hardware that is commonly used in RVs. Specifically, we will affix the RV-18 Café Table to a standard round cone table base (from Heng's Industries, Elkhart, Ind., USA) with a 2¼″ opening for a standard pedestal table leg.