The embodiments of the present invention relate to a long table incorporating a self-stabilizing system for preventing a table and chair from rocking.
Table tops, especially those associated with tables used in restaurants and other commercial outlets, are ideally stable such that articles placed on a table top thereof remain steady. Moreover, a table which constantly shifts on an uneven surface is very disruptive for those seated thereabout. Solutions including the placement of folded paper under one leg of the table are simply ineffective.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to develop a new, automatic system for stabilizing a table top associated with a table on an uneven surface.
The embodiments of the present invention are directed to an integral system for stabilizing a table on an uneven surface. In one embodiment, the table comprises a table top supported by two spaced supports proximate opposite edges of the table, each of said supports comprising a vertical member with at least a pair of legs extending from proximate a bottom thereof; a first horizontal platform attached to an upper portion of one of said supports and an underside of said table top; a second horizontal platform affixed to a post and attached to said underside of said table top, said post inserted into said vertical member of said second one of said supports and movably joined at an upper end to said vertical member; and wherein said post may move side-to-side in a rocking manner relative to said vertical member stabilizing said table.
In one embodiment, the connection between the vertical shaft and post may be tightened and loosened to adjust the forces required to permit the rocking movement of the post within the vertical member.
In another embodiment the table comprises a table top supported by two spaced supports proximate opposite edges of the table, each of said supports comprising a pair of legs separated by a horizontal member affixed to an underside of said table top; and a stabilizing member affixed to an underside of said table top and movably joined to one of said horizontal members of said two spaced supports such that said stabilizing member may pivot about a connection point to said one of said horizontal members of said two spaced supports.
In another embodiment, the table comprises a table top supported by multiple spaced supports including at least two independent vertical supports attached to an underside said table top and a third support comprising a pair of legs separated by a horizontal member attached to an underside of said table top; a stabilizing member affixed to an underside of said table top and movably attached to said third support such that said stabilizing member may pivot relative to said horizontal member.
Other variations, embodiments and features of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive feature illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention claimed.
Said post 150 is dimensioned to insert into a vertical shaft 125 defined by said support 120-2.
This ability of the post 150 to move permits the table top 100 to be stabilized responsive to the table 100 sitting on an uneven surface.
A stabilizing member 250 is configured to slip over horizontal member 230-2 and movably connect thereto. The stabilizing member 250 is further attached to the underside of the table top. Stabilizing member 250 comprises a body 255 configured to slip over the horizontal member 230-2 and a cross-member 224. In one embodiment, the body 255 is U-shaped (best seen in
When attached, as shown in
In another embodiment shown in
A stabilizing member 350 is configured to slip over horizontal member 335 and movably attached thereto. The stabilizing member 350 is further attached to the underside of the table top 310. Stabilizing member 350 comprises a body 355 configured to slip over the horizontal member 335 and a cross-member 360. In one embodiment, the body 355 is U-shaped (like the stabilizing device seen in
When attached, as shown in
In one embodiment, best shown in
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to several embodiments, additional variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2787087 | Whitman | Apr 1957 | A |
2793468 | Mooser | May 1957 | A |
2865696 | Mooser | Dec 1958 | A |
3278147 | Olander | Oct 1966 | A |
4053129 | Graff | Oct 1977 | A |
4456095 | Hodson | Jun 1984 | A |
5370063 | Childers | Dec 1994 | A |
5513825 | Gutgsell | May 1996 | A |
5685510 | Frankish | Nov 1997 | A |
5690303 | Winters | Nov 1997 | A |
6009815 | Hartman | Jan 2000 | A |
6209465 | Brooks | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6360675 | Jones | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6705239 | Doyle | Mar 2004 | B2 |
7204193 | Scherrer | Apr 2007 | B2 |
8162273 | Jones | Apr 2012 | B2 |
8596598 | Lai | Dec 2013 | B2 |
8870134 | Catoni | Oct 2014 | B2 |
20020096617 | Marcotte | Jul 2002 | A1 |
20030230681 | Gwynneth | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20050151037 | Oxley | Jul 2005 | A1 |
20070252053 | Brooke | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20070272638 | Berg | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20080178779 | Agee | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20100071599 | McEntire | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20120085873 | Brooke | Apr 2012 | A1 |
20130036950 | Heyring et al. | Feb 2013 | A1 |
20160081468 | Molteni | Mar 2016 | A1 |
20160178114 | Hoyle | Jun 2016 | A1 |
20170135466 | Randlov | May 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190110589 A1 | Apr 2019 | US |