Patent Application
20130180099
This invention relates generally to the field of furniture connector systems. More specifically, this invention involves a connector system for a table or similar furniture units, which minimizes the appearance of seams and connection parts. In a preferred embodiment, the connector system includes four side members that are connected by four corner members and plurality of bolts and pins.
Conventional wood furniture is assembled using nuts and bolts and other visible fastening devices. Metal and plastic furniture are generally assembled in a manner similar to wooden furniture.
There are several problems associated with conventional furniture assembly devices. For example, nuts and bolts are visible to the user and detract from the appearance of the furniture. Further, exterior fasteners of this type tend to attract debris and rust and are more difficult to clean, and may often “catch” on clothing or “scratch” a user.
Another furniture assembly technique, exterior welding, is limited because it leaves visible seams, lacks strength and is difficult to disassemble. Welding the exterior of one element to the exterior of an adjacent element requires melting the metal at the junction and/or adding melted metal to the area to fix the two elements together. The melted metal generally forms a visible seam, which detracts from the appearance of the furniture. Additionally, it is often costly, as it requires skilled labor.
Further, a welding junction can only be disassembled by remelting the metal in the junction. This process requires specialized welding equipment and greatly limits the ability to disassemble the furniture.
In view of the deficiencies and drawbacks in the prior furniture assembly and connection art, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved table connector system and method of assembly that minimizes the visibility of junctions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector assembly for tables and other furniture units that provides additional strength when working with lighter metals such as aluminum.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient method of assembling a table using a table connector system.
In summary, there is provided in the present invention a connector system and method of assembly comprising a frame connected to a plurality of legs. The frame includes a plurality of side members having hollow interiors and a plurality of corner members having two segments. The first segment of a corner member is positioned inside the interior of a first side member and the second segment of the same corner member is positioned inside the interior of a second side member. This configuration is repeated for the entire plurality of side member and corner members, which preferably includes four each. The combined side member and corner members are fixed together by a plurality of pins and bolts forming the frame. The frame is then fixed to each leg by a series of bolts.
With reference to
Preferably, leg 110 is formed from an aluminum extrusion tube which includes the leg web 126, the central boss 128 and the side bosses 132. The central boss 128 is tapped to form the threaded central boss bore 130 at the top end 112 and the foot bolt bore 139 at the bottom end 114. The two side bosses 132 are tapped to form the threaded side boss bores 134 at the top end 112, See
The cross-section view of
The exploded view of
Additionally, each side member 140 each include two angled sides 148, one at each opposing end. The angled sides 148 comprise a rectangular border around the hollow interior 142 and include two pairs of opposing parallel edges. The surface of the angled sides 148 are preferably 45 degrees relative to their direction of length. The interior 142b of side member 140b is adapted to slidingly receive the first segment 172 of the side member 170. Further, the interior 142a of a second side member 140a is adapted to receive the second segment 174 of the side member 170. Thus, as shown prior to assembly in
As illustrated in
Each side member 140 includes indents 150 on the angled side 148. The indents 150 are preferably semi-circular, and are best shown in
Referring back to
As shown in
The preferred method of assembling of the table 100 of the present invention involves separately assembling the frame 102 and the legs 110, and then connecting the legs 110 to the frame 102. While many of the steps are described in a particular order, the particular order is only a preferred example; the steps may be performed in a number of different orders, only one of which is described herein.
The legs 110 are all manufactured from extrusion members. For the legs 110, the extrusion member is cut to the conforming length and then the central boss 128 is tapped on the top end 112 of the legs 110 to form the threaded central boss bore 130. Further, the side bosses 132 are tapped on the top end to form the threaded side boss bores 134 and the central boss 128 is tapped on the bottom end 114 to form the foot bolt bore 139.
The side members 140 are similarly formed from extrusion members. The side members 140 are cut to the conforming length using an angled cut that forms the angled sides 148. The side members 140 are then drilled or reamed to form indents 150, outer bolt openings 146, drain slots 156, pin slots 152 and oval openings 154.
The frame 102 is assembled by inserting the first segment 172 of a corner member 170 into the interior 142 of a side member 140. Then the second segment 174 of the corner member 174 is inserted into the interior 142 of a second side member 140. Illustratively,
Eight tapped pins 160 are used to hold the frame 102 together. The pins 160 are each inserted into pin slots 152 in the side members 140—two pins 160 in each side member 140. Upon insertion, the tapped pins 160 are rotated to align their threaded boss openings 180 with the respective side pin bolt slots 178 of the corner members 170. The insertion of the pins 160 is best illustrated in
The legs 110 are assembled by inserting the foot threaded bolt 138 of the foot 136 into the foot bolt bore 139 of the central boss 128. Additionally, the leg cap 116 is positioned over the leg top end 112 and the threaded bolt 118 is positioned through the cylindrical opening 117 and into the threaded central boss bore 130, thereby securing the leg cap 116 to the leg 110.
Each leg 110 is then secured to the frame 102 by a central bolt 122 and two outer bolts 124. The central bolt 122 is inserted through the central bolt opening 144 and the corner member bolt slot 176 into the central opening 120 in the threaded bolt 118. The outer bolts 124 are inserted through the outer bolt openings 146 and into the threaded side boss bores 134.
Once the legs 110 are secured to the frame 102, the table top support surfaces 104 are positioned on the frame and the table top 106 is positioned on the table top support surface 104.
The accompanying drawings only illustrate a preferred embodiment of a connector system and method of assembly and its respective constituent parts and steps, however, other types and styles are possible, and the drawings are not intended to be limited in that regard. Thus, although the description above and accompanying drawings contains much specificity, the details provided should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but merely as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. The drawings and the description are not to be taken as restrictive on the scope of the embodiments and are understood as broad and general teachings in accordance with the present invention. While the present embodiments of the invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for present illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations to such embodiments, including but not limited to the substitutions of equivalent features, materials, or parts, and the reversal of various features thereof, may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
