Telescopic furniture

Abstract

An expandable television stand including a top, an expandable back leg, and a pair of front legs adjustably connected to the top. The stand is reconfigurable between a smallest size, wherein the front legs are connectable to the top adjacent to the top, and a plurality of larger sizes, wherein the front legs are shifted away from each other and connected to the top a predetermined distance away from the top. Leg extension elements are used to fill the space between the front legs and the top created when the stand is expanded beyond its smallest size.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to furniture. More particularly, the present invention relates to expandable furniture.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Generic television stands exist which are designed to accommodate a number of different television sizes and models. These stands often look awkward because they are not specifically sized to match a given television model and size. In order to provide for a custom stand look, manufacturers have been forced to provide a different stand size and configuration for each television size and model at a significant price mark-up from the generic stands. Therefore, there exists a need for an affordable universal stand configured to support a variety of television models and sizes while maintaining a custom stand look.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An expandable stand of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a top, an expandable back leg, one or more shelves and shelf supports, and a pair of front legs adjustably connected to the top. The stand may be expanded or reconfigured to accommodate, for example, a plurality of different sized televisions. However, the stand is not limited to its role as a television stand and may be used as a piece of furniture or to support other items.

The stand may be sold as a kit including stand components that can be assembled to form a plurality of different sized stands depending on assembly. Assembly is reversible so that if at any point during the life of the stand a smaller or larger stand is desired, the stand need only be disassembled and then reassembled following the proper assembly instructions specific to the desired stand size. The stand components are common for all of the stand sizes except for optional leg extensions, which are specific to stand size. For example, an exemplary stand of the present invention may be able to be sized to support any of a 50 inch, 56 inch and a 61 inch television. The same parts are used to form the stand for all three sizes except a leg extension element of different size is used on the stands for the 56″ and 61″ televisions. As detailed below, these optional leg extension elements are used to fill the space created when adjusting the front legs of the stand to accommodate the larger size televisions.

A stand according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a top, a first leg supporting the top, and a second leg supporting the top. The stand may be configured such that a distance between each of the first leg and the second leg is adjustable and a distance between an edge of the top facing away from the top and each of the first leg and second leg is adjustable.

The stand may be configured such that each of the first leg and the second leg contact the edge of the top in a smallest configuration of the stand.

The stand may also include a first leg extension and a second leg extension. The first leg extension may be secured to the stand, between the top edge and the first leg, and the second leg extension may be secured to the stand, between the top edge and the second leg, when each of the first and second legs are spaced away from the top edge of the top.

The stand may also include one or more shelves at least partially supported by the first leg and the second leg.

The first leg and second leg may each be adjustably connected to the top by a connector. The connector may include a fixed portion secured to the top, a first adjustable portion secured to the first leg and adjustably connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations, and a second adjustable portion secured to the second leg and adjustably connected to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations. The first adjustable portion and the second adjustable portion may be telescopically arranged with respect to the fixed portion, i.e., at least partially disposed over or within the fixed portion.

The stand may also include a third leg, which may be expandable, connected towards a back of the top. The first leg and second leg may be connected towards a front of the top opposite the back.

The third leg may include a fixed portion secured to the top, a first adjustable portion connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations, and a second adjustable portion connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations.

The stand may also include shelf supports. Each shelf support may be connected between the third leg and one of the first leg and the second leg.

An exemplary stand system of the present invention may include (i) at least one pair of leg extensions and (ii) a stand including a top, a first leg, and a second leg. The stand may be reconfigurable to at least two predetermined stand sizes, each stand size having a different distance between (i) the top and each of the first leg and the second leg, and (ii) the first leg and second leg. A different size pair of the leg extensions may fill a space between the top and each of the first leg and the second leg for each predetermined stand size in which each of the first leg and second leg are spaced away from the top.

The top of the stand may include a plurality of holes a predetermined distance apart. The first adjustable portion and the second adjustable portion of the connector may be secured to the top through a pair of the holes closest to a middle of the top for the smallest size of the stand and secured to the top using pairs of holes further away from the middle of the top for larger sizes of the stand.

An exemplary stand kit of the present invention includes a plurality of stand parts including at least a top, a first leg configured to support the top, and a second leg configured to support the top. The parts may be configured to be assembled to form any one of a plurality of different stand sizes including at least a first size, in which the first leg and the second leg are connected to the top directly adjacent an edge of the top facing away from the top, and a larger second size, in which the each of the first leg and the second leg are spaced away from the edge of the top while still supporting the top.

The stand kit may include a pair of leg extensions, each leg extension configured to fill a space between the top and one of the first leg and second leg when the parts are assembled to the second size. The stand kit may also include a plurality of different sized leg extension pairs, each stand size having one leg extension filling a space between the top and each of the first leg and the second leg.

The stand parts may include an adjustable connector configured to connect each of the first leg and the second leg to the top at varying distances from the edge of the top.

The top included in the stand kit may include a plurality of predrilled hole pair sets, each set being used for a different stand size.

The expandable leg included in the stand kit may include a plurality of predrilled hole pair sets, each set being used for a different stand size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 a is a front perspective view of a stand according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 b is a front perspective view of a partially expanded stand according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 c is a front perspective view of a fully expanded stand according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the stand of FIG. 1c.

FIG. 3 a is an exploded view of a stand top and an adjustment mechanism used to adjustably connect the stand legs to the top.

FIG. 3 a is an exploded view of the stand top, the partially extended adjustment mechanism, and a leg extension of a first size.

FIG. 3 b is an exploded view of the stand top, the fully extended adjustment mechanism, and a leg extension of a second size.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the disassembled adjustment mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a portion of the back leg and the top having the adjustment mechanism connected to a bottom surface.

FIG. 5 a is a perspective view of the cam in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 b is a perspective view of the adjustable glide in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 c is a perspective view of the cam bolt in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 a is a perspective view of the back leg and stand top including an exploded view of the shelf supports.

FIG. 6 b is a perspective view of the partially extended back leg and stand top including an exploded view of the shelf supports.

FIG. 6 c is a perspective view of the fully extended back leg and stand top including an exploded view of the shelf supports.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the fully extended stand top and back leg and shelf brackets including an exploded view of the front legs.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the fully extended assembled stand without the shelves including an exploded view of the shelf clips.

FIG. 8 a is a perspective view of the shelf clip in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the fully extended assembled stand including an exploded view of the shelves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 a, 1b, and 1c illustrate an exemplary stand 10 of the present invention in unextended, partially extended, and fully extended states, respectively. The stand includes a top 12, a first front leg 14, a second front leg 16, an expandable back leg 18, shelves 20a and 20b, and shelf supports 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d. The term leg as used herein may refer to any type or shape of supporting structure. As can be seen in FIG. 1, in the unextended state first and second front legs 14 and 16 are connected to top 12 via connector or adjustment mechanism 24 directly adjacent to the top 12. In the partially expanded state, illustrated in FIG. 1b, first and second front legs 14 and 16 are spaced away from an edge 13 of the top 12 facing away from the top 12 and a pair of leg extension elements 26a and 26b are connected to the partially extended adjustment mechanism 24 between the top 12 and each of the first and second front legs 14 and 16. In the fully expanded state, illustrated in FIGS. 1c and 2, first and second legs 14 and 16 are spaced away from the top 12 more so than in the partially extended state, illustrated in FIG. 1b. A pair of larger size leg extension elements 26a′ and 26b′ are connected to the now fully extended adjustment mechanism 24 between the top 12 and each of the first and second front legs 14 and 16. The optional leg extension elements 26a, 26b, 26a′, and 26b′ fill the gap created between the top 12 and the front legs 14 and 16 upon expansion of the stand 10.

FIGS. 3 a-9 illustrate exemplary assembly steps for assembling stand 10. To assemble the stand in the unextended state the exemplary steps illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 6a may be followed. To assemble the stand in the partially extended state the exemplary steps illustrated in FIGS. 3b and 6b may be followed. To assemble the stand in the fully extended state the exemplary steps illustrated in FIGS. 3c and 6c may be followed. The steps illustrated in FIGS. 5, 7, 8, and 9 are assembly steps common for all sizes of the stand 10. The stand 10 is assembled by connecting elements to the top 10. Therefore, the assembly FIGS. 3a-7 show the partially assembled stand 10 up-side down.

The first assembly step involves connecting the adjustment mechanism 24 to the top surface 28 of the top 12. As indicated above, this is illustrated in FIG. 3a for the unextended stand 10, in FIG. 3b for the partially extended stand 10, and in FIG. 3c for the fully extended stand.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, adjustment mechanism 24 includes a first adjustable portion 32, a second adjustable portion 34, and a fixed portion 30 including a slot 36. The first and second adjustable portions 32 and 34 are disposable over fixed portion 30 in the direction of arrows 35. Alternatively, fixed portion 30 may be made hollow and first and second portions 32 and 34 may be disposed within fixed portion 30. Further, fixed portion may be dispensed with and first and second adjustable portions 32 and 34 may be received in slots, for example, on opposite sides of the top 12.

In FIG. 3a, adjustment mechanism 24 is completely unextended, i.e., fixed portion 30 is completely hidden within the first and second adjustable portions 32 and 34. First and second adjustable portions 32 and 34 are secured via connectors, such as screws 37, to the most central predrilled holes 38a and 38b in top 12 and to side holes 40a and 40b. Screws 37 pass through slot 36 in fixed portion 30. In FIG. 3b, first and second adjustable portions 32 and 34 are partially spaced apart exposing fixed portion 30 and are secured to the top 12 via connectors, such as screws 37, to the second most central predrilled holes 35a and 35b and to the side holes 40a and 40b. The adjustment mechanism 24 is also connected, for example, using screws 37, to leg extension elements 26a and 26b, which include connectors, such as dowels 42, for connection to each of the first and second front legs 14 and 16. In FIG. 3c, first and second adjustable portions 32 and 34 are further spaced apart and are secured to the top 12 via connectors, such as screws 37, to the third most central holes 44a and 44b and side holes 40a and 40b. The adjustment mechanism 24 is also screwed to leg extension elements 26a′ and 26b′, which include connectors, such as dowels 42′, for connection to each of the first and second front legs 14 and 16. Three cam bolts 39 are also screwed into top 12 for connection to the back leg 18. Cam bolt 39 is shown enlarged in FIG. 5c.

FIG. 5 illustrates the next assembly step, connection of the back leg 18 to the top 12. Cam bolts 39 are passed through predrilled holes in the back leg 18 and are secured by passing cams 48 through communicating holes 46 and rotating them relative to the cam bolts 39. FIG. 5a includes an enlarged perspective view of cam 48. Adjustable glides 50, shown enlarged in FIG. 5b, are connected to a bottom edge of leg 18 and can be used to level and adjust the height of the stand 10. Back 18 includes a slot 51, for example, to allow for the passage of wires associated with a television which may rest on the stand 10.

The next assembly step involves connecting shelf supports 22a-22d to the back leg 18. The back leg 18 includes a fixed portion 60, a first adjustable portion 62 and second adjustable portion 64. As can be seen in FIGS. 6a-6c, the shelf supports are connected via connectors, such as screws 52, to a first set of holes 54a and 54b (circumscribed in dashed lines), closest to the center of the back leg 18, for the unexpanded stand 10, to a second set of holes 56a and 56b (circumscribed in dashed lines) for the partially expanded stand 10, and to a third set of holes 58a and 58b (circumscribed in dashed lines) for the fully expanded stand 10. A second set of connectors, such as screws 66, may be used to further secure the shelf supports to the first and second adjustable portions 62 and 64. Screws 52 and 66 secure the shelf supports to both the fixed portion 60 and the first and second adjustable portions 62 and 64. As can be seen in FIGS. 6b and 6c, back leg 18 is expanded by shifting first and second adjustable portions 62 and 64 away from each other.

FIG. 7 illustrates the step of connecting the first and second front legs 14 and 16 to the adjustable mechanism 24 and the shelf support 22a-22d using connectors, for example, screws 68. Adjustable glides 50′ are connected to a bottom of each of the first and second front legs 14 and 16 to allow for level and height adjustment of the stand 10. Shelf clips 70 may be connected to the back leg 18, as illustrated in FIG. 8, to further secure shelves 20a and 20b, installed in the direction of arrows 74, as illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 8a shows a close-up of the shelf clips 70.

If a larger or smaller number of stand size options are desired the number of sets of predrilled holes need only be adjusted, for example, on the top 12 and back leg 18. Also, additional leg extensions sized to fit between the top 12 and each of the front legs 14 and 16 may be included in the stand kit.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the foregoing representative embodiments, it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the representative embodiments are exemplary in nature and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of protection for the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A stand, comprising: a top; a first leg supporting the top; a second leg supporting the top; wherein the stand is configured such that a distance between each of the first leg and the second leg is adjustable and a distance between an edge of the top facing away from the top and each of the first leg and second leg is adjustable.

2. The stand of claim 1, wherein the stand is configured such that each of the first leg and second leg contact the edge of the top in a smallest configuration of the stand.

3. The stand of claim 1 further comprising: a first leg extension and a second leg extension, the first leg extension secured to the stand between the top edge and the first leg and the second leg extension secured to the stand between the top edge and the second leg when each of the first and second legs are spaced away from the top edge of the top.

4. The stand of claim 1 further comprising one or more shelves at least partially supported by the first leg and the second leg.

5. The stand of claim 1, wherein the first leg and second leg are each adjustably connected to the top by a connector including a fixed portion secured to the top, a first adjustable portion secured to the first leg and adjustably connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations, and a second adjustable portion secured to the second leg and adjustably connected to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations.

6. The stand of claim 5, wherein the first adjustable portion and the second adjustable portion are at least partially disposed over or within the fixed portion.

7. The stand of claim 1, further comprising a third leg connected towards a back of the top, the first leg and second leg connected towards a front of the top opposite the back.

8. The stand of claim 7, wherein the third leg is expandable.

9. The stand of claim 8, wherein the third leg includes a fixed portion secured to the top, a first adjustable portion connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations, and a second adjustable portion connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations.

10. The stand of claim 7, further including shelf supports, each shelf support connected between the third leg and one of the first leg and the second leg.

11. A stand system, comprising: at least one pair of leg extensions; and a stand including a top, a first leg, and a second leg, the stand reconfigurable to at least two predetermined stand sizes, each stand size having a different distance between (i) the top and each of the first leg and the second leg, and (ii) the first leg and second leg; wherein a different size pair of the leg extensions fill a space between the top and each of the first leg and the second leg for each predetermined stand size in which each of the first leg and second leg are spaced away from the top.

12. The stand system of claim 11, wherein the stand is configured such that each of the first leg and the second leg contact an edge of the top facing away from the top at different locations when the stand is assembled to its smallest size.

13. The stand system of claim 11, further comprising one or more shelves at least partially supported by the first leg and the second leg.

14. The stand system of claim 11, wherein the first leg and second leg are adjustably connected to the top by a connector including a fixed portion secured to the top, a first adjustable portion secured to the first leg and adjustably connectable to the fixed portion and the top at a plurality of locations, and a second adjustable portion secured to the second leg and adjustably connectable to the fixed portion and the top at a plurality of locations.

15. The stand system of claim 14, wherein the first adjustable portion and the second adjustable portion are at least partially disposed over or within the fixed portion.

16. The stand system of claim 11, wherein the expandable stand includes a third leg connected towards a back of the top, the first leg and second leg connected towards a front of the top opposite the back.

17. The stand system of claim 16, wherein the third leg is expandable.

18. The stand system of claim 16, wherein the third leg includes a fixed portion secured to the top, a first portion connectable to fixed portion at a plurality of locations, and a second portion connectable to the fixed portion at a plurality of locations.

19. The stand system of claim 16, wherein the expandable stand further includes shelf supports, each shelf support connected between the third leg and one of the first leg and second leg.

20. The stand system of claim 14, wherein the top includes a plurality of holes a predetermined distance apart, the first adjustable portion and the second adjustable portion of the connector secured to the top through a pair of the holes closest to a middle of the top for the smallest size of the stand and secured to the top using pairs of holes further away from the middle of the top for larger sizes of the stand.

21. A stand kit, comprising: a plurality of stand parts including at least a top, a first leg configured to support the top, and a second leg configured to support the top, the parts are configured to be assembled to form any one of a plurality of different stand sizes including at least a first size in which the first leg and the second leg are connected to the top directly adjacent an edge of the top facing away from the top and a larger second size in which the each of the first leg and the second leg are spaced away from the edge of the top while still supporting the top.

22. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include a pair of leg extensions, each leg extension configured to fill a space between the top and one of the first leg and second leg when the parts are assembled to the second size.

23. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include a plurality of different sized leg extension pairs, the parts configured to be assembled to form stands of a plurality of different sizes, each stand size having one leg extension filling a space between the top and each of the first leg and the second leg.

24. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include an expandable leg configured to support the top.

25. The stand kit of claim 24, wherein the expandable leg and top are configured to connect adjacent a back side of the top and the top and each of the first leg and the second leg are configured to connect adjacent a front side of the top opposite the back side.

26. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include at least one shelf.

27. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include at least one pair of shelf supports.

28. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the stand parts include an adjustable connector configured to connect each of the first leg and second leg to the top at varying distances from the edge of the top.

29. The stand kit of claim 21, wherein the top includes a plurality of predrilled hole pair sets, each set being used for a different stand size.

30. The stand kit of claim 24, wherein the expandable leg includes a plurality of predrilled hole pair sets, each set being used for a different stand size.