U.S. patent application number 10/166808 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-11 for coffee/play table.
Invention is credited to Karadizian, Patricia Marlene, Karadizian, Richard Zaven.
Application Number | 20030226477 10/166808 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29710714 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030226477 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Karadizian, Richard Zaven ;
et al. |
December 11, 2003 |
Coffee/play table
Abstract
A unique household furnishing capable of transforming from a
coffee table to a play table in seconds. Transformation is
accomplished by removing the upper surface. The upper surface
consists of two (2) halves that may be stored in the drawer of a
trundle located below the table. Removal of the upper surface
reveals the play surface. The play surface is surrounded by a 21/2"
to 4" high upstanding border (or wall). The upstanding border
creates a space between the play surface and the underside of the
upper surface. This space allows the storage of cumbersome toys
while assembled or partially assembled thus minimizing or
eliminating the need to put said toys away after play.
Inventors: |
Karadizian, Richard Zaven;
(Westford, MA) ; Karadizian, Patricia Marlene;
(Westford, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard Karadizian
50 Plain Road
Westford
MA
01886
US
|
Family ID: |
29710714 |
Appl. No.: |
10/166808 |
Filed: |
June 11, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
108/11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 13/081 20130101;
A47B 25/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
108/11 |
International
Class: |
A47B 085/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A home furnishing having two (2) distinct forms, one form
serving as a coffee table and the other form serving as a play
table. Said furnishing comprised of the following: a) a removable
upper surface; and b) a fixed play surface having an upstanding
border of 21/2" to 4" high on all sides; and c) a trundle with an
integral drawer.
2. A home furnishing as defined in claim 1 in which said removable
upper surface consists of two (2) halves.
3. A home furnishing as defined in claim 1 in which said removable
upper surface defined in claim 2 can be self-stored within the
invention in said trundle with an integral drawer.
4. A home furnishing defined in claim 1 in which no mechanical
fasteners are visible on the exterior of the furnishing regardless
of the form it takes.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,812 dated Jan. 4, 2000 by Nile Ernst of
Nilo Enterprises, Inc.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSERED RESEACH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM
LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention pertains to household furnishings and use of
same in dwellings where multiple use of space and furniture is
necessary. Specifically, the invention transforms from a coffee
table to a play table with ease. As a coffee table, the invention
has the appearance of a high quality furnishing and is ideal for
use in a family room or living room. As a play table, the invention
provides a surface that can be used for the construction of
puzzles, toy trains, building toys, or arts and craft.
[0005] There are many play tables and coffee tables commercially
available, however, the invention is unique in that it fulfills the
needs of both furnishings in one embodiment. Most commercially
available play tables have one (1) surface located at a convenient
height for children to play. These play tables have a toy-like
appearance and are not appropriate for use as a coffee table in a
living room or family room. Most commercially available coffee
tables do not double as an optimum play apparatus. The height of
the play surface, the leg clearance below the table, the size of
the table, or other geometric restrictions limits the use of a
coffee table as a play table. This invention is a solution to the
aforementioned caveats of coffee tables and play tables.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The unique design enables the invention to take two (2)
distinct forms, a coffee table and a play table. The upper surface
is removable. It is held in place by a 1" wide.times.1/4" deep
groove milled into its underside. The groove laps around the sides
of the table. When installed, the invention takes the form of a
coffee table. At playtime, the surface is removed and the play
table surface is exposed. The play surface is surrounded by the
sides of the table creating a 21/2" to 4" high upstanding border
around the play surface. The high border creates a storage space
between the underside of the removable upper surface and the top of
the play surface. This storage space minimizes or eliminates the
need to disassemble cumbersome toys such as racetracks, train
tracks, puzzles, and building blocks. This inherent feature may
also increase the life of such toys by reducing the wear imposed by
repeated assembly and disassembly.
[0007] The removable upper surface consists of two (2) halves. One
or both halves can be stored in the drawer of a trundle located
underneath the table or elsewhere. The trundle provides a
convenient storage area for the removable upper surface and toys
and games to be used on the play surface. The invention thereby
provides the functionality of a third home furnishing, a toy
chest.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1: 3-D illustration of the invention (serves as
front-page view).
[0009] FIG. 2: Table plan view with upper surface removed.
[0010] FIG. 3: Table side elevation view with upper surface
removed.
[0011] FIG. 4: Section view with upper surface removed.
[0012] FIG. 5: Top view of upper surface half.
[0013] FIG. 6: View of the underside of the upper surface.
[0014] FIG. 7: Partial cross section showing upper surface
installed.
[0015] FIG. 8: Plan view of trundle.
[0016] FIG. 9: Front elevation view of trundle with drawer front
closed.
[0017] FIG. 10: Section view of trundle.
[0018] FIG. 11: Front elevation view of trundle with drawer front
open.
[0019] FIG. 12: Detail of drawer showing magnet catch, strike
plate, and drawer assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The invention comprises of four main components: the table
assembly 1, upper surface 2, and trundle 3 as shown in FIG. 1.
[0021] FIG. 2 through FIG. 4 illustrate the table assembly. The
table assembly 1 consists of two short sides 4, two long sides 5, a
play surface 6, and four (4) leg assemblies 7. The play surface 6
is manufactured from 3/4" thick material (wood, plywood, or
laminated compressed wood) and is held in place by means of a 3/4"
wide groove 8 milled into the two short sides 4 and the two long
sides 5. The ends of the two short sides 4 and two long sides 5 are
cut at a 45.degree. angle to create miter joints (or cut straight
to make a butt joint). The end of one short side 4 and one long
side 5 are glued together making a miter (or butt) joint.
Similarly, the end of the long side 5 and the other short side 4
are glued together making another miter (or butt) joint. This
process continues until the two short sides 4 and the two long
sides 5 surround the play surface 6. The bottom of the 3/4" wide
groove 8 is located approximately 11/4" from the bottom of each
short side 4 and each long side 5. The width of the two short sides
4 and the two long sides 5 determines the height of storage space
between the top of the play surface 6 and the underside of the
upper surface 2. The height of the storage space may range between
2" and 4" although experimentation has revealed the optimum height
of the storage space to be 21/2".
[0022] One leg assembly 7 is mounted to each corner of the table.
The leg assembly 7 is manufactured from two (2) pieces of 3/4"
thick wood making an "L" shape in cross section. The leg assembly 7
may be tapered (as shown in the attached drawings) or straight.
Each leg assembly 7 is fastened to the two short sides 4 and two
long sides 5 using four (4) 11/4" long wood screws 9 (see FIG.
4).
[0023] FIG. 5 through FIG. 7 illustrate the upper surface 2. The
upper surface 2 consist of two halves. The halves are identical.
The preferred design (as shown in FIG. 5) resembles the
construction of a flat panel cabinet door. The frame of the half,
manufactured from wood no greater than 3/4" in thickness, consists
of two stiles 10 and two rails 11. One edge of each of the two
stiles 10 and the two rails 11 is milled using a round over (or
Ogee) stile and rail router bit set. The panel 12 of the half is
fabricated from 1/4" plywood. An alternate design wood be to edge
glue multiple 3/4" thick boards to create a solid wood upper
surface. This alternate design, however, makes each half of the
upper surface 2 very heavy making it difficult to install and
remove. Regardless of the manufacturing method of the upper surface
2, a 1" wide groove 13 is milled on the underside of the upper
surface 2 (hatched area shown in FIG. 6). The 1" wide groove 13 is
located such that it fits over the two short sides 4 and the two
long sides 5 keeping the upper surface 2 in place (see FIG. 7).
[0024] FIG. 8 through FIG. 11 illustrates the trundle 3. The
trundle 3 is manufactured similar to the table assembly 1. The
trundle 3 consists of two trundle ends 14, back 15, front 16,
bottom 17, drawer front 18, two drawer slides 19, drawer bottom 20,
two drawer hinges 21, magnet catch 22, two wheel supports 23, and
four wheels 24. The bottom 17 is manufactured from 1/2" thick
plywood and is held in place by means of a 1/2" wide groove 25
milled into the two trundle ends 14, back 15, and front 16. Similar
to the two short sides 4 and the two long sides 5, the ends of the
trundle ends 14, back 15, and front 16 are glued together until
they surround the bottom 17. Butt joints are used on the drawings
attached although other joints (such as miter and dovetail) are
possible. The bottom of the 1/2" wide groove 25 is located
approximately 1/4" from the bottom of front 16 and 27/8" from the
bottom of the trundle ends 14 and the back 15. The two wheel
supports 23 are glued to the two trundle ends 14 such that the
bottoms of the two wheel supports 23 are level with the bottoms of
the two trundle ends 14. The four wheels 24 are screwed to the
underside of the two trundle ends 14 and the wheel supports 23 (see
FIG. 10). The four wheels 24 are located at the ends of the wheel
supports 25.
[0025] The two drawer slides 19 are screwed to the underside of the
bottom 17. If the upper surface 2 is made from solid wood, the
drawer slides 19 are through bolted to the bottom 17. Bolting is
required to support the weight of the upper surface 2. One side
edge of the drawer bottom 17 is screwed to each of the drawer
slides 19. A magnet catch 22 is screwed to the inside of the left
(or right) trundle end 14. The magnet catch 22 keeps the drawer
front 18 from opening due to gravity. One side of each of the two
drawer hinges 21 is screwed to the bottom inside surface of the
drawer front 18. The other side of the two drawer hinges 21 is
screwed to the edge of the drawer bottom 20. The metal strike 26
provided with the magnet catch 24 is screwed to the inside of the
drawer front 18. The location of the metal strike 26 is such that
it contacts the magnet catch 22 when the drawer front 18 is in the
upright position. FIG. 12 shows the details of construction of one
end of the drawer assembly as described in this paragraph.
[0026] The operation of the invention is simple. To transform the
invention from a coffee table to a play table: (1) grasp the top of
the sides of the drawer front 18 and pull so that the drawer front
opens; (2) pull the drawer front 18 to extend the drawer slides 19
and drawer bottom 17 out from underneath the trundle; (3) remove
one of the two halves that make the upper surface 2; (4) place it
on top of the drawer bottom 17 and push it back so that the half
does not interfere with the closing of the drawer front 18; (5)
remove the other half and place it in the drawer on top of the
first half; (6) close the drawer front 18; and (7) push the drawer
front 18 to retract the drawer slide 19 until the metal strike 26
contacts the magnet catch 22. To transform the invention from a
play table to a coffee table, follow the instruction above in
reverse order.
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