Piece Of Furniture Such As A Worktop

Abstract

The invention relates to an element of furniture such as a work surface comprised of a plate provided with at least three legs assembled respectively to the plate by an L-shaped attachment bracket. Each leg is comprised of a cylinder of substantially rectangular cross section and of an upper end portion including a cover. The upper portion of each leg is housed in a notch arranged at the edge of the plate such that each leg protrudes from the periphery of the plate. The notch is dimensioned to allow the housing of a second leg belonging to an adjacent work surface in parallel to the first leg. The L-shaped attachment bracket has an attachment portion arranged to attach to the plate and an end portion arranged to nest over the upper end portion of the cylinder of the leg. A fixing plate is housed in the upper portion of the cylinder of the leg. The fixing plate includes bores arranged in correspondence with bores provided on the end portion of the bracket that is nested over the cylinder of the leg. Attachment parts are able to be engaged through the bores of the end portion of the bracket in order to be attached in the fixing plate and provide an effective link between the plate and the leg by the intermediary of the bracket.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of furniture and, in particular, office and meeting room furniture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Within the framework of pieces of furniture for spaces such as offices and meeting rooms, it is generally advantageous to be able to assemble several work surfaces together so as to define common or individual work surfaces in terms of need, the number of people working in the space or the type of meeting proposed.

[0003] As such, according to the number of participants at a meeting, it may be necessary to assemble several tables in order to form a single large table around which the participants sit in order to work together.

[0004] Likewise, it can be considered to form U-shaped or square-shaped work surfaces, when a person such as a conference leader or an instructor must intervene among the people located around the work surfaces.

[0005] It can be observed that most of the time the work surfaces are simply comprised of tables having a plate resting on four legs. As such, during the assembly of these tables, the plates are simply placed end to end. From a visual point of view, a unit formed from the juxtaposition of tables is far from being aesthetic, as each link between tables has four legs. The unit formed is, as such, often poor from an aesthetic point of view. Moreover, the meeting room wherein commercial presentations in front of customers takes place is also the showcase of the company.

[0006] Likewise, within the framework of laying out offices, it is sought to be able to associate several desks together in such a way as to define work stations with variable and modular geometry which makes it possible to effectively partition relatively spacious open work spaces. Such a type of furniture can be comprised of several plates mounted on a common leg around which is arranged the geometry of the work surface that is formed. The common leg makes it possible to provide the unit with an improved aesthetic aspect. However, this type of furniture is not easily modular since it requires tools to disengage the plates from a common leg when it is desired to modify the configuration of the work space.

[0007] The purpose of the invention is to provide an element of furniture such as a work surface making it possible to carry out variable and modular layouts of at least two work surfaces in a simple manner and of high aesthetic quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] According to one embodiment, an element of furniture such as a work surface comprises a plate provided with at least three legs assembled respectively to the plate by an L-shaped attachment bracket. Each leg is comprised of a cylinder of substantially rectangular cross section and of an upper end portion including a cover. The upper portion of each leg is housed in a notch arranged at the edge of the plate such that each leg protrudes from the periphery of the plate. The notch is dimensioned to allow the housing of a second leg belonging to an adjacent work surface in parallel to the first leg. The L-shaped attachment bracket has an attachment portion arranged to attach to the plate and an end portion arranged to nest over the upper end portion of the cylinder of the leg. A fixing plate is housed in the upper portion of the cylinder of the leg. The fixing plate includes bores arranged in correspondence with bores provided on the end portion of the bracket that is nested over the cylinder of the leg. Attachment parts are able to be engaged through the bores of the end portion of the bracket in order to be attached in the fixing plate and provide an effective link between the plate and the leg by the intermediary of the bracket.

[0009] As such advantageously, the attachment between the leg and the work surface is effectively provided by the fixing plate arranged to cooperate with the attachment bracket that can be nested over the leg and this, in an effective and totally invisible manner which further reinforces the aesthetic aspect of such a work surface.

[0010] Furthermore, because the notch of the work surface houses each leg in such a way that the upper end of the leg is located in the same plane as the work surface, it is possible to house the protruding portion of the leg of an identical adjacent work surface by a mirror symmetry effect.

[0011] In a very advantageous manner, the adjacent work surfaces nesting one into the other can be assembled with an improved aesthetic effect since the legs which are positioned in parallel one in relation to the other in the notches form only a single visible leg, while the assembled plates form a new single work surface that has almost no interruptions.

[0012] As such, in a very advantageous manner, an element of furniture according to the invention makes it possible to simply rearrange work surfaces without requiring tools while still conferring highly aesthetical visual qualities to the layouts formed.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the end portion of the attachment bracket which can be engaged into the leg is preferably slightly conical such as to facilitate the assembly on the cylinder of the leg.

[0014] The attachment parts for attaching the bracket to the fixing plate housed in the leg can be comprised of rods which are glued in the bores arranged in the fixing plate within the leg.

[0015] Alternatively, these attachment parts can be comprised of threaded rods that can be screwed in the bores of the threaded fixing plate in correspondence.

[0016] These and other features of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention shall now be described in more detail in reference to the drawing wherein:

[0018] FIG. 1 shows an elevational view of a work surface according to the an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of a leg of the work surface in FIG. 1 without the plate;

[0020] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of the link between the leg and the attachment bracket;

[0021] FIG. 4 shows a top view of an attachment bracket of a work surface according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

[0022] FIG. 5 shows a lateral perspective view of the bracket in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0023] According to an exemplary embodiment, an element of furniture such as a work surface is comprised of a plate 1 provided with at least four legs 2. In FIG. 1, only a portion of the work surface is shown.

[0024] As can be seen in FIG. 1, a leg 2 is comprised of a cylinder of substantially rectangular cross section and an upper end 2a having a cover for the cylinder of each leg 2. The upper end portion 2a of the leg 2 is engaged in a notch 1a arranged at the edge of the plate 1 in such a way that the upper end extends in the plane of the plate 1. In addition, the notch 1a is dimensioned such that the leg 2 protrudes from the periphery of the plate 1 on either side in such a way as to be able to receive a second leg 2 belonging to another work surface extending in parallel to the first leg 2.

[0025] An L-shaped attachment bracket 3 can be fixed under the plate 1 in the vicinity of the notch 1a at the end of the plate 1. The bracket 3 includes an attachment portion 3a at the base of the L which allows for the attachment of the bracket 3 to the plate 1, using an attaching means such as screws 4 for example.

[0026] The bracket 3 also includes a end portion 3b which allows for assembly of the leg 2 to the plate 1. The end portion 3b is arranged to be nested over the upper open end 2a of the cylinder of the leg 2. Preferably, the attachment portion 3a and a first portion 3b1 of the end portion 3b are formed of a single part in the form of an L section.

[0027] The first portion 3b1 can be configured to house a second portion which nests over the upper open end of the cylinder of the leg 2. Preferably, the second portion 3b2 is slightly conical (dotted line in FIG. 5) in order to facilitate the engagement on the cylinder of the leg 2.

[0028] The cylinder of the leg 2 further comprises an interior fixing plate 5 which is mounted within an upper portion of the leg 2. This fixing plate 5 includes bores 7 which are arranged in correspondence with bores 6 provided on the second portion 3b2 of the end portion 3b of the bracket 3 which is to be nested on the leg 2.

[0029] Attachment parts such as rods 8 can be engaged through the bores 6 of the end portion 3b of the bracket 3 in order to be attached to the fixing plate 5 and provide an effective link between the plate 1 and the leg 2.

[0030] The rods 8 can be affixed in the bores of the fixing plate 5 within the leg 2. For example, the rods 8 can be glued in the bores 7 in the fixing plate 5. Alternatively, the rods can be threaded rods 8 that can be screwed in the threaded bores 7 in the fixing plate 5.

[0031] The fixing plate 5 can be formed as a single part wherein bores 7 have been arranged. Alternatively, the fixing plate 5 can be formed of two half-parts including opposing grooves that are arranged on each part and which are conjoined to form the bores 7 during the assembly of the fixing plate 5.

[0032] Once the bracket 3 is engaged on a leg 2, a cover is set in place on the upper end 2a of the leg 2. The upper end 2a of the leg 2 is then engaged in the notch 1a of the plate 1 such that the cover extends in the plane of the plate 1. The bracket 3 is then fixed to the plate 1 by the attachment portion 3a.

[0033] As has already been described, each leg 2 is housed in a notch 1a of the plate 1 in such a way that this notch can receive a second leg 2 in parallel with the first leg 2. Each leg 2 protrudes from the periphery of a plate 1 in such a way that during the assembly of two identical work surfaces, the latter is assembled in mirror symmetry by the means of the notches 1a and legs 2.

[0034] Preferably, means of adjusting the height 9 at the lower end of each leg 2 are further provided.

[0035] The invention is not limited to the example described but also includes the alternatives defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An element of furniture such as a work surface, comprising: a plate provided with at least three legs assembled respectively to the plate by an L-shaped attachment bracket, each leg comprising a cylinder of substantially rectangular cross section and an upper end portion including a cover, the upper portion of each leg being housed in a notch arranged at the edge of the plate such that each leg protrudes from the periphery of the plate, the notch being dimensioned to allow the housing of a second leg belonging to an adjacent work surface in parallel to the first leg, the L-shaped attachment bracket having an attachment portion arranged to attach to the plate and an end portion arranged to nest over the upper portion of the cylinder of the leg, characterized in that a fixing plate is housed in the upper portion of the cylinder of the leg, the fixing plate including bores arranged in correspondence with bores provided on the end portion of the bracket that is to be nested over the cylinder of the leg, the attachment parts able to be engaged through the bores of the end portion of the bracket in order to be attached to the fixing plate and provide an effective link between the plate and the leg by the intermediary of the bracket.

2. The element of furniture according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion of the L-shaped bracket comprises the base of the L and attaches the bracket to the plate with an attaching means.

3. The element of furniture according to claim 2, wherein the end portion of the bracket comprises a first end portion being formed of a single part with the attachment portion in the form of an L section, the first end portion being configured to house a second end portion that nests over the upper open end of the cylinder of the leg.

4. The element of furniture according to claim 3, wherein the second end portion is slightly conical in order to facilitate the engagement on the cylinder of the leg.

5. The element of furniture according to one of claim 1, wherein the fixing plate is a single part wherein the bores have been arranged.

6. The element of furniture according to one of claim 1, wherein the fixing plate comprises two half-parts, opposing grooves being arranged on each part which are conjoined to form the bores during the assembly of the fixing plate.

7. The element of furniture according to one of claims 1, wherein the attachment parts for attaching the bracket to the fixing plate housed in the leg are comprised of rods glued in the bores of the fixing plate.

8. The element of furniture according to one of claims 1, wherein the attachment parts for attaching the bracket to the plate are comprised of threaded rods that can be screwed in the bores of threaded bores in the fixing plate.

9. The element of furniture according to one of claims 1, wherein means of adjusting height are provided at the lower end of each leg.