U.S. patent application number 15/093471 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-13 for folding table.
The applicant listed for this patent is CHENG PENG. Invention is credited to CHENG PENG.
Application Number | 20160296004 15/093471 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57111448 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160296004 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PENG; CHENG |
October 13, 2016 |
FOLDING TABLE
Abstract
A folding table my include a table top and a supporting frame.
The supporting frame may have a leg portion, an interconnecting
portion and a central supporting structure; and the table top that
is detachable from the supporting frame may have a plurality of
connected table pieces. The leg portion includes a plurality of
legs and the interconnecting portion is used to connect the legs of
the leg portion, and the central supporting structure is located at
center portion of the supporting frame to provide additional
support to the supporting frame and is configured to start a table
folding process.
Inventors: |
PENG; CHENG; (Rowland
Heights, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PENG; CHENG |
Rowland Heights |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
57111448 |
Appl. No.: |
15/093471 |
Filed: |
April 7, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62144262 |
Apr 7, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 2003/004 20130101;
A47B 3/002 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47B 3/00 20060101
A47B003/00; A47B 3/06 20060101 A47B003/06 |
Claims
1. A folding table comprising: a supporting frame including a leg
portion, an interconnecting portion and a central supporting
structure; and a table top that is detachable from the supporting
frame, wherein the leg portion includes a plurality of legs and the
interconnecting portion is used to connect the legs of the leg
portion, and the central supporting structure is located at center
portion of the supporting frame to provide additional support to
the supporting frame and is configured to start a table folding
process, wherein the leg portion has four legs that are located at
four corners of the supporting frame, and each leg has an upper
section and a lower section, wherein the interconnecting portion
has four identical sub-portions to connect with four legs, and each
of the sub-portions has an upper connecting portion and a lower
connecting portion, wherein the upper connecting portion is
configured to pivotally connect with two first connectors while the
lower connecting portion is configured to pivotally connect with
two second connectors, wherein the upper connecting portion has two
upper bar members and the lower connecting portion has two lower
bar members, and an interconnector is used to pivotally connect two
upper bar members and two lower bar members, wherein a bullet head
connector is disposed at each of both ends of the lower bar members
to lock the lower section of each leg through a connecting hole on
the upper section of each leg when the lower section thereof is
released from the upper section thereof.
2. The folding table of claim 1, wherein the bullet head connector
includes a head unit, a body unit, a base, and a spring covering
the body unit, and the head unit is retractable from the body
unit.
3. The folding table of claim 1, wherein when the table is in a
fully opening position but the lower section of each leg is still
received in the upper section, the head unit and a portion of the
body unit of the bullet head connector are pushed into the
connecting hole by the lower bar member.
4. The folding table of claim 1, wherein a conjugating hole is
formed on the outer surface of the lower section of each leg closed
to an upper portion thereof, so that when the lower section of each
legs is released from the upper portion, the retractable head unit
is configured to automatically come out and insert into the
conjugating hole to lock the legs to secure the legs when the
connecting hole and conjugating hole are aligned with each other.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/144,262,
filed on Apr. 7, 2015, which is a continuous-in-part (CIP)
application of Ser. No. 14/176,816, filed on Feb. 10, 2014, now
U.S. Pat. No. 9,021,964, which is incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a folding table, and more
particularly to a folding table having a detachable table top and a
collapsible supporting frame that can be more portable and more
convenient for storage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In recent years, more and more people love outdoor and
recreational activities such as camping, field trips, or Bar-B-Q
during their free time because many people may endure high pressure
at work, and have accumulated a lot of tension and stress. Not only
can these outdoor activities help people release the stress, but
also improve quality of life. Since most places for abovementioned
outdoor activities do not have all the facilities, it may be more
convenient for people to bring some outdoor furniture such as
folding chairs, tables, etc. Thus, making the outdoor furniture
light and easy to carry around become important issues for outdoor
furniture manufacturers.
[0004] A conventional folding table may include a frame which can
be collapsed and a table top that is assembled to the frame. The
frame and the table top may be fixed together or they can be
separated from each other when the folding table is disassembled.
As previously mentioned, a desirable folding table has to be light
so the user can easily carry the folding table around, and is
expected to be conveniently operated, especially during the folding
and unfolding processes. Furthermore, the desired folding table may
have to be collapsed to a very compact size to reduce the space
used for storage and transportation. Also, a desirable visual
design is becoming an increasingly important factor for a folding
table to be commercially successful in the current market.
[0005] US 2012/0285351 to Cohen discloses a lightweight folding
table having a tabletop and legs that fold into smaller sizes. The
tabletop has a main panel, a first side flap panel, and a second
side flap panel. The first side flap panel and the second side flap
panel are joined to the main panel with hinge connections. The
hinge connections enable the first side flap panel and the second
side flap panel to rotate from open positions that are coplanar
with the main panel to folded positions that are under the main
panel. However, the lightweight folding table disclosed by Cohen
does not seem sturdy and the folding table includes too many pieces
that have to be put together, which decreases the structural
strength of the folding table and the assembly process may take
long time. Recently, US 2013/0233210 discloses a foldable table
including a table top and legs that are movable between an extended
position and a collapsed position with better structural strength.
However, increasing the structural strength also increases the
weight of the folding table, as well as material and manufacturing
costs. In addition, this type of folding tables is not visually
desirable for certain situations.
[0006] Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved
folding table that is structural strong, light-weight, visually
desirable, and can be easily operated to overcome the problems
stated above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
folding table that can be quickly and easily folded and unfolded
with strong structural support.
[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
folding table that can be folded to a compact unit to be more
portable and more convenient for storage.
[0009] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
folding table with adjustable height and is visually desirable for
various purposes.
[0010] In one aspect, a folding table in the present invention may
include a supporting frame and a table top, and the supporting
frame includes a leg portion, an interconnecting portion and a
central supporting structure. In one embodiment, the leg portion
may include four legs and the interconnecting portion is used to
connect these legs to form a square supporting frame. The central
supporting structure is located at center portion of the supporting
frame to provide additional support to the folding table and more
importantly, the central supporting structure is used to start the
folding process of the folding table. The table top has one or more
table pieces that are connected together and can be arranged to
enclose the folded supporting frame therein, or unfolded as a flat
surface putting on top of the supporting frame when in use.
[0011] In one embodiment, the leg portion has four legs that are
located at four corners of the square supporting frame, and each
leg has an upper section and a lower section. The upper section has
a receiving space therein to completely and telescopically receive
the lower section, so the height of the folding table is
adjustable. It is noted that when the lower section is completely
pulled out from the upper section, the lower section would be
locked by a locking unit on each leg to secure the structure of the
supporting frame. Furthermore, bottom portion of each lower section
has a padding member which may be made of plastic, rubber or other
applicable materials to prevent the folding table from unwanted
lateral movements. A first connector is located on top of each leg,
and a second connector is located within a predetermined distance
below the first connector. Both the first connector and second
connector are configured to connect with the interconnecting
portion and the central supporting structure to form the supporting
frame of the folding table.
[0012] In another embodiment, the first connector may include a
pair of interconnecting slots to receive the upper bar members of
the interconnecting portion, and a connecting slot located between
two interconnecting slots to receive the connecting bars of the
central supporting structure.
[0013] The interconnecting portion has four identical sub-portions
to connect four legs to form the square supporting frame. Each of
the sub-portions has an upper connecting portion and a lower
connecting portion, wherein the upper connecting portion is
configured to pivotally connect with two first connectors while the
lower connecting portion is configured to pivotally connect with
two second connectors. More particularly, the upper connecting
portion has two upper bar members and the lower connecting portion
has two lower bar members. An interconnector is used to pivotally
connect two upper bar members and two lower bar members.
[0014] The central supporting structure includes a plurality of
connecting bars and a control piece to control the movement of the
central supporting structure. In an exemplary embodiment, the
control piece has four connecting slots underneath to pivotally
connect with one end of each of the connecting bar, and the other
end of each connecting bars is connected to the first connector on
each leg to form a diagonal supporting structure.
[0015] The table top has a plurality of table pieces connected
together to form a front surface of the table top. On back side of
the table top, a plurality of securing units are disposed on two
sides of the back side of the table top, and the securing units are
aligned with two parallel upper connecting portions (each having
with two parallel upper bar members), so the hollow securing units
can be engaged with the upper bar members when a certain degree of
pressure is applied to the front surface of the table top. It is
noted that each of the four corners of the back side of the table
top has a conjugating unit that can be inserted to a receiving slot
on the first connector to further secure the table top.
[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the control piece is
mechanically connected with the locking unit, so when the control
piece is lifted, the locking unit is triggered to unlock the lower
section, and the lower section can be received in the receiving
space of the upper section. In one embodiment, the lower section
can move up automatically into the upper section when the control
piece is lifted. It is also noted that the control piece is
mechanically connected with the second connector, so the lower
section can be locked again by the second connector when the lower
section is received in the upper section to prevent the lower
section from coming out when the supporting frame is
transported.
[0017] In still an exemplary embodiment, a bullet head connector is
used to lock the legs. The bullet head connector may include a head
unit, a body unit, a base and a spring covering the body unit. An
inner spring is received in the body unit, so the head unit is
retractable from the body unit. When the table is not in a fully
open position, the bullet head connector is not being inserted into
the connecting hole. When the table is in the fully opening
position but the legs are received in the upper section, the head
unit and a portion of the body unit of the bullet head connector
are inserted into the connecting hole.
[0018] More specifically, when the table is in the fully open
position, the lower bar members pushes the head unit and a portion
of the body unit into the connecting hole and the head unit is
being pushed into the receiving space of the body unit when the
head unit hits an outer surface of the legs. A conjugating hole is
formed on the outer surface of the lower section of each leg closed
to an upper portion thereof, so that when the lower section of each
legs is released from the upper portion, the retractable head unit
is configured to automatically come out and insert into the
conjugating hole to lock the legs to secure the legs when the
connecting hole and conjugating hole are aligned with each
other.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG.1 illustrates a schematic view of a folding table having
a supporting frame and a table top in the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the back side of the table top
of the folding table in the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of the supporting frame
of the folding table in the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of the first connector
of the folding table in the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the supporting frame of the
folding table when the folding process starts in the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates a front view of the supporting frame of
the folding table in the present invention during the folding
process.
[0025] FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of the supporting frame of
the folding table in the present invention when the supporting
frame is totally folded.
[0026] FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic view of the table top when it
is folded in the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic view of the supporting frame
enclosed by the table top in the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic view of the supporting frame
when the lower section is still received in the upper section.
[0029] FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic view of a bullet head
connector used to lock the legs in the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic view of a bullet head
connector used to lock the legs in the present invention when the
table is in a fully open position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] The detailed description set forth below is intended as a
description of the presently exemplary device provided in
accordance with aspects of the present invention and is not
intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention
may be prepared or utilized. It is to be understood that the same
or equivalent functions and components may be accomplished by
different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed
within the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0032] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms
used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood to one of
ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although
any methods, devices and materials similar to or equivalent to
those described can be used in the practice or testing of the
invention, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are now
described.
[0033] All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for
the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the designs
and methodologies that are described in the publications that might
be used in connection with the presently described invention. The
publications listed or discussed above, below and throughout the
text are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing
date of the present invention. Nothing herein is to be construed as
an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such
disclosure by virtue of prior invention.
[0034] In order to further understand the goal, characteristics and
effect of the present invention, an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention, and the operation and benefit of the exemplary
embodiment are illustrated along with the drawings as
following:
[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, a folding table in the
present invention may include a supporting frame 10 and a table top
50, and the supporting frame 10 includes a leg portion 20, an
interconnecting portion 30 and a central supporting structure 40.
In one embodiment, the leg portion 20 may include four legs (21,
22, 23, 24), and the interconnecting portion 30 is used to connect
these legs to form a square supporting frame 10 as shown in FIG. 3.
The central supporting structure 40 is located at center portion of
the supporting frame 10 to provide additional support to the
folding table and more importantly, the central supporting
structure 40 is used to start the folding process of the folding
table. The table top 50 has one or more table pieces (501, 502,
503, 504) that are connected together and can be arranged to
enclose the folded supporting frame 10 therein as shown in FIG. 9,
or unfolded as a flat surface putting on top of the supporting
frame 10 when in use.
[0036] More specifically, the leg portion 20 has four legs (21, 22,
23, 24) that are located at four corners of the square supporting
frame 10, and each leg has an upper section 201 and a lower section
202. The upper section 201 has a receiving space therein to
completely and telescopically receive the lower section 202, so the
height of the folding table is adjustable as shown in FIGS. 3 and
10. It is noted that when the lower section 202 is completely
pulled out from the upper section 201, the lower section 202 would
be locked by a locking unit 203 on each leg to increase structural
stability of the supporting frame 10. Furthermore, bottom portion
of each lower section 202 has a padding member 204 which may be
made of plastic, rubber or other applicable materials to prevent
the folding table from unwanted lateral movements. A first
connector 205 is located on top of each leg (21, 22, 23, 24), and a
second connector 206 is located within a predetermined distance
below the first connector 205. Both the first connector 205 and
second connector 206 are configured to connect with the
interconnecting portion 30 and the central supporting structure 40
to form the supporting frame 10 of the folding table. As shown in
FIG. 4, the first connector 205 may include a pair of
interconnecting slots 2051 to receive the upper bar members of the
interconnecting portion 30, and a connecting slot 2052 located
between two interconnecting slots to receive the connecting bars of
the central supporting structure 40.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, the interconnecting portion 30 has four
identical sub-portions (31, 32, 33, 34) to connect with four legs
to form the supporting frame 10. Each of the sub-portions (31, 32,
33, 34) has an upper connecting portion 301 and a lower connecting
portion 302, wherein the upper connecting portion 301 is configured
to pivotally connect with two first connectors 205 while the lower
connecting portion 302 is configured to pivotally connect with two
second connectors 206. More particularly, the upper connecting
portion 301 has two upper bar members (3011 and 3012) and the lower
connecting portion 302 has two lower bar members (3021 and 3022).
An interconnector 303 is used to pivotally connect two upper bar
members 3011 and 3012, and two lower bar members 3021 and 3022. As
can be seen in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, the interconnector 303 can be a
T-shaped unit to pivotally connect two upper bar members 3011 and
3012 on top portion of the T-shaped unit, and to pivotally connect
two lower bar members 3021 and 3022 at bottom portion thereof.
[0038] The central supporting structure 40 includes a plurality of
connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404) and a control piece 405 to
control the movement of the central supporting structure 40. In an
exemplary embodiment, the control piece 405 has four connecting
slots underneath to pivotally connect with one end of each of the
connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404), and the other end of each
connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404) is connected to the first
connector 205 on each leg to form a diagonal supporting structure
as shown in FIGS. 3 and 10.
[0039] The table top 50 has a plurality of table pieces (501, 502,
503, 504) connected together to form a front surface and a back
surface of the table top 50. As shown in FIG. 2, on back surface of
the table top 50, a plurality of securing units 505 are disposed on
two parallel sides of the back surface of the table top 50, and the
securing units 505 are aligned with two parallel upper connecting
portions 301 (each having with two parallel upper bar members
(3011, 3012)), so the hollow securing units 505 can be engaged with
the upper bar members (3011, 3012) when a certain degree of
pressure is applied to the front surface of the table top 50. It is
noted that each of the four corners of the back surface of the
table top 50 has a conjugating unit 506 that can be inserted to a
receiving slot 2053 on the first connector 205 to further secure
the table top 50, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.
[0040] When the user wishes to fold the folding table in the
present invention, he/she can first remove the table top 50 from
the supporting frame 10, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. To fold the
supporting frame 10, the user can simply hold and lift the control
piece 405 of the central supporting structure 40, and due to
gravity, the entire supporting frame 10 starts to collapse as shown
in FIGS. 5 and 6. More specifically, when the control piece 405 is
lifted, four connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404) that are
pivotally connected with the control piece 405 are inwardly moved
until each connecting bar becomes parallel with the leg portion 20.
Meanwhile, the movement of the connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404)
triggers the movement of the interconnecting portion 30 and the leg
portion 20. As stated above, on each side of the supporting frame
10, the interconnecting portion 30 has a T-shaped interconnector
303 used to pivotally connect two upper bar members (3011 and 3012)
on the top portion thereof, and to pivotally connect two lower bar
members (3021 and 3022) at the bottom portion thereof. When the
supporting frame 10 starts to collapse, two upper bar members (3011
and 3012) and two lower bar members (3021 and 3022) start to move
downwardly until all upper and lower bar members become parallel
with the leg portion 20, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
[0041] It is noted that the control piece 405 is mechanically
connected with the locking unit 20, so when the control piece 405
is lifted, the locking unit 203 is triggered to unlock the lower
section 202, and the lower section 202 can be received in the
receiving space of the upper section 201. In one embodiment, the
lower section 202 can move up automatically into the upper section
when the control piece 405 is lifted. It is also noted that the
control piece 405 is mechanically connected with the second
connector 206, so the lower section 202 can be locked again by the
second connector 206 when the lower section 202 is received in the
upper section 201 to prevent the lower section 202 from coming out
when the supporting frame 10 is transported. Therefore, when the
user wishes to fold the supporting frame 10, the size of the
supporting frame 10 can be significantly reduced and the entire
structure thereof can be collapsed to become a compact unit as
shown in FIG. 7. The table top 50 can be folded and the supporting
frame 10 can be enclosed therein when the supporting frame 10 is
fully collapsed and folded, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. It is
advantageous for the user because the folding table can be
transported as one unit and the size of the folding table has been
significantly reduced.
[0042] When the user wishes to use the folding table in the present
invention, the unfolding process is as simple as the folding
process. The user can simply take the supporting frame 10 out from
the folded table top 50 to start the unfolding process. As shown in
FIG. 7, the connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404) of the central
supporting structure 40, and the upper bar members (3011, 3012) and
the lower bar members (3021, 3022) of the interconnecting portion
30 are parallel with the leg portion 20 when the supporting frame
10 is fully folded. Since the connecting bars (401, 402, 403, 404),
and the upper bar members (3011, 3012) and the lower bar members
(3021, 3022) are pivotally connected with the control piece 405 and
the interconnector 303 respectively, the user may not have to use
too much effort to move the connecting bars, the upper bar members
and the lower bar members until they become perpendicular with the
leg portion 20 to fully unfold the supporting frame 10, as shown in
FIG. 10. It is noted that the supporting frame 10 shown in FIG. 10
is ready for use if the user would like to put the table top 50
thereon because sometimes the user may just want to sit on the
floor at home with a shorter table, or sit on the lawn or grass
when the user is in the park.
[0043] As illustrated in FIG. 10, the lower section 202 of each leg
is still received inside the upper section 201. Since the control
piece 405 is mechanically connected with the second connector 206
and if the user wishes to adjust the height of the folding table,
he/she can push the control piece 405 down to trigger the second
connector 206 to unlock the lower section 202 inside the upper
section 201, and the lower section 202 of each leg can be pulled
out to increase the height of the folding table. When the lower
section 202 on each leg comes out as shown in FIG. 3, the lower
section 202 would be locked again by the locking unit 203 to
further secure the structure of the supporting frame 10.
[0044] In a further embodiment, a bullet head connector 60 is used
to lock the legs (21, 22, 23, 24). The bullet head connector 60 may
include a head unit 61, a body unit 62, a base 63 and a spring 64
covering the body unit 62. An inner spring (not shown) is received
in the body unit 62, so the head unit 61 is retractable from the
body unit 62. When the table is not in a fully open position, the
bullet head connector 60 is not being inserted into the connecting
hole 2061, as shown in FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 10, when the table
is in the fully opening position but the legs 21 to 24 are received
in the upper section 201, the head unit 61 and a portion of the
body unit 62 of the bullet head connector 60 are inserted into the
connecting hole 2061 as shown in FIG. 12.
[0045] More specifically, when the table is in the fully open
position, the lower bar members 3021 pushes the head unit 61 and a
portion of the body unit 62 into the connecting hole 2061 and the
head unit 61 is being pushed into the receiving space of the body
unit 62 when the head unit 61 hits an outer surface of the legs 21
to 24. A conjugating hole 2062 is formed on the outer surface of
the lower section 202 of each leg closed to an upper portion
thereof, so that when the lower section 202 of each legs (21 to 24)
is released from the upper portion 201, the retractable head unit
61 is configured to automatically come out and insert into the
conjugating hole 2062 to lock the legs 21 to 24 to secure the legs
when the connecting hole 2061 and conjugating hole 2062 are aligned
with each other.
[0046] Having described the invention by the description and
illustration above, it should be understood that there are
exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as
limiting. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as
limited by the foregoing description, but includes any
equivalents.
* * * * *