U.S. patent number 3,574,434 [Application Number 04/775,267] was granted by the patent office on 1971-04-13 for desk with slidable top.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Herman Miller Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert L. Propst, Peter J. Protzmann.
United States Patent |
3,574,434 |
Propst , et al. |
April 13, 1971 |
DESK WITH SLIDABLE TOP
Abstract
This disclosure relates to a desk assembly in which a support
such as wall hung brackets mounts an open top bin in a desk top.
The desk top is slidably fixed to the support through opposing
U-shaped channels having ball bearings therebetween. The bin is
supported beneath the desk top so as to permit access thereto by
sliding the top between alternate positions.
Inventors: |
Propst; Robert L. (Ann Arbor,
MI), Protzmann; Peter J. (Grand Rapids, MI) |
Assignee: |
Herman Miller Inc. (Zeeland,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
25103868 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/775,267 |
Filed: |
November 13, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/245;
312/231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
5/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
5/00 (20060101); A47f 005/08 (); A47b 027/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/184,194,231,245,246,278,280,282,301,341,348,349 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Claims
We claim:
1. A desk construction having a support means, a fixed vertical
support member, a desk top slidably mounted on said support means
and a storage element beneath said desk top, the improvement in
said desk comprising: said support means having a pair of spaced
brackets rigidly secured to said vertical support member; said
storage element being an elongated frame forming a compartment open
only at the top; said storage element being mounted on and
suspended between said brackets in fixed position adjacent the
vertical support member; a pair of tracks, one supported on each of
said brackets; said desk top being a platform mounted on said
tracks and movable thereon from a closed position over the open top
of said storage element to an extended position extending beyond
the ends of said brackets and cantilevered therefrom to expose the
open top of said storage element; said tracks each having means
between the desk top and the brackets holding said desk top
parallel to the top of said brackets in both closed and extended
positions under downwardly acting loads imposed thereon; said desk
top forming the exposed top surface of said desk in both closed and
extended positions.
Description
This invention relates to a furniture construction and more
specifically to a desk. In one of its aspects, the invention
relates to a desk construction in which the desk top member is
slidable on a support.
In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a desk
construction having an open top storage bin supported beneath a
desk top which is slidable on a support relative to the bin so as
to cover the bin in one position and to open the bin for access in
a second position.
Cantilevered furniture has become a popular modern style. Most
cantilevered units are hung from permanent or semipermanent wall
structures.
In copending Ser. No. 736,857, filed Jun. 13, 1968, there is
disclosed and claimed a bracket which can be used to support a desk
in cantilevered fashion from a wall or semipermanent wall
structure. The brackets can be supported by vertical channels in
the wall structure, which channels have hanger member with slots
for engaging clips. The brackets are attached to clips having slot
engaging members through which the bracket is fixed to the hanger
members. The channel-containing wall structure is described and
claimed in copending Ser. No. 737,522, filed Jun. 17, 1968, which,
with Ser. No. 736,857, filed Jun. 13, 1968, is incorporated herein
by reference.
One problem with cantilevered desk tops is that of providing
storage for files and the like. If the files are mounted in
conventional manner along side of the desk, the appearance is not
as pleasing.
I have now discovered that storage units can be attractively
incorporated into cantilevered desk structures by mounting an open
top storage bin between the brackets at a back portion thereof and
providing slide means between the desk top and the bracket support
for access to the storage bin.
By various aspects of this invention, one or more of the following,
or other objects, can be obtained.
It is an object of this invention to provide a cantilevered
furniture construction with a storage bin incorporated as a
favorable design feature.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a desk
construction in which access to storage is provided by sliding the
desk top on the support.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a desk
construction with a slidable top, in which construction and
efficient slide is concealed within the top.
Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of this
invention are apparent to one skilled in the art from a study of
this disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims.
According to the invention, there is provided a desk construction
in which a desk top is slidably supported by a support means.
Preferably, a bin, having an open top, is supported by the support
means beneath the desk top and the desk top is slidable to cover
the open bin in one position and slidable away from the open bin to
permit access thereto in a second position. Slide means are fixed
on the support. The desk top is fixed on the slide means.
Preferably, at least a portion of the slide means is recessed
within the bottom of the desk top and a desk slides in a front to
back direction.
The slide means preferably comprises first and second U-shaped
channels with the second U-shaped channel being in inverted
relationship to the first. The U-shaped channels are sized so that
one of the U-shaped channels fits within the other. Longitudinal
grooves are formed in facing relationship in the sides of each
U-shaped channel and bearing means are positioned within the groove
through which bearing means the desk top is supported.
The invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a desk according to the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view in section taken along lines 2-2
of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view like FIG. 1 showing the desk top
pulled out to expose the top of the bin; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3.
Referring now to the drawings, a desk top 12 is supported by
upright rails 14 and brackets 16. The brackets 16 are fixed to the
rails 14 which are attached to a wall or partition. The rails 14
and the brackets 16 have been described in copending Ser. Nos.
737,522, filed Jun. 17, 1968 and 736,857, filed Jun. 13, 1968 and
will not be further described herein. The method of fixing the
bracket 16 to the rails 14 is described in said copending Ser. No.
737,857. A bin 18 is supported beneath the desk top 12 at a top
rear portion thereof. The bin 18 is exposed for access when the
desk top is moved away from the wall and covered when the desk top
is pushed close to the wall as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5.
The desk top 12 has a molding 20 around the outer edge thereof and
has recessed channels 22 in a bottom surface. The desk top is
supported by the brackets 16 through a support channel bracket 24
which fits tightly within the bracket 16. A hook 26 is formed on
the rear edges of the support channel brackets 24 and slides
beneath a horizontal bar 27 on the bracket 16 to retain the support
channel 24 within the bracket 16. A backplate 28, fixed to the
bracket 26, is provided to prevent the support channel bracket 24
from sliding within the bracket 16. This manner of supporting the
channel bracket 24 within the bracket 16 has been described in more
detail in said copending Ser. No. 736,857.
The desk top 12 is supported by the bracket 16 through a slide
assembly which permits the desk top to slide away from and toward
the wall. The slide assembly comprises a support plate 30, which is
welded to the support channel bracket 24, an inner channel 32,
welded to the support plate 30, and an inverted channel 34, which
is fixed to the desk top 12 through screws 36. The inner channel 32
has outwardly facing longitudinal grooves 33 formed in the
sidewall. The inverted channel 34 has downwardly extending legs 35
forming inwardly directed longitudinal grooves. Ball bearings 38
are positioned within the grooves formed in the channels 32 and 34.
The desk top is therefore supported through the ball bearings and
is slidable by means of the ball bearings. A transfer plate 40 is
fixed to the desk top 12 through screws 41 and is positioned at an
outer edge beneath the support plate 30 in sliding relationship
thereto. As seen in FIG. 6, the channel 32 is longer than channel
34 and has upwardly bent ends 32a and 32b. The channel 34 has
downwardly bent ends 34a and 34b which strike ends 32a and 34b as
the slide reaches the ends of the movement in each direction. The
combination of ends 32a, 32b, 34a and 34b forms stop means for the
slide.
An angle bar support 42 is fixed to the support plate 30 for
supporting the bin 18.
The bin 18 comprises a front panel member 44, a back panel member
58, and end panel members 80. The back panel member 44 has a
horizontal bottom flange 45 and a forwardly extending top portion
46 which is bent downwardly at 47 at a front portion thereof.
Rearwardly extending flanges 48 are formed at the side of the front
panel member 44 and downwardly directed flanges 50 are formed at
the sides of the forwardly extending top portion 46. Elongated
holes 56 are provided at the top portion of the front panel member
44.
The back panel member 58 is bent over at a top portion 60 and
contains a forwardly directed flange 52 at the sides thereof. A
forwardly directed bottom portion 64 of the back panel 58 forms the
bottom of the bin. Upwardly directed flanges 66 are formed at the
sides of the bottom portion 64.
The end panels 80 comprises solid core panels having a molding
strip 82 around the outside edge.
The front panel member 44 is bolted to the angle bar support 42
through the downwardly directed flanges 50 and bolts 54. The front
panel member 44 is fixed to the end panels 80 through rearwardly
directed flanges 48 and screws 52 which extend into the end panels
80 (FIG. 4). The back panel 58 is fixed to the front panel member
44 through rivets 68 which clamp together the horizontal bottom
flange 45 and the forwardly directed bottom portions 64. The back
panel 58 is fixed to the end panel 80 through screws 70 which
extend through flanges 62 and into the end panels 80.
File support bars 72 having slots 73 are positioned at one end in
the elongated holes 56 and at the other end on top of back panel
58. Hanging file folders 74 are supported by the file support bars
72 in a conventional manner. For example, the hanging file folders
74 can have outwardly extending pins which extend over the top of
the file support bars 72.
Whereas the invention has been described with respect to a
particular embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention
can take other forms. For example, the brackets need not be fixed
to rails but can be fixed through conventional means to a wall.
The invention thus provides a favorably designed cantilevered desk
construction in which a storage bin is provided at a rear portion
of the desk. The design is further enhanced by the recessed slide
means between the desk top and its support.
Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope
of the foregoing disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims
without departing from the spirit of the invention.
* * * * *