U.S. patent number 3,580,632 [Application Number 04/826,594] was granted by the patent office on 1971-05-25 for folding table and seat support structure.
Invention is credited to Paul Maurice Seymour.
United States Patent |
3,580,632 |
Seymour |
May 25, 1971 |
FOLDING TABLE AND SEAT SUPPORT STRUCTURE
Abstract
A folding combination table and seat including a support
structure therefor, including upper support means having two
connector portions, spaced from each other in a first direction,
for connection with the table, lower support means having two
bearing means, spaced from each other in a second direction, for
contacting a supporting surface, two seat support means, spaced
from each other in a third direction, and intermediate support
means interconnecting the upper support means with the lower
support means.
Inventors: |
Seymour; Paul Maurice
(Marlboro, MA) |
Family
ID: |
25247003 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/826,594 |
Filed: |
May 21, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/158.4;
108/166 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
3/14 (20130101); A47B 2003/145 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
3/00 (20060101); A47B 3/14 (20060101); A47c
039/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/159,157,158,135
;108/113,112,120 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McCall; James T.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. In a folding combination table and seat including a support
structure for supporting said table and seat comprising:
upper support means having two connector portions spaced from each
other in a first direction for connecting said structure to said
table;
lower support means having two bearing means spaced from each other
in a second direction for contacting a supporting surface, and two
seat support means spaced from each other in a third direction;
and
intermediate support means interconnecting said upper and lower
support means.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said seat means is elongated
for seating a plurality of people and said intermediate support
means is disposed proximate the center of said seat.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which one part of said upper support
means including one of said connector portions, one part of said
lower support means including one of said bearing means, one of
said seat support means and a part of said interconnecting support
means are formed by a single element.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 including a second support structure
for supporting a second seat.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which said table includes two
sections, each supported by one of said support structures.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said support structures are
collapsibly interconnected with their respective said table
sections.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said first, second, and third
directions are parallel.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said intermediate support
means is disposed proximate one end of said table and seat.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a support structure for a folding table
and seat combination.
Tables of the type in which the table portion and seat or bench
portion are mounted in a unitary arrangement, especially those of
the folding type, often are compact and difficult for a person to
seat himself at comfortably. To provide more leg room and
facilitate seating at and rising from such tables, various
arrangements have been used. For example, there are designs
employing both greater vertical separation and greater horizontal
separation between the bench and table. However, as the vertical
separation increases the table becomes less accommodating to use by
children and as the horizontal separation increases the table
becomes more difficult to use from the seated position. One of the
difficulties involves the necessity for climbing or stepping over
the legs at the ends of the table in order to be seated on the
bench.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a
combination bench and table configuration which facilitates seating
at and rising from the table.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination
bench and table configuration devoid of obstructing end legs or
members that may hamper a person's movement to be seated at or to
arise from the table.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a
configuration suitable for use as a folding or collapsible
device.
The invention may be accomplished by a folding combination table
and bench configuration including a support structure therefor
having upper support means with two connector portions, spaced
apart from each other in a first direction. A lower support means
has two bearing means spaced from each other in a second direction
for contracting a supporting surface and two seat support means
spaced from each other in a third direction. Intermediate support
means interconnect the upper support means with the lower support
means.
DISCLOSURE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Other objects, features and advantages will occur from the
following description of a preferred embodiment and the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an axonometric top view of a combination table and bench
configuration devoid of end obstructions according to this
invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a support structure according to this
invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of another support structure according to
this invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of another support structure according to
this invention.
The invention may be embodied in a folding table apparatus in which
the tabletop, benches and supporting frame are interconnected. The
supporting frame includes two collapsible interconnected support
structures each of which collapsibly supports a bench and a portion
of the tabletop. Each support structure has upper support means
including two connector portions for connecting with its respective
portion of the tabletop, lower support means having two bearing
portions for resting on the ground or a floor and two bench support
means for collapsibly supporting its respective bench. Intermediate
support means interconnects the upper and lower support means and
is located in the region between the ends of the bench, so that
there is no obstruction to one who seeks to seat himself by sliding
in between the bench and table from the end of the bench. The
support structures may take any of various forms, in which the
intermediate support means is located for unobstructed seating at
and rising from the table. The support structures may take various
forms: they may be solid or open, collapsible or rigid; they may
consist of single or plural elements; and they may be of wood,
metal, or plastic.
A collapsible-type table using the support structures according to
this invention is shown in FIG. 1. Tabletop 10 is formed of table
sections 12, 14 supported by structures 16, 18, respectively.
Structure 16 has an upper support including elements 20, 22
terminating in connector portions 24, 26 which connect to mounting
members 28, 30 by means of bolts 32' and 32, respectively. Members
28, 30 may be any conventional means used to attach table supports
in collapsible tables such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
3,141,424 issued to the applicant herein. The lower support of
structure 16 includes elements 36, 38 which join with bearing
portions 40, 42 and bench support elements 44, 46 which support
bench 48. Locking members 50, 52 of bench 48 pivotably connected by
bolts 54, 56 to elements 44, 46 may be locked to the crossbar 58 of
bench support piece 60 pivoted on elements 44, 46 by bolts 66, 68
by means of recesses 62, 64. The upper and lower supports of
structure 16 are interconnected by an intermediate support
including elements 70, 72 which interconnect elements 20 and 36,
and 22 and 38. The intermediate structure is located between the
ends of bench 48 to facilitate seating on bench 48 from either end;
elements 70, 72 should be long enough to allow sufficient leg
clearance between tabletop 10 and bench 48.
Similarly, support structure 18 has an upper support including
elements 20', 22' terminating in connector portions 24', 26' which
connect to mounting members 28, 30 by means of bolts 34' and 34,
respectively, and to connector portions 24, 26 by means of bolts
33' and 33, respectively. The lower support structure includes
elements 36', 38' which join with bearing portions 40', 42' and
bench support elements 44', 46' which support bench 48. Locking
members 50', 52' of bench 48' pivotably connected by bolts 54', 56'
to elements 44', 46' may be locked to the crossbar 58' of bench
support piece 60' pivoted on elements 44', 46' by bolts 66', 68' by
means of recesses 62', 64'. The upper and lower supports of
structure 18 are interconnected by an intermediate support
including elements 70', 72' which interconnect elements 20' and
36', and 22' and 38'.
The support structures are not limited to those shown in FIG. 1.
For example, in FIG. 2 there is shown a support structure 80 having
integral, solid upper 82, lower 84, and intermediate 86 portions,
with connector portions 88, 90 on upper portion 82 and bearing
portions 92, 94 and bench support portions 96, 98 on sections 100,
102 of lower portion 84.
In FIG. 3 there is shown a support structure of another shape made
from a single bar in contrast to structures 16, 18, FIG. 1, each
made with two bars. In FIG. 3 upper portion 110 is formed of
elements 112, 114, 116 and connector portions 118, 120.
Intermediate portion 126 is formed of two elements 128, 130 that
interconnect elements 114, 116 with elements 132, 134 of lower
portion 136, which also contains bench support elements 138, 140
and bearing portions 142, 144.
In FIG. 4 there is shown a support structure of another shape
suitable for use with smaller folding table and seat combinations,
such as capable of seating but one person comfortably on a seat
portion. Structure 150 has an upper support including element 152
terminating in connector portions 154, 156 which may receive bolts
32' and 32 or 33', 34' and 33, 34 for connection with mounting
members 28, 30, respectively. The lower support structure includes
bench support element 158 which joins with bearing portions 160,
162 and a second bench support element 164. The upper and lower
supports of structure 150 are interconnected by an intermediate
support 166. The same variations in construction applicable to and
described in relation to the structures of FIGS. 1--3 are
applicable to this structure. This structure is useful for small
tables seating only one person on each bench because the single
intermediate support may be placed at an end to alleviate the need
for a person to straddle it when seated. It is also useful for
tables to be used with one end against a wall and may be used to
form a pair of tables employing these support structures in mirror
image relationship so that when used with their intermediate
supports together, they form a table having a single structure in
the middle of the seating area as in the case of the table of FIG.
1.
Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are
within the following claims:
* * * * *